Well, I've had a few eventful months, so I haven't written much, but I had a scene pop into my head out of nowhere, so I thought I'd try to capture it. This would be an attempt at opening "A Thousand Auras". We'll see if we get too exposition-ish.
"Did you ever think of naming me something other than Aurora?" Aura asked. She was sitting at the kitchen table as her mother rummaged through a pink-painted cupboard. The entire kitchen was pink, complete with iridescent penny-tile backsplash and pink-and-white tile floors. The shades and textures of pink mixed with various neutrals kept the room from feeling monotone. For instance, the penny tile was pastel pink, whereas the floor tiles were hot pink mixed with a warm white.
The curtains above the sink were a sheer beige linen with eyelet lace edges, but the curtains edging the bay windows that surrounded three quarters of the table were sheer ombre panels that graduated from light gray to pale pink. The table itself was a hefty ebony rectangle with carvings on the sturdy legs that softened its harsh edges. The chairs surrounding the table were all unmatching natural wicker chairs. Aura's favorite looked and felt like a throne, complete with a puffy, faux-fur-covered cushion set at the head of the table, whereas Britney preferred the basic stool that had abandoned its twin at the kitchen island and had permanently set up shop at the center of the table in between two boringly-shaped chairs with cushions that matched the one on Aura's chair.
The thing about the kitchen that never failed to amaze Aura, was that it was unique to all of the kitchens of all of the versions of herself that she had visited. Aura often felt that she'd gotten the best version of Britney in all of the multiverse -- that she'd met so far, and for some reason, this kitchen was proof.
Britney's clinking subsided as she pulled out a mug -- a massive homemade monstrosity that Aura had made in kindergarten, that despite being Britney's favorite, always ended up behind all of the other mugs. She held it up in triumph before descending carefully from the stepladder. At a shade above three-and-a-half feet, several step stools were placed strategically around the kitchen so that Britney could reach whatever she needed to, although when none of the kids were around, Aura knew Britney had a tendency to just heft herself up on top of a counter instead of hauling a stool over.
But since Aura was there, Britney kicked the step stool over to the coffee pot, climbed it, filled her mug, and then stepped back down, disappearing from view behind the kitchen island. A moment later, she emerged from round the edge of it, approaching the table with her unique waddle. She set the mug down on the table, climbed up onto her stool, picked up the mug, and eyed Aura suspiciously over the rim. "Why?" she asked. She took a sip.
Aura was startled by Britney's suspicion. She'd though her question had been innocent enough. When it had taken Britney so long to answer, she'd assumed that Britney hadn't heard her. "Just curious," Aura said, grinning at Britney's suspicion. She had enough practice at lying to her mother to know that the more elaborate the story, the less believable Britney found it. Besides, this was a totally normal question. She could see a normal kid asking their parent about why they were named the way they were.
In Aura's case, it was because she'd met a version of herself the day before named Jaclyn, whereas most of the Auras she'd met were named Aurora, although several of them had different nicknames, like instead of Aura, there was a Rory, a Rora, a Roar, and Oar, and even some nicknames that weren't related to her name, like Jet and Candy.
Britney was still eyeing Aura, but she just took another sip and sighed. She tilted her head back and though. "Let's see," she said. "I thought about lots of names. Problem, Albatross, Anxiety Attack..."
"Mom!" Aura protested, laughing.
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