The next Tuesday meetup for Ember and I fell in before my trip to Agartha, and I pushed open the door to Ava’s Books and Coffee at seven on the dot with Ani stalking my heels. The door’s bell jingled in time with Ava's simple musical clock, masking our arrival. Ani darted ahead of me, leaping into the unaware Ember’s lap and causing her to set her drink on the table.

“Ani!” I called calmly. He looked over at me but continued to beg attention from the obliging Ember.

Ember gasped and said, in an irritatingly high-pitched baby-speak voice “Hi buddy! How’s my little Ani doing? I didn’t see you at all when Hayden was gone–did you go with him?” Ani looked up at her with sparkling eyes, and she melted under his gaze. “I bet you did! Aww, who’s a good kitty? Is it you?”

Ani bumped his head against her palms. “It’s you! Such a good kitty.” she cooed as I sat at the table.

Ava stuck her head out from where she’d been working in the back, heralded by the noise. Her eyes landed on Ani, and realization sparkled in her eyes, and a soft smile crossed her face. She sauntered over, two steaming cups of coffee on her platter.

She placed them lightly in front of us, and the smell of coffee mixed in with the dusty books instantly loosened my shoulders, despite my reservations about the current company. There was something relaxing about the smell of coffee and books, and my stomach grumbled.

Ava laughed, trilling her fingers on the table. “He wouldn’t let you leave without him again?”

“He followed me anyway.”

Her eyes were soft and warm when she looked down at where Ani jumped on the table to investigate the sound she made with her fingers. She lifted her hand up to pet him and asked, “Your usual today?”He collapsed to his side, threads of fur drifting into the air to drop down onto the clean table.

“Yes, please,” Ember answered for the both of us.

Ava’s touch lingered on Ani’s fur, and her eyes were clouded by nostalgia when she spoke. “My pet bird was much like your little Ani. She’d always somehow manage to escape her cage and follow me everywhere.”

“What happened to her?” Ember asked, leaning forward curiously. I mirrored her, curious myself.

Ava shook her head and gave Ani two final pats on the belly before walking off. Across the table, Ember winced. Ani, not receiving the attention he desired, looked at her, his tail flicking against the table. When she didn’t notice him, he jumped on my lap, climbing up my chest to beg for pets.

“So,” Ember began, “what did you read this week?”

Thinking and searching for a suitable book, I frowned. In a rare first, excluding the books on magic and Agarthinan History I’d borrowed from the library, which I couldn’t tell her about, I couldn’t think of anyway.

The cool stone of my earrings touched my fingertips, and I fiddled with it as I answered, knowing my answer was unbelievable. “Nothing.”

Ember’s eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline in disbelief. “Nothing? At all?”

“Nothing,” I confirmed. “At all.”

She still couldn’t believe it. “You mean to tell me you, the largest reader in our family, read nothing while you were traveling.”

“That is correct. I’ve been too busy.”

Her eyes drifted to my sweater-covered arm, where the stitched-up injury lay hidden.

“Well, I guess I’ll tell you about the book I read recently,” she frowned as she spoke, and her eyes drifted off to the side. She was hiding something.

I could have been the better person and let her escape with whatever she hid. But I wasn’t. “What’s wrong?”

Her head jerked up. “Nothing!”

It was my turn to raise my eyebrows in disbelief.

“You’re not going to believe me,” she said, nervously playing with her coffee. “I hardly believe me.”

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“You can’t know that until you tell me.” It couldn’t be more unbelievable than anything else I’d seen recently.

She bit her lip, then said, “Last night, I had a strange dream. You were in it. You said…”

More curious than ever, I leaned my arms on the table. “I said..”

“You said you’d really like to read Zenith Online.”

“Okay?” Was that it?

The rest of her story came out in a rush, with Ember speaking so fast it was difficult to make out words. “It was just so weird! Something was wrong with your face, and your clothes were weird, and I just finished Zenith Online–I really don’t think it’s something you’d like. It was super realistic too.”

“The dream or the book?”

“The dream!”

I backed off. “So you’re concerned because you had a dream that I told you I’d like to read the book you just finished?”

Ember nodded. “And your face and your clothes were weird.”

“Okay.”

“That’s it?!”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you. It sounds like a normal dream.”

“But it was so realistic!”

I shrugged, helpless. Ember scowled into her coffee and mumbled: “It was not normal.”

“What’s this Zenith Online about?”

Her coffee cup slammed back into the table, rattling mine against the dish. “It’s based on the popular video game Zenith Online. Surely you’ve heard about the game, at least?”

She could tell by the look on my face that I had not. “Well, anyway, they hired this crazy prolific writer to create this book to bring new fans in before the huge expansion coming out this year. The expansion doesn’t come out till next week, but supposedly the novel takes place during the expansion and is from the point of view of one of the new characters.”

The kitchen door clicked as Ava brought out our food.

“So it’s an advertisement?” I asked, keeping most of my attention on Ember.

Ember shrugged. “Basically, yeah. I play the game on and off and decided to read it. It’s pretty good and doesn’t require any knowledge of the game. But I don’t think it’s something you’d like at all. It goes crazy in-depth into some of the game mechanics.”

“I see.” She was right; it didn’t sound like something I’d take pleasure in reading.

Seeing the expression on my face, she said, “I know, right? That’s why the dream was so weird!”

Ava set the plates down in front of us, the steam from the fresh baked goods delivering a whiff of delicious food to my nose.

“Well, those are some strange faces. What’s wrong?” Ava asked, sticking the serving tray beneath her arm.

Ember’s explanation was a lot shorter this time. “I had this really weird dream where Hayden told me he’d want to read the book I just finished, Zenith Online.”

Ava nodded sagely. “I see.”

She did?

Ember rounded on me, her free hand going to her hip. “So, are you going to read it?”

Self-conscious, I went back to fiddling with my earring. “I wasn’t planning on it..”

“Clearly, Ember’s subconscious saw something you’d like in it,” Ava interjected.

“I suppose,” I agreed, unconvinced.

“Or maybe there’s another reason? Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something?” Ava suggested, a peculiar expression crossing her face. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable.

Was that a hint?

“Perhaps,” I agreed.

Ava sighed. “You’re stubborn like my son, I see.”

Ember, outside of Ava’s field of vision, mouthed to me, ‘Her son?’ I shrugged in response. I knew who she was talking about but couldn’t remember if she had ever spoken about him or dropped hints in Ember’s presence.

I bolstered myself with my growing bravery and said, “Is the universe trying to tell me something, or are you?”

Ember volleyed her head between Ava and me, clearly confused.

Ava smiled and dropped the topic. “I’ll have the check ready soon. Would either of you like a refill?”

As soon as she was out of earshot, Ember demanded, “What was that?”

I shrugged and changed the topic. “By the way, in a few days I’ll be sent out of town again for my job. I probably won’t have service while I’m gone, so I’m letting you know now.”

“What about Ani?”

“He’s coming with me.”

Ember hmm’d and leaned forward onto her hand. “Your work lets your cat travel with you?”

“Yes. He is the reason I had to get another job in the first place,” I answered drily. My mind wasn’t focused on the conversation anymore. Instead, I was focused on Ava’s words, running them over and over in my head.