The Quest Across Two Realms

Mom

In the warmth of the following morning, Soren awoke to the delightful aroma of blueberry pancakes wafting through the air, wrapping him in a cozy embrace. "Mom's up and at it again, I see," he mused with a faint smile. He stretched lazily, got up from his bed and slipped his feet into the comforting warmth of his fluffy slippers, their familiar softness a small comfort in the face of the previous night’s birthday festivities, this was how he loved his mornings, just Mom, his slippers and him, no-one else.

As Soren walked lazily towards the door, something rather unusual caught his eye. There was a crack in the wall, standing out against the otherwise smooth cream surface he knew and loved. "Did I accidentally throw something at my wall last night?" he muttered to himself, his brow curling in confusion. "I remember being annoyed at Orion for what happened, but I wasn't that furious." Interest overshadowed confusion as he moved closer to the jagged path of the crack and started tracing it with his fingertips as if trying to decipher some ancient hieroglyphical code. It was indeed an odd crack, almost resembling the entrance to another world or something. 

Shrugging off the mystery of the cracked wall for the moment, he proceeded downstairs. "It's nothing major, I'd just slap some paint right on there, and it should be as good as new," he thought. 

Upon entering the kitchen, he was greeted by an even stronger aroma of delicious blueberry pancakes and his mother's warm presence. "Morning, Mom," he greeted her with a smile as warm as her loving eyes, which softly spoke to him as if telling him everything was right in the world. 

"Morning, my big baby," she teased. "How does it feel to be an adult?”

“It feels rather uncomfortable if I'm being honest," he replied. 

"Well, you're just one day in; trust me, it gets worse," she uttered, trying to scare Soren in an almost Halloween-like tone.

"I can imagine," he said, sighing tiredly. Glancing at the clock, which read 8:15 am, he thought to himself, "Mom usually leaves by 9. I better eat up and get into what I've gotta do today." With determination, he dove headfirst into the pancakes in front of him.

They were as delicious as ever, the soft texture and creamy flavor made the pancakes feel like a dish from a banquet in heaven. It almost brought a tear to his eye. "Thanks mom! " he  exclaimed, his tone filled with contentment and a kind of peaceful joy that resonated within his mother's soul, and she responded in an equally loving and affectionate way. "You're welcome son", she beamed. 

It was a few minutes after the start of his meal when Soren’s mom, Liora, began getting ready for work. Soren took his dishes to the sink and started cleaning them.

“Soren!” Liora called. “Could you please come upstairs?”

Soren finished the dishes and hurried up the stairs in response. When he reached his room, he saw his mother inspecting the crack in the wall he had noticed earlier.

“I was just about to head downstairs to leave for work, but I happened to notice this rather prominent crack on your wall. What happened?” she asked.

"I noticed it this morning too. I don't recall what happened, and I'm as confused as you are,” he responded.

“Alright, we'll get some paint and maybe some spackling paste to cover it up. You can handle that, right?” she added.

“Ugh! Fine, I’ll get it done. Way to ruin my morning, Mom.” he said, his tone filled with disappointment.

“Well, you better get to it,” she replied in a sheepish tone.

He smiled at her funny expression and followed her downstairs to see her off. She opened the front door, turned around to face Soren, and hugged him.

“I’ll be back later than usual today, okay? So don’t wait up,” she muttered softly.

“Alright, Mom. Take care,” he replied, watching her walk towards her car.

“Bye, sweetie,” she waved as she shut the car door. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Mom,” he yelled, watching her car pull out of the driveway.

He watched the car drive away and thought about how much he loved that woman. After his dad left, his Mom worked day and night to ensure that little Soren had a future, a bright one. He knew he owed everything to her and would move heaven and earth to make sure she was happy. He wasn't fond of people, but his mother was his hero. He didn't realize that sooner than later, that hero would need saving. 

“Now how do I go about this?” Soren asked himself repeatedly as he stared at the cracked wall. He wasn't sure how spackling paste worked, and he was afraid he'd probably make the problem worse if he approached it with levity, but the fear of the unknown can often be exhilarating. The thought of not knowing how things would turn out but needing to accomplish the task made him determined. One must steel their veins and, with every fiber of their being, face the problem head-on, no matter the odds. 

“I can do this”, he said to himself reassuringly.  

He got his phone out, pulled up a MeTube video on how to use spackling paste, sat down and began taking notes on its method of application. By the time he was gone with the video, he saw himself as more or less a spackling paste expert. With renewed confidence, he sprung up from the bed and went to the basement to get the paste and begin his spackling adventure.

On getting to the basement, he looked around for the bucket of paste which was in the most conspicuous of places yet he found it difficult to find it, maybe that was because of his impressive yet somewhat concerning ability to daydream whilst in the middle of a demanding activity. After finally noticing the bucket of paste and mentally chiding himself, he proceeded back to his room to repair the damaged wall. 

On getting back to his room, however, he discovered that the crack had gotten longer, and not just a little longer, it had now become a foot long crack on the wall. 

He stood there puzzled, questioning how this was possible, “Is the wall that weak?” he thought, “Could it be a structural integrity issue?” he pondered further. 

“I best fix it before it becomes any larger” he told himself. 

He opened the bucket of paste and began applying it the way the MeTube video had taught him. He was proud of how much of an experienced artisan he had become by watching an instructional video. He found it rather funny but also impressive; he smirked with a sense of pride and continued working on the wall until he had successfully covered the crack. 

Almost immediately, a knock came from the door. “Coming!”, Soren shouted. He quickly covered the bucket of paste and headed towards the door. It was Orion, He stood there, dressed in black cargo shorts and a red T-shirt. He looked humorous without even trying which was one reason why Soren could tolerate him, his sense of humor was amusing, and he was actually supportive when it got down to the nitty gritty of their friendship. 

“Hey Orion”, Soren said while maintaining a displeased gaze at Orion which made him remember last night when he pushed Soren into that disaster of a meet-up. 

“Oh, come on Soren! Would you cheer up?” Orion said as he entered into the home slightly pushing Soren’s hand aside which had been covering the entrance. 

“I'm sorry I kinda ruined your evening yesterday, but in my defense, I was trying to be a good friend, I mean you never talk to anyone and I get worried about you sometimes man.”, Orion said trying to communicate the fact that he acted in Soren’s best interest. 

“Alright, thanks, I understand, I'm sorry I was a little annoying.”

“A little!?”, Orion quickly chimed in, “You wanted to kill me last night, and I almost thought you actually would”. 

“Fine, I'm sorry okay?”, Soren said in a begrudging tone. 

“It's fine little one”, Orion said as he slowly looked at Soren to see his reaction to his playful taunt. Soren on the other hand shrugged off his annoying attempt at messing with him and proceeded with the conversation. 

“So what's up?”, Soren asked. 

“I just decided to pay my best friend a visit, is that so bad, hmm?” Orion said timidly. 

“Alright, alright, you've made me feel horrible enough for one afternoon, let's just move on”, Soren said, raising his hands to shoulder level in a laid-back position, signaling his surrender to Orion’s witty expressions. He admitted he was wrong, his voice carrying a mix of hurt and reluctant acceptance. 

Soren and Orion spent the remainder of the day talking about topics ranging from sports to movies and everything in between. It was one of those warm afternoons with the clouds covering just the right amount of the sun, making the day have a rather relaxed and easygoing vibe. They completely got lost in their conversation and had lost track of time, as it was already late in the evening when they realized that they had spent the entire day talking about their favorite topics. Orion decided to head back home, and Soren needed to finish up the job in his room as well, they bid their farewells but by the time Soren got back to his room, he found the crack reopened, but this time a lot wider with what appeared to be a pattern peaking through the crevice.