The first thing Woo noticed as he turned the corner into the kitchen was that the table was set and it looked like his sister Wyn or his brother Wul had started to make tea, but not completed the process. Their late-mother’s milkglass jar, that stored their favorite Lapsang Souchong, had been taken from the shelf over the stove and placed on the counter, the maple syrup had been taken from the cool-pantry and placed next to it along with the pink porcelain tea pot, but the water in the kettle had not been turned on. Woo also saw that that the pine straw basket full of fresh sorrel, portobello, and herbs had been taken out and placed next to the cutting board. Neither Wul or Wyn were around so Woo left the kitchen in search for them. “Wyn? Wul?” He called out down the hallway. No answer. Still groggy from his abbreviated sleep, Woo tried to think of which way to go; all the way up the stairs, past the second floor bedrooms and to the third floor sunroom, or downstairs to the basement and check to see if the Ingress was engaged. He rubbed his little red eyes with his long red fingers and scratched at the tousled fur on his head. “Basement.” He muttered and opened the small door, and descended the staircase. It became clear after only a step or two that his choice was correct. The Ingress was engaged. Ethereal tones and a flickering glow from the back of the basement could be seen and heard from where he was. “Wyn? Wul?” Still no answer. Woo’s feet shuffled along the slate floor as he made his way toward device controlling the Ingress. The knobs were set on a spot in the Gibson Desert and Wyn and Wul’s outfits were missing from the dock on the side wall. With his pajama bottoms still on, Woo slipped into his specially designed outfit that occupied the third dock and proceeded through the swirling disc of ether floating beside the Ingress device. In an instant he was twelve time zones away and stumbling over rocks in the Australian desert by the light of a full moon. After getting his footing, Woo blinked a few times and tried his siblings again. “Wyn? Wul?” Nothing. He looked at the sand and saw what looked like remnants of footprints to his left. Woo headed that direction for a few minutes until the ground became too firm to see any trace of prints. “Wyn? Wul?” Nothing. “Wyn? Wul?” He shouted louder. “Woo. Over here!” Wyn whisper-shouted from his right. Wyn waved to him, then mimed for him to stay silent, with one long finger to her lips. She was wandering among the desert vines stretching across the sand and rubble that emerged from the cracks and crevices of the arid terrain. Woo spotted Wul farther in the distance beyond Wyn. He was approaching the base of a knot of vines that coiled about eight feet into the air. By the time Woo reached Wyn, Wul had plucked out a green Skelling egg from a nest at his feet. “Omelette!” Wul exclaimed with a smile, just as the Skelling mother landed right above Woo with the merciless expression of maternal protection. A few harrowing hours later and they were back home. The smokey richness of the Lapsang tea was mellowed slightly with a hint of the added maple syrup. It complemented the rest of the meal perfectly. Even without the egg, the sautéed mushrooms and herbs were delicious with a generous wedge of Romano on the side and a chunk of crusty bread. The triplets ate in silence. The egg basket on the counter would have to remain empty for a little while longer. Comments are closed.
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Blog StatementAs of October 2016, I intended to use this blog as an accompaniment to my Facebook page and Instagram page. On this blog I post information and updates about my work as well as once a month I highlighted an artist whose work I like (I stopped doing this when I opened my gallery www.GalleryBlueDoor.com). As of March 2017, I began posting a monthly Story Entry with an accompanying illustration of mine. In mid-2019 I took a break from this, but it will resume. Archives
November 2019
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