After the nightmare

I am falling. I keep falling. Without any end in sight, I am just falling. Why am I falling? I was…what was I doing? I can't remember.

I open my eyes and I am on my bed. So I was just having a nightmare. That certainly assures me.

I look to my side and there's Aura. What is she doing? I thought she was with everyone else.

Jumbled memories, lack of sleep, how can I be short on sleep when I was sleeping the entire time? So many questions and no answers.

"You woke up?" (Aura)

She asks me. I noticed that Eden is on my other side. She moved me in the middle.

"Yeah. I just woke up. I was falling through the void and it woke me up."

"Go back to sleep." (Aura)

She kisses my forehead and hugs me. Her sweet and soothing scent is making me sleepy. I guess I will go back to sleep. I really can't understand what happened in just one night.

I get the feeling that I went through a lot of troubles but can't remember any.

After he fell asleep once again, Aura glanced at him. His breathing is normal and his face has a normal color.

He isn't distressed, hyperventilating and sweating like before.

"It must've been scary for you. I told you that you can rely more on me. Rely on us. We are here for you. You don't have to carry the burden alone." (Aura)

She whispered into his ears and kissed him on his lips lightly before going back to sleep as well.

On Hazel's side, most of them are asleep. Only Hazel, Fay, Gwen and Amaryllis are awake.

They all have serious look on their faces.

"A new problem has started, hasn't it?" (Amaryllis)

"Yes. It's kinda bigger than the last one. I mean, we were talking about the rulers of our world. But he is now on his way to becoming the creator himself. Suddenly comes outside creators and try to abduct him." (Fay)

"It's frustrating that we really don't know much about that. It seemed like Samantha doesn't know much either." (Hazel)

"And Clive certainly doesn't. If he did, we would have known." (Gwen)

The entire situation is too mysterious. Whatever is happening, it's serious but they don't know anything about it.

"Let's be a bit careful. We can't let many people know of this. Especially his mother. She kinda worries about him even more nowadays." (Gwen)

"That's a good decision. I agree. Besides, letting it become known would only cause more misunderstandings." (Fay)

They came to a conclusion that this incident would stay hidden for the time being.

Opening my eyes again, I see that it's bright. And the noise from outside suggests that a few hours have passed since daybreak.

I sit up and look for everyone. Aura is not here. Eden isn't either. Looks like I am having a late start.

I look for Clea in her crib but she is missing as well.

Maybe Aura took her downstairs. I stand and stretch. My mind is still a bit foggy. What happened during my sleep?

I go downstairs and see Aura in the kitchen. Eden is sitting at the dining table while Clea is floating on air.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, honey. Breakfast is ready." (Aura)

"Papa, you woke up late. Did you sleep well?" (Eden)

"Yeah. For some reason I slept really well last night. It feels great."

Hmm…maybe sleeping in isn't as bad as I had thought. Clea flies to direction and I catch her.

"Hold her for a minute, honey. I'll get her milk ready as well." (Aura)

It's new seeing Aura work in the kitchen. She always complained that she doesn't get to cook very often. So that's one thing I am looking forward to.

Eden is reading a book on childcare again.

"You really are going all in with childcare, aren't you?"

"Yes, I feel obligated to take care of my aunt." (Eden)

"That will only give Clea more complicated feelings when she grows up. Imagine, her brother is 20 years older than her. She even has a niece 7 years older than her."

"But that means she will grow up really spoiled." (Aura)

Aura brings a basket full of freshly baked breads. I see a variety of breads.

Jams were on the table before I knew it. We got hot cocoa as well.

It evokes a French feeling in me.

"You went all out with the breads. But I see some tedious breads as well. Weren't they a lot of work?"

"No, I just used the singularity a bit. It makes baking things easier. Here, take a baguette." (Aura)

A meter long baguette appears in her hand. Looking at it, it really is big. She sliced it into pieces and made a sandwich out of it.

"Where did those come from?"

"Secret. Have a taste!" (Aura)

It's a good sandwich. Is something wrong with my taste buds? I can't really taste everything. I mean I am seeing scrambled eggs, avocado, tomato and lettuce in the sandwich but I can't taste the egg.

"You look confused! Did I mess up?" (Aura)

She is worried.

"No. It's perfect but I can't really taste the egg. Have a try. Is something wrong with me?"

She takes a bite from the same place as mine.

"No, I taste the egg just fine." (Aura)

"So, something is wrong with me. Let me have other things as well."

I tasted every type of bread she baked with the jams. I taste them just fine. They are delicious. Then why can't I taste eggs?

"I'll look into it later. Maybe my tongue is having a bad day."

I brushed it off saying that. Aura is worried about me but that will have to wait. After Eden and Clea finish eating, I wash the dishes. That's the least I can do.

I heard from Aura that they are coming back today. I refrained from going outside until they come back. It wasn't a long trip for them but I hope they enjoyed it.

"Next time, let's go together." (Aura)

"Yeah. I want to see the hot springs as well."

The morning is slow but peaceful. It's giving me a sense of relief. But it can also mean a big calamity approaching. We'll just have to wait and see.