Twisted Realms

Chapter 3: The Plate

Kamari sighed with content. She licked her lips which still had the faint taste of a hearty breakfast.
She admitted with the satisfied smirk of a Cheshire cat that her mother really made the greatest meals in the entire planet.
"Please clear the dishes dear." When Kamari didn't seem to stir and continued to scrape her plate for any remaining crumbs, her mother crossed her arms and a mischievous grin came over her face.
"You wouldn't want the sirens to haunt you with beautiful songs and drown you in the end, would you?" Her mother said, in a creepy sing-song tone.
Kamari cringed, her brows knitting together. "Oh come on. Not again. You do realise I'm too old to believe in such things."
Even as she said the words, Kamari felt the now familiar prickling of horror on her skin. The goosebumps conquered her body. She fought back the urge to tremble.
"You can never be too old to believe in fairytales darling. They will creep up on you in the end and the harder you resist, the worse it will be for you."
"Mother." She was beginning to grow weary of all this nonsense. "I don't know why you insist on telling me these silly things. You sound like a loony lady. And the stories in general are just terrifying. Horrid tales that make no sense."
"I know, I know. It must sound like I'm talking gibberish and I probably sound kinda crazy..."
Kamari raised a brow, muttering, "Ya think?"
Verena frowned, and then continued, saying, "But, sweetheart, what if what I suggest is true, what if the world in which I speak of is real? You never know what magic is until you believe in it. Magic can be found in the weirdest of places... even in front of your eyes." She tucked back her daughter's hair around her ears.
Kamari sighed, so loudly, the world quaked. How could magic even be in front of her, the only thing in front of her eyes was her mother.
And that wasn't magic, was it?
"Magic? Really? Now what, you'll start coming up with ways to convince me that there are witches who turn us into slugs and frogs and what not?" Kamari said it offhandedly, but she could feel the slight trail of dread curling in the pit of her stomach.
"If only you knew what real witches could do." Her mother glanced at her daughter from the corner of her eyes, a glint in them. "You'd think the vampires were your best friends."
"Well, enough of this!" Kamari leapt from her seat, the dishes clattering as she gathered them from the table, "Let me get to work on the dishes."
Verena chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead that managed to draw a smile from Kamari. "That's my girl." She scrunched up her face and did a little boop on Kamari's nose, making her giggle a little.
"Better finish up quickly, my little princess, before-"
Before she was told how the devil faeries of the realms would cut her hair in the dead of night, she rushed to the kitchen's sink and began to clean.

***

The sound of the dishes clanking and the feel of cool water on her skin actually felt relaxing. The quiet, repetitive task was sort of therapeutic. Along with the satisfaction of seeing everything clean and gleaming.
She would never admit that to her mother though. She shook her head to herself, with a knowing smile. Otherwise she'll be handed responsibility to wash dishes all the time, since she finds it 'therapeutic' and not a chore.
Golden morning light beamed in from the open window, accompanied with a cool breeze. A tiny bubble drifted up from the sink and caught the sun's rays, turning into a drop of rainbow. She watched its path as it drifted around her face, then popped with a slight pop.
She smiled and continued to clean, watching with satisfaction as the bubbles fizzed and burst.
As she did the menial task, her mind was free to wander. It sank into a humongous lake of thoughts. And she dived in with them. Deeper. Deeper. Deeper.
She caught the reflection of her face shimmering on the surface of the pearl-white plate. It was as clear as a pond. As clear as a looking glass.
Then, like a mirage- or more accurately, like a witch's crystal ball, she saw another world. A whole affair, inside that one single plate. In only a single second.
In that sole second, she thought she saw her fate...
Her destiny...