World of Wonder

Chapter 4

"Toooommm! Come back I'm sorry!"

No answer.

I felt terrible. I almost hit him and now I don't know where he is. I looked around the bakery but he wasn't anywhere. I considered leaving through the front door but who knows what's out there.

I continued to call his name when Edd and Matt came back into the room. "Whats wrong? Where did Tom go?"

I sighed. "I lost my temper, I went in to hit him and he vanished."

Edd put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a understanding smile. "Hey, don't worry. He'll be back. What did the two of you even talk about?"

"All I asked was why he couldn't just take me back up with him and he went on about hearts and spades and glowing stuff. I honestly didn't understand a thing he said."

"I see. Well that actually wouldn't be possible, even if he agreed."

"What? Why?"

"Take a seat. Matt, could we have some tea please?"

"Coming right up!"

Edd sat me down next to him and explained to me what Tom meant.

"The symbols on our cheeks basically represent our life forms. Whenever you enter Underworld, symbols appear on your cheek and tells you what deck you belong to."

"Symbols?"

"Mhm!" He pointed to a mirror up on the roof and when I looked at myself, I finally got why Tom was referencing hearts. I continued to stare at myself while Edd kept talking.

"In this world, you are given a card by the tower of cards down in the town telling you what deck you belong to. Matt and I are both of The White Queens deck, but Tom is from the Queen of Hearts."

"So does that mean I'm from the Queen of Hearts deck because of my symbol?"

"Not at all! On your card there is a splatter of color that represents your deck!"

He pulled out a wallet and drew a playing card. The card had matching symbols and colors as to him and even had his name. Guess with was some sort of ID.

"I see, what's the difference between the two decks?"

Edd noticeable was taken aback.

"Well, it's real-"

"I've made the tea! I've also got muffins and cakes to go with!"

"Ah! Why thank you Matt!"

He set everything on the table and sat an extra cup of tea and pastries on the counter behind him.

I looked at him with a questionable look and he smiled. "For Tom!"

I nodded and he joined us at the table. I took a bite of one of the pastries and I gotta say, after years of eating gross army food, this stuff was amazing.

As we were eating, I glanced up at the counter behind Matt and saw that the items he left out were gone. I glanced around the cafe and saw no sign of Tom.

A soft chuckle came from Edd. "You know Tord, Tom can turn invisible."

I got a little red and nodded. I looked down in embarrassment and continued to eat, trying not to look around.

I glanced up at Edd. "So Edd, what is the difference between the two decks?"

Edd chocked a little on his tea and reached for a napkin. Matt looked away uncomfortably and continued eating. Edd wiped his lips and looked around.