Evanesterrin

Chapter Five

The next morning Naeren awoke to sunlight streaming in through the window. The light was dazzling, and the sun made a warm square of light on her blankets. Naeren stretched and sat up, blinking at the light. She was disoriented for a moment and panicked, thinking that she must have somehow overslept. Her heart rate sped up as she thought of the punishment she would face for oversleeping...

Then she remembered. She was in the Paradise World! There was no curfew. There was no specific time to wake up. There were no assigned chores, there was no way you were required to address people older or younger than you, there were no specific times to eat, you could eat what you wanted, no rigidly monitored portion sizes, you could wear what you wanted, bathe when you wanted, there was total freedom!

A surge of excitement ran through Naeren as she leaped from the bed and looked out the window. The sunlight illuminated the forest floor behind the hut. There were birds and butterflies happily performing aerial acrobatics and dances as they soared past the window. Naeren smiled as a small butterfly with brightly-colored rainbow wings fluttered down to rest on the outside of the windowsill. Naeren stayed very still as she watched it through the glass, not wanting to scare it away with any sudden movements. The butterfly slowly opened and closed its wings for several moments before it took off, vanishing into the clear blue sky.

Naeren left the window and walked into the bathroom. There was an actual bathtub instead of just a shower. Naeren turned on the water and marveled at the warmth of it as she stripped off her clothes and stepped into the water. Warm water was a rare treat back home. Naeren stretched out in the large tub and let herself sink to the bottom. She looked up through the water, the surface rippling above her and distorting the wooden ceiling of the hut. The warm water enveloped her like a comforting blanket and the quiet was peaceful. The only sound underwater was the sound of Naeren's slow pulse in her ears.

About a minute passed before Naeren sat up, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. It was peaceful, getting to spend as much time bathing as she wanted to. No one was beating on the door yelling that her five minutes of shower time was over.

Naeren took her time finishing her bath, marveling at the scented soaps and lotions. Back home they had nothing as extravagant as these! They only had the standard, unscented, multipurpose soap. Naeren dried off and dressed, leaving her wet hair to hang down her back. The back of her shirt became damp, but she didn't care. She loved the freedom of not having to dry her hair before being seen by anyone. She loved that she had choices.

As Naeren left the bathroom, she entered the small kitchen area and walked over to the table. A platter of donuts, pastries, and other delectable confections sat in the middle of the table next to a steaming thermos of... hot chocolate! Naeren recognized the beverage, although she had only had it once before. It had been a special treat she had gotten for a birthday once. Now there was an entire large thermos of it.

The door to the other bedroom opened, and out stumbled a groggy looking Lumina.

"Good morning!" Naeren said brightly. Lumina only yawned and mumbled in reply, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Early..." Lumina muttered. Then her eyes lit up. "Food!"

Naeren laughed. "Not a morning person, huh?"

"Not at all... I like SLEEP! And I didn't sleep well last night."

"Why not?" Naeren walked to the cupboard and got out two plain white mugs and small blue plates. She walked back to the table and set them down, pouring herself a mug of steaming hot chocolate and sitting down.

"There was someone in my room last night, I think," Lumina said through a mouthful of pastry.

Naeren almost spat out a mouthful of hot chocolate.