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Watching the world pass as the bus moved along its path I saw the shops and buildings that I had known so well years before blur along like faint childhood memories. Each one we passed became more and more clear as though we were moving through time, coming closer to the present and the choices that will be made.
For the first time I began to realize the magnitude of the choice that I’d be forcing my age old friend to make. Years had passed and surly he had aged, becoming mature and less open to the possibilities of another world outside his own. I began to dwell on the possibility that he may not agree to join us on the quest. Suddenly it hit me. I had never thought of what might happen if he doesn’t come to Nosis with Reia and me. All the time we had worked to come back to Earth and not one moment had I thought that we might go back without him. I guess sub consciously I had always thought he would do anything I asked, but fifteen years have passed and he probably believes me dead. Even if my family had searched for me there was nothing that would have lead them to Nosis. As far as Earth was concerned Earth was the only place that sentient life existed. The search for me would have ended with a funeral at some point, so to Chris I died fifteen years ago.
How could I be so stupid to not think of a backup plan? I mean, how can I expect Chris to simply accept my story of Nosis and what we are intent on accomplishing. I couldn’t. In fact would he even believe that the person telling him all of this is even his childhood friend?
In youth he and I were the best of friends. We had families of our own, but our friendship transcended the bonds of blood. We shared everything with each other. Our hopes and dreams, our accomplishments and failures, our victories and defeats. We were friends through grade school and high school though he was a year behind me. When I went to College for a year before I was taken to Nosis I was helping him finish high school. We were there for anything.
The most interesting thing about the two of us was that we were complete opposites. As a child he was the stereotypical bad ass. He’d run away from home and get in fights or in trouble with the police. He was also the ladies man, the one who could get anyone he wanted. In many ways I envied him in my youth. I, on the other hand was the stereotypical outsider. I had my friends but rarely went to parties and wasn’t known for being ‘cool’. Instead I was known as the smart guy, the nerd. I was short and not conditioned for sport so I usually got picked on by the jocks. As I got older I became friends with everyone, mostly girls as I disliked the competitiveness of guys. Unfortunately I almost always ended up in the ‘too good of friends’ area and rarely got dates hence my envy for Chris.
For just over two years before I was taken to Nosis, Chris was dating one girl exclusively, Amanda. She was amazing; she embodied everything I saw in the perfect girlfriend. She was smart and witty, good looking in the sense of the girl next door as oppose to a movie star. When you talked to her she was very down to earth and always spoke her mind. The time they were together before I left they were inseparable, I rarely saw Chris without Amanda somewhere near by.
Now I was questioning whether they would even be together. If they are would they be married? Maybe they’d have children. If they do I can’t ask them to leave them, and they couldn’t bring them to Nosis. This is horrible. So many variables. So many possibilities. Now it was too late to plan for such an outcome.
Looking down at Reia sitting in the seat, I realized if we can’t convince Chris and Amanda to come with us to Nosis the quest would be over. To try to continue would be suicide, but Reia is so determined that even the threat of death wouldn’t waver her desire to continue and I had made a promise to her father on his deathbed that can not be unmade or ignored. Her determination would spell our doom and the destruction of Nosis.
I looked out the window and watched as Richs’ corner store passed by. Only one more stop to go before the fate of Nosis would have to be decided. I pulled the cord and the bell rang out ominously through the empty silent bus. Slowly the bus ground to a halt and I lead Reia out. We watched as the bus turned the corner and continued on its way. Turning to the opposite path I saw the street that we had to travel. Though only a block in length it may as well have been a hundred uphill. The road seemed to grow as we traveled, becoming longer and longer, the sun beamed down causing my armor to heat up, making me sweat. The air, windless and heavy offered no cooling breeze, while the sidewalks lay barren, devoid of human life.
We reached the corner and continued left. Only a house to go I thought to myself as the familiar blue colored house came into view. Suddenly I stopped turning to the right to see a little stonework porch across the street. The grass lying before it was vibrant green, lush and thick. A single wooden telephone pole stood up from the lawn at the edge of the property with a piece of paper stapled to it. The large bay window was open and the drapes pulled aside. Though shadowed by the metal awning the golden mail box and matching 42 seemed to glisten bright and clean. A long time is fifteen years. It’s long enough to make a person feel like a stranger when looking at their own home.
Every fiber of my being wanted to drop my gear and run to the back door, but what would I say? Would my parents be there? The place would be foreign to me. My pets, my room long since departed. My parents and my house, greyer, older. I could feel my hands shake, the pull of the past drawing me in.
***
“Where were you today?” my mother asks as she stirs the stew on the stove. She stands there, her blonde hair glows in the lights as it wisps along her blue sundress. I look about to find myself in the kitchen. The cupboards, counters and wall glow out of focus. I open my mouth to begin to speak when a small voice chirps out, “I was over at Chris’ playing.” Turning I find myself staring at a younger me. “Are you hungry?” my mother asks putting down the spoon and turns to my younger self as he answers, “Yes. We were running around so much…” I watch as he fades away before I hear him behind me in the dining room. Passing through the doorway to find my mother, father and younger me sitting at the table eating supper. “I was driving to practice and…” my younger self says as his voice fades away. Silence envelopes to room as I watch the conversation. The smiles, the smells, the feeling of being home; all of it was so overwhelming that I began to cry. Again the scene faded giving way to another and another. Until finally there was nothing but an empty house. A tear ran down my face as I felt a soft hand grasp mine and the world returned to me.
***
Standing outside I was staring at my old house, Reia at my side. Turning to her she spoke softly, “I know. We’ll go after we find Chris.” She knew exactly what was happening in my head and was sympathetic. I nodded wiping the tears from my face as we continued to Chris’ house.
Trying to compose myself we turned onto the walkway to Chris’ porch. The house looked exactly as I had remembered it; the blue siding, wooden screen door, extruding bay window, and wooden boards forming a make shift porch. All topped off by a rust-covered mail box. Raising my hand I rapped on the wooden door loudly. Reia and I waited a minute, no answer. Looking to the left I saw the old car his mom had been driving for as long as I could remember, which meant that someone was home. Again I raised my hand to knock when the inner door creaked open.
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