After taking a quick shower the twins change into jeans and different colored t-shirts. Issac wears a red t-shirt and Thomas wears a blue t-shirt. After they dry their hair they run to the dining room, the duo not even bothering to put on socks.
Seeing the boys so excited for lunch Clara smiles. "Calm down. The foods not going anywhere." She said as she filled three wooden bowls full of stew using a copper ladle.
Smelling their favorite food the boys begin to drool.
Thomas thinks to himself that this world really is too similar to earth. He wonders if their rebirth was really a coincidence. Maybe only the gods know.
Clara, after making sure the portions are right takes a seat, giving the twins their bowl and wrapping a large rag around their neck. "Eat up. I know you like mommy's potato and pork stew." She said before grabbing the wooden spoon sitting in the broth and taking a sip.
The twins start eating without hesitation, of course making sure to thank their mom.
"Thank you!" Issac said.
"Thank you." Thomas said.
And so they grab their wooden spoons and take a bite. Instantly a thick broth fills their mouth, exploding with a meaty flavor, soft pieces of cooked potato cubes bouncing around their mouth.
The potatoes have a mellow taste, a hint of peppery flavor gushing as they melt in the boys mouth, each potato adding and blending into the somewhat thick meaty broth. After a few moments the boys notice a faint sweetness, likely coming from the tomato slices on the side. Without hesitation they take a bite. Instantly a combination of savory, mellow, and sweet come together, creating a truly perfect stew..
Even though the broth is a tad hot and their tongues are burning the boys smile.
Before they even swallow the boys scoop up some more stew, making sure to pick up pieces of cubed pork, potato, and a tomato slices.
With a single bite the tomato and potato melt, gently wrapping the chunks of soft yet chewy pork cubes, the savory broth fusing into the soft potato. The tomato slices are sweet but because of the broth it has a somewhat meaty flavor, the potato is somewhat bland, a peppery aftertaste following as it dissolves, and the meat is fragrant, a refreshing herb and salty feeling coming together.
In that moment the twins know what true happiness is.
The meal doesn't last long, about ten minutes or so. The boys finished in under five and Clara took ten, clearly taking her time. After eating she looks at he boys before shaking her head and sighing. "I understand you enjoy mommy's food but can you eat slower. I don't want either one of you choking. Okay?"
"Yes ma'am." Thomas responded.
"Okay." Issac responded.
After looking at the boys she sighs again. "Alright let's clean." She said with a light smile.
Issac looks a little reluctant but still agrees. "Okay." He said. Do we really have to clean. The house looks clean to me. Screw it, it's not like I can say no. He thought to himself.
Thomas looks around the house then agrees. "Okay." The house is rather clean. I guess she's just looking for something to do. I'll try to make this more fun for her. He though to himself.
After grabbing the plates she moves to the sink and turns on the faucet. While she does that Issac grabs the the broom and a small bucket from the closet on the right wall of the kitchen. While Thomas grabs a small stool and mop, Issac goes outside.
Instantly his vision is filled with green grass, small barns and what seem to be trees appearing on the horizon. The blue sky is filled with white clouds, thin stands of yellow light flowing through the gaps. After smiling at this life filled world he moves to the side of the house and to the water tank.
It's made of a light gray metal, patches of rust covering the area around the faucet on the right of the tank. Issac puts the bucket bellow the faucet and twist the flower shaped knob.
As Issac watches the water fill he wonders where it comes from. He knows he lives too far away from town for there to be a proper sewage system and to be connected to the city pipeline. Yet, they have a fully functioning faucet, shower, and toilet. He's always wanted to ask his mother but he could never figure out what question would be appropriate for his age.
Hey mom how come the toilet, shower, and sink have water. There's no river and there don't seem to be any pipes going underground?
Hey mom how dos water travel around the house?
Issac just couldn't figure it out.
Splash Splash Splash.
"Oh shit!" Issac screamed as the water started to overflow. He immediately turned off the water in a panic before moving the mud covered bucket. Looking at the bucket he sighs. "I should be fine. Right?"
With his shoulders down he goes back inside. "Mom. I accidentally let the water overflow and now the bucket's dirty. Should I clean it?" He said.
Clara immediately stops sweeping. She looks at him, clearly annoyed before going outside and looking at the bucket. After a few seconds she comes back inside. "It's fine, just leave it outside. I'll clean okay." She said before ruffling Thomas's hair.
Issac looks up at her with teary eyes, clearly regretting his mistake. "Are you sure?" He said.
Clara looks at Issac, somewhat regretting what she said. After thinking for a few seconds she decides to send them to their father. She can clean and leave the problem of Thomas's interest in magic to her husband. "How about you two help daddy while mommy cleans?" She said with a smile.
"Okay!" Thomas responded, wondering if he'll see any mages in the fields. He's never seen any before but maybe they will today.
"Sure." Issac wondering whether he should snatch an apple from the nearby orchard.
And so the three of them spent the next ten minutes walking to their father. Thomas appears excited, a wide smile his small face. Issac is just blankly staring into the clouds. I wonder what the mages will be like, he thinks to himself.
"Hm? What's the matter." Daryle said when he noticed the three walk into the tomato field. He stands up, letting go of the large wheelbarrow full of cow manure. His gray cotton shirt is sticking to his skin, showing off his thick muscles, sweat dripping from his body, causing his lightly tanned skin to sparkle under the afternoon sun.
He wipes back his sweat soaked black hair and walks to the three. Seeing her husband so happy while working she smiles. "We met a magus performer today earlier today. The boys would like to talk to the mages. Could you please help them while I clean the house?"
Daryle frowns, smiling once again after a brief pause. "Sure. I'll have the kids help me with the tomato's then show them to the mages fields." He said before handing the boys two small trowels.
Seeing and smelling the fly swarmed pile of cow poop the boys become visibly disgusted. Even so they help. After giving the boys and Daryle a kiss on the cheek Clara leaves.
The boys reluctantly wave goodbye before beginning to help Daryle. Before the boys can do anything Daryle begins instructing them since this is the first time they have actually helped him."Alright so first you want to scoop out about a palms worth of feces."
He pauses.
"Then, without touching the stem you need to spread the feces around it in a circle. After, you will mix it into the dirt and flatten the immediate area. Make sure to check the stem after." He said while fertilizing the ground around a tomato stem.
Daryle does this a few more times, letting the boys watch. Occasionally he'll try to talk to the boys but the smell of the poop is simply overwhelming. Eventually the boys begin working.
"Alright Tommy. You can work on that one. Isa, you can work on the one next to him." He said while while pointing at the boys.
"Dad I'm Thomas." He said, showing off his shirt.
"Dad I'm Issac." He said, showing off his shirt.
Daryle sighs and stares at the boys for a few seconds. "You know what I meant." He said before he began working.
The boys just smile in response. Both of them, back on earth made friends with a pair of young twins during the rain. Issac would always be pranked by the twins. Sometimes they would pretend to be the other twin just to piss him off or because they wanted revenge on their brother.
Despite how annoying they could be he really liked them. Thomas is just like Issac in this aspect. They both had the same relationship with the twins. One thing they would occasionally think when talking to the twins would be; what would it be like to have a twin brother? It would be pretty fun to mess with people.
Just about everyone has had this thought at some point in their life.
Now that Thomas and Issac have been reborn as twin brothers they will occasionally mess with their parents. It was annoying when the twins on earth messed with them but it is really fun to mess with others as twins.
Unfortunately, their mom and dad have grown numb to their antics so they can't have as much fun as they want. And so, after failing to trick their dad the boys began working. For a little over two hours the boys help their father fertilize the tomato plants.
"Alright. Let's go meet those mages." Daryle said before picking up the boys and putting on his shoulders.
Finally, Issac thinks to himself.
I wonder what they're like, Thomas thinks to himself.
After a little over thirty minutes the three find themselves in a small orchard full of apple trees. "Hey! Abe! The kids want to meet you!" Daryle screamed after telling the boys to cover their ears.
Things stay silent for a few seconds before an old man driving a small truck full of apples drives out the orchard. He has a short but thick beard, his long hair, just like his eye brows is a deep white. He's waring blue overalls and a white shirt with brown leather boots completing the outfit. He parks right outside the orchard before getting down and walking to the three. He gently wipes the sweat off his forehead, his light brown skin shining. Unlike their father the mage has a more slime figure, his muscles less refined.
He suddenly stops before turning around. Suddenly he begins to speak. With every word the wind around him grows stronger. "Deus ventus. Sit cogitationes meae rei fiant. Ventis erit nostra aeterna cunis."
Suddenly things go quite. The wind stops moving. As the boys wonder what's happening Daryle smack his forehead. After a few seconds the boys notice four apple fly out of the trucks back storage.
The old man begins to walk once again, this time with four apples gently rotating around him. "Yes boss?" He said with a toothy grin.