“So…you’re telling me that your manifested power is to dream?” asked Jothan while reaching for another cookie from the jar.

“Exactly. And not just any dream; I think I’ve been reincarnated into another world,” said Demund excitedly. “Everything felt so real like it was actually happening.”

“But you’re alive.”

“I don’t know. Maybe my soul becomes transported?”

Jothan scratched his murky blonde hair with his clean hand and reached for some milk. They were currently at Demund’s house as his parents were away to enjoy some quality time for themselves. It was around 10 am, and Jothan had been quite surprised to see Demund so early in the morning, knocking on his front door. Usually, Demund slept in late when the opportunity presented itself. This “dream” had to be special after all.

“It probably has to do something with your power. We could go ask the examiners to reevaluate your potential.”

“Yeah. I was thinking that too. Wanna go after lunch?”

“Sure,” said Jothan, his hand yet again attracted to the cookies in the jar.

Demund stared at his friend absentmindedly. It wasn’t that the situation currently was different from normal. No; they had always hung out like this. But for Demund, the present felt slightly distant and foreign, like he had been away on a summer vacation trip and returned to see his friends changed from sunburn. Yesterday felt like a long time ago.

“Did school really end yesterday? Are you sure no days have passed since break started?” asked Demund worryingly.

“Uh-huh. We were like, literally at the shop yesterday,” said Jothan over a mouthful of chocolate. “The examiners will probably know what’s going on.”

Jothan glanced over at a slightly-nervous Demund. Demund was bent over on the table with his chin on his arms. Jothan knew that position. It happened whenever Demund was stressing over something, like a big test or an unfinished project that was overdue.

“I don’t even know if I’ll be able to go to that world again,” said Demund, “since dreams change all the time. Sure, I spent 7 days there, but dreams are a weird thing.”

Demund nervously shook his leg up and down. He really liked that world. It was new, special, and cozy. There was also magic and the potential to become great. It fit his wishes for an ideal world, like the ones in the stories he read.

Unlike his current world.

“Hey, tell you what,” said Jothan, “come over to my house for lunch. My mom hasn’t seen you for a while, so she’ll be delighted to see you. My sisters won’t mind. I think we were having grilled hamburgers to celebrate our break—they were very happy to see that B+.”

“You sure I can come over?”

“Yeah! No problem. Here—I’ll ask right now.”

Jothan hastily took out his phone from his pocket and dialed his mother.

*Ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-tck* “Oh! Hey mom, can Demund come over for lunch today? Yeah, I’m at his house right now. No, no, I told you I’ll do that later. There’s enough food, right? Really? Alright, I’ll tell him that. Thanks, mom!” *Tck*

“Did she approve?”

“Yep! She said come over by 11:30. From what I saw this morning, I think she was also making cake too. My sisters were up early after all. Never knew they’d be so happy for break to start.”

Demund felt some joy from that. He had planned to eat instant noodles or go to a nearby shop to eat (Jothan had said his mom absolutely insisted in coming home by lunch), but he was apparently in for some deliciousness.

He was honestly happy to be back. He never knew how much he missed everything until he lost them.

Demund sat up from his chair. “You need to stop stuffing yourself if we’re having burgers for lunch. Come on, let’s play Jenga while we wait.”

“Alright, let me wash my hands first.”

Demund went to the storage room to fetch the Jenga box.

Honestly, this life was bland, but fine too.

〄 〄 〄

“You spent seven whole days there?!” exclaimed Jothan while they were biking towards his house. “Are you sure you spent seven days? Dreams can feel very long, after all. Like in Inspection.”

“I think you mean Inc***ion,” replied Demund, “and I was counting. There was light, then everything became dark, and everything felt really long. I was sleeping a lot, but I remember that night time came seven times before I awoke.”

“That’s really cool. Your parents and sibling felt real too?”

“Real as this world. I honestly thought I had died and reincarnated like in—”

“M*sh*ku T*ns*i.”

“Exactly.”

Jothan understood a little why Demund had seemed so out of place that morning. Spending seven days as a baby in an unknown world didn’t seem that pleasant.

“And you could understand everyone’s voices?”

“Yep.”

“They definitely didn’t look like the people here, right?”

“Yep. Much prettier and handsomer.”

Jothan pondered his mind for a possible explanation. No way would residents in a fantasy world speak the same language as them. And no way would they all look handsome and pretty. That only happened in make-believe stories or dreams.

“It’s definitely a dream.”

“I thought so too. My power is probably dreaming realistic dreams or something like that.”

“Well, we’re almost home. We’ll understand better once we meet the examiners.”

“Alright. I’m looking forward to this lunch.”

Demund and Jothan stopped their bikes as they arrived at Jothan’s house. They parked their bikes on the lawn and headed towards the door. It was precisely 11:29 and the smell of grilled meat hung in the air. Demund saw from the corner of his eye the curtains coming down a little as if someone was peeking from it.

Oh, thought Demund. Is this what I think it is?

They approached the wooden door, and Jothan twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open.

“Welcome home! CONGRATULATIONS!”

*Pllllp! Plllllp! (sound of party horn)*

“Congrats, brother! I knew you could do it!”

“Welcome Demund! We were just going to start the party for Jothan!”

Jothan stood there, shocked by the commotion that was going on.

“Of course this was going to happen,” Demund thought, “There was something about the atmosphere when I came here this morning...”

Jothan, however, looked like he had seen an alien. He stood there dumbfounded with his mouth half hanging open and a big smile crawling up his lips.

“What! MOM! DAD! You told me you weren’t doing anything!”

“Surprises aren’t meant to be told, honey. Besides, your sister was the one who proposed it!”

“Alina did? Really?”

Jothan looked at his sister who was standing behind his mom with a giant cake in her hand.

“No, ew, not me. I’m just here for the cake,” said Alina. “Clara was the one who came up with the idea. She wanted to do something for her sweet brother. I guess it’s fine…”

“Honey! Our daughter is EMBARRASSED!” cried Mr. Harken.

“No-no! What?! I just said I’m here for the cake!”

“Alina! It’s not good to lie. You were the one who decorated the cake so beautifully while humming, weren’t you?” stated Mrs. Harken. “I think I even heard you mutter, ‘Jothan will have to be so grateful to me after this’ and ‘this will pay off the time when he helped me with my math homework,’ or was that me hallucinating?”

“She looks embarrassed to me,” whispered Mr. Harken to his wife.

“MOM! DAD! What! NO! I’m leaving!” said Alina. She promptly set down the cake on the nearest table and stormed up to her room.

“Honey~! Where are you going~! You left the cake!”

“Alina! Wait! Come back! I didn’t thank you yet!” Jothan called out.

“Shut UP!” shouted Alina. A faint *bang* was heard from the second floor.

And well, Demund couldn’t do anything but to watch this commotion silently from the back. He tried to smile but was more mind blown from the craziness that was going on. Could this really happen, he thought.

Jothan turned around and scratched his head while beckoning his parents away.

“You probably knew, but my family is…excitable,” said Jothan. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Yeeahhhh it’s fine. Very interesting, really,” uttered Demund.

“You two, don’t stand there and come inside,” said Mrs. Harken, “the food will get cold.”

Demund and Jothan obeyed and headed inside. Demund quietly closed the door around him and inspected his surroundings. The house was cozy-looking just like usual, but there were various ‘congratulations’ signs and balloons taped all over the place. Pretty string and cloth were draped over the ceiling, and the delicious smell of grilled, juicy beef emanated throughout the house. Demund’s stomach started to growl softly.

Jothan was already seated on the table. Demund quickly followed him and took a seat next to his friend. The family had graciously provided an extra seat for their guest, and Demund was grateful for it.

“Clara? What are you doing under there? Come on out. I need to thank you too.”

Demund became aware of the figure beneath the table. She was hidden under the cloth, but quickly came out upon Jothan’s request and took a seat next to her brother. If Demund remembered correctly, Clara was around eleven, around five years younger than himself. Alina was around thirteen or fourteen.

“Isn’t it nice having siblings?” Demund asked Jothan, a question he asked many times before.

“They’re annoying most of the time,” Jothan replied as usual, “but I guess they’re nice for today.”

Clara tugged at Jothan’s shirt for attention and beckoned for his ear. Jothan leaned over and she whispered something to him.

What Clara didn’t know was that she was a bad whisperer. Demund could clearly hear her say, “Do you like the party?” to Jothan. What a sweet sister, he thought.

Jothan nodded and patted Clara on the head. It was an amazing sight for Demund, like a scene straight out of a manga. He suddenly had goosebumps and diabetes at the same time, all while pressing down some emotions that were clearly not suited for the occasion.

Eventually, Alina came back from her room, and after giving thanks for everything, the party finally started. Demund was happy that he was able to join this occasion. Jothan was busy laughing and sharing thanks with everyone, and Mr. Harken was busy taking photos of the whole situation. The party went on with great food and drinks in abundance.

The cake was absolutely delicious. Mrs. Harken had used a secret recipe where she had injected the cake with melted jello to make it softer and wetter. The frosting was also sweet to perfection, and it melted right off the cake when you plopped it in your mouth. Everything was great.

Everything was wonderful for Jothan and his family.