A Grain of Salt

"Bring more logs! How many times I told you?", a sixty-something obese middle-aged woman shouts to a rugged forty- seven-year-old man. The guy who appears to be an artisan, Aiden, is the lady's only son she has given a birth to. The old lady can't stand the fact that his son fails to comply her terms. Well, the blocks of woods Aiden has collected are actually more than adequate to satisfy his big mama's feet. Every night is not a different scene. Warm flame is produced by folding those blocks which are put in the middle of a small cottage.

Another annoying deed Aiden has to experience in his daily life is getting orders from a scary face old man named Cole to serve a big glass of milk. One day, the volume is only half the glass. He notices that and yells, "Hannah, this disobedient son makes me mad. Look at that! How inconsiderate he is not to know that the portion is nothing to me." His wife replies, "What a bad son you are to your father! Why are you always looking for problems?" Like usual, Aiden just keeps silent as their parents' yelling are not a novelty.

Next morning, the air becomes more chilling than ever before. The elders are both ready sitting at the small dining table waiting for breakfast to serve. Meanwhile, the smell of baked fish is obvious from the outside. Indeed, Aiden is preparing the dish for his parents. After quite some time, the obedient son brings the two pieces for each whereas the last fish fills Aiden's plate. When Aiden starts the first bite, the spoiled old elders grab what belongs to their son from Aiden's grip. They say, "We might want some more." Aiden feels shocked, as how he always does, but there is nothing he can do. He goes straight to his bedroom instead. He prays to God hoping such nightmare will end. He says, "God, what have I done? I love them, but it seems they don't. Give me a sign!"

It gets dark and the family gets a visit from Hannah's sister. "Hello, Aunt Daisy. How was the trip?" Aiden greets her. Then, his mother interrupts them, "Oh my beloved little sister, come in and join me with a cup of tea." She continues, "Didn't you tell me you need a fresh air, Aiden?" Aiden replies, "It's true, mom." He leaves the two sisters to converse right away.

It has been an hour since Aiden waited outside the cottage. Suddenly, he feels something wrong with his stomach and decides to go in to get peptic ulcer drugs, which he always consumes. When he is about to enter the dwelling, he accidentally hears something unexpected. "When will you tell your son you once found him by the sea and decided to raise him as if he were yours?" Daisy asks. Aiden can't believe with what he has just heard. He weeps abruptly and runs away from the cottage as far as possible.

Since that day, he spends half an hour or so contemplating by the sea. Time flies, showing he has been doing it for a month ever since. The other day, he finds a companion approaching him and asking. "Hello there. Aren't you feel chilled?" the guy wonders. Learning that he feels so lonely, Aiden starts to share his life to the guy who is called Elijah. The two men now take a far stroll. They both enjoy their journey. The more they talk, the more Aiden feels comfortable telling Elijah the truth. Elijah feels pity and gives him a big hug. "I'm eager to leave everything including my fake parents, but I don't know how," Aiden says. However, Elijah talks him into expressing how he feels to his parents.

While Aiden knows Elijah suggests harmony, he is not enthusiastic about it. Thanks to Elijah, he tends to accompany Aiden whenever walking around happens. One day, they travel by riding Elijah's bicycle. The day remarks their journey to a faraway land. When Elijah gets tired riding, the two friends pull over and find a shelter. They sit under a palm tree. They get completely sweaty and soak their own bodies into the sea. They swim happily when Aiden suddenly notices something peculiar. In the sky, appears a giant wooden material sticking out but holding still. The timber is sustained by a glass material stretching downward while on the left side of the block the glass extends in an upward position. He wonders what he is witnessing. Elijah pays attention to Aiden's face, "What is it? As if you were in a trouble." "Look at that in the sky", Aiden replies. Elijah suddenly becomes astonished as well. Then both of them start to look at the surrounding. The glass ascending catches their eyes attention. They figure out the glass stretches above them as if it were forming a transparent shelter. They figure out the glass is over them but they can still see the blue sky.

The two buddies agree to get out of the water to follow the glass material on the right side. They are curious about how far it will take them. Although they are still wet, they keep on walking until they find that the extension of the glass forms a curve downward protecting the grass they are stepping on. It is strange that the grass does not stick to the land. They are even stunned when they find out that underneath the grass is a firmed thick glass. After the discovery, they stand facing what is in front of them; it's a glass forming a wall. Such awe lasts for minutes when they both realise that they are in a bottle. Well, its a giant bottle precisely.

They still can't believe their eyes. They go back to the area by the sea. They look at the sky over and over again. Now they are convinced that the wooden material hanging on the sky is a giant bottle cap.

After witnessing the greatest peculiar phenomenon in his life, Aiden comes up with an idea of escaping. Teamed up with Aiden himself, Elijah fully supports what his friend has in mind. He even suggests they arrange an escape plan to conduct. Without having in a rush, Aiden decides to just leave it for a while and go back to his family. "Let's repeat our encounter again tomorrow," Aiden persuades. Elijah agrees with the idea. When both come back to their own homes, Aiden returns to fulfiling the duties of taking orders from the two elders.

Next morning, Aiden, as usual, prepares daily breakfast for his parents. Scrambled eggs and toast are the menu served. While the elders have full plates, only does Aiden have an egg. The other egg is divided into two to satisfy the couple's hunger. Even so, he doesn't get dissolved in sadness anymore. Neither his parents know that Aiden has found out his background. He is not intended to tell them either. When the time strikes noon, Hannah, despite her big appetite, has had enough of lunch. Thus, taking a nap does her trick. She usually spends time doing it for three hours. Before she does her routine, Aiden asks her permission to make a long journey with his pal. As Hannah feels drowsy, she stops running her mouth. "I'll pick up father in the neighbour's when I come back," Aiden confirms.

Meanwhile, Elijah is waiting for Aiden outside. He has driven his truck from home, getting equipped with a huge wooden log and a box of some materials. "Buddy, look at what I've prepared for you, but a ladder is what is left," Elijah informs. Aiden replies, "Don't worry! The leaked roof has been fixed, so no one needs the ladder." They don't think twice to begin the journey. Miles and miles are achieved more effortlessly than cycling, which both once did before. They finally reach the place by the sea.

When they're about to get off the truck, a man taps Aiden's back. The man is none other than Cole. Aiden feels startled suddenly. "You're still my son. You will always be," Cole states. Aiden even feels shocked to hear what his father says. Then Cole explains that he has known everything. He retells the story, "The other day, your mother and I was waiting for you. Your mother scolded me for you were not at home. Actually, she was unevitably starving. So he asked me to catch fish myself." He tells Aiden he accidentally heard his conversation with Elijah about his background. "I heard everything," he declares. "Please, don't go!" Cole begs. He admits that he also knows his son's escape plan. But he persuades Aiden not to tell Hannah the truth. "Or she'll be devastated," he adds.

Despite what his father has admitted, Aiden is not intended to make his parents disappointed, so he emphasises that he still loves the people who have raised him so far. Reading the situation, Elijah offers Cole and Aiden to drive them home. Indeed, the two buddies put off the escape ideas.

In the truck, they have a chit chat. On their way home, Elijah is the amusing one while the father and the son barely talk. He even makes a joke that he can't bear the urge of taking a leak. So everybody laughs.

Cole's face shows that he's pleased he has succeeded in bringing Aiden back home. After those three guys arrive at Aiden's cottage, Cole says goodbye to Elijah and goes inside first. After that, Elijah asks Aiden's permission to use his toilet.

"Neither do I. I just can't believe myself that he's planning to leave us," Hannah says angrily. "But, please don't let him know that I've told you," Cole begs. "Well, as long as he serves us forever," Hannah emphasises. The elders don't realise that Elijah have heard the lie. Indeed, he acknowledges it unintentionally. He then walks toward his truck and tells Aiden about it right away. Aiden is full of anger and feels deceived. Because of the fact, the two friends agree to stick to the plan with rearrangement. "See you tomorrow," says Elijah.

It's about time the family had dinner. The three bowls of mushroom soup and sausages are on the dining table. Aiden has expected that the fake parents will take his own portion. Surprisingly, the elders show Aiden some devotion. Aiden, in spite of the fact that he notices that they are warmhearted, does not fall for it at all. He actually feels manipulated. But he takes advantage of the situation to tell them his tomorrow's plan.

"The leaks are everywhere. Whenever it rains, they get soaked. Elijah knows roofs are my competence," Aiden explains. "So it'll take you several days?" Hannah asks. Aiden replies, "You've got it right, mother." It is as if it were a dream that it is the first time the parents don't argue with Aiden. In short, they give him permission.

Next morning, bringing joy in his face, Aiden says the last word to his parents. The word is goodbye. The elders smile with the hope of Aiden coming back soon. Elijah picks him up with his truck. During the journey, however, Aiden feels doubt he will pull it off. "Won't he tail us again?" Aiden asks. Elijah assures him it will be a success.

After having a long journey, they both finally reach the sea spot. Aiden examines the surrounding, feeling insecure and afraid of the possibility he'll encounter his father, or worse, his mother. Luckily, neither of them are present. Thus, the two friends begin to execute the plan. Elijah unloads the wooden log and the ladder; not to mention the box of various things such as acid and a bucket.

The two friends initiate by setting up the items. The ladder is prepared pointing the bottle-cap-like wooden material. The bucket is filled with water from the sea. They take turns carrying the bucket full of water by going up and down; they do it back and forth. It takes a genius to splash the water by using the bucket. But they do it joyfully. They lose track of the time and hours pass by. Then they can see the soaked wooden material. The next thing to do is carry the wooden log to be put on the top cap of the ladder while Aiden stands at the top spreaders. He holds the log and swings it to push the wooden material while Elijah sustains the ladder by holding onto the steps. The swinging and pushing are done countlessly. However, it doesn't make any difference. The soaked giant bottle cap still stands.

It gets darker, so they decide to stop what they are doing. They find a motel staying there at night. The next morning comes the same deed. The two friends repeat the actions for three days in a row without giving up. On the fourth day, they become more weary. But they realise that they have forgotten something. The acid has not been utilised yet. So Aiden pours the acid into the bucket of water and splashes the water into the soaked giant bottle cap. Instantly, the wooden material shrinks. Aiden is in awe. "Elijah, come here. It shrinks", Aiden tells him. Aiden goes down the ladder while Elijah goes up. Elijah also drops his jaw. "It's unbelievable," he says. Then Aiden tries the swinging and pushing again. Now he can feel the wooden material moving farther. And yet, it won't open. So, they decide to call it a day.

The same actions are conducted over and over again each day. The more the acid absorbs the wood layers, the more the shrinkage cracks. On one of those days, the crack gets bigger and bigger and the soaked giant bottle cap falls off completely. After that, the exit in a form of circle is clearly seen. Then, Aiden takes a peek, witnessing the outside world he has never seen before. "It worked," he exclaims. Elijah shares his happiness. By the sea, they stare with each other with the feeling of satisfaction. "This is it. Thanks for your friendship and patience," Aiden says goodbye to Elijah. In no time, Aiden goes up and gets ready to jump out of the giant bottle he has been living in all his life. Before jumping, Aiden waves goodbye to Elijah, who is at the bottom of the ladder. Both burst into tears.

Now Aiden is ready to jump. It's a high jump to him. He screams and falls down on a new land. Now he is completely outside the giant bottle. He notices everything is huge. He walks farther leaving the bottle behind until he steps on a giant camping rug. Next to him is peanut butter toast on a plastic plate. Obviously, it's giant. Suddenly, he hears a dash behind him. So he hops into the bread. Immediately, his whole body is splashed and covered by the peanut butter. Then a giant hand grabs the bread and puts it in a food container. Aiden feels a sudden movement. "No way! Am I riding a rollercoaster?" he wonders with fear. Meanwhile, a man passing by finds the soaked giant - now small, according to the man's point of view - bottle cap thrown near the bottle itself, which is lying on the ground like a floating message bottle. He picks it up and thrusts it into the bottle. Now the bottle is sealed again.

After such a strange experience with his closing his eyes, the movement stops. He slowly opens his eyes and finds that he is now in a different room. The toast is on the giant dining table now. He attempts to get up from the sticky peanut butter and keeps his distance from the bread. When he steps on the crust, a girl, who is shorter than Aiden, appears before him. "Who are you?" the girl asks. "Hello. It's Aiden. And you?" Aiden replies. Suddenly, the dash is heard again. A giant girl wants to eat the bread. But apparently she changes her mind. "Mom, I don't want to eat the toast. These two ants annoy me," she shouts.