Elil closed the book, lingering for a moment on its worn cover, then slid it back onto the shelf. Just as he settled back onto his bed, he heard Kayal calling from downstairs.
"Food is ready, Elil kutty!" Her affectionate voice carried through the quiet house, but she knew her first call wouldn't be enough to summon him. "If you don't come down, I'll come up," she added, with a touch of playful threat.
Elil rolled his eyes, a faint smirk on his face. *Daring of her to say it, having a weak knee like hers,* he thought, but he still called back, "I'll be right there, don't come up!" He knew she would, weak knee or not.
He changed into his pajamas and headed downstairs, the aroma of Kayal's cooking guiding him to the kitchen, where a cozy meal awaited him, steam curling from the dishes. He slipped into his seat, gratefully accepting the plate she handed him.
"How many lectures did you manage to piss off today?" Kayal asked, settling across from him at the small kitchen table as they began their meal.
Elil let out a half-guilty laugh, scratching the back of his head. He knew better than to try to deny it—Kayal knew him too well.
"Just like your mum," she said with a fond, knowing smile.
Her words settled warmly in Elil's chest. It was the kind of comment Kayal often made, and it always reminded him of his mother's fierce intelligence, her wit, her ability to challenge everyone around her. He smiled back at Kayal, appreciating the thought more than he'd ever let on.
Dinner flowed easily, the conversation light and filled with the kind of comfort that only years of familiarity could bring. When they finished, Kayal rose, gathering the plates as she prepared to head home for the night. She had a family of her own—a husband and three children—who she would return to every evening. But she'd be back early in the morning, as always, to prepare breakfast and take care of the household chores.
"Take care, Elil kutty," she said as she slipped her bag over her shoulder, glancing back at him with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Kayal," he replied, watching as she left. As the door closed, the house fell into silence once more.
Elil lay on his bed, savoring the coolness of the sheets as he pulled his thick blanket over himself. Gradually, warmth seeped in, and he felt the day's exhaustion melting away. His eyes began to close, and sleep started to pull him under.
But then… something felt strange.
"Huh?" he murmured, his eyes opening slowly, struggling to focus. Everything looked normal, yet a sense of unease prickled at him. It wasn't anything he could see—rather, it was a sensation, a feeling of something off beneath him. He reached a hand behind his back, expecting to feel the usual resistance of the mattress. But to his shock, his hand slid through empty air.
"What the…?"
It dawned on him with a start: he wasn't lying on the bed anymore. He was hovering just above it, his body suspended a few centimeters in the air.
His pulse quickened as he realized he was rising, slowly but steadily. His heart raced as, one by one, he began to lose feeling in his limbs. His arms went slack, his fingers growing numb, and then his legs, weightless and unresponsive.
"What is going oooon?" he tried to shout, but the words caught in his throat. His mouth moved, but no sound emerged.
He was trapped in silence, his mind fully alert, while his body drifted higher, helplessly disconnected. Panic surged as he fought to understand, struggling to make sense of what was happening. And yet, he felt himself slipping further from control, his body rising, weightless, as if he were being pulled by some unseen force.
As Elil floated, suspended in the strange silence, he watched the ceiling above him start to shift and warp. What was once just a plain ceiling slowly transformed into a vast, cosmic expanse. Stars glittered above him like shards of ice, and swirling galaxies stretched into view, the depth of their colors mesmerizing. It was as if he were moving through space, gliding along the currents of the universe.
"This is definitely a weird dream," Elil thought, half amused. "But wait—would I even know it's a dream if I were dreaming?"
He smirked inwardly. "Too bad I can't just slap myself awake to check. Might as well enjoy the ride."
The sensation of drifting through the void became eerily real, though. He could feel the vast emptiness of space around him, cold and endless. It felt far too vivid to be a dream.
Then, out of nowhere, a voice echoed faintly in his ear. "I hope I chose the right one."
Elil's eyes widened. "Um… hello?" he thought, feeling slightly ridiculous but realizing it was his only option for communication.
"Yes, yes, hello, boy," the voice replied, sounding amused.
Elil couldn't hold back his questions any longer. *"Could you maybe please explain WHAT THE ACTUAL—"* he took a breath, still polite despite his nerves, *"WHAT IS GOING ON???"*
"Calm down, young man. I'm not here to kidnap you," the voice said, its tone almost lighthearted. "I mean, I could kidnap you, but I was specifically instructed not to."
"That's a lot of sass for a voice from the universe," Elil shot back, both irritated and intrigued.
"Who said I'm the voice of the universe?" The voice sounded genuinely amused. "That would be an unbearably tedious job. It's mostly empty space anyway."
"I said "voice from the universe" and not "voice of the universe". How self absorbed are you?"
"Ugh, never mind."
Elil took a mental deep breath, realizing he wasn't getting anywhere fast. "Alright, mystery voice—why am I here, or wherever this is?"
"Good question!" the voice replied cheerily. "Let me get to the point. I'm here to formally invite you to an alien world, one filled with magic and—how do you put it?—'fantasy elements,' according to your world's words."
Elil's mind raced, unable to process the strange reality of it all.
"Bear in mind," the voice continued, "this is an invitation, not a command. You have a rare opportunity to choose. You may either accept or decline, thanks to the one who has extended this invitation."
"An invitation to… another world," Elil thought, slowly absorbing the words. He could feel his heart pounding. Fantasy and magic? This was exactly the kind of world he'd always been fascinated by, the kind he and his mother would dream up in their bedtime conversations. And yet, it was entirely unreal.
"Who invited me?" he asked cautiously.
"Ah," the voice paused, as if choosing its words carefully. "The one who invited you prefers to remain a mystery. But I assure you, they know you well enough to believe you'd fit into this world."
Elil lay there in the silence, feeling the surreal magnitude of the moment.