Nate Elfirm was surprised to see the recognizable, blue car parked outside the driveway.
Mom? She's home early? That's surprising.
His mother's name is Bethani Elfirm: A kind, young woman who works as a line supervisor for a furniture manufacturing company. She's the type of person who would work around the house after a long day at work, making Nallie constantly worried about her.
Nate starts to ponder why Bethani was early from work, and he then unlocked the front door to his house. However, the front door immediately opened, and his mother presented herself.
Bethani's charcoal-black hair was in a style similar to his sister's. Wearing a blue work dress with orange heels, both somehow stained with a doughy substance of some kind. Nate raised his eyebrow over his observations.
"Nate! Didn't know you were back so early," she exclaimed as she shuffled her steps back.
"Mom, I know that you saw me from outside, don't pretend otherwise. And also, why are you back home so early from work?"
"Right... You know, I had some errands to do, lots of driving around town and all..."
Nate knew the obvious and tried to make it obvious to her.
"Do these errands involve something sweet? Something that you had to make?"
"Ugh, you got me. But don't get me wrong, my shift genuinely did end early, and I was thinking about having to make us all something sweet after dinner tonight," Bethani said as she looked down at her feet.
"I just really need to practice a bit more for the dish to be just... okay."
Nate and Bethani entered their small kitchen. The marble countertops are littered with an assortment of utensils and cutlery. Stains of various fruits squished like a paintball fight had taken place in their house without their knowledge. The floors fare no better than the other areas, as they contain liquids from the fridge, providing a walking hazard to anyone.
Nate can only sigh and stand there. In the family, Bethani is the least proficient in cooking skills, and the other family members would have to pitch in with what they would eat.
Nate mustered up a response and said, "Maybe... Nallie and I can help you with dinner. I think you'll get better at cooking when you practice more."
Bethani's eyes gleamed with brightness that Nate could say was almost sparkling.
"Thanks for the encouragement, Nate. Oh, before I forget, how was school? Anything new that I need to know?"
"Just the same thing, and got a few homework papers I need to. Also, Nallie's at a friend's house, so that you would know."
Nate checked the time on the clock and yawned upon looking at the hands ticking towards five o'clock pm.
"Gotta take a nap, Mom, I'll be down for dinner-"
Bethani held Nate's shoulder and pointed to a table in the foyer.
"There are some letters sent for you, might wanna check them out first."
Nate grabbed a handful of letters on the small, brown table and went upstairs to his room. He sat on his bed, and one by one, Nate opened up a few letters to see something of value to him. Some are just letters from his mom's side of the family, not that Nate doesn't appreciate them being sent.
As he swiped away each letter, he came across a letter he knew would eventually come across, a letter from his grandfather. His heart slightly elevates at the sight of a letter from him after all these months. The letter itself had a familiar insignia that Nate could recognize as belonging to a group called Philosoph, something he had remembered since he was a kid.
Nate's paternal grandfather is named Arley Elfirm, the father of Nate's dad, and a Hiddenworld Journyer: people who can explore beyond Green Country.
Arley used to tell Nate all kinds of stories back when he was still living with them in their house. His grandfather would tell him many adventures he traveled with Philosoph, and even gave Nate some trinkets for him to play with.
The way Arley describes his stories stirred up a feeling within Nate, like it can even cause him to think of many things, endless possibilities from countless futures. It can even make Nate internalize the greatest feelings ever, which may be dedicated to the concept of hope.
Nate held these memories close to his heart, with both of them promising each other to write letters to each other, just in case Arley was going to be away for a while. Nate longed for the day that Arley came back from his trips to tell him a story one more time.
Arley's handwriting was smooth yet sharp with its curves around its letters. The contents are read as it is written:
Nate,
How have you and the rest of the family been doing while I'm gone? I hope everything is fine at Standart as usual. Currently, I am doing well with Philosoph and in many places I have visited have been great so far. I gathered some trinkets for you to have when I return from my journey.
Try to do your best in school and spend more time playing with your friends. Make some connections with others that will help with your life.
However, I must ask you to be wary about where you're going in Standart, as I have heard about the green gases in the city again. The way I have been seeing unusual things from outside Green Country. Maybe I'm just being too cautious, but something is tingling my senses this time.
I will try to write more letters whenever I can. Until then, take care and watch your family. I will do my best to read your letters if they arrive, when I don't accidentally put them in my snow gear pockets.
Regards, Grandpa Arley.
As Nate read the last sentence, he could only chuckle at what Arley wrote in the first paragraph. Although the last few paragraphs of the letter made him think.
Is it true that something is wrong with these green gases? I don't want anything to happen to my home. But the... but the fact that grandpa was the one who was wary about the green gases in Standart is very telling.
I... I'll try to understand this a little bit more about the situation if I can. For now, I will just continue on with my normal life, a life with my friends and family.
Nate heard a screech of joy from his mother downstairs. Upon hearing the commotion of Bethani being held back by a frantic Nallie, trying to do her best. Nate moved through frequent steps towards the flight of stairs to meet the father of this family, a man named Jakob Elfirm
Jakob sighed in the sight of all three of his family and softly embraced them with his arms. He then put his briefcase in the cupboard under the stairs.
"Sorry if I was late, a bunch of customers were at the bookstore in the afternoon," Jakob said.
Jakob Elfirm is the father of Nate and Nallie, the husband of Bethani Elfirm, and the owner of the family's bookstore.
Arley had passed down the bookstore to Jakob after he was invited to be part of a Hiddenworld Journeyer Team, Philosoph. Since then, Jakob has managed to operate the store by himself, with Nate offering to help his father. He usually collects donated books from various organizations and places them on the store shelves.
"Jakob, dear, dinner's ready for you and the kids. And I made something new for once - I think I did fine on it." Bethani enthusiastically said.
Nate, Nallie, Bethani, and Jakob all marched into the dining table, where a feast awaited them on a special Friday night. Bethani worked with a recipe she found on an online cookbook and presented the meal for the four of them: a bowl of spaghetti.
The other three silently congratulated Bethani on her cooking achievement, and each took a portion from the bowl onto their plates.
Nate, with his fork, spiked his spaghetti and twirled it up to consume it. Tasting the chewiness of the individual strings of the spaghetti, Nate rated the taste as something not bad, or a meal slightly above average.
Nate looked over and saw Nallie melting over the deliciousness of her meal, while Jakob himself left no expression to be desired when taking the first bite.
"Honey, this is good. Are you sure you made this?" Jakob questioned while staring at his empty plate.
Bethani's eyes beamed once again. "Oh, Jakob, of course it's going to be great. I practically had to pour out all of my love into the spaghetti so that you would all love it."
"Mom, can you pass me the bowl? I gotta try more of this, I just have to try it more," Nallie said with her mouth still stuffed with spaghetti, and the sauce stained around her lips, giving her the funny appearance of a ravenous monster after its meal from a victim.
"Of course, Nallie, have some more!" she replied, passing the bowl to Nallie.
Jakob promptly wiped the tomato sauce off his lips before turning to Nate, causing him to turn to his father.
"So, Nate, doing well on your subjects at school today, right?"
"Yes, Dad, nothing that's alarming so far."
"What about you, Nallie, no trouble for you either?"
"Just had to help out with the extracurricular club activities, and I'm caught up in my studies in every subject, but... I'm not sure Nate's telling the truth about his grades."
"Nallie!"
"What? I'm just saying that it's normal to worry about your sibling's grades, and I am just doing my part, that's all."
"Now, now you two. All Nate has to do is improve his grades in his own free time. If these low grades continue to be the same, however, it is considered a problem that needs to be fixed."
Bethani firmly places the glass of water she has been drinking onto the table before adding, "Your father's right, take your time to fix something up, so you wouldn't have to worry about it for a long time."
Nate's mother took another pile of spaghetti to her plate.
"How's the bookstore, Jakob? Anything new going on in there?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Just more customers compared to last week..."
"Really? Isn't that amazing, honey? More people might know about the store."
"Must be overwhelming for many people in one store, Dad," Nallie worryingly stated.
"Indeed, but I managed..." Their father said.
Jakob continued to slurp up the remaining strands of spaghetti on his plate, and he left it in the sink for it to wash. He then took his suitcase and brought it with him to the study room, where the rest of the family immediately knew that Jakob would spend hours hunched over some papers and his laptop.
"That's Dad for you," Nallie said as she faced Sam. "Always in that room just when he's finished business at the bookstore work..."
Nate Elfirm could only question what his father had been doing in the room. "Is it something important for Dad to be in there all night?"
"I'm sure your father has his reasons to stay in the study room," Bethani said. "It's probably just paperwork for the bookstore - no need to worry at all."
"It'd be nice to have him with us at the dining table more, though," She swiftly added.
Nallie finished the last of her portion before excusing herself from the dining table.
"All finished, I'll be going to bed early now. Good night, Mom," Nallie lovingly said.
"Right now, Nallie, don't you want more of the spaghetti before you go?" Bethani said.
Nallie pointed to the clock. "Sorry, I have a sleep schedule to follow, Mom, hope you understand that."
"Goodnight then, Nallie, hope you got a good night's rest."
Nate also finished his plate of food and stood up.
"Nate, are you leaving too?"
"Mom, do you want any help with the dishes?"
"Oh - no need for that. You can leave your plate in the sink. I can handle the washing myself."
As soon as Nate heard those uttered words, he swiftly left for his room upstairs. But as soon as he looked back, Bethani could be seen staring at the empty chairs in front of her, her eyes filled with feelings of loneliness.
"...That was a new record... The shortest dinner so far with everyone here at this table, and I thought my special dish would change that," Nate heard her say lightly.
Nate could only turn away in guilt after hearing what his mom had said, though he believed that Bethani would be uplifted tomorrow after a good night's rest. He had to believe with all his heart that it would happen tomorrow.
Nate closed the door of his bedroom behind him and promptly lay his body onto the bed, with his limbs spread outwards in different directions. He wonders if his life, specifically, was as dull as he thinks it was.
"If my life is that normal and boring, though, I will try to live as dull as I can, as that is probably how it should be every day..." Nate said out loud, trying to limit the sound of his voice so as not to disturb his sister in the room next to his. Not wanting Nallie to put him in a chokehold again.
Nate remembered that Quad Four had a plan to travel down to Vivid Forest to look for something for their biology class. He thought about how hard it would be to find something at least interesting in the forest, and would probably take around hours to find something suitable as a topic.
Finally, Nate allowed his body to slumber to wake up in time for tomorrow morning, at the time Nate and his friends were supposed to go out. He wondered what they would find tomorrow that will be worth the trip. Perhaps something other than their biology topic will come up, and that will significantly spice up their day. All Nate knows is that he will soon find out tomorrow, Saturday morning.
He can feel himself slowly drifting away from his consciousness, into blackness, as Nate finally submerged himself under an ocean of dreams. The sensations from outside seem not to matter, his body not being the core focus right now, as he sleeps deeply, like his soul being put into an ethereal substance that releases heavenly feelings.
The night skies once again contained nothing but the darkness, covering Standart entirely in its pitch color. The environment consisted of mere squeaks and chirps of insignificant insects. The air was gloomy enough to evoke considerable horror within one's spiritual sense. Critters of all sizes hid under their homes as a noticeable form slowly emerged from the shadows.
A figure dressed in a black, oversized cloak silently gazes upon Standart's Vivid Forest. Their unmoving body was still like a statue. In their hands, they carry a pickaxe to mine something. But what will they mine, and why did they choose to look for it in Vivid Forest?
"It's near. A source of it is nearby. I must find it," they grimly murmured.
Regardless of the intent of this mysterious individual, they march into the forest with a clear goal in mind. They were trying to arrive at the same Vivid Forest that Quad Four intends to go to.