Chapter 36: # - 35: Night Hag’s Bargain
"Morning, sleepyhead. Dad’s making pancakes."
Anna’s voice drifts through Leon’s bedroom door like sunlight through curtains. He opens his eyes to familiar ceiling stars that still glow faintly green in the morning light. The smell of butter and vanilla fills the house, mixing with coffee and his mother’s lavender soap.
Leon stretches in his narrow bed, feeling the soft cotton sheets his mother bought from the market last spring. Everything feels solid. Real. The wooden floor creaks under his feet as he walks to the window.
Outside, Mrs. Patterson waters her roses. Mr. Chen walks his beagle down the sidewalk. Normal Tuesday morning in their quiet neighborhood.
"Leon! Breakfast!" His father’s voice carries from the kitchen, warm with humor.
The kitchen buzzes with family energy. Anna sits at the table, syrup already sticky on her fingers. Their father flips pancakes at the stove, spatula dancing in his calloused hands. Their mother pours orange juice into mismatched glasses.
"About time," Anna says, gap-toothed grin bright as summer. "Dad made the funny-shaped ones."
Leon examines his plate. The pancakes look like lopsided animals—a giraffe with a crooked neck, a dog with too many legs. His father’s specialty.
"That’s supposed to be a butterfly," Dad says, pointing at something that resembles a splattered moth.
"Looks more like roadkill," Leon says.
Anna giggles. Their mother swats Leon’s shoulder with a dish towel. "Be nice to your father’s artistic efforts."