Following Mimir's directions, Atreus travelled to a quiet part of the city and found the jewellery store he had recommended, Sindri's Treasure Trove.
Inside the store, a man of short stature, hair combed back into a pony tail, vigorously scrubbed the glass display cases with a glass cloth.
"Don't touch that, I just cleaned it!" Sindri exclaimed, his hand reaching out as if to stop Atreus from putting his fingers on the glass, when he had made no attempt to do so.
"I wasn't going to."
"I mean… welcome to my store! How can I help you, today?" Sindri inquired, quickly changing his focus from cleaning to attending to his customer.
"Do you make custom jewellery?" Atreus asked.
"I sure do. What did you have in mind?"
"Uh… A jade stone with the letter a carved in it." Atreus listed what he thought Angrboda would like. A vibrant green stone to contrast with her ginger hair and the initial of her name for a personal touch.
"What type of chain will you be wanting? There's some nice ones here." Sindri asked Atreus for his preference of chain and gestured towards examples of necklaces from the spotless glass cases. Finding one he liked, Atreus pointed to a sturdy, interconnected silver chain.
"A curb chain. An excellent choice." Sindri complimented Atreus on his taste.
"Can you engrave the letter in gold, too?" Atreus asked. The gold necklaces in the display, giving him the idea to ask for a shiny embellishment that would make the letter easier to see.
"Yes, I can. Any particular shape for the stone? I can shape it into squares, ovals—"
"A tear drop!" Atreus blurted out. A tear drop, reminiscent of soothing drops of rain would make an ideal gift for Angrboda.
"That'll be seventy five dollars." Sindri calculated, as Atreus took off his backpack and rummaged through it to find the bank notes. He really should buy a wallet one of these days.
"Just so you know, I require payment upfront. How will you be paying for this?" Sindri added. By the looks of things, it would be cash. Probably crawling with germs.
"Cash." Atreus answered and placed the exact amount due in bank notes, albeit a little crumpled, on the counter.
"I don't know where that's been, but thanks." Sindri thanked Atreus and pinched the notes with the tips of his fingers as if they were a dirty sock and placed them in the cash register.
"I can get this done in one day. You can pick it up tomorrow if you'd like." Sindri gave Atreus an estimate. Just the kind of news Atreus wanted to hear.
"Yes! That'll be just in time for her birthday." Atreus cheered, glad to hear that everything was going smoothly.
"Whose birthday?" Sindri asked, unable to resist asking who the gift was intended for. Despite his attentiveness to keeping things clean and fearing the germs they carried. Sindri always loved hearing from his customers about how their day was going or any stories behind the jewellery they chose.
"A girl at school."
"Don't go anywhere!" Sindri said. Rushing to the cash register and taking a ten dollar note out of the register and giving it to Atreus.
"What's this for?" Atreus asked, wondering why Sindri was giving him his money back.
"To buy her flowers. I appreciated the sentiment, consider it a discount." Sindri replied with a sheepish smile. Atreus seemed young to Sindri. The girl he was buying flowers for, would most likely be his first date. Moved by Atreus buying her a present, Sindri wanted him to make a good impression, so he gladly took some money off his payment.
"Thanks. See you tomorrow!" Atreus thanked Sindri and waved him good-bye as he left the store.
With his first objective completed, Atreus took the bus to a shopping centre and bought an item he'd been coveting for half of the year; a Wii console and the latest Legend of Zelda game. Game in his backpack and heavy box in hand, Atreus was thankful that the bus he was taking went directly to a stop a block away from his house. If not, his muscles would surely have been given a workout.
After a short trip, Atreus arrived home and knocked on the door with his elbow since his hands were full. Impatiently refusing place the box down before knocking.
"You've been busy." Kratos noted, when he noticed the package in his son's arms after opening the door.
"Yeah…" Atreus said, feeling a little self-conscious. After all, it wasn't everyday that he came home from school carrying the fruits of his very profitable labour.
"Put it in the living room. I've made dinner."
"Yes, sir!" Atreus chirped and ran inside the house. Taking off his school uniform, Atreus ignored the small mustard stain on the shirt hanging from the chair in his room and changed to his home clothes.
Taking a seat at the kitchen table, Atreus dug into the plate of delectable looking lamb chops and mashed potatoes. His appetite ravenous after a long and busy day of learning and carrying heavy game consoles. Dinner was usually a time reserved for eating and making conversation about what had happened at school. That night, Atreus' sole priority was filling up his stomach. Content with watching his son appreciate the dinner he'd cooked, Kratos enjoyed his meal quietly. Until finally, Atreus broke the silence.
"Today I found out a solar eclipse is going to be visible next week in science class. Can we go see it?"
"Why do you want to see the moon obscuring the sun?" Kratos asked, failing to see why his son would want to see a celestial object blotting out the sun.
"Because I've never seen an eclipse before and I want to do something special…" Atreus said, words trailing off. The pleading in his voice stirring Kratos' compassion and reminding him that if something mattered to his son, then he should strive to fulfil it.
"What time will it be taking place?"
"Oh, I forgot that part." Atreus admitted, after remembering that he'd stopped paying attention to the little details during that time.
"You can tell me later." Kratos assured him, as he cleared both their plates from the table.
—
On the day of Angrboda's birthday, all Atreus could think about was giving her his present. His gut filled with a nervous buzz, the challenge of math equations seemed like nothing when his own anticipation was bent on consuming him. Eventually, his torment came to an end and the final period of the day was over.
Approaching Angrboda at her locker, Atreus pulled out a black box containing the pendant from behind his back and offered it to her.
"Angrboda. I heard it was your birthday. This is for you."
Flipping open the box, Angrboda took a moment to take in the sight of the exquisite pendant that lay before her.
"No one's ever given me something like this before. It's beautiful." Angrboda savoured the present Atreus had given to her.
"You were so helpful and nice to me. I wanted to give you in something in return."
"Thank you, Atreus. It means a lot." Angrboda hugged Atreus' shoulder with her free arm, as she held the box in her other hand.
Heading out of the school's corridors, Angrboda waved goodbye to Atreus. Not moving from his spot to cherish the memory as it lingered in his mind, the lovestruck Atreus' reverie was broken by the imposing voice of Magni, a student three grades above him.
"Hey, freak! You think a girl like her, would like someone as pathetic as you?"
"I feel sorry for you, if you do." Magni's brother, Modi sneered at Atreus. Adding on to Magni's insult, like a hunting dog assisting his owner. It was all that Atreus could tolerate.
"Shut up! Don't talk to me like that!"
"You hear that Modi? The little runt's got something to say. Maybe he should go home and cry to mommy about it!" Magni mocked Atreus and laughed about him with his brother, like two idiots. Feeling the rage rising inside him, Atreus diverted his attention to calming his anger. Focus Atreus! Don't let them rile you up.
But the anger was almost too strong to quell. Thoughts turning to his father, Atreus wondered what he would do. Gifted with powerful muscles. Kratos had it in him to win any fight he picked, but he also exercised restraint. He took control of his anger before it got the better of him. Choosing to get involved with these brothers would not be a wise decision.
Deciding that the fight would end with words instead of fists, Atreus cursed under his breath and walked away.
—
That afternoon, Atreus took refuge in his game. Playing for more than an hour without taking breaks to eat and getting upset over minor setbacks.
From his vantage point in the kitchen, Kratos saw that Atreus seemed to stalling in one area. Smashing objects in the game indiscriminately. Suspecting that Atreus' frustrations stemmed from something more than just the game, Kratos observed what was happening on the screen in the search for answers.
"I may not know much about games, but I don't think the quest is to smash pottery so excessively."
"You just don't get it!" Atreus snapped at Kratos' pointless insight and faced away from him. Anything to get him off his case. As his thoughts raced, trying to figure out what he would say next to cover up what he was truly feeling, Kratos asked Atreus what was really going on.
"Then tell me what it's about."
Placing the controller down, Atreus looked at the face of his father who was ready to listen to him and told him, "I gave Angrboda a birthday present and then Magni and Modi talked to me like I wasn't even worthy of talking to her."
Seeing Atreus quickly wipe his nose on his sleeve and blinking rapidly, Kratos could tell that he was on the verge of tears. As far as he knew, two boys had taken it upon themselves to upset his son. He frowned at the thought and took a moment to think, before comforting Atreus.
"They have never gotten to know you. Their shallow opinions hold no value."
"But what if they were right?" Atreus contested what his father had just told him, falling into the trap of believing their hurtful words.
"How did the girl react?"
"What? Uh… she was really happy I got something for her." Atreus answered, surprised by the sudden change in topic.
"Then you have made someone happy. If they cannot see your worth, then they are blind."
"Thank you, father." Atreus smiled, when he heard his father's encouraging words.
—
That night, as Kratos lay in his bed, thoughts of Atreus being tormented kept him from slumber. He had been able to repair Atreus' self-worth this time, but what more scathing words from bullies would Atreus have to endure? It was a question that stayed with him, until he finally fell asleep.
In his dream, Kratos was transported to a snowy field. Lit by the radiant rays of the sun, around the moon that obscured it. Ahead of him, the silhouette of Atreus made whole stood in the snow, at the mercy of two shadow wolves prowling towards him.
"Father, help me!"
Kratos heard the voice of Atreus crying out for help. But the dream would not allow Kratos to run to him. The sun had reached the end of its life and grew brighter and bigger until it enveloped everything, ending the dream with a searing flash of light. Whatever perception of the dream Kratos held was gone.
Squinting his eyes to rid the bleariness from his vision after waking up, memories of the nightmare from the night before returned to Kratos. Helpless to save his son from peril, the world around him in the process of being wiped out, Kratos felt relieved that it only belonged in the world of dreams.
Getting out of his bed, Kratos got changed and put on a brown sweater when he felt the morning's chill. A pity it could not soothe the heaviness in his eyes from the troublesome sleep, Kratos thought to himself.
When Kratos entered the kitchen, what he saw was far from what he was expecting. Atreus had not slept in like he always did on a Saturday and was seated at the table still dressed in his pyjamas, eating pancakes. How long had he been asleep?
"Father, are you OK? I waited for you for a long time, but you didn't come out."
"I did not rest well last night." Kratos answered honestly and stared at the clock in the kitchen.
"So you had to sleep it off until noon?" Atreus asked, with a very deliberately worded question. But the boy was right. He had slept for too long.
"…Yes."
"I got bored of waiting for you, do you want some pancakes?" Atreus quickly changed the subject and offered Kratos what he had made in his absence.
Sitting down at the kitchen table, Kratos placed a pancake on the plate Atreus had set out for him. Neither under cooked, nor burnt, in a well-rounded shape, Kratos took a bite and praised Atreus' work.
"It is well made." Kratos said, making Atreus smile.
Still feeling weary, Kratos closed his eyes a little longer than a blink, in an effort to stave off his fatigue. An effort that Atreus had picked up on.
Knowing that his father held a passing interest in watching the game he played, whenever he could. Atreus offered him a way he could stay alert.
"If you want to take it easy today, you can sit with me and watch me play my game."
"I would like that." Kratos accepted his son's offer and the two spent a while in each other's company, talking about the game, until Kratos no longer felt tired.
It was a challenge choosing how a Ragnarok Easter Egg could symbolically happen and how the story would end, but I hope you guys liked the result.