When Aru opened her eyes, she found herself in the only place in the world that made her feel like she could breathe a bit easier, a place where broken things could be fixed, where all the answers lay in plain sight, where the aisles held the rare perfume of possibility tinged ever so slightly with the sweetness of mulch and wood chips….
“Aru, you really need to get over your Home Depot obsession,” said Nikita, staring down with her hands firmly planted on her hips. “Can’t you dream about someplace else?”
“Nope,” said Aru.
Of course, in the dream, Home Depot didn’t really look the same. First, Aru was sitting in an armchair that seemed to be made of cotton candy for no apparent reason. For another, the aisle banner over her head saidFLOORING, but instead of the shelves being filled with things like wood laminate or vinyl plank, she was staring at a rotating row of moon jellyfish and miniature thunderclouds. At the end of the aisle, which somehow seemed as if it were hundreds of feet away and yet close enough to touch, stood a huge podium where an endless supply of doors rotated. Staring at it made Aru’s heart race faster.
“We took a wrong turn and ended up in your subconscious,” said Nikita, pointing at the doors. “You’ve gota lotof stuff rattling around in there.”
“Everyone does!” said Sheela, materializing beside her twin and beaming at Aru. “Although yours is a little…different.”
Aru peeked at the podium of rotating doors. Each, unfortunately, was labeled.
A pink one readWHO AM I IF NOT A DEMIGOD?
A black one read“LUKE, I AM YOUR FATHER” AND OTHER PARENT-RELATED HORRORS.
A white one readDO I QUOTE MOVIES BECAUSE I DON’T TRUST MY OWN THOUGHTS?
A door in a garish shade of red was labeledTHE THING THAT HAPPENED WITH AIDEN/FEELINGS ARE INCONVENIENT.
“What’sthatone?” asked Nikita, raising an eyebrow.
“OKAY, THAT’S IT! OUT!” said Aru, clapping once. The dream Home Depot vanished and was replaced with a fuzzy rendering of the lobby of the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture. “Why can’t you be like normal little sisters and raid my closet or something? Why do you have to poke around in my brain?”
“I like your brain,” said Sheela. “It’s funny.”
“And I would rather wear an actual sack of potatoes than the clothes in your closet,” said Nikita flatly.
Aru glared at her.
“I’ll get the others!” said Sheela brightly, before vanishing once more.
Nikita tapped her foot on the dream floor. Today she was wearing a long red velvet sorcerer-esque robe with gold trim on the cuffs and a matching sleeping turban. She flicked her wrist and thorny green vines twisted up her arm, sprouting bloodred flowers.
“I got worried,” said Nikita, not looking at Aru. “I hate that. It messes with my designs.”
“I love you, too,” said Aru.
Nikita grunted, but a slight smile touched her lips. “Things aren’t looking so good in the Otherworld, Aru. People are nervous.”
“I know.”
The thorny vines climbed down Nikita’s hand and tumbled onto the dream floor. Their vivid green had been replaced with a ghostly pallor. Aru knew her sister well enough to understand that sometimes her creations spoke what she couldn’t bear to say out loud.
“Everything will be okay,” said Aru, but her tone didn’t sound very convincing.
“You can’t promise that,” said Nikita. “And what about Sheela’s dreams?” Nikita stared into her eyes. “Aru, what about the battle? What happens if welose?”
Aru was saved from answering by a loudpop! In a flash, Brynne, Mini, and Sheela appeared.
“Aru!” said Mini, hugging her.
“Glad to see you’re okay,” said Aru.
“Apparently I’m still unconscious,” said Mini, wrinkling her nose. “Acute inhalation injury is serious. Any more exposure to the poison and we could have, well, you know.”
“Rudy brought us back to his place, and we’re recovering now,” said Brynne. “It was really close….We almost didn’t make it out in time.”
