“So, Mother died,” I said factually, still unable to wrap my head around it. First, my sister was way older than I could ever imagine, and I was 17. If she’d told me that I retained my youthful appearance, that wouldn’t be a problem for me.
But less than 24 hours before, I was a vegetable of an old man, and waking up and still feeling slight pains didn’t add up. Aside from the fact that I wasn’t meant to be able to walk ever again, I was meant to be half-dead from the intensity of the crash. It was a monster truck going at breakneck speed. “Yes, she did. And she wanted to apologize.” Grace fidgeted, but I didn’t know why; I didn’t want to hear it. It was probably something sad or something that did not correlate with the current situation. “Don’t worry about it; I never held a grudge. Now, can I tell you my side of the story?” I asked, waiting for my time to speak. I started to mentally file the issues I was experiencing, and one thing stood out: I had no recollection of 50 years. That couldn’t be a coincidence. “Ready. I want to understand how exactly you were able to retain your youthfulness,” she teased, and I cracked a smile. I wasn’t sure she’d believe me. “First, I saw you yesterday. Mum was ragging on me as usual, and I left the house to get the groceries. I rode my bicycle without a care in the world, and well, I got into a crash. I heard a voice call out to me before the crash, but it was too late. And when I was about to die, I heard a voice talk to me about a second chance. I don’t recognize it, so I can’t tell you where it’s from. I was creeped out too, but I took it. And opened my eyes. Here I am,” I finished, and Grace’s weathered face was contorted with concern. I knew she wouldn’t believe me; I wasn’t sure I believed myself. “Well, you still talk like I remember anyway. So, are you saying this voice gave you a second chance? How’s that possible?” Grace was obviously interested in my story, which was funny because I didn’t think she was the type to take the things I said seriously. But something must have happened to change her. “I don’t know myself. But that voice felt like a god for some reason. And yes, I’m not superstitious or hung up about something like that, but what else would explain it?” I was glad for a listening ear, and Grace smiled, patting my hands and listening to me. It felt truly amazing to be heard and seen. “Oops, visiting hours are over. You need to rest. I’ll be back tomorrow,” she said, all motherly. I couldn’t reconcile with the image of the teenage Grace, who loved makeup and fashion. The woman before me was weathered and had a tough exterior. I wondered what she’d gone through, but I couldn’t ask; it just felt wrong. I sat on my bed, and suddenly, I could hear Grace’s voice. Even though she’d left the room and was far from where I was, I could hear her voice as clear as day. "sshowing signs of dementia. It’s been over fifty years, and I don’t understand the reverse aging process, but it hurts me to see him this way. He’s my only brother. And he’s lost his mind.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; it felt like a betrayal of uncharted proportions. The room felt restrictive; my breath was coming out in ragged gasps, but I made sure I didn’t make any loud sounds to make sure the doctor didn’t rush in. I calmed my racing heart and listened again. "This is uncommon; I can’t tell you we’ve ever dealt with this before. And based on his words, he’s cognitively sound. There’s no sign of anything wrong with him. Which is curious because he’s not meant to be able to move after fifty years this way. He isn’t even meant to have lengthy conversations, but here he is. We examined his brain waves before, and I don’t know how to say this, but the accident affected his ability to speak. At least, days ago. But now, we can’t use the same values as before; they no longer matter. And he’s your brother; did you notice anything different?” “Do you expect me to just roll over and accept that the brother I lost all those years ago is alive and well? He doesn’t even look tired or sick. He looks exactly like he did when we were teenagers, and that cockiness is present. I don’t believe his story, but I can’t cancel it out. And I hate myself for hoping, but what if it’s true? What if the phenomenon changed him?” I could hear the shuffling of chairs, but I kept listening. It was clear someone stood up. “I don’t know; the phenomenon has given people powers, but I haven’t heard about this before. I’ll ask those in my field, and I hope I can give you a concise explanation the next time you come.” I stopped listening and then focused on the “phenomenon” they mentioned. Was it responsible for the world going to hell? And the floating buildings? Everything was wrong; I didn’t remember the world being so futuristic yet feeling so despondent. It was definitely not a world I wanted to belong to. I was fine; I could feel it. I had nothing particularly wrong with me; my legs were as sturdy as ever, and my brain was as active as it’d ever been. So, they were either wrong or... I changed. I couldn’t tell which was scarier.A few weeks later, Grace came for me. She came with her "grandchildren,” which felt weird because they were all older than I was.“Hi,” I said, wondering if I needed to use honorifics. But I was older than they were, according to the future.“You’re alive!” She was a lady with the quirkiest personality I’d ever seen and one of Grace’s favorites because, apparently, she acted the opposite of me. This was told to me in confidence, of course.“Yes, unfortunately,” I quipped, and she placed a hand over her mouth in horror, as if I said something worth being lynched for. I wouldn’t know because I hadn’t exactly been active for the past 50 years. “Lay off, Rebecca. He’s technically our grand uncle.” A man of maybe 23 years old spoke, his prim and proper manners evident in his words. I wanted to get to know them more and see the people that came from Grace. They probably wouldn’t believe it if I told them about the antics Grace always got up to, so I decided not to. She needed to maintain
“Great uncle Warner, you don’t mind, do you?” Rebecca sent the cutest puppy dog expression I’d ever seen my way, and my heart positively melted. “Well, no, I don’t,” I replied with a bashful expression, unable to look her in the eye. I’ve never been one to act cool in situations such as this one.“Elijah!!! Get your butt down here!” Rebecca screamed out loud, and the very prim and proper Elijah poked his head out from the top of the stairs, his words coming out in grumbles.I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him that way, which was a big step up from the stoic expression he always wore.“What do you need, Becca? I was reading for my post-graduate research on the phenomenon. The Theory of Evolution and the Powers That Be I don’t have time for your side quests,” Elijah said, and contrary to what I thought, he still made his way towards Rebecca after lots of grumbling.“Yeah, yeah, we know you’re the smart one. But listen, isn’t this a good time for you to put your big brains to work? We have
Rebecca humored me most of the time, and Saul was almost never around. So, I was stuck with Rebecca and Elijah, who were suddenly becoming my two favorite people in the world (sorry, young Grace).The life they lived was not too different from the life I was used to, except they had a Kaiju or two to think about, and I couldn’t use their appliances without almost hurting myself. Saul calls it healthy training, but I have a nagging suspicion he’s trying to murder the socks off of me.Elijah was the older sibling, and his academic achievements were nothing to scoff at. Even on the New Liberty Front, he was a force to be reckoned with. I also found out about the amount of knowledge I was lacking, and the thought almost sent me into a spiral of depression.The world had become a technocratic society, ruled by the technologically savvy. With the threats of the other worlds and the tear in space, AI became humanity’s biggest weapon to ward off the danger. The platform—that’s what it was ca
“Rebecca, free your brother. And tell me why you don’t want him to talk to me.” I didn’t mince words as I stood from where I was sitting, walking towards her.“Do you hate me now, too? Like everyone else?” She asked, tears forming in her eyes. I hated manipulation, tears or not. And I needed to make it clear to everyone.“Hate you? Why would I? I don’t even know you.” That was a low blow, I agree. But I was burning with rage, and I only knew what I said was terrible when Elijah gasped and Rebecca ran out of the room. I picked up a brush by the bed stand and brushed my hair before a vanity mirror, my eyes of stormy blue reflecting the rage that sat on my chest.“She just wanted a friend. You shouldn’t have done that.” Elijah looked at me like I was a stranger, and then he walked out of the room, probably to look for Rebecca. I wouldn’t know; I didn’t want anybody in my space right then. My anger was a lethal thing—an overdose, a toxin. I always kept it under lock and key, but it shat
Rebecca was dead. There was a knife sticking out of her body, and her eyes stared at me, full of unspoken words. Then, her bright eyes went dull, and her body flopped onto the ground.Even while staring at her lifeless body, it didn’t feel real. It couldn’t be. There was no way that the one person who made life even more adventurous for me was dead.“This is a prank, right? Elijah? She’d appear from behind the trees and try to scare me, and we’d all laugh over my reaction. Right?” My fingers were shaking, and my eyes were unfocused. My head was banging, and I wanted to scream out loud.“DO NOT TALK TO HIM, WARNER!” I heard Elijah’s voice and turned to see a badly beaten-up version of Elijah, eyes swollen and lips bleeding. I couldn’t recognize that once handsome face anymore.“Run, Warner! Don’t let him catch you!” Elijah screamed, but I didn’t move. His eyes roved around and latched onto Rebecca’s form on the ground, lifeless.He ran toward her, tears streaming down his face. But I s
“Warner!” I heard my mother scream my name. Wait, what? My mother? “Mum? Is that you?” I jumped from the bed and stared at my room. It was a pretty plain place, with just a mattress thrown on the ground and a study table. But it was mine.“How? How am I back here?” I asked aloud, but no answer came. “If you don’t come down this instant, I’ll make sure you run errands every day for a week!” My mother threatened from downstairs, and I ran down, my heart hammering against my chest. “Mother? You’re here,” I jumped into her arms and began to weep, ugly tears running down my face. I didn’t think of looking cool then; that was the absolute last thing on my mind. “Are you fine, Warner? Did you eat something bad? What’s wrong with you?” My mom looked at me with concern, her warm green eyes more beautiful than any gemstone I’d ever seen. “Nothing is wrong, mom." I love you. I love you a lot. And I’m sorry.” The words came spilling out of me, and I didn’t bother to hold them back. I had a
For the next two weeks, I did everything with my family. I couldn’t stand to be apart from them even for a short while, and even though it must have been a gross inconvenience, they took it in good fun. Of course, bathing and private time were an exception. But everything else that could be done by a family, we did. We played board games, went to amusement parks, and did things we didn’t usually do. Mother even took a leave from work to take care of me, and Grace was on holiday. So, it was the perfect time. But I couldn’t sit still. Everything spooked me; everything made me worry. I was losing sleep, and I was losing myself too. My paranoia became an all-time high, and if anybody wanted to leave the house, no matter the time, I kept watch like a hawk and didn’t budge. “Okay, this has gone on long enough. Can you tell me what happened? What’s gotten you out of sorts? You’re acting so unlike yourself, and I thought it’d be different after a week, but nothing has changed. You used
“Warner!” My mother screamed from the top of the stairs, her eyes blazing with anger. I knew that look; it was one I always tried to avoid.“I’m here, mom,” I said.“It’s been one week. I sent you to restock the house, didn’t I? But you keep making excuses. It’s just a few blocks away. Why, if your dad was here—“ she stopped, placing a hand over her mouth. I didn’t say a word. I didn’t need to.“I’ll go now. Sorry, mother.” I didn’t look back; I kept walking, holding onto the credit card with a viselike grip. My father was a truly admirable man; everybody loved him. Even my little sister. But he died when I was 12, and everything changed. Even though he died in the line of duty, he was gradually forgotten by everyone around him. It didn’t matter that he fought for his country; it didn’t matter why he did it. Nobody cared. And the world was always going to go on. I needed to come to terms with that. My mother had been cold since then, and my little sister, who was three years younger
For the next two weeks, I did everything with my family. I couldn’t stand to be apart from them even for a short while, and even though it must have been a gross inconvenience, they took it in good fun. Of course, bathing and private time were an exception. But everything else that could be done by a family, we did. We played board games, went to amusement parks, and did things we didn’t usually do. Mother even took a leave from work to take care of me, and Grace was on holiday. So, it was the perfect time. But I couldn’t sit still. Everything spooked me; everything made me worry. I was losing sleep, and I was losing myself too. My paranoia became an all-time high, and if anybody wanted to leave the house, no matter the time, I kept watch like a hawk and didn’t budge. “Okay, this has gone on long enough. Can you tell me what happened? What’s gotten you out of sorts? You’re acting so unlike yourself, and I thought it’d be different after a week, but nothing has changed. You used
“Warner!” I heard my mother scream my name. Wait, what? My mother? “Mum? Is that you?” I jumped from the bed and stared at my room. It was a pretty plain place, with just a mattress thrown on the ground and a study table. But it was mine.“How? How am I back here?” I asked aloud, but no answer came. “If you don’t come down this instant, I’ll make sure you run errands every day for a week!” My mother threatened from downstairs, and I ran down, my heart hammering against my chest. “Mother? You’re here,” I jumped into her arms and began to weep, ugly tears running down my face. I didn’t think of looking cool then; that was the absolute last thing on my mind. “Are you fine, Warner? Did you eat something bad? What’s wrong with you?” My mom looked at me with concern, her warm green eyes more beautiful than any gemstone I’d ever seen. “Nothing is wrong, mom." I love you. I love you a lot. And I’m sorry.” The words came spilling out of me, and I didn’t bother to hold them back. I had a
Rebecca was dead. There was a knife sticking out of her body, and her eyes stared at me, full of unspoken words. Then, her bright eyes went dull, and her body flopped onto the ground.Even while staring at her lifeless body, it didn’t feel real. It couldn’t be. There was no way that the one person who made life even more adventurous for me was dead.“This is a prank, right? Elijah? She’d appear from behind the trees and try to scare me, and we’d all laugh over my reaction. Right?” My fingers were shaking, and my eyes were unfocused. My head was banging, and I wanted to scream out loud.“DO NOT TALK TO HIM, WARNER!” I heard Elijah’s voice and turned to see a badly beaten-up version of Elijah, eyes swollen and lips bleeding. I couldn’t recognize that once handsome face anymore.“Run, Warner! Don’t let him catch you!” Elijah screamed, but I didn’t move. His eyes roved around and latched onto Rebecca’s form on the ground, lifeless.He ran toward her, tears streaming down his face. But I s
“Rebecca, free your brother. And tell me why you don’t want him to talk to me.” I didn’t mince words as I stood from where I was sitting, walking towards her.“Do you hate me now, too? Like everyone else?” She asked, tears forming in her eyes. I hated manipulation, tears or not. And I needed to make it clear to everyone.“Hate you? Why would I? I don’t even know you.” That was a low blow, I agree. But I was burning with rage, and I only knew what I said was terrible when Elijah gasped and Rebecca ran out of the room. I picked up a brush by the bed stand and brushed my hair before a vanity mirror, my eyes of stormy blue reflecting the rage that sat on my chest.“She just wanted a friend. You shouldn’t have done that.” Elijah looked at me like I was a stranger, and then he walked out of the room, probably to look for Rebecca. I wouldn’t know; I didn’t want anybody in my space right then. My anger was a lethal thing—an overdose, a toxin. I always kept it under lock and key, but it shat
Rebecca humored me most of the time, and Saul was almost never around. So, I was stuck with Rebecca and Elijah, who were suddenly becoming my two favorite people in the world (sorry, young Grace).The life they lived was not too different from the life I was used to, except they had a Kaiju or two to think about, and I couldn’t use their appliances without almost hurting myself. Saul calls it healthy training, but I have a nagging suspicion he’s trying to murder the socks off of me.Elijah was the older sibling, and his academic achievements were nothing to scoff at. Even on the New Liberty Front, he was a force to be reckoned with. I also found out about the amount of knowledge I was lacking, and the thought almost sent me into a spiral of depression.The world had become a technocratic society, ruled by the technologically savvy. With the threats of the other worlds and the tear in space, AI became humanity’s biggest weapon to ward off the danger. The platform—that’s what it was ca
“Great uncle Warner, you don’t mind, do you?” Rebecca sent the cutest puppy dog expression I’d ever seen my way, and my heart positively melted. “Well, no, I don’t,” I replied with a bashful expression, unable to look her in the eye. I’ve never been one to act cool in situations such as this one.“Elijah!!! Get your butt down here!” Rebecca screamed out loud, and the very prim and proper Elijah poked his head out from the top of the stairs, his words coming out in grumbles.I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him that way, which was a big step up from the stoic expression he always wore.“What do you need, Becca? I was reading for my post-graduate research on the phenomenon. The Theory of Evolution and the Powers That Be I don’t have time for your side quests,” Elijah said, and contrary to what I thought, he still made his way towards Rebecca after lots of grumbling.“Yeah, yeah, we know you’re the smart one. But listen, isn’t this a good time for you to put your big brains to work? We have
A few weeks later, Grace came for me. She came with her "grandchildren,” which felt weird because they were all older than I was.“Hi,” I said, wondering if I needed to use honorifics. But I was older than they were, according to the future.“You’re alive!” She was a lady with the quirkiest personality I’d ever seen and one of Grace’s favorites because, apparently, she acted the opposite of me. This was told to me in confidence, of course.“Yes, unfortunately,” I quipped, and she placed a hand over her mouth in horror, as if I said something worth being lynched for. I wouldn’t know because I hadn’t exactly been active for the past 50 years. “Lay off, Rebecca. He’s technically our grand uncle.” A man of maybe 23 years old spoke, his prim and proper manners evident in his words. I wanted to get to know them more and see the people that came from Grace. They probably wouldn’t believe it if I told them about the antics Grace always got up to, so I decided not to. She needed to maintain
“So, Mother died,” I said factually, still unable to wrap my head around it. First, my sister was way older than I could ever imagine, and I was 17. If she’d told me that I retained my youthful appearance, that wouldn’t be a problem for me.But less than 24 hours before, I was a vegetable of an old man, and waking up and still feeling slight pains didn’t add up. Aside from the fact that I wasn’t meant to be able to walk ever again, I was meant to be half-dead from the intensity of the crash. It was a monster truck going at breakneck speed.“Yes, she did. And she wanted to apologize.” Grace fidgeted, but I didn’t know why; I didn’t want to hear it. It was probably something sad or something that did not correlate with the current situation.“Don’t worry about it; I never held a grudge. Now, can I tell you my side of the story?” I asked, waiting for my time to speak. I started to mentally file the issues I was experiencing, and one thing stood out: I had no recollection of 50 years.Tha
What the hell?Some people came to stare at me like I was some spectacle they’d never seen before. “Are you really okay?” A doctor with the kindest eyes I’d ever seen asked, her face filled with worry. I couldn’t understand why, though.“Never better,” I replied. They were overreacting to something as small as an accident, and I didn’t feel as much pain, which was curious.“How are you even—how’s this possible?” She seemed stumped for words, but I just shrugged. “The impact was bad, wasn’t it? Well, I’m fine now.” I smiled, all teeth. She looked at me, fixing the glasses at the bridge of her nose.“I don’t know how to say this, but... I wasn’t there.” She replied hesitantly, and I didn’t know why she bothered mincing words with me; she was a doctor and I was a patient. There was nothing else that held us together. “Of course, that’s to be expected. Where is my family? I want to tell them I’m awake.” I was happier than I’d been in a while, and nothing could dampen it, not even the c