The sight however grasped at his heart tightly. His mother was humming to herself as she was trying to make breakfast early for everyone. He could hear the sound of whisking as he finished walking down the stairs. Dumbstruck at seeing his mother in the flesh again. The creaking steps caught his mother's attention and she smiled.
"Looks like you're up early" his mother said. The voice he had long forgotten was sweet music to his ears. It made it hard to keep back the well of tears forming in his eyes. This however panicked his mother at her child crying from out of nowhere. Confused and worried she rushed over to give Will a hug.
"What's wrong Will? Did you get bullied again? Mamas here for you no matter what" his mother coaxed and soothed him as Will relaxed and hugged back his mother tightly. Wait I'm already in my fifties woman, why do I need this late twenties woman to calm an old soul like me down.
Forcing himself into a state of calm, Will broke off the hug first.
"It's nothing Ma. Just a bit of stuff in my eyes" Will trying to explain away his tears. Ugh if he had to explain how he was older than this woman it would be beyond a simple probing. His mother however truly could tell something wasn't right as she knew her child well. Holding Will's face in her hands she peered at him suspiciously, daring him to lie in her face.
"Since that's the case sit down while Mama makes breakfast" his mother said with a smile. It had been so long since Will had last seen her that the sight almost struck him in dumb. Nodding he sat down at the table in the kitchen obediently as he watched his mother making breakfast. 'How long has it been since I've seen this' Will thought to himself and smiling. Although something was nagging him at the back of his mind while he watched. Something important.
The smell of burnt food triggered his memory. He forgot! His mother didn't even know how to cook. Racing over to the kitchen side it was too late, black smoke billowed from the frying pan as his mother waved her hands back in forth in front of it coughing from the smoke. Will reacted quickly grabbing a tea towel and grasping the handle of the pan. Dumping the burnt pan into the sink and quickly turning the tap on to stop the smoke. He turned back to his mother worried and reached his hands out to check on her.
"Are you okay Ma? Are you hurt anywhere?" Will said as he was panicked at anything happening to this new life he just got back. His mother coughed a few more times, some tears flushed away from her eyes as she her lungs eased up.
"Thank you Will, it looks like Mama has to practise hard still" his mother put on a brave face despite her failure. The scene caused a twinge in Will's heart. This was something he ought to do.
"It's okay Ma, I'll cook some breakfast and you can sit and relax at the table" Will said as he forcefully pushed his mother out of the kitchen. His mother showed the shock on her face, looking down at her child.
"You know how to cook? But I've never seen you in the kitchen" his mother peered suspiciously at him. Shoot how could he forget, he only started learning to cook after his mother had passed away so of course I shouldn't know. His father was the main chef in the household as he used to work at a restaurant before working a trade job. Will's brain was running at high speed to come up with something good to appease his mother.
"Hehe well actually I read a couple cookbooks and thought maybe I should help out around the kitchen" Will said this straight faced lie as he rubbed the back of his head. Internally however he was sweating at an ever increasing rate under Hai mother's intense gaze. Just as he thought he would bow out under the pressure of his mother's stare her face lit up in delight.
"Marvellous, I can't wait to try your cooking. I'm sure it'll be the best to eat. If there is something you have trouble with don't hesitate to come to Mama" his mother said with a breathtaking smile. Will however froze at those last words. It would be best if you stay out of the kitchen forever, just let us men pamper you. Thinking back on it Will realised the reason the mortgage never covered everything with regards to schooling was his mother had burnt down the kitchen several times. Lucky he is here now.
Pulling the long cuffs on his shirt and rolled up the sleeves, Will scanned the kitchen cupboard and fridge. Settling on a good meal for the start of the day. Grabbing a few slices of bread and eggs he furiously started whipping the eggs in a bowl as he pulled out another frying pan from the cupboard. Lighting the stove he hovered his hand over the pan feeling the heat. Giving the eggs an added pinch of salt and sugar he was ready.
Dropping a cube of butter in he coated the pan heavily as he dipped the bread into the beaten eggs and throwing into the pan giving off a sizzling sound as a mouth watering aroma was wafting around. His mother who initially wasn't paying attention had her being led.by her nose and became attracted to the smell coming from the kitchen. Popping her head in, his mother was already salivating.
"What are you making?" Will turned to see his mother, the drool almost coming from her lips and a hunger in her eyes that almost scared him. How could Will forget that his mother was a foodie, which was half the reason his father had somehow seduced this seemingly beautiful woman.
"Simple french toast" Will replied. His mother continued watching as he flipped the browned bread over giving off another sound of sizzling and wafted aromas.
"I'll set the plates" his mother said, her excitement was beyond obvious at this point so Will could only nod as his mother set the table trying to ignore the childish behaviour of this so called adult. After finishing off enough food for three people, Will brought the large pile of french toast over with a bottle of maple syrup in hand. He had barely noticed it hiding at the back of the cupboard but his nose could easily detect it was definitely there.
His mother however was ecstatic at the feast before her. Her stomach growled.
"Will, before I forget can you get your father to come downstairs for breakfast" his mother said flatly but his mother's eyes betrayed her. Will was gobsmacked at how obvious she was being.
Mother do you have trick your child like this just to steal an extra piece of food? Will smiled however having missed this feeling of family and walked back upstairs. Of the three doors one was his room, another the toilet and bathroom while the last was the master bedroom. Knocking on this last door lightly and opening it Will saw the bed and a large lump under the covers.
With an evil grin on his face he could tell with the rising and falling of the cover that his old man was still deeply sleeping, giving him a wonderful idea for a wake up. It wasn't that the Vice Chairman had such an influence on him, no no no. He just wanted to play a prank on the old man, a trace of anger and displeasure had been left behind in his past so it would be fair if he got payback. Grabbing the edge of the curled cover he gave a forceful tug and threw his father onto the ground. With a loud grunt his old man woke up and as groggy as ever. Will couldn't help giving off a wicked smile, at the old man's suffering. 'This is just a little taste of what you did you old bastard' Will thought satisfied at his old man's suffering.
His old man woke up and almost thought his child was smiling maliciously at him. But after a moment he could see Will smiling at him innocently after rubbing his eyes. surely it was an illusion.
"Food's ready downstairs" Will said as he placed the cover back on the bed and went downstairs leaving the old man to himself. With a shake of his head, the father who his own child called him old man dressed and came downstairs. His stomach was already prepared for the horror that was waiting for him. No matter what he just never had the heart to tell his wife that her cooking was beyond awful, it was potentially life threatening. But love conquered even the best of his complaints as he sighed and went downstairs putting on a brave face.
The aroma drifted from the stairwell already had him salivating. This made him even more worried as he recalled once his wife tried to fix a dish on how it looked and smelled but the taste was beyond foul it had hospitalised him. Seeing the table full of food he came with trepidation and sat down. His wife however was munching away happily and her eyes gleamed in satisfaction. Will as well was eating the food however it seemed to be in a strange manner he had never seen before looking quite patient unlike his usual demeanour. Grabbing the food he liberally added the syrup and ate already having made the choice that hospital was better than seeing his own wife upset.
The taste however was beyond surprising for him. Wolfing down the food his hunger had exploded and took a few more pieces off the centre plate. As the family stayed quiet for a while eating the food happily Will spoke up.
"How is it dad?" Will said in a flat tone. His old man looked at him strangely. without speaking it had another and went back to chewing before he let out his words.
"It's really good" the man commented back. He was satisfied but suspicious. He knew how his wife cooked and he knew his own son wasn't interested so where did they get this meal from.
"Excellent, mum was worried you wouldn't like her cooking" Will said with a smirk. His old man took it as if he was smiling. But what surprised him was that his wife cooked something decent. The old man's happiness exploded that his wife had finally done it.
"Haha, this is beyond amazing. I truly can't wait for the next thing you make then" the old man was full of smiles as he wolfed down the food greedily. Will's mother on the other hand was stopping herself from choking on her food at Will's comment. 'What are you doing?' said motioned with a gaze at Will. Will however gave a wink and so his mother sat wondering what the child was up to. Everyone hoovered the food up and Will's father left to get ready upstairs for work. His mother turned and was obviously mad at the scrunched up face she was making.
"What did you do that for? You know I don't like taking credit for others work" his mother said obviously angry, grabbing his cheeks with her hands and pullung. Will however was smilingly despite being berated.
"In just a manner of time it will be your credit. Mum do you want to learn cooking with me?" Will said maintaining his innocent facade. His mother however looked at him suspiciously but couldn't help but falter under that expectant gaze.
"What did you have in mind?" His mother had already given up on this matter. Seeing her husband so happy was more than enough to convince her and who knows, she might be able to cook for once. It wasn't a bad deal, but she felt guilty having her child help her when as an adult she was supposed to be the carer.
"I'll let you know after school" Will responded with a heavy tone of secrecy. Yes because I have to make certain of some things before I can help those around me. What do I have for now is time.
Will's mother was about to ask another question as Will raced upstairs to leave the cleaning up to his mother. Surely she wouldn't mind right?
After closing the door, Will went around his room inspecting everything he had. After finding a money box and some notes here and there scattered around he amassed a whopping fifty dollars from his savings. The pitiful amount made him scrunch up his face. This amount was certainly a lot for a kid but with what he needed he'd be lucky if it paid for a meal. Investment was always required but capital was the first priority. Frustrated he went to open the door but he gripped the door handle a little too hard and the door handle broke off with a loud snap.
Will froze as he looked at the broken door knob in his hand. 'Did I do really do that?' He thought to himself. After a moment he almost smacked his head at his stupidity. If he didn't do it than who? The ghost in his room?
Still his strength was surprising, the door knob wasn't cheap or hollow as it was made out of metal. Maybe it was a cheap one and wasn't reinforced but a feeling at the back of his mind was hinting that wasn't the case. Thinking back, he realised he had hit the clock when the alarm rang earlier. Curious he went over to his side table and stared at the mess that used to be the side table.
In his panic before having woken up as his younger self he hadn't noticed the messed he caused in his own room. The side table had a neat hole in the centre where his clock used to be with nothing else damaged. It was as if something blew through at a speed the human eye probably wouldn't be able to follow.
His precious clock however was in a miserable state. It didn't have the chance to shatter as the entire body was folded and crunched much like a paper ball. Will paused as he crouched and held his hand on his face trying to think.
Obviously it was unusual that a child of ten years age could destroy a door, much less shatter his clock. Will looked down at his fist clenching and unclenching. He remembered a party trick of his when he was still a bodyguard where he could snap a steel knife in half with one hand. Although this had been trained over the years it wasn't something he did as a young kid. Pausing for a moment Will let out a hearty chuckle.
Oh Vice Chairman you have a good eye, you knew about this long before even I realised. As an adult feats of strength weren't that abnormal but if a kid could already do it...well that person's future would be limitless.
'But why hadn't been able to do it in his previous life?' This question left Will stumped as he tried to figure out the secret behind it.
Was it because he was more knowledgeable now and so whatever limits he had wanted to place on himself no longer applied. Gazing at the broken doorknob in his hand a tight squeeze he felt the metal contort under his grip. Letting go he looked over the human finger marks on the piece of metal.
Will smiled, this was a chance he had been given as well. And it would be horrible to turn down such a gift. A knock on the door however brought him out of any further thoughts of potential world domination.
"Will you'll be late for school if you don't hurry" Will could his mother's voice worried at how long he was taking, it was definitely impatient and he paled at standing out at this moment. The door was already unable to be opened as he could the door hand on the other side try to open it.
"I'll be out in a minute Ma" Will shouted back as he threw his school books into his bag and put on his shoes. Giving himself a quick check in the mirror he sighed at the young boy that he had become. A ten year old Will was certainly too innocent for the rest of the world. But everyone would not wait for a chick to grow its wings in this world. After thinking of how to open the broken door Will came up with an ingenious solution. Why not just bend the handle into its place. After a few minutes of working the handle, metal on metal, he opened the door and rushed downstairs.
His mother had a lunchbox waiting for him, halting Will as he tried to run off quickly to the front door.
"What's the rush. Don't tell me that you're running away from Mama's kiss?" Will was stunned as before he could react, his mother gave a wet smack with her lips on his forehead and pushed him out the door. Rubbing his forehead Will turned around to find the front door was already closed. Thinking for a moment he looked around to capture the sights and sounds of the abandoned home from his previous life. He remembered they had a car but it seemed to have already left since his old man had to go to work.
Looking out onto the street, the area was definitely dry from the hot sun as the grass lawns and trees were all yellowing under the heat. Although it was Spring the weather would be vicious as it got closer to the summer months. The best time to be outside was definitely in the winter. As he walked along the road he spotted the stop for the school bus.