Eden-South (36 page)

Looking down at his body, he saw he was
wearing the same thing he had been wearing before Diana appeared.
Nothing had changed. There were no cuts or bruises, nothing to
suggest he had been hurt in Eden. Had it been a dream? The idea
crashed into him like a hammer. What if everything he had been
through for the last couple of weeks was nothing but his
imagination? He walked over to his bedside table, picking up his
phone. The date hadn’t changed; no time had passed.

“It can’t be,” he said out loud. It had
happened—he was sure of it. Or was he? Another world that coexisted
alongside their own, where people still lived like they were in
medieval times, and he was some expert with an axe, and could ride
a horse? It was all so hilarious when he really thought about
it.

Looking around his bedroom, he walked over
to his computer desk. Across the surface were the papers he had
been writing on for the book report he had been doing. It all came
back to him. He had just read the infamous book by C. S.Lewis, the
book about another world, where a war was taking place and the
children from this world helped to fight it. Shaking his head, he
picked it up and laughed. No wonder his imagination had gotten the
better of him. Beside it was one of his computer games too, the
World of Warcraft, where he used an axe as his weapon. It all made
sense now. Everything had been there already in his subconscious
mind.

That was one hell of a dream,
he
thought, smiling to himself. Even though nothing had happened, he
felt a strange compulsion to go down and peek in on his parents.
Slowly climbing down the attic stairs, he tiptoed toward their
door. It was always slightly ajar during the night, so his mother
could hear Eddie. In the light from the moon, he could see the
outline of their figures where they lay asleep. Turning around, he
walked back toward the attic. As he passed by Eddie’s room, he
looked in to see her standing up at the side of the crib. She wore
a big smile as he entered.

“Well, hello,” he said in a whisper. An
immense amount of relief flooded him as he went and picked her up.
Some dreams could have that effect on you,
he thought
reasonably. It was rare, but sometimes they just felt so real, it
took you a while to really shake them off.

He sat down on the rocking chair, cradling
his sister in his arms. She poked at his face, giggling as he stuck
out his tongue. He started to rock back and forth, singing a
lullaby to her as he did. The images from his dream still lingered
in his mind. Elisa, the fair-haired, strong-willed girl, who seemed
to be stronger and more talented than any boy he’d ever known. She
was everything he wanted Eddie to be when she grew up, and their
names were even similar to each other.

Wolf, who was the epitome of that perfect
man most girls talked about. He was extremely good-looking, smooth
with the ladies, and talented beyond belief. In real life Aiden
would have hated someone like him; he would never have befriended
Aiden if they had been in this world. In his dream, though, he had
been a good friend, someone whom Aiden trusted to be there for him
when he needed it. He was a lot like Bentley, except in his mind
they had been friends. The previous Halloween, Bentley had come to
school as the wolf, and Melissa had been Little Red Riding
Hood.

Then there was Logan, that token friend who
was always ready and willing to supply a laugh, or laugh at your
expense. The friend who was easy-going, making everything seem
simpler than it was, just like Ethan. Felix came next, hitting a
surprisingly sensitive chord in Aiden, even causing him to falter
in his song. Picking it back up, he continued to sing to Eddie,
watching her eyes growing heavier as he did. Felix had been killed,
Aiden thought sadly. He had been a lot like Aiden was here in his
world. Quiet, kept to himself, and blended into the background. It
was what he was in real life, not some talented and respected
individual. He had died, though. Shaking his head, he took a deep
breath. No, he corrected himself, he hadn’t died. It was just a
dream. No one named Felix actually existed, and therefore no one
named Felix had been lost.

As he sat in the chair, keeping Eddie close
to him, her little body emanating heat across his chest, he
realized how rare it was for people to dream the same dream again.
That meant he would never see that place again, or know those
characters in his mind again. The dream was lost to him, disturbed
because he had been too hot sleeping, and had woken himself up.
Tomorrow, he made a note in his head, he would buy a fan.

They fell asleep together in that chair. A
hand shook him awake hours later. His mom stood beside the chair he
still slept in.

“Hey.” She smiled, keeping her voice low.
“What are you doing?”

Looking down, he saw Eddie, with her little
pouty face still fast asleep on his chest. She was moving her lips
like she was sucking on a bottle, something she often did while she
slept. He slowly got up, laying her down in the crib, and followed
his mother out into the hall.

“Sorry,” he said, running his hand through
his hair. “I must have fallen asleep.”

“I didn’t hear her wake up last night,” his
mother commented.

“She wasn’t crying. I just happened to walk
by and see her standing there.”

“Well, thanks, Aid,” she said, kissing him
on the forehead. “I appreciate your help. Now, shouldn’t you be
getting ready for school? You go back today, remember?”

Oh, yes,
he thought sadly. His
suspension was officially over, and it was back to school life. He
sighed, nodding his head and walking toward the bathroom to wash
up. He stood under the hot shower, letting it soak into his skin.
It felt like ages since he had a shower, which it hadn’t been, but
the night before had been rough. The rocking chair was not the best
piece of furniture to fall asleep on. Every muscle in his back
ached from sitting up all night. He changed the showerhead to the
massage setting, letting it beat on the knots along his spine.

Finally, he got out, wrapping a towel around
his waist before heading back to his room. After getting dressed,
he received a text message from Ethan, telling him his mother would
drive them that day. They’d be there at eight to pick him up. Aiden
rushed down the stairs to grab a quick bite to eat. Everyone
already sat around the kitchen table. Eddie cooed hello, smiling up
at him with her toothless grin.

“You made my back very sore this morning,”
he said, pinching her cheek.

“No doubt. You’re crazy to have lasted in
that thing,” his mother commented, keeping her eyes on the
newspaper in front of her.

Aiden grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat down
to eat it. Being around the table with his family had never felt so
right. He was having an odd morning, he could admit that, but
still, he felt happy for some reason. A loud honk came from
outside.

“Crap,” he said, shovelling a few spoonfuls
into his mouth. “Have a good day,” he said, bending down to kiss
his mom on the cheek, and he quickly gave Eddie a peck too.

“Have a nice day at school, love,” his
mother said. “Oh,” she called out as he was leaving. “Try not to
get into any fights today, would you?”

“I will try my best!”

“Aiden!” she yelled out again. He stopped,
looking at her questioningly. “Aren’t you forgetting
something?”

He looked down to make sure he was properly
dressed, which thankfully he was. Looking at his bag and shoes, he
simply shrugged his shoulders. “No?”

“Your glasses?” she pointed out. “You’re not
wearing them. How can you see?”

He could feel the colour drain from his
face. Aiden rushed into the powder room, looking at his reflection
in awe. She was right: he wasn’t wearing any glasses, but he could
see perfectly.

“Diana,” he whispered. Something lit up
inside him, an overwhelming feeling that he could not quite define.
It had been real, all of it. Diana must have brought him home so he
would heal from the arrow.
Heal from the arrow
. He couldn’t
believe he was even thinking something like that. It was all crazy
and impossible, and yet there he stood, with perfect vision, just
like Diana had given him. She had said it wouldn’t last when he got
home. This must have been her gift to him, he thought
affectionately. A piece of Eden to let him remember it all, and to
make sure he wouldn’t forget them.

His mother appeared in the doorway, her face
full of concern.

“What is wrong with you?” she asked, looking
confused by the complete exhilaration that filled his face. He
couldn’t help but smile.

“Nothing,” he said, almost laughing.

“Do you want me to go get them for you?” she
asked, motioning toward the stairs.

“Nope,” he replied, smiling. “I don’t need
them. I can see perfectly.” He gave her another quick kiss and then
ran out the door to meet Ethan.

Aiden’s mom walked slowly back to the table
after she watched him drive off to school. Michael was busy reading
the paper. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

“Did you see that?” she asked.

“The glasses thing?” he asked stupidly.

“Yes, the glasses thing. He doesn’t need
them anymore, he said. How is that possible? What is he, Spider-Man
all of a sudden?”

His father shrugged his shoulders, looking
back down at the article he had been reading. “Hormones?” he said,
putting the conversation to an end.