Marching down the stairs, Herring rushed to get out the door. More than anything, he wanted to avoid a second confrontation. He didn’t want to have to encounter Jenny, but this time for a different reason. He wasn’t scared of getting chewed out, but rather of simply facing her. With how he was feeling, she’d see through him in an instant.

Of course, things never went as he wanted, though. In a reverse replay of the scene from the morning, this time Jenny caught Herring on his way into the mudroom out of the house, his shoulder already pressing against the door. “Ahem…”

Resounding footstep after footstep, her approach echoed throughout the foyer. Herring’s blood ran not just cold, but below zero at her weighty presence. Like ice shattering, her final step was placed and she was now upon him.

Turning to face her, Herring attempted to hide his anxiety. She’d just arrived home a few moments ago, but already she was switched back into her more comfortable ensemble of a track jacket and shawl. Somehow, though, this only made her more intimidating. When someone so uncaring held a semblance of conviction and heart, it was always scary.

Before he could stammer an excuse, Jenny had already taken action upon Herring. Snatching his hand and prying his palm open with her chipped fingernails, she placed something. “You’re going out with your friend, aren’t you?”

“Huh…?” Bewildered, Herring blinked as he looked down upon the contents of his hands. Crumpled up in a measly wad was a pair of twenty dollar bills. His eyes shot back and forth between the money and his sister, confused as to why he was being paid. “Do… you owe me money?”

“Really?” Jenny giggled to herself in an almost condescending manner, “Why would I owe you anything? When have I ever taken money from you?”

“It’s just—”

“It’s for you guys to get dinner, you prick. I’m not just gonna let your friend go hungry.” Jenny’s previously expressionless face deflated with a sigh as she turned and ruffled her hair back into its usual mess. Shuffling her way back to the living room, she muttered curses to herself before calling back. “All I want is to meet her when you get back, alright?!”

Forgoing a response, Herring’s legs trembled as he dashed out the door, unable to face her any longer. The door slamming shut, he left her behind. His voice cracking, and on the brink of tears, he whispered, “For sure, next time we meet…”

And with that and a heart heavy as aluminum, his departure was decided. Stepping down from the porch and going up the leaf-strewn driveway, he walked away from his house one last time… “Argh! Screw that!”

Walked—no, ran— right back down the driveway and into the house. Not even giving time for his mind to process what he was passing by, Herring shot through the mudroom, skidded a sharp left, and flew straight into the living room where Jenny was once more laying down. For a moment, he could see a look of genuine shock spill upon her face before he tackled her and buried his head into her stomach.

“Uh…” Jenny began to speak up, but her voice was swiftly drowned out. Drowned out by the piercing wail of her brother’s crying as he clasped onto her jacket and quivered. Before a clock had a chance to tick or a cricket a chance to chirp, her clothes were drenched in a downpour of salty tears.

The stammering breathing of her brother only continued to crescendo. His choked warm breath cloaked her body in warmth, and his trembling shook her to her core. She was without words. So, seeing no other proper course of actions, she ran her hands through his hair and embraced him like a mother would her child. And thus, the two hugged for the first time.

Eventually Herring’s voice broke over Jenny’s gentle, if not awkward, shushes. Pulling his head out of her stomach, he straightened himself and returned her embrace, their heads now close together. “Thank you! I love you…! Thank you. I love you…”

Time seemingly stopped for a while, leaving nothing but the two siblings in their stasis…

Then, it was over. With the words he’d wanted to say off of his chest, Herring finally felt satisfied. The tears stopped falling, his body stopped shaking, and his mind was put at ease. So, now of sound mind and body, he hugged Jenny one last time while he was standing up.

“You okay now?” Jenny, sighing once more like he was a nuisance, looked up as she pushed her glasses back into position.

“I was always okay, you idiot! I just figured you deserved some affection for once in your godforsaken life.” Satisfied with those being his last words towards his sister, he nodded at her and smiled before heading out of the room. From behind him, he could hear his sister’s own final words shouted towards him. It was a vow.

“—Joey, whatever shit you’re up to, just know… You can’t hide anything from me!”

With that, Herring left his house one last last time. For real this time.

It was now the apex of the shortened fall night as he reached the top of his driveway where Redlette was impatiently waiting, throwing stones into the surrounding woods. The air had grown cold and now carried a distinct chill to it, but she didn’t seem to mind, despite wearing lighter clothes.

When Herring finally arrived at the top, he was eyed with no little amount of concern. He figured he must’ve looked like a mess. Anyone would after crying like that.

“You alright, man?” Redlette asked, cocking her head and shrugging their travel backpack back into place. “Your face is all puffy, y’know?”

“You’re one to talk, Miss Chubby Cheeks.” Herring, sheltering his emotions within himself, locked up like a box, took to his usual banter. This seemed to put Redlette at ease, as she perked up and her tail started flicking beside him.

“I’d say my ‘chubby cheeks’ are one of my most endearing features. I’m like a pinchable little brat. Grandmothers the world around beware!”

“You’ve got the brat part down, that’s for sure.” Herring mused, chuckling as he unfurled his pockets. From them, the final item he’d grabbed flittered to the ground as he failed to catch it and it was caught in the slight breeze.

“Wuzzat?” Redlette inquired, picking it up for him. “A letter…?”

“It’s for Jenny.” Herring explained, his face now somewhat dejected as he took it from his friend and shoved it into the mailbox. “It just didn’t feel right… leaving her without explaining.”

“Well, of course it didn’t!” Redlette said outright, “I mean, I told my mother where I was going! We had a whole gushy scene of tears, hugs, and goodbyes and everything. Shoulda done that with my father back in the day, too. It was awesome!”

“Eheheh… that’s cool.” Herring averted his eyes, guilty about his inability to be upfront about his own goodbye. “Wait, your father… your mother…?”

“The man who took care of me when I was a lost child and the woman who took me in here. It’s alright to call people like that your mother and father, ain’t it?” Redlette explained bluntly, now leading the charge as they took off from the driveway. Apparently she couldn’t handle standing around any longer.

Herring paused for a moment, letting her trail on ahead. He found himself lost in thought at her words. Then, allowing a satisfied grin to spread to his face, he chased after her and returned to her side. He’d reached his conclusion.

“I suppose it is.”

»»»

Hello, sister of mine,

By the time you’re reading this, I’m sure a week’s already passed. You really should check the mail more often. Although, there’s always the chance that you checked the mailbox, hoping you’d see this very letter.

How lame of you.

The two plodded their way through the woods, crunching on mountains of dead leaves as Herring followed after Redlette’s lead. Despite everything they’d discussed, how they’d get there was still a mystery to Herring. It was one of the few topics that hadn’t come up in their many conversations. It was that old trope of only thinking about the destination and not the journey ahead.

Well, I do hope that you don’t miss me too much, because we’ll never see each other ever again! Hooray! For, you see, I’m heading off for greater and better things. I’m gonna be an adventurer— and not just any adventurer, but an adventurer in another world!

“Are you gonna tell me why we’re walking in the woods?” Herring spoke up after about fifteen minutes of what seemed like mindless wandering. Redlette seemed to be looking around for something, but it appeared to be eluding her. Either that, or she was completely and utterly lost. “...What exactly are you looking for?”

“A small body of natural rainwater.” Redlette mumbled.

“What?”

“A puddle! I’m looking for a puddle!”

Now now, hold that derisive glare of yours. I can already see it in the back of my mind. It’s sending shivers down my spine over interdimensional boundaries. But what I’m saying is the truth. Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you. Although, it’d probably be best if you did. It’d put your mind more at ease, probably.

Herring broke away from Redlette’s lead and began examining the surroundings for a puddle, himself. Although, he figured they were more likely to find a pile of copperheads than a clear puddle. It was then that he found it, nestled between the roots of a giant old tree whose few leaves gently fell into the world below it. Illuminated by the moon’s glow that broke through the tree’s thick branches was a single large puddle, shining like a pool of silver.

“Hey, Redlette, would this work?!”

Anyways, I’m sorta sorry that I didn’t tell you this up front, but how do you even begin to tell someone something like that? “Oh, by the way, I’m planning on going to another world with a friend of mine. Huh, you’re asking how? Well, she just so happens to be a mystical deity from said other world.” You’d sooner throw me in the looney bin than believe me, wouldn’t you? So, I’m giving you no choice! Believe me or live the rest of your days in anguish and agony, wondering where your dear brother has disappeared to.

Not like I think you’d worry about me all that much. Just a little bit of worry, that’s all I ask for.

“Ooo, this is perfect! Good call, my man!” Redlette had dashed up to Herring and nearly stumbled straight into the puddle, almost ruining its pristine nature. The amount of water displaced might’ve even made them have to search for another one. “We’ve just gotta pick out the leaves then we’re set.”

“Perfect. Then let’s get to it!”

I guess I’m just writing this to offer an explanation. I didn’t want to take off and have you think you did something wrong. I mean, you were a pain to deal with, but I’m not so selfish as to leave you alone just because you pester me sometimes. I recognize that the annoyance is mutual, too. So, that’d just be unfair of me.

The puddle was cleared and the two found themselves sitting by its side, peering into it. For a while they just sat there, observing it. From time to time Redlette swatted away a leaf that tried to infiltrate. But other than that, it was them and the silence of the night.

Reaching to her waistband, Redlette pulled out the pair of scissors she’d used in her demonstration and placed them in between them. “I should still remember how to use these, I think…”

“The scissors? That rusty heap of junk?” Herring warily eyed the scissors. Their edges were dull and chipped, coated in the orange wear of rust. Brightly colored stains permeated its metal, likely a result of some magical use. “Are you positive these things are safe to use?”

“Yup, sure are! Probably.”

If I had to put a reasoning to my departure, I’m simply pursuing a childish fantasy of mine. One that I never once dreamed could be fulfilled. But I reiterate, there’s no need to worry. I trust this person with my life. She’s my best friend. I bet you didn’t even know I had a person like that. Jealous? I doubt you’ve trusted someone this much in your whole life.

“That’s bullshit! How the hell am I meant to trust you when you say probably? Give me a definite answer, dammit!” Herring sputtered, “Like how do these even work? You haven’t explained anything!”

“Well… they just sorta do. It’s like, they take my hard magic in, cutting some off like you’re trimming a tasty piece of meat. And then it just sorta cuts stuff and a tear appears and it happens! I don’t know!”

“That doesn’t make me trust you anymore…! —Actually, it makes me trust you less, even! You should know these things! You should definitely know these things!”

That’s right, I trust my friend, Redlette, with my life.

“It’ll be fiiinnneee. Lighten up, why don’tcha… It’s not that serious. I’ll cut my magic, severing it at the sinews, and we should end up in my cave. Right where I left from. Most likely.” Redlette tried to placate Herring further, but it only earned a forlorn glare from him. His friend was truly hopeless.

Anyways, it’s becoming obvious I don’t write on pen and paper, too much. I’m starting to run out of room here, so I’ll just say the last thing already. Now don’t get a big head over this. It can go up a few sizes, but not become big.

“Wait… this won’t hurt you, will it?” Herring, realizing what he perceived as grave details of her wording, fired Redlette an unamused glare “This isn’t gonna be the type of thing where I get there and you’re gone, right?”

“Nope! I should be fine.” Redlette responded chipperly, snatching the scissors from Herring and plunging her right arm forearm up into the puddle. Her eyes grew serious with the distant gaze of longing and her smile moved from its energetic c-shape to a more subtle curve. “Actually, I should finally be fine. With this, all my extra hard magic should be gone. I’ll finally just be a normal person— able to sleep, grow, and live like I really exist…”

“Redlette…”

I just want to thank you for taking care of me all these years. It wasn’t all bad. Although, it certainly wasn’t all good, either. You have a lot of places you could improve. But all in all, you did good. Pat yourself on the back!

“Welp, no use thinking about it! Let’s do this thing!” Completely ruining the mood, Redlette parted the scissors and raised their blades to her upturned palm, and then, she closed them over her fingers. However, just as Herring’s heart was freezing and then rocketing up his throat, he’d realized that they’d passed straight through her. Instead of a gross gorey display, an amalgamation of lights spilled from her fingertips and into the puddle, mixing yellows and pinks and aquas and limes all together to create a glowing body of what could only be called pure magic.

So, this is magic… Real magic… Herring couldn’t help but think cliched lines like that to himself. He’d always wanted to think such things.

Also one last thing, while I still have room.

I love you, Jenny. And I’ll miss you.

Only a bit, though.

“By the way, we’ve got like a one minute time frame before this thing closes.” Redlette said bluntly, looking at the awestruck Herring with her usual wry expression. “After that, kiss your fantasy dream goodbye, my friend!”

“Can’t I have a single moment without you ruining it?! Also, I’m still not entirely certain this is safe—” Herring’s voice cracked, stammering like he was talking for the first time. There was just too much going on.

“Relaxxx, I’ve done this before. I’m practically an expert.” Redlette said in the least convincing tone Herring had ever heard in his life. Then, without giving him warning, she put her hand on his back. “Welp, we’re running out of time.”

“W-W-Wait. What are you doing?!” Herring’s heartbeat spiked. He knew what was coming, but he wasn’t prepared for it.

“In we go!” And with that, Herring was forcefully pushed into the magic puddle— or more accurately, the portal to Creation. Following after him, Redlette somersaulted forward just as the portal closed, returning the puddle back into ordinary water and leaving the dim night behind.

Inside, Herring’s consciousness near immediately began to collapse. The only feeling that remained within him was one of falling, or rather rising. Ascending, dividing, multiplying, warping. Leaving.

It only felt like a split second, though… akin to how time passes when one falls asleep— seemingly lasting only a moment as it progresses unbeknownst to the one asleep.

However, there was a unique feeling that was indescribable to Herring, too. As if he was being torn out of Earth’s rigid rules and being coaxed into the rules of this new world. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t feel pleasurable either. It was simply indescribable, but it was a new feeling that he’d soon become accustomed to.

When they’d next awaken, it’d be daytime, and a new tomorrow would be shining upon their lives. It would be the dawn of their re-creation.

Farewell, Jennifer,

Your favorite (and only) brother, Joey Brickford.

Even worlds apart, may I annoy you.

World Severing Scissors:

They’re just a rusty pair of scissors. As much as I asked Redlette what allowed them to travel between worlds, she couldn’t explain it. Evidently, she just uses them to utilize what she calls “hard magic” from her body, which is otherwise inaccessible. Thanks to Redlette’s story, I can guess she got them from some kind of witch-like figure. So, both their attainment and their appearance are equally sketchy.

Let’s just hope there’s not some messed up magical form of tetanus that she can get from them.