The Soul Traveler

Chapter 1-Part 2

Kyna shook her head. She didn't know if it was a boy thing or just a Drake thing but that boy was really starting to smell himself. And the stench was strong enough to affect her.

She shuffled back to the tiny kitchen, pushing back whatever thoughts of the World War 20 sure to happen, if her mom found out Drake stayed out again.

The kitchen overflowed, cabinets bursting with plastic bags, boxes and canned goods. Pots, pans and dishes littered both counter tops that you could hardly see it. And as if the room couldn't get any smaller, the fridge and stove were squeezed in the remaining space, diagonal to each from each other. Like the architect hadn't realized he forgotten the two most important things a kitchen needed in their design until the very end and had to put them somewhere.

Tonight, the stove top was pot free, so Kyna kneeled down to check the oven. She grabbed the pair of brown oven mitts next to the stove and pulled the oven door down to free the rectangular pan covered in aluminum foil. Setting it on the stove, she peeled the shiny, silver material back to reveal the heady scent of roast beef.

And where there was roast beef, mash potatoes followed. Which Kyna found along with some tossed salad in another plastic container

Kyna filled her plate with mash potatoes and roast beef. Popped it into the microwave and went back to her bed for her books and pen.

The apartment was quiet. And that's how she'd like it best. In a way it was a good thing that her mom worked nights now at the hospital. No more yelling and fights with her brother acting like a thug during the day. And being stuck in the middle, trying to calm them down like some pro Bono mediator. In the end, to end up accused of being a snitch by her brother. Or an enabler by her mom.

As if she can control Drake, snorted Kyna.

Kyna sat at the table, looked over the pop quiz and focused on her wrong answers, as she ate. Then she read the chapters seven to nine of Of Mice and Men. By the time she finished her dinner, she was done with her homework.

The clock on the kitchen wall read 10:30 and still Drake hadn't come home. Kyna sighed and decided to pretend as always that she never noticed what time he'd came in. She washed her plate and utensils and got ready for bed.

She laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Usually a heavy sleeper, Kyna never had a problem falling asleep. But lately she felt a creeping fear that this time she might not wake up. She couldn't explain why.

It started a few weeks ago when she dreamt of being in a field of flowers. A dense forest laid in front of her and behind her stood a doorway made of stone covered in thick moss. As thick as the silence of the place.

She'd stood there at awe of all the green, red, and blues but then panic slowly creeps into her veins. And she'd want nothing more than to get out of there. And go home. 

Too many dreams like that for so many nights turned her into a night owl. Which meant she wasn't getting her beauty sleep.

Kyna stared at the ceiling above her and counted the flecks of paint on the ceiling. She'd made it to almost two hundred when her eyes finally drooped closed. She barely could tell what time it was but the bang of metal from the living room meant that her brother was home. The second time she heard the same sound, Kyna was sure she'd dreamt it.

But it didn't matter. She was back in the field. And she wasn't alone.