I did it again.
Fractals: Crossroads of the Kaleidoscope
"Why are we here, again?"
"Here" was a side street near the Boardwalk, close enough to be nice and fairly well-to-do, but not so close that it could be considered the same kind of tourist attraction or shopping destination the rest of the Boardwalk was.
"I told you," said Lisa, "you've been really tense, lately. Tons of heavy, important stuff happening really quickly. You need a break."
I huffed out a breath past my lips. "A break, huh? Even though we've got Coil to take care of?"
"
Especially because we've got Coil to take care of," Lisa replied. "Injecting some levity and fun between all of the life or death struggles is the only way to stay...well, I was gonna say 'sane,' but we're parahumans that got our powers through serious trauma, so 'somewhat sane' fits better."
I couldn't help laughing a little about that part. Me, Lisa, Bakuda...none of use were really models of mental health, although Lisa seemed better off than most.
"Alright. So where
is 'here,' anyway?"
"It's a little coffee shop I came across about a week ago. Old-fashioned, family-owned, and it's been around since the forties. German immigrants from World War II rebuilt the family business after moving here to escape the Nazis."
Lisa gave a little chuckle. "Kinda ironic that the Nazis followed them here, after a fashion. It's more surprising that Kaiser hasn't tried to force them under his banner, all things considered."
"Why's that?"
"It's the name," she answered. "It means 'Ancestral Heritage.' Of course, a hundred years ago, it would have been a nod to the age of the place and a way of honoring their ancestors, but after the Nazis started up a program that had the same name..."
"Ah. Yeah, I see what you mean."
Lisa came to a stop. "Here we are."
I looked ahead to where she was staring and found that we had come up to a little, one-story shop made of brick with large, glass windows on the front. Above the door and stretching across nearly two thirds of shop was a large, green wooden sign that displayed the word, AHNENERBE, in big, golden letters, and scrawled underneath it was,
Makers of fine teas and coffees since 1941.
We entered into an old-fashioned coffee shop that looked like it had come from a cross between the late 1800s and mid 1900s Germany, with low-hanging lights that cast the place in a sort of dim yellow glow. Maybe it was the time of day and maybe it was because people were still nervous about coming outside after Bakuda's rampage, but it was almost completely empty.
"Why don't you find us a seat?" said Lisa. "I'll get us something to drink."
She peeled away from me and headed towards the bar, where a series of stools were set in front. The guy behind the counter was wearing an apron and, strangely, a pair of sunglasses.
I set off into the cafe, and eventually, I chose a seat around the middle of the place, facing towards the left wall - or the right, depending on whether you were on the inside looking out or the outside looking in. Almost in spite of myself, I found I actually enjoyed the atmosphere - the dim lighting gave it a cozier, homelier feel than if, say, it had bright ceiling lights or more modern, florescent bulbs.
Lisa came back a few minutes later with a pair of mugs, one of which she set in front of me. "Here. Some Earl Grey. I figured you'd prefer that over coffee."
I hesitated for a few seconds as she sat down across from me, then, as she lifted her own mug and began to sip at it, closing her eyes and letting out a soft moan as though she had just tasted ambrosia, my curiosity got the better of me and I had to try mine, too.
Let me just say: Best. Tea. Ever.
I was so wrapped in how good it was that I must not have heard the bell as someone else entered the shop. I
did, however, notice their presence tickling at the edge of my senses, a pair of people, and as I felt one get close to Lisa and I, so close that I could have reached out and touched her, I turned in her direction, still sipping at my tea.
In the back of my mind, I noted that she dressed similar to how I once had - somewhat baggy hoodie, looser jeans rather than the skintight kind most girls my age preferred - and that she seemed a little unsure of herself, but none of that made the front page, so to speak, because what was more important was her face: it was almost like looking in a mirror. The same hair, the same shape to the mouth and nose, the same angles to the chin and jaw that I had inherited from my mother. She even wore glasses, like I had, before.
Then, our eyes met, and I was looking into a pair of vivid green eyes with flecks of gold. They seemed to draw me in, leading me back to a fragment of that [nothing] that I had glimpsed in the Locker, something that was at the same time grand and infinite, but not quite [infinite].
The moment held for an eternity. The girl looked as surprised and entranced as I felt, and the longing that must have ached in her heart matched mine.
But she wasn't Mom, and she turned away and kept going. I watched her for a moment longer, then turned back to my companion.
"Hey, Lisa?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for bringing me."
-0.0-
Because all times and places can meet in that magical cafe called Ahnenerbe.
And yes. That was Essence Taylor that she crossed eyes with. Because I already did something like that before.
EDIT: And I suddenly have the desire to do a team-up with
@ensou and write a series of sidestories with Essence Taylor and AFHB Taylor tag-teaming villains from the multiverse, like some kind of Crisis style crossover of infinite Nasu Taylors.
