A New World

Chapter 7 - Rally

Hayato woke up in a cold sweat from another startling dream. He sat up in his bed, still in a daze as he tried to process his latest revelations and gather his thoughts. A child, a dragon, a woman, and a lion. What did it all mean and what could each one represent? At this point in time, Hayato had no answer. Just like Rouge's most recent vision, this too seemed to be symbolic in nature.

He was at his wit's end in getting answers to these dreams. Maybe it was time to finally reveal what he's been experiencing for the past year to his dad. His dad knew a lot more than he was able to reveal but if he told him dad about his dreams, that could change things. He quickly texted Rouge about what his dad revealed to him the night before as well as the new dream and typed down a few notes before he forgot. As he recollected the dream, his mind went back to the dragon coming out of the abyss. For some reason he couldn't get the picture of the dragon rising out of the abyss out of his mind.

He also remembered Shayo and wrestled within himself if he should bring it up to his new friend as well. Shayo was someone him and Rouge barely knew but yet he volunteered to help them out, but how could he? Leaving him out of it for now was a better option.

He got dressed and headed downstairs with the goal of discussing things with his dad but instead found his mom standing near the dining room window with a cup of tea in hand. It was Grace's morning routine to grab a cup of tea and gaze outside for a few minutes. She enjoyed the way the sunlight shone through the dining room window at a perfect angle during the early morning hours. It was a delight to gaze outside and be enveloped in a comforting warmth at the same time. This morning seemed a bit different to Hayato however. He could see she was in deep thought and almost felt remorseful to break her quiet time. "Mom."

She turned around a bit startled by Hayato's sudden appearance. "Hayato. When did you get back last night?" She was lost in thought and didn't even notice as he made his way downstairs.

"I got back kind of late actually. Dad and I talked for a bit and we just went to bed. Where is he by the way? I need to talk to him."

"He went to the library. He told me he had some research to do and people he needed to see before he headed back to work in two days," Grace said as she turned back to face the window. Hayato noticed his mom was dressed up more than usual. Due to her vibrant and youthful look even for her age, she was often misidentified as Hayato's older sister. She prided herself on her youthful charms and didn't even need makeup or jewelry to turn the attention on her.

However, today was different. She looked revitalized and was ready to take on the world. She was practically a different person. "Are you going to be heading out later? You're dressed up more than usual."

"I'm glad you asked! I made some new friends recently at a book club I joined last week. They invited me to an event today in Newan".

"That sounds like fun. It's good to see you're keeping yourself busy."

"Your mom does a lot more than gardening afterall. Do you want to tag along? It'll be a nice mother-son date," Grace said winking at her son.

"Sure! It's been a while since we've had some time to ourselves, but don't call it a date mom. That's kind of weird."

"Aw, look at my son. No need to be so shy." She hugged Hayato from the back and pinched his cheek.

"Mom, stop. I'm too old for this,"Hayato said as he struggled to escape his mom's embrace.

"You're fun to tease sweetie. I'll head upstairs quick to grab my purse. Thanks for coming along."

"Should I grab my levi-shoes or should we take an airbus?"