Aurora

40

Aurora wakes to a loud knocking on her door. She looked at the time to see it's almost 8 in the evening.

She let out a sigh. Who the hell is knocking so early? She thought as she walked up to her front door and swung it open revealing a smiling Eric, holding up a bottle of wine.

"Eric?!"

"Before you say anything, Emily is at my parents'." He injected.

"W-what are you doing here?" Aurora tugs her body and steps out to face him, "Did something happen?"

"Okay, I know this is impromptu...I was in the neighborhood buying some wine for tonight, and I thought, hey, why don't I share this bottle of good wine with my good friend... you're the good friend by the way. "

Aurora chuckles nervously,

"Wow. I don't know what to say."

"You've been distant lately and I thought you might just need someone to talk to, not to brag but I might be the only one in this world that understands what you're going through, but if you're not in for it, I could go..."

"I do need a booster.." She cut in.

"Great!"

Aurora steps out of the door to let him in,

"Thank you." Eric said as he stepped in and took his eyes around, "Wow. You have a lovely home."

"Thanks.." Aurora gestured him to sit,

"You alone?"

"Yeah, Mia just moved in with Charles, so it's just me." Aurora made her way into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses before making her way back to him.

Eric pops open a bottle and poured her a glass. "You want just a little or you want the full treatment?" He asked.

"Fill 'er up."

He snickers and does the same for himself, then lifts his glass.

"Cheers." They touch glasses and have a sip. Aurora shakes her head, enjoying the wine, silence sits between them for a while, "Odd question, what's like being back to civilization?"

Aurora laughs,

"Too much?"

"Honestly, I never thought anyone would ask me that, not from this world at least."

"Well, now it's your time to speak."

Aurora takes a moment and then speaks

"Coming home has definitely been crazy, not what I anticipated, let alone to meet a child. Sarah sure did a number on me."

"She hated it at first." He mentioned suddenly, "Sarah regretted getting pregnant, and she blamed me for it, must have been the most difficult thing she had to go through, imagine being pregnant in a world you know nothing about, it must have been scary. I wish I understood what was going through her head at the time."

Aurora didn't know what to say.

"Do you regret coming home?" He asked her.

She took another shot of her drink before answering,

"It's like this... On one hand, I like being part of civilization, I like having warm showers, constant electricity, civil conversations, and on the other hand, I miss the old life, I miss farming, I miss the dresses, I miss the courtesies, the foods, the traditional dances....there's this one time Jack and me--"

"Wait, Jack.. " Eric injected abruptly, "Jack Hyde?"

"Yes." Aurora is surprised, "Did Sarah mention him?"

"Yeah, a few too many times!" He exclaimed.

Aurora grinned in elation, having someone talk about her old life is something she's longed for a very long time, "What did she say about Jack?"

"Not a lot, she did compare us a few too many times, but that was just it."

"How?"

"Like, when I chew with my mouth open, which is an ugly habit of mine, Sarah would frown and say, You and Jack Hyde are sure related.... I never understood that.."

Aurora laugh shortly,

"She meant Jonathan."

"My doubleganger?"

"Yes, he's sort of a king in the other world and he's Jack's half-brother. Funny, I didn't know they knew each other.... Actually, I was married to him, I was married to Jonathan for a while, I was his queen until I wasn't."

Just as the words left her lips, Aurora thought of Sarah, and what might have happened on her return. She's been so caught up in her own ordeal to think of what Sarah might have encountered on her return.

"I sound silly, I can't even listen to myself sometimes." She cracks up

"No, I believe you... It's just, man, I can't believe I'm having drinks with Royalty. Wow, I'm honored. .Your Highness." he bows.

"Your Grace." Aurora returns the gesture and then they laugh,

"So, what else did you besides be queen?"

Aurora laughs out suddenly,

"This is so weird."

"Yes, it is."

"No, I mean sitting here talking to you, it's like I'm speaking directly to Jonathan and it's so strange. I don't understand what this means, or why this is happening? But it's freaking me out." Aurora couldn't understand why the universe was playing games with her, or why these two similar men were in her life? But, she wanted to make sense of it.

Time passed and another bottle has been opened. Eric and Aurora are both a bit tipsy. They share a big laugh, as Aurora continued narrating her ordeals in the other world,

"I was an ass, I mean my crazy doubleganger, he's an ass." Eric let out,

"Yes, he was, but he was not completely awful, he had his good sides too, as well as his bad sides, everyone does. He was just terrible at discerning them and he had terrible councils. Unlike his brother, Jack Hyde, Jack is an extraordinary man, with a lot of good in him, more than he realizes, he cares about his people and they respect him, I know without a doubt that we would make a great king."

"You must miss him?"

Aurora doesn't answer to that.

Sometime later, Aurora and Eric lay back on the floor, recovering from their highs in silence and in that silent moment, Aurora realized something very important,

"I'm not happy here."