Author: A.S. Altabtabai
Genre/Age: Fantasy/YA
Series: Nostalgic Rain Series (Book One)
Publisher: Midship Publishing
Links: Goodreads
Synopsis: What seventeen-year-old Leland finds in the abandoned basement of his house is something he will never forget.
Leland lost his father when he was seven. Since then, he has successfully adapted to the awful life of being a student, the man of the house, and a father figure to his two younger siblings. All of that changes when he and his best friends stumble upon a secret in his deserted basement, and fall into another dimension with three moons, foggy woods, and an ancient castle-Oremanta.
Learning who he really is, how he came to this remote planet, and the shocking, ugly mystery of Oremanta aren't as bad as the quest he finds himself obligated to complete-killing someone he never thought he'd meet in Oremanta to save everyone.
“Where have you been all day?” she complained, switching channels. “Your aunt is here, for God’s sake.”
On the table in the living room sat a cake with ‘Welcome Home’ written on it. The living room was lit by an old, handcrafted chandelier, but it did its job quite well. Leland hugged his aunt. She hadn’t changed much.
“How’s everything?” Leland asked.
“Perfect!” She replied, taking a bite of her cake. “Everything is too perfect!”
“Great. I’m glad.” He took a seat beside her. Fred and Karla were on the ground playing rock, paper, scissors. His grandfather, Richard, was listening to the news, his ears touching the radio’s speaker.
“What about you?” Abbey asked.
“I’m fine,” Leland replied, faking a smile.
“No, he’s not,” Leland’s mother said, cutting cake for Fred and Karla, pretending not to care much about the issue. “Something’s wrong with him. He hardly leaves his room.”
Leland’s face flushed. He felt stupid for not realizing his mother must have felt something was wrong with him. This meant Dylan and Jennifer, his friends, likely also noticed.
“No, it’s just—” Leland said, attempting to fake an excuse.
“Is he always alone?” Abbey asked.
“Almost,” Maria, Leland’s mother, replied.
“And he’s not eating a lot?”
“Yes.”
Leland’s heart raced. There’s no way Abbey would know what he’d been through lately. She’d been away, and he made sure no one knew.
“And he doesn’t talk much?” Abbey asked.
“Yeah. Only a little,” Maria answered.
Abbey clapped her hands and cried, “He’s in love!”
All eyes turned toward Leland. But he was relieved. She knew nothing after all. Leland pretended her assumptions were correct. He gazed down and said nothing in reply.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Leland. We’ve all been through this before,” Aunt Abbey said, and then her voice dropped to a whisper. “And don’t chicken out. Women hate that.”
Leland didn’t know how to reply, so, rather awkwardly and loudly enough that everyone stared at him again, he said, “I like her.”
Okay. That’s enough for today. Leland had paid his social dues and now he had to leave. Embarrassed, Leland said, “I gotta go.”
And he went back to his room.
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