25 January 2024
“Good morning.” I greet Isaac as he walks in, although I don’t turn to face him. Instead, I stare at a series of paintings along the back wall, each a different version of him; short and proud, tall and laid back. A jokester, or too serious for his own good. Caught up in a thirst for adventure.
“Morning.” He looks around. “What… is this place?”
With a sweeping gesture, I turn to face him. “This? A fragment of a dream. A space between realities.”
“Huh.” Isaac cocks one eyebrow as he looks at me warily. “And why have you brought me here?”
“Because I want to understand you.” I conjure up a table and two chairs. “I want to know how your story changes you, and to do that, I need to know who you are at the beginning.”
I take my seat, and Isaac follows suit. “Okay… What do you want to know?”
That brings a wry smile to my face. “That is the question, isn’t it?” I conjure up a bottle of something–sparkling cider, perhaps–and offer him some. “Drink? It’s not alcoholic.”
He shakes his head; so this version is cautious. That seems a bit at odds with someone who would chase down witches and fairies on the off-chance they can help find Aurora. Perhaps I’m reading him wrong?
He squirms a bit in his seat. “What is it?”
“Ah! My apologies. I didn’t realize I was staring quite so intently.” I lean back and place my hands in my lap. “I do have one question, though. Why put so much effort into finding Aurora?”
“Well… She’s my sister, isn’t she?”
“Indeed.” I take a sip from my drink. “But you’ve never met her. She was taken before you were born, and I daresay most of the nation has given up hope of ever getting her back, especially this close to her sixteenth birthday and her predicted demise. SO what keeps the spark going for you?”
“I… The adventure of it, I guess?”
I nod to myself. “Then… Are you actually expecting to find her?”
That stumps Isaac for a long while. “I… I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.” He paused. “I guess… before I stumbled into those two fairies, I never thought it was possible? And then I was so caught up in it all I never thought about what it might mean.”