Welcome to Gaia! ::

The afternoon sun was easing its relentless assault on the earth as time inched towards the evening. Midas had painstakingly prepared a whole variety of sandwiches, salads, drinks and desserts to bring to the park for a little picnic with Neflheim. The little boy had helped him fold and pack the sandwiches and was happy that he had helped in the preparation.

Unlike most picnics, Midas was planning to have a dinner picnic in the park and then enjoy the stars. The weatherman did mention it would be at most partially cloudy and a good day to view the stars. Placing all the stuff into his car, Midas motioned for Neflheim to get into the front seat.

Neflheim climbed into the front seat and struggled to buckle up. Seeing Neflheim having so much trouble, Midas bent over and easily placed the seat belt into its clasp. Smiling at Neflheim, Midas said "I hope you're ready! We're leaving now!"

Neflheim was too excited to voice a response and merely nodded his head. Midas started the car and headed off for the park.

Midas and Neflheim worked together to lay the tarp and put the food nicely on it. Munching happily on their food, the watched the sky turn from orange to a deep bluish-black. One by one the stars started to appear in the night sky and lighting it up like a giant Christmas tree.

Neflheim clapped his hands excitedly and pointed at a cluster of stars and yelled "That looks like a spoon!" Nodding, Midas replied "Yes it does, I think its the big dipper constellation.", while scratching his chin.

Shooting stars darted across the sky. Neflheim immediately spotted them and yelled out loudly for Midas to watch. Midas hushed Neflheim and told him, "Not too loud! And you have to make a wish!" The pair closed their eyes and made a wish.

Neflheim silently made a wish along with Midas and opened his eyes to watch the shooting stars. Apparently it wasn't a stray shooting star, but a whole shower of them. Exclaiming excitedly, Neflheim said "Look Daddy! So many!", to which Midas nodded and smiled.

Being all hyped up, Neflheim couldn't resist the call of curiosity and ran towards the shower of stars. Looking up in awe, Neflheim failed to notice the mother and son pair sitting under the stars and watching the shower too. Tripping over the boy, Neflheim fell flat on his face, landing in soft grass.

Neflheim quickly got to his feet with the boy's help and backed off slightly. Hanging his head low, he apologised profusely saying, "I'm sorry! I didn't see you, the stars were so fast and I ran and didn't see you."

Midas ran up towards Neflheim and the pair on the grass. Adding to Neflheim's apology, Midas said "I'm sorry he tripped over you." Nodding in reply to the woman, Midas said "Yes, I brought him to come watch the stars, we're having a little picnic under the stars tonight! Wanna join us?"

Neflheim looked up towards Midas and back to the pair and added cheerfully "Yes join us! Take it as an apology!"

Midas looked at the lady and said "Lets go over to our spot since I've set up all the food and drinks there." gesturing towards his picnic spot. Adding as he led the way, Midas said "My name is Midas and this is my son Neflheim or Neffy for short. Nice to meet you!"

Neflheim nodded at the woman's instructions and said to the boy, "Sorry, I can't tell you or it won't come true!" Walking on towards the picnic tarp, Neflheim introduced himself to the boy "Hi, I'm Neflheim, what's your name?"

Midas led Thali and Joshua to their picnic feast and poured some lemonade for both of them. Handing them the cups, Midas said "There are sandwiches and salads, just take your pick and eat! We made more than enough so don't be shy!"

Neflheim smiled at Joshua, knowing this isn't the first time someone had commented on how long his name was. Truth was it really is long and he was secretly jealous of shorter names. Replying Joshua, Neflheim said "Yes it is long, you can call me Neffy though or Nef will do too!"

Fishing out a box of sandwiches, Midas began to plate them and served them to Thali and Joshua. He had made tuna mayonnaise, avocado alfalfa, plain butter ones and some other assorted cold cuts. Picking an avocado alfalfa sandwich, Midas began to munch on it and replied Thali after swallowing, saying "Yes, I'm sure Neffy would love it too!"

Neflheim was happy that Joshua had complimented his name and was pleased that at least someone felt his name was interesting. Picking up his cup of lemonade, Neflheim sipped a little of the cool drink and replied Joshua "Thanks! I like my name too, although it is a bit long." his voice trailing off as he thought about his name.

Neflheim looked up into the sky and saw that the shower had passed. All that was left in the sky were normal stationary stars, and the moon. "Do you come to see stars often Joshua?" asked Neflheim curiously.

Midas nodded and replied "I have work on weekdays so it gets pretty hectic, so preferably on a weekend I guess." Midas also preferred to spend quiet time with Neflheim on weekdays, sessions for bonding. After all, he doesn't see Neflheim for most of the day.

Neflheim's eyes gleamed and sparkled as Joshua spoke about the meaning of his name. Breaking into a huge grin, Neflheim replied "Daddy said my name means mist world. He said when I was born, he saw a huge mass of mist coming from the cabbage and was still flowing even after a few hours! So he thought of the name Neflheim."