Maja pulled into her parent's driveway, next to her father's Audi. Backpack and phone in hand, she rang the bell and heard the frantic barking of the family dog, Munchy, a Beagle-Icelandic sheephound mix, lovingly named by Johann.
"Hey! Munchy! Shush!" Maja heard her mother, Katrina, scold Munchy as she opened the door to her daughter, bringing her in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "You need to keep the house key so you can come visit more often," She lovingly admonished.
"I'm happy to see you too, Mom." Maja sighed as she made her way in, immediately giving Munchy a torrent of dramatic kisses to the mutt's face as he licked her cheeks eagerly, "I missed you too, Munchy." She swept him into her arms, nuzzling her face into his soft fur, "You better have been a good boy!"
"Oh, Johann has been overfeeding him again, he had to go on a diet," Maja dropped her jaw, gazing at the dog in her arms in dramatic shock, "Munchy was chunky again? Shame on Johann," As his name left her mouth, she heard footsteps at the top of the stairs, where Johann was staring at his mother and sister, before coming halfway down, and wordlessly T-posing and playing some random audio Maja wasn't familiar with. With his dumb show, he turned around and went back upstairs.
"Good to see you too, Jon Snow!" Maja teased as she let Munchy down, who still frantically squirmed out of her arms, landing awkwardly before scurrying off into the kitchen, his nails clacking on the hardwood floor, making Maja chuckle.
"I'm glad nothing has changed much. Where's dad?"
"In his office. Freddy! Maja's here!" Katrina called, clapping her hands twice, something that she always did when she called for someone's attention.
"Coming!" Her father's voice answered from his office down the hallway. He entered the foyer as Maja was removing her shoes and making her way towards the kitchen, wordlessly bringing her in for a hug.
After getting settled for the weekend, Katrina made Maja's favorite dinner, having bought her favorite dessert pastry ahead of time, and the four sat down to eat, with Munchy eating loudly from his bowl in the corner of the dining room.
Johann rambled about random things that Maja had little interest in, eating her food in silence as she listened to him and her parents chit-chat. Then Katrina turned her attention to her daughter, curious as to how she'd been doing, and eager to know what happened with the job Maja had told her about.
"Oh… um… well…" Maja hesitated, anticipating the guilt and shame of the situation, "I got offered the job… but… I said no." She finally said, and the dining room fell silent. Katrina's eyes were wide, having not expected that answer.
"What? How come?" Maja shrugged, unable to articulate an answer, which Frederick struggled to understand.
"You've worked so hard in your field, I thought this was your dream job." He said, and Maja couldn't help but pointedly glare at her father.
"I know that," she replied, a bit too harshly, "I'm angry at myself, and I don't know why I said no. It just-… it didn't feel right somehow." She took another bite, chewing her food hard.
"Maja," her father warned about her tone.
"I'm sorry Dad, but, I'm already frustrated with myself. I don't want a lecture, and I know you want the best, but I'm not in the mood." Frederick bit his tongue, receiving a look from his wife to not pursue an argument.
The family finished dinner on a slightly tense note. As they gathered in the kitchen to clean up and put dishes away, Maja offered to take Munchy out on an evening walk before going to bed.
"Yes, take him out. I think it'll help clear your head." With a quick nod, Maja grabbed the leash, to which Munchy came trotting over with a huge smile on his face, jumping up on Maja, who laughed as she clipped the leash on.
"C'mon, good boy. Let's go." She shut the door behind her, and together, they made their way down her street.
As they walked along the sidewalk, Maja took in a deep, shaky breath, collecting herself. Why did everything feel so… wrong? It was like something had shifted, and she was at a loss for words on how to explain it. Her mind recalled the bizarre interaction with the living wave, and how could she forget such a thing? She could feel her brain buzzing with too many questions and not enough answers.
She stopped at a corner, Munchy gazing back at her, and then facing the street heading upwards, where an overlook of her neighborhood was. It was a nice little spot, a place where she and her first boyfriend came on a date. It had been nearly two years since she last saw him; when they split. None of that mattered anymore, though.
What mattered to her was figuring out what it was she wanted, and what she truly wanted to do.
As she and Munchy reached the overlook, she was pleasantly surprised to catch a glimpse of the Aurora. What were usually faint streaks of green off in the distance, were surprisingly intensely blue this evening, and right overhead, which was a bit unusual, but she appreciated the sight nonetheless. She strained her ears in an attempt to catch the static sound she'd learned accompanied the Aurora, but given her proximity to her home city, she knew she wouldn't hear it this time.
Turning her gaze upwards, she observed the stars, mentally naming each constellation as she found them like a game of I Spy. She found the North Star instantly, finding comfort in its light.
A silly light bulb went off, and she felt oddly self-conscious about it even though there was no one else at the lookout point. With a reserved sigh, she whispered a little wish of sorts to the North Star.
"Open my eyes to what I'm not seeing, help me understand. Help me find my way." A shudder ran through her as a chilly breeze ruffled her ponytail, and Munchy began to whine, getting her attention. The Aurora seemed to glow a little brighter, and in an instant, were gone.
The mood around her shifted, and she took it as a sign to head home. Once inside, she saw the kitchen had been cleaned up, and her parents were out on the back deck with the fire pit lit, and she could hear her brother's TV on upstairs. She unleashed Munchy and made her way into her bedroom, unpacking her things for the weekend.
She plugged in her laptop to charge and went to brush her teeth. After cleaning up for the night, she debated on watching the sky once more through her beloved telescope, perched on the shelf of her window seat. The telescope had seen better days, its silver paint chipping and the black plastic dented.
But just setting her eyes on her telescope reminded her how drained she was, and she decided to get some sleep. Her mother had done her bedsheets and made her bed for her, something she always did when Maja came home. She put her laptop on charge, put her books on her nightstand, and settled into bed, quickly falling asleep.