Like most people who were born in this little town, leaving has always been a priority, and the day Alex was done with high school, he fled Abria thinking he would never look back, but he would soon realize that he was wrong. His acting career never kicked off, and after doing several odd jobs all around LA, he finally decided to return home. Now, standing right in front of his parents' shop, Alex couldn't help but feel a little bit reluctant. He had broken their heart when he left, and while it wasn't his intention to do that, he could never stay in this small town, a place where his hopes and dreams would be killed.
Growing up, he had listened to his parents and several adults regretting not leaving Abria to explore the world. They had settled down in this town and, just like their parents before them, came to regret never leaving. It was one of the several reasons why he had left, and now he was back, a weathered man, one whose dreams and hopes had been dashed by the harsh reality of life.
"Give me a moment, honey!" His mother called out as she pushed open the door.
From across the street, the only thing Alex could do was stare at his mom, realizing it had been five years since he saw her last. She looked a little bit different since the last time he saw her. She was walking with a limp, her face looked tired, and he could only wonder about the state of his family. He watched as she made her way towards the trash can, slowly emptying the contents of the trash bag she was carrying before making her way back to the shop.
Here we go!
Crossing the street, Alex walked up to the shop, arriving just a few seconds after his mother opened the door. She had heard footsteps and turned to look at who it was, only to realize that it was her son. Her only child, the prodigal son who had left many years ago.
"Alex?"
Her voice was shaking, and she dropped the trash bag, taking a step forward as if in doubt as to what was in front of her. The day her son had vanished still haunts her, and she had lost count of the number of times she saw someone that looked like him.
The man standing in front of her wasn't her young boy, but she knew deep within her heart that she was looking at her son. The same boy she had walked from their shop back home, the boy who had given her flowers on Mother's day, the same boy who was the greatest gift she had in her life.
"Alex!" Natasha screamed as she hugged her son.
He didn't say anything, just wrapped his hands around her. Natasha cried, relishing the pain she had kept deep within her heart over the past five years in which her son vanished. Each night, she had prayed for his safety and hoped that he would find his way back home, and it seemed like he was back.
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"What's going on, Natasha?" A masculine voice said.
Both mother and son looked up, their gaze directed at the man who stood at the door. He looked extremely tired, his grey hairs and rough face a subtle reminder that the past few years have been quite harsh on him.
"He's back, John. Our son is back!" Natasha said.
"Get away from him!" John called out.
To him, his son had passed away all those years, and this stranger wasn't his family. He had no place here, and John wasn't going to let him deceive his wife.
"No! He's our son John. Our son is back here!"
Natasha had already turned to face him, putting Alex behind her as she spread her hands out. John had barely moved from the spot he was, considering his wife and the stranger that stood right behind her.
"I'm sorry, dad!" Alex said, speaking for the first time. "I'm sorry I failed you."
Those weren't the words he thought he would say when he returned back to Abria. When he left five years ago, Alex was confident that he would be able to return back to Abria and make his family proud and not only that but take them away from this little town in the middle of nowhere.
"Of course you are," John said as he stepped forward. "Leaving the both of us and barely saying a word. We had to spend plenty of nights thinking about what your fate was, but here you are, safe and sound."
By the time he finished his words, John was standing right in front of Natasha and Alex, his gaze fixed on his prodigal son.
"Why did you leave without a word Alex? You could have told us."
He broke down into tears as the words left his mouth. When he noticed that Alex had left, John had blamed himself thinking he had failed his son. Each passing day, he bore the guilt that he had failed as his father and that never knowing the fate of his son was the punishment for his failure.
"I was a fool. I thought I could change things, but I failed..." Alex said as he hugged his father.
This was his reunion with his family, and while it wasn't exactly what he wanted, Alex was glad to be back with his family. Life in LA was far tough than he thought it would be, and after long deliberation, he realized that living in Abria wasn't as bad as he had initially thought, which was the reason he took the journey back home.
"Our family is full again," Natasha said as she joined in the hug.
Anyone passing back would have thought it strange that three grown adults were standing right in the middle of the street crying, but that would be a stranger who doesn't belong to Abria. For those who lived in Abria, if any of them had stumbled on that scene, they would have been both happy and sad. Happy that the Kolswak family is reunited and saddened by the reality that escaping from Abria was a dream. Many had tried in the past, but no one had ever truly escaped from this town. In a way, it was their haven as well as their prison.