A blue portal suddenly appeared on the countertop. A box with a letter on it slowly and gently landed on it.
There's a sticky note on the box...
"DANG IT-- LITTLE SCAMP DIDN'T ALLOW ME TO VISIT YOU 'CAUSE THEY SAID-- I CAN VISIT YOU IN THAT "ANOTHER UNIVERSE" THAT WE JUST TRAVELLED ONCE TO MEET SENA-- ANYWAYS, THERE'S A DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES IN THAT BOX-- KAFKA MADE IT FOR YOU!"
The contents of the letter are as below...
"Dear, Miss Erin... I must apologize for... not noticing your presence in... My house... Miss Eva is... Indeed... Teasing me for the fourth times... That day... Do forgive me... For... I... Ever so afraid of that... Plushie of yours..."
"In this envelope... I include some... simple artworks of my dear... The... Male version of... you... Miss Erin and... That plushie of yours... near my... cup of tea... They apologised for... their absence... and hope you... like it... May Dura Above... Bless you with... anything that you do... Today..."
~ sincerely, Magister Kafka
Below are the artworks included in the envelope...
Erin lazily lifts her head from the countertop when she feels that magic right next to her. She felt a little under the weather and decided to slump over her empty coffee cup on that early afternoon but the moment she sees the box appear her eyes lit up.
"Oh what is this?" she wonders and she reaches out to examine the paper stuck to the box. "It's from the two Magisters! Hey, Snek, that might interest you, too!"
Not that Erin has all that much influence over her mini-self but this time Snek seems to listen to her summon. She worms her way all the way from the far end of the hall towards the tavern.
Without waiting for Snek, Erin opens the box to reveal the delicious looking cake. "That looks amazing! I am most definitely going to take the largest share... right after Merlin. And then Dolly... and then Chippy." She chuckles and gently shakes her head. Then she takes the letter and reads it out loud, so that Snek can hear the message, too.
"Kafka, it's quite alright", Erin sighs quietly. "I think I remember how it feels like to be blinded by fear. That can make you really quite short-sighted. I am just sorry it was Snek causing you to feel like that. She's silly, but very harmless. Maybe I gotta strip her of the snake-onesie for you the next time I come to visit."
As she notices the small drawings, she murmurs in surprise. "Snek, it's you! Ahahahaha, you look so adorable and peaceful here. Did Kafka do these? Wow, that's really good!"
Erin hold up the small drawing of Snek and compares it agains the real one, now reaching the cake on the countertop and carefully studying it. She worms a few times around it before eventually settling next to it.
Erin has grown silent. The second picture is in her hand and she cannot take her eyes of it.
"This is... me?" She shakes her head gently. "No. This is... ... Eugene." As she is holding the picture in her left hand, her right hand reaches for her wrist and presses and rubs it. A magical tattoo, an eternal strange memory of someone long forgotten. Her eyes are glued to the smile of the man in her hand, despite the blur of her vision as tears emerge.
"Oh, brother, where are you?"
Pressing the picture against her chest now, Erin slumps back over her coffee cup, silently filling it with her tears.