INTO THE VOID

CHAPTER 20: BREAKFAST

Xaviere took a bite out of the pancakes stacked on his plate; they were really tasty. She gave him that nostalgia of Saturday mornings; a feeling he had not felt in a while. There he was, eating homemade breakfast in casual clothes with not an apparent, single care in the world.

“These taste really good.” Xaviere said smiling holding his fork up as he looked in the direction of Petrichor.

“They aren’t really that good.” she answered. “I don’t like the whole bake mix. I would rather use actual flour.”

“Well, I think they are amazing; just like every other thing you do.” Xaviere said with a smirk on his face. Petrichor blushed. He always caught her off guard with those impromptu compliments. One would think she would be used to it by now.

“If you think this is nice, you should try them with freshly picked blueberries.”

“How did you get so good at cooking?” Xaviere asked.

“My adopted parents had a farm house far out in the country. We went there twice a year to cool off and stuff like that. I t was during such trips I picked an interest in the whole food thing. Baking, stir fries, soups; just general food making, I got interested and started learning. Oh my God, there was a time I was obsessed with the food channel. I was always watching all those cooking competitions and stuff. There was a time I almost burnt down the house trying to make lasagna.”

“Oh my God… did that really happen?” Xaviere asked with shock on his face.

“Yes it did, it was a horrible disaster. I was freaking traumatized for days. I didn’t cook anything for a long time. I didn’t go near the kitchen… I did not even make coffee. I felt so bad. I would have destroyed a lot of property that day and who knows I may have hurt a lot of people.

“But wasn’t intentional; you shouldn’t beat yourself up about things like that…” Xaviere said interrupting her speech.

“I know right… I know better now but back then I felt so horrible. It haunted me for months.”

“So, what got you cooking again?” Xaviere asked.

“My mother…Mrs. Valentine, she’s such a sweet soul. She called me into the kitchen one day and asked me for instructions on how to cook Spaghetti Bolognese; a meal she taught me how to do. Italian foods are her spatiality so it was kind of a shock for me hearing her ask me for a recipe; recipe I was very sure was child’s play to her. I got into the kitchen and told her step by step what to do, what ingredients to add and all and she followed my instructions very religiously. During my ‘teaching session’, she asked me to help her chop some peppers which I did. Being in the kitchen, perceiving the aroma of cooking food, hearing the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board; that experience reminded me of how much I loved cooking. I started cooking again, slowly, gradually, carefully; I started cooking again.”

“That’s so beautiful. Sometimes all we really need someone who believes in us and lets us know that they do. We need to hear those calm, reassuring words of encouragement. Those could go such a long way but sometimes we fail to realize that all people really need is our presence.” Xaviere said.

“That is so true. Communication is underrated these days and by communication I mean face to face actually talking kind of communication. The advent of phones and social media has made people overlook the power of physically talking to each other. Sometimes you need that presence, you need to hear the words, you need to feel their breath; you need something real, something tangible…”

“Sometimes a hug is enough.” Xaviere said complete her chain of thought. At his words, she froze, slowly smiled and encased him in a hug.

“I wish we could just be here forever.” Xaviere said with his hands still wrapped around her.

“I wish that too but unfortunately I have to be on my way.” Petrichor said.

“Do you really have to go?” Xaviere asked.

“Yes, I do. My laundry won’t do itself.” She responded.

“Why can’t you just use your powers?” Xaviere asked.

“C’mon stop acting like you don’t remember the rules; that’s one of the first thing we learn during training. No using powers outside the VOID except when extremely.

“Well, this is an extreme necessity.” Xaviere said.

“What is my laundry?” Petrichor asked laughing.

“No, our being together…” Xaviere said. Petrichor laughed finally pulling away from his hug.

“I really need to go now.” She said.

“OK… let me get dressed.” Xaviere replied. Petrichor sat on the bed while Xaviere changed. As he got into his clothes, she kept herself busy with a novel she saw on the bedside table. She flipped through a few pages, skimming through paragraphs. It was quite an interesting book set in French medieval times. It was a love story surrounded by a lot of violence; she felt intrigued.

“I never knew you did french romance or any romance at all for that matter.” Petrichor said.

“Oh, that’s a book Sarah forced on me. She’s obsessed with that kind of cheeky stuff.” Xaviere said.

“It’s not cheeky; I think it is really romantic and sweet.” She responded.

“You have access to The VOID Library and all human knowledge but you get excited at cliché French romantic works filled with machismo and unlikely relationships?” Xaviere asked. Petrichor laughed.

“You won’t get it; it’s a girl thing.” Petrichor said.

“Whatever you say; take the book, it’s not due till a week. Hopefully you can finish it before then and give me a comprehensive summary because there’s no way I'm reading this.” Xaviere said. Petrichor put the book into her handbag and they walked out of the room. Before they left, Xaviere turned off many appliances except the refrigerator.

After they left the dorm, they walked a little before Xaviere stopped a cab for her. She hugged him really tight and promised to call as she got into the vehicle. Xaviere stood at the side of the road and watched the vehicle zoom off. He stood there watching until his eyes could no longer keep up.

Xaviere walked to Alice’s shop. He had not been there in a while so he intended to say hi.

“WXYZ, how have you been?” Alice asked smiling very brightly. She was such a sweet, warm person; someone Xaviere felt comfortable being around.

“I’ve good, how are you?” Xaviere asked.

“Not too bad as you can see…” Alice responded. “You never come here on Saturday; what brings you by?” Alice asked.

“I haven’t been here in a while and honestly I miss you. So, I just thought, ‘Why not drop by and say hi?’” Xaviere said.

“That’s so sweet Xaviere…” Alice said. “…walking here in the cold, just to see me; that’s really nice; you know what, I’ve got just the thing… some hot coffee to warm you up.”

“Alice you really don’t have to.” Xaviere protested.

“Stop that nonsense; free coffee for WXYZ… on the house.” Alice reiterated

“I just had cocoa a few moments ago; you really don’t need to…”

“Nonsense” Alive blurted cutting Xaviere short. “Where I am from, rejecting a gift of drink is the ultimate disrespect.” Alice said. She was of Irish decent; her parents were immigrants. Although she grew up in Canada, she liked to make so much reference to her ancestral decent. She will talk about black cats and bad luck, mirrors and seven years of misfortune and all the cliché Irish stuff; she even had a heavy Irish accent. Xaviere had no choice than to sit down and drink hot coffee at Alice.

As Xaviere was drinking from the paper cup, someone came into the shop. He paid no attention to the person; he was too engrossed in his hot beverage to notice.

“Xaviere…” a voice screamed out. At the sound of his name, Xaviere saw Sarah all dressed in black, wearing layers of clothing in response the cold. “What are you doing here?” Sarah asked as she walked towards his table. He stretched his arm out for a shake but Sarah drew him in for a hug; Xaviere was very embarrassed.

“You two know each other?” Alice asked. Before Xaviere could say anything, Sarah blurted out, “We work together at the library. I never knew you came to Alice’s” Sarah said.

“Yeah, I come here every day except the weekends.” Xaviere said.

“That’s so ironic; I only come here on the weekends.” Sarah responded.

Sarah placed her order and took a seat on the same table as Xaviere. They had a conversation and sipped their coffees.