My heart was a battlefield of conflicting emotions. I did not know what to do and what was the right thing to do as uncertainty clouded my mind. I found myself unceremoniously ejected from the house, Matt's mother caught in an self-escalating tirade, akin a runaway nuclear chain reaction passed the threshold where it could be stopped.

“You take her in your house and what does she do? She does the one thing she knows, jumps in your son's bed, behind your back, the boy that is just recovering from a serious accident caused by her! Go out! OUT! Leave us!“

How should I have caused his accident? Because he went out to meet me? Because she did not tell him I was there, looking for him, until it was late in the night? Would it make any sense to try and talk to her? Would she listen to me if she is not even listening to her son?

How did it came to this? I must have some hidden talent for ruining relationships like these. Maybe it is a magic skill that I am not aware of. I don't know. To think that weeks ago, she had asked me to call her Kate, and now she does not even want to talk to me! Well done Lores!

No matter how I tried to cope with it in my mind, the fact was that I was being kicked out, and it stung my pride and emotions.

She stormed into my room like a tornado, catching me just after I materialized and was starting to get dressed. She didn't even bother to knock! That poor idiot could've given me an earlier heads-up that she was on her way... Or, maybe he had just woken up shortly before me... Well, I, fucking fuck, had fallen asleep in his bed yesterday! I shouldn't have! Oh, damn!

“Ma, enough! You have no right! You can't just—” Matt's voice echoed from his room, trying fruitlessly to quell the nuclear meltdown.

“I have every right in my own house! You're still recovering, can't she see that?! All I need is for you to catch syphilis or gonorrhea, or who knows what other STD, if she hasn't just broken your bones again!”

His mother's words cut through the air like a knife. I don't think I've ever dressed that quickly in my life. Their voices clashed from opposite ends of the house.

“Ma, please stop! You're talking nonsense! It's not just your house—it's our house! I own half of it!”

“How dare you! Don't you dare tell me to be quiet! I worked hard for this house, not you! You can't throw me out of my own home!”

As I headed for the door, I raised my voice to be heard: “Matt, you can reach me by phone. I'm leaving!”

“Don't leave, Lores! Please!”

As I reached the corridor near the entry door, I glimpsed him through my mana vision, struggling to rise from his bed. Ignoring her, I dashed towards his room.

“Matt, please stay in bed! We'll talk later when things calm down. Please, Matt!”

He glanced at me, then at the fury beside me, her hand resting on my shoulder, likely trying to prevent me from advancing any further.

I sighed. She was caring for him, and I couldn't take that away from him. I didn't want to replace her. Hopefully, he wouldn't strain himself too much.

“Take care of yourself, Matt. We'll catch up later, okay? Goodbye!”

“Okay, goodbye,” he replied, sounding defeated.

It was Friday morning, a beautiful sunny day.

I received a few curious glances from the neighbors as I stepped out of the house.

“Good morning!” greeted the lady from across the street, who was just disposing of some garbage in the garbage bin.

I responded politely, with the background noise of Matt and his mother arguing inside the house.

Poor guy, I had certainly added to his troubles. The neighbor lady looked at me inquiringly, and I simply shrugged. She sighed and raised her hands in resignation as if telling me, 'don't worry, it's not the first time I heard that noise'.

Another elderly man greeted me as he passed by.

I was becoming quite fast popular in the neighborhood. I nodded and replied to the old man, then started my bike, making as little noise as possible.

I arrived at the school feeling hungry and much too early. Maybe I should have gone to that all-you-can-eat buffet instead, but now it was too late for that. I searched for a snack in the surrounding shops.

*

Friday afternoon marked the beginning of our weekend visit to Dreamland, with a special meeting scheduled with Mrs. Thorwal, the widow of the writer. We were set to meet Mrs. Thorwal at her home precisely at 5:00 PM. The meeting was scheduled for thirty minutes, and Tom had been fuming since yesterday about his reluctance to see the old 'goat'. He used some rather colorful language, much to the dismay of Mike and Hew, who were die-hard Thorwal fans, and that naturally included his widow.

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Me too, I wasn't entirely convinced about what we could gain from this visit, and I was counting on getting more answers on Saturday during the comprehensive tour of Dreamland offices and servers, which included meetings with development teams and immersion in their testing facilities. However, Michael was also a fan of Thorwal and insisted that we should pay the old lady a visit. If he hadn't been with us, I might have considered skipping it. Plus, the cost wasn't insignificant, but I didn't want to be the one to spoil the fun.

Well, now I was faced with another tricky situation. Technically, I could pay Mrs. Thorwal a visit in my leather getup, but the idea to do so rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, the leather suit suited me just fine, but wearing the same outfit all the time didn't quite jive with me. I did have a few dresses in my wardrobe, but I lacked the right shoes to match them.

The idea to try a new outfit was basically me trying to cope with the whole stress, a way to find some normality in my now too turbulent life. Not long ago this was the only problem I needed to solve and nothing else.

After wrapping up my classes around two o'clock in the afternoon, I headed to the nearby shoe store with the intention of finding a pair of shoes that would fit my budget and complement one of my dresses. I was in luck, as I stumbled upon a wonderful pair that not only looked great with my blue dress but also suited my budget. Although they felt a bit tight at first, the clerk assured me that they would stretch out with time. Ultimately, I opted to buy them—a sleek, black, and exquisitely elegant pair of high heels. They were the perfect replacement for the only other pair I owned, which I had unfortunately lost. That pair was reserved for special occasions, just like this one, and I had lost them at that cursed Blue Cauldron concert. I must confess, they looked absolutely stunning on me, even better than the ones I had before.

With over an hour to spare until Michael finished his classes and our scheduled meeting, I found myself unsure of how to occupy my time. As I wandered around the schoolyard, contemplating my options, I ran into Simon and the handball team. Eagerly, I accepted their invitation and spent the next hour playing handball with them. The sport stirred up pleasant memories and served as a soothing balm for my wounded pride and soul.

Once Michael was ready and waved from the sidelines, I headed to the school's gym girls' locker room for a quick shower. Five minutes later, we left on my bike, with Michael clinging onto me with all his might. Even if I drove gently, it was quite a ride for his first time riding a bike.

Next to Thorwal's mansion was a park with a parking space for about twenty cars. This was where we agreed to meet with Hew. It was a super-rich, well-kept district with plenty of security personnel around.

We arrived about twenty minutes early, but the boys were already waiting for us in the parking lot. Hew waved to us as I parked, and once I helped Michael dismount from the bike, I made the introductions.

I arrived early because I wanted to change my outfit, so I hurried to the restroom in the parking lot.

Once I found a clean stall, I began to change. I removed my jacket and blouse, stashed them in my inventory, pulled my dress out, and slipped it over my head. Then I took off my boots and trousers, stowed them away, and put on a pair of finer socks and the newly bought shoes. It took me the longest to put on the socks.

Afterwards, I stepped out of the stall and inspected myself in the mirror: an azure dress that matched my eyes, those black high-heel shoes, and a small black purse. Perfect!

I emerged from the restroom feeling fresh and happy, and promptly received a couple of compliments from Tom on my outfit, that enlarged the grin on my face up to my ears. Happy we made our way towards the residence gates. It was a sprawling estate, and I was a bit annoyed that we had to walk instead of having driven directly inside, especially since my new shoes were already starting to hurt a bit my poor toes.

As we approached the gates, a burly security guard checked our tickets superficially and let us in.

We started to walk the about one hundred meters to the distant villa, with Hew and Mike leading the way and Tom, Michael, and I following behind. The zigzagging path was covered with small quadratic granite stones forming arcs, giving it a romantic touch, but not the most comfortable for my heels, which were further straining my now tortured feet.

As we climbed the small hill we got a better view of the two-story villa, with giant windows between arcs of stone, resembling a modern interpretation of a post-medieval villa. Its quadratic form was adorned with small round towers at each corner, extending about one storey higher than the main construction.

At the entry, there were two huge glass doors, and to the left, a small column about one meter high housed a red button that was likely the doorbell. Hew pressed the button, and we heard a ding dong bell from inside the house. Moments later, a custodian or perhaps the butler appeared.

"Mr. Hew Denevan?" he inquired, eyeing our group.

"Yeah, that's me. Hello," Hew replied.

"Good afternoon! You're early," the custodian observed, scanning our group as if to ensure we weren't hiding someone. "A group of five, was it? Alright, please follow me. Lady Thorwal will be with you soon."

We were led into a vast room and left to wait. Its wooden floor was covered with Persian carpets, and there were refreshments and cookies available.

In one corner, I spotted a huge armchair near a fireplace. As the boys stood and started to chat about a painting displaying a remote land, probably something from Dreamland, I grabbed a glass of juice and made a beeline for the armchair. The furniture had an old-fashioned charm; it seemed like Mrs. Thorwal had a penchant for collecting and restoring antique pieces. There was a library with what appeared to be ancient books dividing the room, and a couple of complete suits of armor stood nearby, along with various other old objects and maps that looked authentic. The ostentatious display of wealth was unmistakable. I hadn't realized that Thorwal had amassed such a fortune.

With a sigh of relief, I sank into the armchair, giving my tortured feet a rest, and examined the armor in front of me. It appeared to be a modern reproduction of medieval armor.

I briefly considered taking off my new shoes, but I resisted the urge with a mental effort.

As I examined the armor, I failed to notice that Mrs. Thorwal had already entered the room. The ambient classical music and soft-spoken conversation didn't help to draw my attention either. When I turned to look for the boys, I saw them sitting on sofas facing her and engaging in conversation.

With a heavy sigh, I reluctantly abandoned the comfortable embrace of the armchair and stood up to approach them. As I drew closer with a smile on my face, her eyes landed on me, and she reacted instantly. Despite being an elderly lady of about seventy or eighty, she leaped up like a young goat and unleashed a searing blast of fire at me.

I had no time to react or even comprehend what was happening, but it felt as though I had been suddenly transported into a furnace.