Adelfried

As the Houston summer blazed on outside, the magical basement began to feel like just another part of the house. Adelfried had converted the hallway closet into a proper entryway to the basement. Ever the student of the technology of this world, including construction and design, he built a sleek set of wooden stairs. Ying had told him to go for more of a mid-century modern look and less Bauhaus. While he wasn’t sure if it was successful, he was still pleased he was able to look it up on the internet and understood what she had said.

Next, the individual requests started to come in, which he felt obligated to fulfill since he had essentially forced his way into their home. Every week it seemed like someone asked for their own room. First, Ying requested her own office. Kae asked that her closet be expanded to a full room. And then Evan asked for a gaming room. He spent way too much time staring at those magical screens to Adelfried's liking, but he didn't want to say anything since it didn't seem like his place. Once traffic picked up, Ying then requested a bathroom, which took a lot of time since he had to learn the ins and outs of modern plumbing. At last, even Jim came around and asked for a ‘mancave’ which looked nothing like a cave. The initial room became a large public room that led to everyone’s personally requested room and forced Adelfried to create his own magic laboratory at the far end of the ever growing complex.

Since there was a lot of magic from the Root and his experiments, he built his workshop with thick walls, ceiling, and door to keep the magic in. In one corner, he put his attempt at recreating Ying’s blue couch, since he enjoyed sleeping on it so much. It was difficult to create complex items made of different materials though, and the couch looked better than it felt to sit on. In another corner he had copied Jim’s workbench from the garage, only this was made of concrete since that was easier to create than wood fibers. He placed the concrete orb that held the Root in the third corner. In the final corner was a large cabinet Ying purchased for Adelfried that took him a surprising amount of time to assemble as the instructions described. It was both a wonderful and frustrating experience.

Half of the summer had passed, and the ache in his shoulder had lessened as his body naturally healed itself. The thought of never seeing Minna or Leyna gnawed at him. He tried not to think that way but the pain of it always loomed. Little by little the conveniences he spent precious time on to make his work easier and more efficient, also became about adding to his comfort in this world. When he found himself looking online for a lamp and rug for his workshop, a numbing realization overtook him, this may be his new home.

He had successfully created a portal, or wormhole, as Ying had called it, and could control the direction, but he could not control the distance. He had tried everything he could think of, but progress was painfully slow as each new elixir failed. He had reproduced it exactly as he had done from his world in hopes of being able to portal back, but still he couldn't get it right.

He had just started on a new type of quartz when the doorbell to his workshop jingled. He opened the door and Zarg burst in followed by Evan.

Evan motioned to Zarg. “He really wanted to get in here,”

“Yes, I don’t understand his fascination with me, I pet him as required, but he keeps following me.” Adelfried stopped to consider Zarg who had leaned against him. He had become one the dog’s favorite distractions as of late, though he wasn’t sure why. “He always does this. He stands around waiting for me to scritch him. When I do, he doesn’t seem to ever leave.”

“Yeah, he really likes you, probably because you always pet him. The more you pet him the more he wants.”

As Adelfried stared into those two large watery eyes the numbness of his existence faded for a moment. Zarg’s tail wagged as he bumped his head into Adelfried’s side. “Fine, you beast, if you must be in here, at least don’t disturb my work.” Adelfried said firmly because he did not care for the animal, but he should be polite and provide his boney body with some comfort at least. Surely, he wasn’t growing in his affection for the creature. Not possible.

He pulled a cushion off the couch and put it on the floor. Zarg promptly scratched at it to get it just right before performing a little spin and then awkwardly flopped on it, his butt hanging over the edge of the cushion. It was clearly not large enough for him. Maybe he should order the dog a bed, making anything was so taxing and ordering through the magical web so easy. Evan picked up a piece of the new violet-hued quartz and peered through it. “So how is the portal potion coming?”

Adelfried pursed his lips in consternation. “Between these theories of multi-verse, wormholes, Einstein and all this speed of light and relativity, my head hurts.”

“Can’t you just use your special magicky mind thing to learn it all like when you first learned English?”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“My mind can only withstand so much before I have to stop.” Adelfried pulled his stool closer to his workbench. “And I have been doing it too much, I need to take a break.”

“So can you open a door to your world?”

Adelfried shook his head. “According to the current scientific thinking no. But your scientists don’t have the Root, either. So, I am not sure your science applies here.” He shook the flask in his hand containing the new quartz.

“Well, my mom always says, science works whether you want it to or not, that is why it’s science.”

“Yes, well perhaps what I am doing is beyond your science. No matter, I am going to try.” The solution turned green “Ugh, again!” He threw the bottle at the wall in frustration. A small vortex appeared, pulling in the loose glass fragments before disappearing with a faint pop.

“Okay.” Evan started for the door. “I can come back later.”

“No, please, stay Evan, I apologize for my temper.” Adelfried swung around in his stool. This sweet boy and family had done so much, he shouldn’t take his frustrations out on them. “Besides, it is time for my lessons.”

“Alright, how about we go over baseball?” Evan said, excited.

“Sure, but one question, um, how can I ask this delicately.” Adelfried’s voice lowered to almost a whisper. “Why is Kae turning orange?” Evan burst out laughing much to Adelfried’s horror. “What, what did I say?”

After Evan caught his breath, he said, “Yeah, I told her she hadn’t quite made it to Oompa Loompa orange, but she didn’t like that.”

Adelfried twisted his head even more confused. “Oopa loopa?”

“Sorry, Willy Wonka, that’s a lesson for another day. Yeah, she is turning orange, oh you gotta tell her.”

“I am sure I can help her. Color changing is very easy. Did you know I can make myself completely invisible if I so choose?”

“Wait, really?”

“Of course, it is a piece of Coke. Therefore, helping Kae restore her natural color would—”

“Cake, piece of cake,” Evan corrected him.

“Oh yes, cake. Helping her restore her natural color would be a piece of cake.”

“No, no, no.” Evan started to laugh again. “She’s doing this to herself. She likes it.” Adelfried’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Are you pulling my thigh?”

Evan’s giggles continued. “Leg, and no, you don’t understand.”

“Understand what?” Kae said, walking in holding a plate. “Here Adelfried, my mom made lunch.” She put the plate down on the workbench. On it were two slices of toasted bread with melted cheese peeking out between them. “If you ask me, she’s trying to con you into making her a greenhouse.”

Evan stared at the plate enviously. “Oh man, grilled cheese sandwiches are the best. Where’s mine?”

“Upstairs,” Kae gave Evan side eye. “You have legs, you can go and get it yourself.”

“You’re such a jerk sometimes. You had a free hand.”

“I’ll be nice, when I’m no longer grounded, thanks to you.”

Adelfried picked up the sandwich and the toasty aroma made his mouth water. He bit into the crunchy bread and tasted the glorious combination of creamy cheese and buttery toast that he never realized he needed in his life.

“What do you think?” Evan said.

“Mmm.” Adelfried grunted as he continued to devour his sandwich. “I think I will look into making her a greenhouse later today, whatever that is.”

“What? They didn’t have cheese and bread in your world?” Kae said, with some fasciation watching Adelfried eat.

The question didn’t sit well with him. There were so many similarities between his world, yet what his world lacked was technology. The trees, the animals, and even the food were all very similar. There had to be a direct connection that existed. He wiped crumbs from his hands. “Nothing like this. It is so rich and oily. Our cheese was never this creamy.”

Kae scoffed. “More of our wonderful technology, it’s called processed cheese. It’s terrible for you, but better tasting than vegan cheese, I can tell you that.”

Adelfried now feeling a little indebted to Kae for the delicious treat, turned to her. Better to be extremely diplomatic about how to handle his next question. “Kae, I noticed the color of your skin is changing.” He studied her reaction with caution but didn’t see any need for caution, so he continued. “I would be happy to help you attain…what was it...” Adelfried turned to Evan. “Oopa Loopa orange?”

Kae smacked Evan on the back of his head and stormed out of the room.

Adelfried turned with a look of disapproval to Evan who laughed riotously, while rubbing on the back of his head. “You didn’t let me finish, but we will cover sarcasm another day. So anyway, I came down here to talk about baseball, because I wanted to see if you wanted to go with us to the Astros game tonight. They play baseball, the best sport in the world. Very analytical, you’ll love it. My dad has to work so we got an extra ticket. Plus, I figured this would be a good cultural field trip.”

“Thank you, but I don’t think I should leave the Root here alone. I still don’t know enough about this world.”

“Exactly why you should go, to learn more about our world. You can’t learn everything stuck in this house.”

Adelfried twisted his lip. “I don’t think I have time to watch games. That won’t help me get home.”

Evan shook his head. “You can’t work constantly without a break. You need to relax your mind from time to time and look at this.” Evan pulled up a picture of Minute Maid Park on his tablet. Adelfried gawked at its expansive glass wall, arched roof, brick facade, and massive lighting towers. “Those dots are people…that video screen is bigger than this house…you see that roof, it opens and closes. I know you love our modern architecture and buildings, so you have to come.”

Adelfried’s brain refused to cooperate as he stared at the picture. All he could do was try to rationalize how something like this could be built without magic. He couldn’t. He pulled the tablet closer to examine every detail of the picture. His palms started to sweat. “You can go inside it?”

“Inside. All around. You can even climb almost to the top if you want.”

His heartbeat quickened. This damn kid and his temptations. “Evan, you are a fiend. Very well, I will accompany you.”

“Great, but Mom says you have to wear normal clothes and trim your beard, so you don’t stick out.”

“What is wrong with my beard?”