Sand in an Hourglass
Introduction
One Week Prior
"In every end, there is also a beginning."
― Libba Bray, A Great and Terrible Beauty
Georgia is home to many places and things: science centers, botanical gardens, scenic highways, and everything else you could ever expect to find in the South. One of those things is a small, four-bedroom country house with a leaky roof and squeaky floor boards that cannot be found on any tourist guides. This house is a home to various species of spiders that continuously weave webs in the corners of its rooms and possibly some termites that munch on the old wood supports of the floor.
There's a million little things to see here: worn paths at the end of the driveway where the bus stops to pick up the kids every morning and let them off every afternoon, a faded pastel mailbox that only seems to collect bills and junk mail, and even a willow tree that appears to be the best hiding spot for both birds and hide-and-seek participants. There's a streak of spray paint on the front porch that appears to have been scrubbed until it's just a few shades darker than the wood.
Inside the front door awaits the kitchen, clean but lived in. The refrigerator is a bulletin board of crayon-drawn stick people and sticky notes. There's a thin cloud of smoke from the pie burning in the oven and the shrill screech of the fire alarm mounted to the wall, which is accompanied by an annoyed sound from the living room. A few moments later, the timer on the dark-stained wood counter dings.
It's a normal home, imperfect and flawed. But, it isn't just some house.
This is the home of Kymma and Nolan Gates and their three children.
The squeak of worn down brakes cuts through the sound of the fire alarm that Nolan is currently waving a dish cloth at in agitation. The clock above the stove reads '3:00' and signal that the sound of brakes and laughter outside is probably the children returning from school. Finally, the alarm is shut off and the house is once more immersed in silence.
"I'm pretty sure you could burn water." Kymma laughs from the doorway, arms crossed as she shakes her head.
"I followed the directions!" Nolan's eyes are narrowed, but there's a hint of playfulness in his voice.
"Really?" Kymma shakes her head, picking up the paper that sat on the counter. "Did you turn the temperature down after the first thirty minutes?"
"I… Well… That seemed like it'd take longer so…"
"Then you didn't follow the directions."
"I just wanted some pie!"
"Pie?" Gabriel, the youngest of the two's children, asks with hope glimmering in his eyes as the front door opens the rest of the way. Aedan, the middle child who was quick to correct anyone that he was now fifteen, stepped in after him as he ran his fingers through his dirty-blond hair. Ashley, the eldest of the three with a year on Aedan, enter in behind her younger brother. Aedan's too busy texting to notice the conversation being held between the three and makes a B-line for his room upstairs. Ashley glares at her brother before she starts digging through her backpack for that night's homework. She always does it ahead of time.
"Dad burnt it," Kymma smiled sadly. Gabriel poked his bottom lip out and crossed his arms over his chest. The woman shook her head and picked up the small boy, turning to her husband—who had cut himself a piece of the burnt pie and was stuffing his face with it—with a small shrug. "…But I guess you can have some anyway."
"Burnt doesn't mean inedible!"
"Mom, why did you even marry him?" Aedan had returned from his room to grab a drink, but was currently stopped at the counter with an incredulous look on his face.
"Because I'm irresistible." Nolan grinned, earning himself an eyeroll from Kymma and Ashley and a disgusted look from his eldest son.
"Because he couldn't cook and I was afraid he'd starve to death."
"You know, I don't think you ever told us how you two even met." Ashley comments from over her math homework, leaning back against the back of her chair beside the small table in the kitchen. Nolan and Kymma exchange quick looks.
"It's a boring story." Nolan shrugs after a few seconds of hesitation.
"Wait, wait, let me guess, you two nerds met at some Shakespeare convention, didn't you?" Aedan grins, opening the fridge door and fetching himself a drink. He popped the tab as he watched the two carefully.
"Shakespeare?" Nolan raises an eyebrow before he looks over at Kymma.
"Romeo and Juliet."
"Oh, that Shakespeare."
"Hey, guys, what's the date?" Ashley interjects, glancing between the faces of her family members.
Suddenly, Nolan looks crestfallen. "It's the fifteenth." Kymma glances over at him with a sad, knowing smile before she sets Gab back down. She crosses the few steps between them and wraps her arms around him silently. Nolan stands motionless for a few moments before he wraps his arms around her in return and kisses the top of her head. Gabriel squishes himself between the two, hugging his father's stomach.
"Group hug!" Gab squeals with a giggle, the perfect exclamation for a six year old.
"Nah," Aedan waves a hand before Ashley grabs him by the wrist and pulls him over to the rest of the small family. They stand around in the kitchen, hugging each other for what was only a matter of minutes before they returned to their normal everyday activities. Except, one thought lingered in the parents' minds.
Today was the twentieth anniversary of the day the portal between Earth and Wizard City opened for the final time.
Introductions: short, sweet, and not-so-to-the-point. Anyway, I've got most of the characters I need to get this thing going! It was brought to my attention that you can't post on the forum if you don't have an account and I know a lot of the reviewers are anonymous. So, if you want to submit a character then give me the basics about them and I'll see what role they fit! :D