William glared towards the empty streets of Alberta as his grandfather drove him to the airport, snow gently falling as the old Honda speeded through the city. He knew that in a few hours, he would be back in his hometown, and he hated it.

Sighing softly, he moved his hands to turn on the radio. Maybe the news wouldn't be so horrible today and cheer him up.

"....the ongoing war for the newly discovered oil reserves in central Europe escalates once again as Chinese forces launch a massive..."

"...A new vaccine against the super variant is being live tested in South America as the military regime forces the civilian population on a mass vaccination campaign, sources report that many lives..."

"You worry too much boy, use the aux cord and put on some music, no need to get even more agitated than you already are," said the old man driving.

Turning off the radio, which he’d immediately regretted ever turning on, William sighed, loudly this time, "Nothing good on the news as, always, why do I even bother?"

William's grandfather looked very healthy for his age. At seventy years old, the man was the picture of ruggedness, leathery skin, and cracked laugh lines, his pale face permanently tanned due to his years working as a Foreman, William never could quite figure out his grandfather. How could someone work so hard for so long and still be brimming with energy?...

"I can see you are in another of your moods boy, is going home that bad to you? I know your grandmother bakes a mean orange and chocolate cake, but I'm sure you miss home, yes?"

Not the orange cake again! Boy, he was never gonna live that down, was he? Softly laughing, he turned his head to speak with grandpa Vincent,

"Can we not speak of the cake again? It was only once and I was hungry, ok?"

Laughing again, William shook his head and stared at the snow gently falling outside of the car. "It's not that I hate it, grandpa, it's just... ugh. I know there's gonna be fights, ugly fights I would rather avoid."

"Yet you must go back, boy, even if I and your grandmother weren't going on a trip next week, would you stay here and live the rest of your life running away from your parents? We both know that you won’t do that, too much of that sense of duty for your family’s well-being, I’m sure you understand this," said Vincent, he took a deep breath and continued,

"It shames me that my son did something as horrible as allowing his students to bully kids, all because of his unfulfilled dreams of making it to the Pro League, and you know that, but it's been two years William, he told me you will have to start again on the first year of High School, a clean state."

Shaking his head, William could feel the venom rising. He took a deep breath, centering himself using the meditation techniques he’d learned from his martial arts training, emptying his mind and focusing on his heartbeat. Little by little he calmed down, feeling better as he spoke again,

"There won't be a clean slate grandpa, I broke their legs days before their big game, Felicia and Ulysses had to leave the school while the bullies got bailed out even with plenty of evidence against them! These People won't forget." William could feel the outrage and anger rising again, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the door handle.

"I've seen you train in those martial arts. You and I both know there's nothing in that school that can threaten you, but I can see you are about to lose it so let's change the subject." Said Vicent, not minding the abrupt segway.

"Let's."

Sighing again, William took out his phone and checked for any messages from his parents. He had made few friends in his two years away from home, fewer still that would care enough to give him a final goodbye, yet when he looked on his phone, his online friend Matheus had sent him a message asking about him.

“I’m moving back to my hometown Mat, gonna be offline for a few.” Hitting send, William waited for his response, as Mat lived glued to either his PC or Phone.

“Oh, ok ok, thought you were doing those silly ass martial arts, pancat silata or something? You spend too much time doing normie shit Cancred” William had never disclosed his real name, Cancred was his ID on discord.

“Stop typing it wrong, you ass.”

“Stop playing that Visual Novel for girls Waves of Cringe then, ya fruity bastard, lmao. Anyway, I’d just posted another Build video earlier, watch it whenever you have the time. Peace Cancred, go enjoy that trip.”

Laughing at his friend’s antics, William pocketed his phone and looked up, only for his grandpa to speak up again.

"We are about to arrive at the airport Will," Grandpa called out, the old man seemed to not have minded him going all silent after nearly blowing up on him. "Let me find a good place to park so we can get ready, you got your papers in order?"

"Yes grandpa, already checked twice." Will pat himself down one more time just to be sure, his papers in his left pocket, their weight getting heavier in his mind by the minute.

"Good." Vincent drove a bit until finding a parking spot, coming out of the car to get his grandson's luggage. He muttered something to himself, but William couldn't hear it, the sound of airplanes distracting him.

As William got out of the car, a plane flew over by him, the cold making him shiver. He hurried to his grandfather's side, eager to enter the terminal and get out of the cold. As he neared the doors, he felt a strange sense of loneliness gnawed at him, sadness and nostalgia joined as his feet were getting heavier with every step.

“This is it,” thought William, there would be no more running, no more hiding away from the mess he left behind two years ago, it was time to go back to California and face his demons.

"Well Wills, this is us, I would give you a pep talk here but we both know it's not gonna do jack, so come here, let me hug you," William hugged his grandfather, the feelings intensifying. "Remember boy, you did the right thing, be strong and you can overcome this, and once we are back from the trip you can come again, alright?" He could hear the old man choking on those final words.

Tears already welling up in his eyes, he managed to speak, his voice cracking, “Thank you, Grandpa, thanks for everything you did for me, you, and grandma, I love you.” The tears finally broke through, and one more hug later the old man was gone, giving his goodbyes to his beloved grandson.

Waiting in line to get in, the boy watched as his grandfather went home. Putting his earbuds on, he decided to play a fitting song for this farewell and homecoming, something to remind him of the tribulations to come and the good times he had.

It didn't take long for the line to move. As he stashed away his luggage and found his seat, William focused on his breathing, meditating to sleep, as he had no interest in watching a rerun of Friends in a plane.

 

---

 

Waking up an hour before touching the grounds of Santa Barbara, William watched as the first rays of daylight broke through the clouds. It was raining, he noticed.

He remembered that the weather manipulation program stolen from the germans was being employed heavily in California, the drought that plagued the region was nothing but a memory, one paid in enough blood for the krauts to declare war on the US, if they didn't already have their hand's full thanks to the war.

"Impressive technology," said William to no one, his habit of talking to himself was another symptom of his asocial lifestyle these past few years.

"It is, ain't it? I lost my home to the fires of 2022, if only we had these new gizmos the Europeans invented back then." A young woman spoke up from his front, though he couldn't see her face. Startled thanks to a stranger suddenly talking to him, William managed to eke out a grunt as a response, but the woman didn't bother to speak up again.

Finding his luggage turned out to be a bit of a waiting game, but patience was something William learned to cultivate. Leaving the airport was swift, the boy felt dead tired even after sleeping over half the trip and pulling his phone to hail an Uber took more time than he was happy to admit, almost typing the wrong address three times.

"Focus William, focus, don't lose it now," whispered the boy, a few deep breaths later he placed the right address and waited. Couple of minutes later a red sedan pulled over, the driver, a Latina lady, called out to him, "You William? Get in."

"That's me," he said, a bit awkward, When was the last time he’d even called an uber? He thought while strapping himself with the seatbelt. He pulled out his earbuds and looked out the window. It was six in the morning and the sun was fighting its way to get past the artificial rain clouds.

"Coming back home, eh, little man?" Asked the Uber driver, without pause, she added, "How long have you been away?"

Feeling a bit under pressure, but bored enough to humor the woman, William responded sheepishly "Yeah, it's been two years."

"Two years? Well son you are in for a big surprise, noticed something when staring out that window like you just got dumped by your girlfriend?" Mirth was oozing out of her as spoke.

"No... wait a minute, where are the hobos?" William asked, he remembered the ever-present homeless that stalked the streets of his hometown. He even used to help in the community lunches his local church would organize, so many hobos never gave him any trouble.

"It's that artificial island just off from Los Angeles, kid. Those krauts didn't just have machines that could make rain, turns out they could shape the land and sea as well, scary stuff," she said, not looking particularly scared, "It's not just the hobos from here either, they rounded them up from the entire state, they need a labor force so big in there, there's even talk of taking hobos in from other states if you can believe it." She laughed, and William could understand why. Going from having the biggest homeless crisis in the country to employing enough that they’d need to import from other states? Things sure changed in two years.

"Huh, who would’ve thought." William mused out loud.

"Did you live under a rock or something, kid? This is making the news everywhere"

"No, I... I just didn't watch the news at all, not a fan of them."

"Bah, Well you should kid, it's good to stay on the loop, yeah? Look, there's your street coming up, do you wanna drop off here?" She was already checking her phone for the next client. Grunting a ‘yes’, he left the car and picked up his luggage. It was now eight in the morning and that meant everyone was already up, Saturdays being the days when his mom cleaned the house and his sister went for a jog with dad.

As he walked along the sidewalk, he hoped they weren't at home, but it was just that because his grandfather had already called in the day before. There would be no easy way out of this upcoming drama.

---

Every step towards his home felt like he was dragging lead weights on his legs, fear crept along the edges of his mind, only to be replaced with anger, sadness, happiness, hopelessness, madness all there whispering sweet nothings in his ears, yet he moved forward, and one by one those feelings were shed from his mind. Arriving at his home gate, he deftly opened it, the metal squeaking from years’ worth of rust.

Slightly trembling, William reached for the door handle. Should he knock? he wondered, but this was his house, and checking under the plant to his right revealed the key. Opening the door was easier than he thought, he almost felt silly, all that build up with no payoff.

Shaking his head, he dropped his luggage by the doorway. Walking deeper into his home after so much time away felt strange, alien even like he was an uninvited guest. His stomach, on the other hand, had no qualms about making him know it was time to eat something better than chips and airport sandwiches, so he avoided the living room and made his way to the kitchen.

This turned out to also be a surprise, as the kitchen was bigger, with two new refrigerators and a professional stove shining like new. Luckily bread was still kept in the pantry, so making a quick ham and eggs sandwich was fast, and as he started looking for something to drink, his ears picked off footsteps coming in his direction.

Six feet tall with a chin-length inverted bob hair of autumn color, William's sister was standing in the kitchen doorway looking at him. From his point of view, his older sister looked like she just woke from the worst hangover of her life.

"Hi Juliet, you look like shit, did you get drunk and run over or something?" He asked with a chuckle, but his sister didn't seem to notice he was there.

"I feel like shit, ugh. Get me some bread and peanut butter please Wills," Juliet took a seat and dropped her head on the table, muttering about a party and too much vodka. He hadn’t known his sister had a party animal side to her, another thing he missed in these two years.

"Can you grab me the milk as well? Ugh, this headache dude, it's killing me," she continued complaining loudly while resting on the tabletop, William realized he didn't know which fridge had the milk in it.

"Which fridge has milk, sis?" Asked William, noticing that she was finally waking up for real, he had a big shit-eating grin on his face now, waiting for her reaction.

"What do you mean which fridge you silly man? Did you forget it's the... it's the....one on your right..." As her eyes began to expand William couldn't hold it anymore and laughed loudly, to the point of slapping his knees, his sister on the other hand was beet red and looked meek as a kitten.

"Oh little bro I'm so, so sorry, I didn't... oh god I didn't even notice, you know how it is with me and parties right? Oh, wait... you wouldn’t know, would you? Ok, ok give me a minute to compose myself here, god I feel like a kid right now... and stop laughing, this ain't funny." Fuming, Juliet washed her face in the kitchen sink, William raising an eyebrow at that but not dignifying a response.
He fetched the milk from the second new fridge and poured his sister a cup with powdered chocolate.

"Been a while sis, did you miss me?" With a smirk, William got up to fetch more bread for himself, only for the girl to hug him, "Of course I missed you, you jackass, is that a thing you ask your family?"

"I know dad didn't miss me, same for mom," William broke free from his sister's hug and sat down, "They didn't even have the decency of picking me up at the airport." He could feel the bile rising, with an effort he pushed it down, it would do no good for him to blow up on the only person of the household who liked him.

"Nonsense, they both mellowed out a bunch after the first three weeks you were gone. Of course, your complete radio silence got them a bit mad but they missed you, Will, they really did," Juliet finished her breakfast in a hurry, and stared at him with an apologetic look on her face. "Look I got err, a few friends bunking in your room, do you mind waiting a bit? I'll go wake those two slackers right now so they can eat and go out for the morning jog" Not waiting for his response, Juliet was already out the kitchen doorway, muttering about hangovers and goofball brothers.

Making his way to the living room, William noticed how much the house had changed. New plants, a bigger TV, a fancy couch, and even a game console. He didn't know his parents would dust off that behemoth but if he had to guess, they needed to watch Netflix and his sister found it in his room.

Boxes stacked in a corner with shipping labels reminded him of something very important, his gaming rig and consoles were put aside there. Quickly making his way back to the kitchen, William found himself a boxcutter and got to work.

"Reassembling a PC is a form of meditation," he told himself, one of his online friends used to say that a bunch due to working as an IT guy, and William couldn't help but agree with the man. It took him a good forty minutes to fully assemble his rig, that was when he heard more footsteps coming, not from the stairs leading to his room, but from the doorway.

 

---

 

Carmen Luther Aurelius was a smart woman from a very early age. She knew that her family lacked any meaningful connections that could propel her in life with little effort, for they were hardworking and honest folk, but she always yearned for more. She wanted a big house, kids, and above all else, she wanted to be remembered, to leave a mark in history, even as a small footnote in the city of Santa Barbara.

She was on her way to pick her friends up for their morning jog when her husband Alex called.

"Dearest, why didn't you wake me up sooner, we could've continued from where we stopped last night," she could hear the mirth in his voice, the man was almost forty-five years old and still acted like a frat boy.

"Don't call me that you silly man, and why aren't you up yet? Did you forget to pick up our son from the airport?" She knew he did that on purpose, her relationship with the boy was shaky at best, but Alex hated the kid.

There was no more mirth in his voice after that, "You know me and the kid won't get along, love, he has money for a Uber, doesn't he want to act like an adult? I say let him." it's been two years and he still holds that particular grudge, even after William did what he did.

"Are we having this conversation again Alex? The boy kneecapped your bullies and didn't even incriminate you, turning a blind eye is as bad as encouraging it, you know?"

"They weren't my Bullies!.... Sorry love, I... I just can't deal with this, it took everything from everyone at the house to finally make amends, and he has the gall to come back!"

"He came back because your parents wanted to make a trip to Japan dear, hardly his fault." She knew defending William this much was bound to get the man even more worked up, but it was the truth.

"I'm so sorry love, I didn't mean to blow up at you like that. You are on your way to pick up Amanda and the girls for a jog, right? I'll make sure to stash our problem child in his room before you arrive, okay? Then we can all have a talk, set the record straight." That was more the Alex she knew and loved.

"I know you’re aware of this but remember, the boy knows multiple martial arts, please don't piss him off? No fighting in my house, you hear? Carmen tried to lighten the mood.

“Not funny,” said Alex, deadpan.

"It’s not as if I intend to fight with my son, Jesus Carmen, don’t even mention something like that, alright? I’ll be going now, see you later." She turned off the phone and sighed softly, looking towards her jogging partner.
Her son was back, and she was about to bring home the mother of the kids he’d beaten to a pulp.

"I knew letting grandpa talk with the boy at that party was a mistake, yet I stood by and only watched, oh silly girl what will you do now? I can't cancel the morning run out of the blue, all I can do is hope he's sleeping when we arrive.

Despite her situation, the run was exciting, talking with Amanda about her various problems at the bank, eating delicious toast avocado from her favorite food truck, hearing Betty complain about her kids and husband. It blunted the edge that was scalping her mind, that is until she heard a notification sound come from Betty's phone.

"Oh look at that, your daughter just posted a picture, Carmen, how wonderful! I bet it's her and the girls. Woman, I can't thank you enough for your daughter you know? Taking those goblins....."

"Carmen! Is that William? Is he finally back from New York? Why didn't you tell us sooner girl? Oh, I can't wait for him to meet the girls..."

Amanda froze. She stared Carmen dead in the eyes, which Betty didn't even notice, being so charmed by her phone, and asked in a low whisper "Why didn't you tell me, Carmen?"

"I didn't know until yesterday... Both Alex and I just don't know what to do Amanda...Sorry to have kept you in the dark." Honesty was her safest bet to salvage this trainwreck, it took the better part of a year to mend bridges with the woman, and now it was all on the verge of going kaput.

Carmen watched as Amanda took deep breaths, hoping the woman wouldn’t go home in a fuss. After a tense few seconds she visibly relaxed, and with a somewhat hollow smile, called Betty out of her phone's grasp.

"C'mon Betty, let's go to Carmen's place, she promised us that vegan banana cake remember?"

Sighing in sheer relief, she and the girls left the park and made their way to her place. It was a silent ride home that took less than a few minutes, yet it felt like hours went by.

Arriving home with her friends in tow, she hoped the boy was either sleeping or playing in his room. She moved to open her door while Betty prattled on about getting a new phone when she saw a peculiar bag next to the doorway.

It seems I tempted fate once again, she thought, for Amanda had already made her way to the living room.

She hurried in and saw a familiar back tinkering away on what looked to be a massive computer. Tall, lean, and mean, as Alex would put it, her son looked calm, even when staring at Amanda, all the signs from two years ago were no longer there, her baby boy had grown, and the look on his face showed it all.

"Welcome home Mother."