"-MOS! AMOS!" A voice called from the darkness - for it was dark now, the sun had set since Amos entered the Infinite Lake.
It seems time continues on even while I'm in the Infinite Lake.
"WHERE ARE YOU, BOY! IT'S LATE!"
Amos groaned, rubbing his head. He was covered in dirty water and crumpled in an extremely uncomfortable position. He had returned home exactly where he had left from - the splintery water trough.
It sounded like his parents had been looking for him for a while. Their shouts and calls had a tone of desperation, even fear.
"Over here!" Amos called out to the night, tumbling out of the trough and landing on his knees in the mud. He was shaking, though it was difficult to say whether the wet and cold or shock of the encounter produced the greatest effect on his nerves.
Shit, they're going to be worried about me.
I'll have to be more careful next time I want to speak to my soul...
Kien and Leila arrived shortly to find Amos standing sheepishly next to the trough, dripping with the dregs of the animals' drinking water.
"Oh, Amos, you're alright!" Leila rushed forward, taking him into a bear hug. She smoothed his dank hair down and kissed his forehead repeatedly, muttering "Thank Maur, thank Maur," each time.
"What the hell, Amos," Kien joined the hug, "you've been gone all day."
They stepped back to examine his face. Leila wiped away a streak of grime with her thumb.
"Where've you been, son?" Kien asked, "we were worried sick!"
Amos cleared his throat, trying to stall while he thought of a lie.
"Uh, I fell asleep."
"Out here?"
"Yeah..." Amos thought on his feet, "I haven't been able to sleep at all, lately. Guess I just got too tired and passed out."
"I told you to go to bed, boy," Leila said, pulling on his ear gently.
"I wanted to help out," Amos shrugged.
"Come on," Leila led them both back to the farmhouse, "I'll heat some broth, and make you some tea to help with sleep."
Kien's stomach grumbled. He shot a sideways grin at Amos, pulling him in to tousle his hair, "We were waiting for you to eat."
"And then you are going straight to bed, young man, straight to bed, you hear me?" Leila pointed at Amos.
Amos gulped and nodded.
...
After dinner, Amos stood alone in the darkness of his double room, while Kien and Leila stayed in the central room. They had both expressed great concern over his behaviour in the past few days. Amos stuck with his excuse of tiredness - to which Leila responded by pointing at the stairs with a stern face.
The shutters of his window were open, latched so they didn't bang about in the breeze. The moonlight cast an eerie glow on Amos' face, looking out at the farm from the open dormer.
The Aquila family farm. The farm that Amos - the real Amos - worked so hard to keep going. The farm that sustained his family and the farm that the new Amos was so royally fucking up.
If I can return to the Infinite Lake again...
The real Amos might be willing to teach me about the world, or farming.
Then I won't be ruining his life so much...
The door to the room creaked open, letting in a shaft of soft orange glow and interrupting his thoughts. Leila stood in the doorway, holding a chipped mug and a slim candle.
"Hey, honey bun," she said. She set the candle down on the flat top of Amos and Yakob's shared chest, then went to sit on the bed.
"Hey, " Amos said, watching her cup the mug in both hands, shivering on accord of the open window.
"I made this for you," she indicated the mug.
"What is it?"
"Tea. Herbal. It'll help with your sleeping."
Amos walked over to sit adjacent to her and took the tea from her hands, "Thanks."
They sat in silence for a while. Amos sipped his tea. It was good - strong and warm.
"Amos," Leila broke the silence, "I know you're doing your best to help us out on the farm. Your father and I really appreciate it, and everything else you do for us. You're our strong little helper."
Amos sipped his tea with eyes downcast. Orange light flickered as the candle danced.
"Look at me," Leila insisted, "you are strong. But there's only so much you can do, okay? Don't think your father didn't notice all those late nights you spent fertilising the fields last month. You're working yourself too hard, Amos. You need to slow down. I told you already, the work will wait. I mean, you even let the Ra get the better of you!"
The Ra?
The only thing that got the better of me was those chickens... Those beasts must be called Ra.
"We are going to be okay, you know that? No matter what. You just need to get some proper rest."
Leila patted the knee of her son's doppelganger. They sat in silence while she ensured that Amos finished his tea. Then, she took the mug and tucked Amos into the scratchy woolen blanket.
"I'll close these shutters before you go to bed. You don't want to catch the madness," she said.
Wait, what? Some kind of airborne disease?
"Goodnight, goose," Leila smiled at him
"G'Night... mum."
Leila exited the room backwards. She shut the door with a soft thud. Amos listened for her descending footsteps.
He let himself relax under the covers. It was peaceful, for a moment. A second of genuine rest.
...
There was a soft rustling preventing Amos from sleep. It was the noise of wind playing with a stack of papers left unsecured.
He frowned, his eyes still closed, insistent on attaining unconsciousness. There shouldn't be any papers in the room - he'd explored them all while cleaning the house and paper was a rarity, it seemed.
Amos threw his blanket off with a frustrated sigh. He was determined to find the source of the annoyance.
As he got up, he cast his eye around the room. Everything was in order: The candle flickered softly, the chest was closed tightly, the breeze brew softly through the open window.
But... Leila closed the window...
The rustling came again.
Amos approached the window cautiously. The stars glittered brilliantly, brighter than they ever were in Amos' old world. They were strange colours, reds and golds and greens.
Everything is so different here.
I'll just have to get used to it.
Amos shook his head and reached out to close the shutters. The rustling noise redoubled its efforts to gain his attention. It worked this time.
Illuminated by the moon and stars, and the soft glow of the candle behind him, Amos looked down on the windowsill. There was an innocuous envelope where there hadn't been before.
Strange...
He picked up the envelope. It was oddly warm to the touch. The front was sealed with red wax. The wax was colder than the rest of the envelope.
The seal was not entirely unfamiliar to Amos. In his old life, he had consulted his horoscope for advice regarding his (non-existent) love life, lottery chances, and career forecasts. It was for this reason that he recognised the symbol for Pisces[1], even though he was a Cancer[2] himself. Twelve stars surrounded the Pisces symbol, like numbers on a clock.
Amos broke the seal and opened the letter, shrugging. There was text on it that he couldn't-
Wait...
This is written in English!
There was text on it that he could read. He smoothed it out hastily, accidentally smearing the ink.
The ink is still wet?
Amos closed the shutters and went to sit by the candle Leila had left him on the chest. He held the note close to the flame. His eyes widened as they skimmed over the mysterious letter.
"BAILEY," it read simply, "WATCH FOR THE ECLIPSE."
[1] ♓︎
[2] ♋︎