Pathways through Pages

               “Hey, Jason! Have you gotten the new books in yet?” Piper called as she crossed over to him, resting elbows on his shoulders and peering at the book in his lap.

                “Not yet. Leo ran off to go get them.” He replied, sweeping a bit of Piper’s soft brown hair from his face as she leaned over him.

                “Whatcha reading, then?” She asked, tucking the strand behind her ear.

                “The last book. Again.”

                “This is—what—the thirteenth time you’ve read it?” Piper asked as she sat beside him, squeezing into the chair and resting head on his shoulder.

                “No, Pipes. 7th.”

                “How come you like them so much?”

                “Same reason Frank is obsessed with Tuesday Troubles.”

                “Well that’s just because he’s weird. And he’s Frank.”

                “And he’s Frank.” Jason echoed with a chuckle.

                “So, really, why do you love them so much?”

                “I just find them so fascinating. The daily life of someone whose parent isn’t a god or a demigod or a monster or anything. It’s so interesting. “ He said, closing the book, the scar on his upper lip rippling as his skin stretched into a warm smile.

                “But we fight monsters and evil demigods and gods and titans and stuff. Is that not interesting enough for you? I don’t see how a book about a normal person’s life would pull you in so much.” She reasoned, resting her head on his shoulder and looking up at him, her choppy brown hair flopping down and draping over his chest and managing to find its way into his mouth.

                He chuckled and pulled the strand of hair from his mouth. “I just love how they don’t fight monsters or anything, and yet they still have conflicts. They’re lives are the same day after day, and yet they still manage to have variety and issues and worries. It’s such a completely different way of life.”

                “Yeah, but that’s not real. No one’s life is peaceful.”

                “I know. But it’s fun to think about.”

                “Can’t deny you there, Jason.”

                “What if in some different universe, they were real, and they read books about us?”

                Piper laughed. “You certainly do have quite the imagination, Mr. Grace.”