* * *
Drying my hair, I walked into the living room of the hotel suite. The room looked like something from a movie. Every window looked out over the ocean.
"Lunch is here," Gavin said. "Are you feeling better?"
"Much." The shower washed away the last memory of the dream.
"I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got you tomato soup and grilled cheese. My mom always made it for Gabriella and me whenever we had a bad day. I thought maybe...," Gavin trailed off with a shrug.
"Thank you, it's perfect. Some comfort foods never change. I think every place I've ever lived in gives us tomato soup and grilled cheese when we needed to feel better." Sitting down I took off the lid and inhaled deeply. "Wow this smells wonderful."
"I've never eaten it before," Kayin said, removing his own lid.
"What did your mom make when you didn't feel good?" I took a bite of the creamy soup and it soothed my stomach. This was the only magic I needed.
"I didn't grow up with food that was easy to get. My mom made what was in season, and what the hunters caught," Kayin answered. "She would always try to have groundnuts for groundnut stew. It’s my favorite."
"Groundnuts are peanuts," Anali explained uncovering her salad.
"Is it sweet?" Peanut stew, I'd never heard of that before.
Kayin shook his head. "No, it's spicy."
"Have you tasted Thai peanut sauce?" Gavin asked, twirling his fork in his pasta primavera.
"Oh yes, once. I liked it," I replied and then bit into the grilled cheese. Oh, my. It tasted so good. The crispy sourdough bread crunched around the gooey melted cheese. I dipped it into the tomato soup, which hadn't come from a can, and was full of fresh tomatoes and flecks of fresh herbs. This was the fanciest grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup I'd ever had.
"I can make it for you, if you'd like," Kayin offered.
"That would be wonderful, Big Brother. I love trying new foods. I feel like I always eat the same ten things, over and over."
"Has it been difficult being a vegetarian while living in group homes?" Anali asked.
"No, most of the time I eat side dishes. A few people tried to push the meat thing, but it doesn't appeal to me."
"A lot of Children of Fire don't care for meat," Gavin said around a noodle.
"Why?"
"Phoenixes don't eat meat." Gavin shrugged. "Some believe that those who don't enjoy eating meat are more powerful or more connected to Shamash and Aya, but there's never been any proof of that."
So some of my behaviors are because I'm part Phoenix? "Philip gave me a book about magical creatures. I haven't read it yet. I didn't think it would tell me about me."
"Common Mythical Creatures from Around the World, I have one of those," Kayin said. "It's full of the most common magical creatures: faeries, gnomes, pixies, fire salamanders, nymphs and a bunch of others. I don't remember Phoenixes, though."
"Phillip has written other books. I think Royal Magical Creatures has a chapter on Phoenixes." Gavin looked to Anali for confirmation.
"Yes, there is a lot of very specific information on Phoenixes in that one."
"I didn't know he wrote the book; he didn't say anything." Now I felt bad for not having read it right away.
"Philip is a great researcher. We'll keep in contact with him as we travel," Gavin said. "He's written a bunch of books."
"Cool." I went back to my lunch. I would start reading the book he gave me when I got home.