The Story

Before John even got a chance to sit on the couch, his mother grabbed his arm

"Hey!" exclaimed John as she pulled his sleeve up. On the outside of his forearm was a dark shade that resembled a birthmark. She gave a slight sigh of relief at the sight of it and let go of his hand.

"We were worried John" explained Laneid in a grave tone; he only called John formally if something serious was going on (or when John was in trouble).

They were all sitting in the living room which consisted of; a small glass coffee table surrounded by grey fiber couches, a book shelf on one wall, a piano on the opposite wall and a large window overlooking a green field with a bushy forest in the background on the third (opposite the stairs). The floor was covered in a fluffy brown carpet, making the living room feel quite cozy.

"That display of power was not supposed to happen" said their mother; "and it might mean there's a fault in the barrier"

"Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves" said Laneid, leaning his elbows on his knees with his hands together; "I will have a meeting tomorrow to confirm and fix whatever's happened"

"Are we gonna move?" asked Valery

"I don't want to move again!" piped Lyuba

"Let's not," said Laneid in a stern voice; "get ahead of ourselves. We still don't know the situation," he observed John; "how are you feeling?"

"Pretty normal," replied John, rubbing his hands; "just a bit drained"

"I'll get you some tea," said his mother, getting up; "it should help with your energy"

Notna silently sat beside John; he seemed to be deep in thought.

Valery was yawning and Lyuba was humming gently to herself as she combed the hair of a Barbie she found lying beside the couch.

Aliana was on her phone, seemingly paying no attention to the present conversation.

"Your mark looks fine," their father nodded, as John rolled down his sleeve; "we'll go tomorrow to visit Rosco; he'll know what happened." Laneid gave a weary smile, "if all goes well, you'll be in school for your first day without a problem"

John smiled clenching his fist; "yes!"

Notna pat his back

"So, all in all," started Laneid with a cheerful voice, their mother came in with a tray of tea; putting it on the coffee table and sitting beside him; "how did you feel about your exam?"

John's heart was racing; he was excited to tell everybody about his bizarre adventure;

"well, you wouldn't believe it!" he started, taking a sip from his cup and wincing; "when we parted ways, dad fell through a hole in the hallway," He explained hurriedly, "I ended up stuck in an infinite hall. After which, I heard some kind of noise and decided to follow it until I got to a place in the wall where it sounded loudest," he looked excitedly at Laneid; "for the first time ever I finally managed to piggy back on sound to jump!"

The two little ones applauded, Notna and Laneid smiled, Aliana snorted.

"What?" John asked Aliana

"Hate to break it to you," answered Aliana; "but that test was an illusion. So technically you haven't succeeded in piggybacking on sound" she continue typing on her phone; "that still remains a theory"

"Oh c'mon!" protested John

"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't figure that out sooner" said Aliana, not taking her eyes off of her phone