The Storm After

Chapter 22: Never Again

(The Next Morning)

The following day came around, the night had faded away and the sun began to rise. Kara was the first one to find herself awake. She had slept in the guest room and shared the bed with Oliver. She sat upright on the edge of the bed and turned to look at him as he still nodded away. He looked peaceful and in solace, a rare occurrence of the norm but something Kara appreciated to witness. She decided to leave him to his rest and exited the bedroom. It was connected directly to the living room they were in last night She had started to make her way through when something strange caught her eye. It was Linda, but she hadn't taken notice of Kara's presence. The unusual thing was that she was levitating with her eyes closed. Her legs were sat crossed and her arms were brought together in the middle. It seemed as if she was meditating. The sight of her doing that gave Kara a familiar feeling and reminded her of Oliver. It drew a smile on her face.

"Aw, that's adorable..." Kara whispered softly, she had spoken aloud her thoughts. Her voice however had reached Linda and instantly caught her by surprise. Her calm look shifted into a panic, her face started to get red and her eyes opened in haste. Linda's composure had been broken and she fell to the ground.

"Mother?! Wh-What are you doing there?!" Linda exclaimed in a high pitched voice, her breathing started to get faster and there was clear confusion on her face.

"I just woke up and when I came here I found you like that. Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your session." Kara said, trying to hold her laughter. She did feel bad for scaring her, Kara never saw her like that before. Linda finally calmed herself down and her breathing returned to normal after processing everything.

"It's alright. I was just not expecting you." Linda said, her voice sounded normal again.

"I'd say. Why are you meditating anyway? Is there something on your mind?" Kara asked, her curiosity took over.

"Yeah. I've been doing this for some time now. It really helps me get my day started. What about you, Mother? Would you like to meditate as well?" Linda asked back.

"Uh, sure. But what would make you think that?" Kara asked.

"Well I... overheard you two last night. You seemed stressed about everything. Maybe this could help with that." Linda answered her, it was made clear that Linda was worried about her. She looked earnest in her invitation and Kara couldn't refuse her.

"Okay, but on one condition." Kara said, her words raised an eyebrow on Linda.

"Um, what would that be?" Linda asked.

"I want you to call me something else, other than 'mother' between us. It's not that I dislike being called that by you, but since we're getting to know each other, I want this to feel more lax and easygoing, y'know." Kara explained, she had gone straight for the point. It was a bit far to ask her of that, but it was the optimal way of easing Kara into this notion of her future kids.

"Oh, okay. I could do that. What should I call you then?" Linda asked.

"How about just 'Mom'? There's no need to be so formal all the time. Especially when it's just the two of us." Kara replied, her answer took Linda back a bit. She pondered what Kara told her for a moment and then finally looked back at her with a small smile.

"Alright, mom. You ready to meditate?" Linda asked once more, this time she seemed much more energetic. Linda had a big smile plastered on her face.

"Sure, go ahead." Kara answered, accepting her invitation. Linda's happiness from Kara acceptance beamed off her like a sun. It was a different kind of energy that Kara hadn't felt from her but one she was willing to discover. Kara couldn't help but add to the good vibes.