My second chance in a strange reverse world!

Anyway, the information I had gathered was not enough for me, because I wanted to know more. I was fascinated.

The only point of comparison that comes to mind for what I am going through right now is the phenomenon of electricity for society.

What do I mean by that? Basically, electricity is the prime illustration of how we often overlook and undervalue something that has always been a part of our lives. For the majority of us, electricity doesn't strike us as remarkable because it has always been present, and while we may be aware of its history, it doesn't captivate our curiosity. This sentiment is shared by most individuals. However, if we were to transport someone from the medieval age, someone who has never encountered a similar source of power, their fascination and inquisitiveness would be boundless.

That's what's happening to me right now with the essence, and now I wanted to dig deeper. Instead of looking at short articles from the internet, I've decided to delve into more complex subjects, which is why I'm rubbing my forehead at the moment.

"My head hurts," I muttered when I finally finished reading a book about the essence-centered microworld. "And yet, I barely understood it."

To summarize what I learned from that strangely complicated book is that essence is something like a particle, but it behaves like a wave and has peculiar properties that restrict its interactions to specific entities. It's akin to a perplexingly intricate photon.

If that isn't complicated enough, it's because I haven't truly delved into the eternal debate between the religious and the scientists. The religious argue that essence is the embodiment of the soul, while the scientists maintain that it's merely an enigmatic and inscrutable particle.

I didn't feel inclined to delve deeper into religion again; I had been down that path before. However, since I find myself in this situation, I won't repeat the mistakes of my past self by outright denying the existence of any higher beings beyond humanity. For now, I will maintain a neutral standpoint.

I sighed once more. Perhaps next time, I should opt for a less intricate read. However, despite not gaining much knowledge from that previous book, I found myself rather content with my discoveries overall. I could now confidently claim to possess at least the basic understanding of Essence, akin to that of a native of this world.

I turned my gaze towards the bedside table and noticed that it was approximately six o'clock in the evening. My mother and Nola had not returned home yet, but I had a strong feeling they would be back soon. If this world adhered to the clichés surrounding gender roles, I knew I would be the one responsible for preparing dinner.

(***)

I went downstairs reciting the recipe I had learned in my head. Making sure I didn't miss the ingredients I was going to use or the proper cooking times.

Just as I descended the stairs, the entrance to the house swung open, unveiling my mother. Despite the evident exhaustion etched upon her face, her eyes softened with tenderness upon meeting mine. A faint yet genuine smile adorned her lips, exuding a fleeting but profound sense of affection.

"Hi." She said, setting her purse down on the couch near where she was.

I approached her, determined to greet her as she deserved, then gave her a tight hug. "Hi mom."

I sensed the surprise emanating from her, yet she couldn't help but snort in amusement and reciprocate the hug. "Seems like we're feeling affectionate today," she teased, but her tone swiftly shifted to seriousness. "I'm sorry, son, but I don't have any money to give you today."

I hugged her tighter. "I just wanted to hug you, I don't want money."

"Suspicious," she chuckled, her laughter resonating in the room like a captivating melody. However, as she settled into the comfort of my embrace, a tranquil sigh slipped past her lips, dispelling any lingering uncertainty. Gradually, she delicately withdrew from our hug, her gaze scanning my eyes. "Hasn't Nola returned home?" she inquired.

I shook my head. "Not yet."

My mother sighed. "Night shift again huh, I've told her to quit, but she never listens."

I didn't really know what job Nola had in this world, in my previous reality I didn't know what exactly she did, she never told me, but it had to be something that paid well, she always had pretty trendy stuff. "Mom, go change, I'll make dinner." I said, diverting the subject from Nola.

She nodded. "Thank you Alex."

I watched her disappear up the stairs and heard Luna come out of the room to say hello as well. The sight of my mother's weary face stirred a stronger determination within me, urging me to exert even greater effort in what I had planned to do. With that in mind, I swiftly made my way to the kitchen and opened the fridge. To my surprise, it was now considerably well-stocked. I presumed Nola must have gone grocery shopping after our departure. Adjusting my thoughts, I switched to a slightly more intricate recipe and retrieved the necessary ingredients.

But now came the tricky part: turning on the stove. It presented an opportunity for me to practice essence, yet I felt a twinge of apprehension. What if it unexpectedly exploded or caused some other calamity? With caution in mind, I chose to familiarize myself with other appliances first, seeking a safer avenue for experimentation. The kitchen boasted a microwave and a blender, and once again, fearing an untoward explosion, I opted for the blender.

I concentrated, placing my hand on the smooth surface devoid of any buttons, and attempted to channel essence into it. For a moment, nothing transpired, and just as doubt started to creep into my thoughts, the appliance abruptly sprung to life. The unexpected noise startled me, causing me to withdraw my hand hastily. Nonetheless, It was a triumph, albeit short-lived as the blender promptly powered down again.

I did that a couple more times until I discovered that the amount of time I radiated essence did not influence the amount of time the blender stayed on, which was strange.

However, I had spent a few minutes doing this, so I had better start making the food, I went to turn on the stove as a test and was able to do so to my joy.

"Finally!" I said, the only bad thing was that I didn't know how to turn it off.

"Alex?" sounded Luna's voice in the living room.

"Here!" I said, pulling out a chopping board and some onions.

Making stew seemed simple, heck, it seemed very simple, but when I took the chopping board and knife and started slicing the onion.

"Shit!" I cursed, bringing my finger to my mouth.

"Are you okay?!" My younger sister stumbled as she entered the kitchen, worriedly looking me up and down.

I laughed and grimaced at the taste of blood. "Yeah, I just cut myself."

Luna proceeded to rummage through the bodega drawers to finally pull out a small box of band-aids. "Let me see." She said, almost commanding

I stretched out my bleeding finger and she took my hand and then led me to the sink to wash it. When I was disinfected she proceeded to put on a kitten print band-aid and nodded in satisfaction.

"You should be more careful." She reminded me.

I nodded and picked up the knife again, only to end up cutting myself again. 'What the fuck is wrong with this knife' It was like a laser cutting through everything, it was so sharp I didn't feel like I was cutting anything and it confused what little kitchen sense I had.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Luna asked, again healing my finger, this time she brought her hand to my forehead to feel if I had a fever.

I coughed in embarrassment at my awkwardness. "I think I feel a little bad."

"Then let me help you!" She took the knife and started cutting the ingredients herself.

I was surprised at the skill with which she did it, it looked like she had experience. "Do you know how to cook?" I asked

Luna nodded, keeping her eye on the ingredients she was chopping. "Of course! I listened to your advice after all."

"What advice?"

My little sister let out a laugh. "The one you gave me a few years ago, that my appearance was so ugly that I should compensate with other talents."

I grimaced, that was bad enough. I walked over to my little sister and hugged her, making her stop her cutting task. "You're pretty, I'm sorry for what I said that time."

"Don't worry, I know I'm ugly," Luna said, and I was bothered by the lack of doubt in her tone. "But I also know you were trying to help me in your own way."

"I'm sorry again."

Luna snuggled against me. "Forget it, thanks to that I now know how to cook." She laughed.

I liked her positive attitude, so I gave her hair a kiss causing her to tremble in my embrace... I ignored that fact and pulled away from my blushing little sister, deliberately ignoring her determined look as I cleared my throat.

"I'm planning to make a stew, do you want to help me?"

"Y-yes,"

I laughed and went to grab a couple of pans. "Let's surprise the others with our combined power then. "

"Yes! Let's do this, big bro!"

We both high-fived each other, ready to do battle.