“AARON!” Lily and Arc yelled out at the same time after seeing their son collapse in the dirt. Arc was already sprinting towards him, and Lily was right on his heels. A million thoughts were running through Arc’s head, but the loudest was also the most dreadful.
Oh god, my son is dead!
Once Arc was close, he came sliding in onto his knees right next to his son’s prone body. He grabbed Aaron’s shoulders and turned him face up, cradling him as Lily leaned in over his other shoulder. Aaron was gasping. Gasping was good, gasping meant he was still alive.
The two parents were quick to assess the condition of their child as they stripped him of his cuirass. They expected blood, but there was none to be found. This surprised them, and even after they both had a chance to inspect the area that should have been perforated, they could not find any serious injuries.
Relief crashed upon them like an avalanche as they both huddled around their child in a semi-group hug. Everyone was in a state of shock, recovering from what they thought was a fatal incident. No one even paid any attention to Jim until he was standing right in front of them.
“I’m sorry if I caused you all panic, but I did promise that no one would be seriously injured.” He held up his pistol for emphasis. “I used rubber bullets. A type of ammunition that hurts a lot, but generally isn’t deadly. With the armor, he probably got the wind knocked out of him, but he shouldn’t have more than a few bruises.”
Everyone just stared at the man like he was speaking a foreign language. Aaron in particular thought he was about to die, but now that he had a chance to gather his wits, he could only feel anger.
He... He shot me! The bastard shot me!
“No hard feelings, Aaron?” Jim asked with a small smile and an extended hand.
Aaron scowled at him. “No hard... You shot me!”
“And you turned your stick into a stun baton. I figured you wouldn’t have a problem if I threw in my own brand of bullshit since you set the precedent.”
“How the hell does that compare to a freaking gun!”
Jim quirked an eyebrow at Aaron. “It doesn’t, and that was part of the lesson I hoped you would learn. No matter how highly you or others think of yourself, you’re not invincible, kid. All it takes is someone to come along with a trick, a trap, or just something you didn’t expect, and it can all come to an end. Always assume that the opponent has the edge over you until they lay at your feet.”
Aaron wanted to argue, but he couldn’t really find a flaw in his ‘lesson.’ Still, he didn’t want to admit that he lost, even though the evidence was painfully obvious. He could practically feel the bruises setting in. Aaron squirmed out of his parents' embrace so he could stand again, wincing as his chest still felt tender. In the end he stormed off to not at all sulk.
Both Lily and Arc could only watch him go, not knowing what to say to make him feel better after all of that, especially since they were still recovering from the recent scare. Jim tossed aside the gun in his hands, and it disappeared almost as soon as it left his hands. After disarming, he removed the armor and set it down in a neat pile.
Jim approached the two parents, rubbing the back of his head slightly abashed. “I get the feeling that I've overdone it somewhat. I’m sorry if I put undue stress on your family, and I know you might not entirely trust me after everything that’s happened, but might I have the opportunity to try and fix this situation? Just a few minutes alone to speak with the kid.”
The two of them were still reeling from the whiplash that was this whole morning. “I... I don’t know. This day has just been...” Lily let out a sigh and buried her face in one of her hands in exhaustion.
“I apologize again ma’am. I promise that I will try to make things right.”
For the first time in a long while, Lily felt like she had her heart condition back. Feeling completely defeated, she just waved him off, signaling begrudging consent. Nodding in acknowledgment, Jim turned towards the father, waiting for his permission as well.
Arc was still in the process of getting his heartrate back to a normal level, so thinking about how he was going to handle the fallout with his son when their relationship was already rocky didn’t come easy. He didn’t know what to do, and his wife was in a similar situation. If Jim could somehow lessen the impact of everything that happened, then maybe he should have the chance to fix the results of what he did.
“Fine, but you stay in my sight, and if you ever pull a weapon on my kid like that again, I will flay you alive and reduce what remains to ash.”
“Understood, sir. Thank you.” Jim turned to follow Aaron while Arc set about consoling his wife.
The kid didn’t get far after storming off, coming to a halt at the end of the property. It was obvious that he was upset, the look on his face said it all. He was leaning against a fence that ran alongside the road leading away from their home.
Jim walked up to the fence a few feet to Aaron’s right, giving the kid enough space so he didn’t feel cornered. “Hey Aaron, you mind if we talk for a minute?”
Aaron didn’t move his body in the slightest to Jim’s voice, though his eyes did briefly glance in his direction. “Why? You want to gloat?”
“Why would I gloat?” Jim said with a raised eyebrow.
“You beat me, you won, and that’s what winners do.”
“If someone feels the need to gloat in victory, then that is just a sign that they are insecure about themselves.”
“Another ‘lesson’ of yours? At least you spared me the humiliation this time.”
“Did you think you could win every fight you would ever get into? That’s called hubris, kid, and it’s deadlier than any weapon.”
“Says the guy who can make guns out of thin air.”
“Yeah, that’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about. This world didn’t exactly strike me as the kind of place that utilized gunpowder in anything less than a cannon. Funny how you knew exactly what a gun is and what it looks like.”
That got Aaron’s attention as he realized the mistake he had made. In his frustration and anger, he had completely dropped his feigned ignorance of the world he came from. “Uhm, that was... I just...”
Jim waved off his concerns. “Don’t worry kid, I'm not about to go yelling through the streets that you're from Earth like me. Though, I have to wonder, why are you even hiding it?”
“I... People might think I'm weird if they knew.” He said with an unconvincing level of conviction.
“Kid, I've been in this world all of four hours and I know that’s not the case. People might think you’re a novelty, sure, but there are literal monsters and spells in this place, so I think they can accept that you might have been magicked here from another reality. So, what’s the real reason why?”
Aaron was silent for a moment before he decided to speak again. “I... Don’t like who I was back on Earth.”
Jim studied the kid’s expression for a second. “I can tell that’s a partial truth at least. If it’s not too much for you, could you elaborate for me?”
Aaron had an internal debate about whether he should talk to this man, who was practically a stranger to him, about something so personal. Maybe it was because it had been years since he last thought of it, or because the man himself was rather disarming in his attitude, but he started to speak.
“I was a nobody, back on Earth. Less than nobody, actually. I was poor, had no friends, and was harassed by a group of jerks at school every day.”
“Anyone at home?” Jim asked.
Aaron shook his head. “Mom ditched the minute she wasn’t needed to feed me anymore, and dad... He...”
His voice trailed off as painful memories resurfaced again. Jim could infer enough to get a picture, and just nodded. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t. No one ever does. Everyone just sees a weak, defenseless, punching bag that they can use however they want and throw away without a second thought! I didn’t want to be that person anymore. I wanted to be someone important, strong, respected. I couldn’t live like that anymore; I didn’t live like that anymore.”
Jim’s eyes widened a little bit. “You mean you...”
Aaron sighed and shook his head. “No, I mean, I tried, I was about to, but then this sort of... door, opened in front of me, and a voice like the one you described pulled me in. That’s how I made it here.”
“Damn kid. You went through the shit alright. If it means anything, I know how you feel.”
“You can save your empty sympathies.”
“Hey, don’t go assuming you have a monopoly on suffering. My old man wasn’t exactly a saint either. Drugs and abuse were the flavors of my childhood, though my mom did stick around for me, so I can’t really comment on that part. Jumped into the army the minute I turned eighteen. Thought it would be a quick escape from the hellhole that was my house, but I ended up finding something unexpected. There’s a sort of... familial bond, I guess you could call it, that you form with the people in the service. You get a structured life, friends, leaders, role models, everything that you might have missed out on growing up. And as I made my way through the years of service I put in; I learned a very important life lesson. You’re only ever defeated if allow yourself to be.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The words resonated inside Aaron's head, causing him to reflect on his life and his own shortcomings. He had given up. The weight was too much for him to bear and he collapsed underneath it all. Jim, though, kept going. Despite the problems he faced, he didn’t surrender. Aaron looked at him and could only think one thing.
He’s stronger than me.
Aaron’s descent into a well of self-pity was interrupted by Jim. “So, have you told your parents about your previous life?”
“Oh, uhm, no, I haven’t.”
“Why not?”
“I... I don’t know.”
“Do you not trust them?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just... Maybe they would think I'm strange then.”
“You’re going in circles kid. We’ve already been through that. I don’t think the information would be all too much of a shock for them considering the world we’ve landed in.”
“I don’t...” Aaron let out a slightly frustrated sigh.
“Come on kid, you’re obviously hung up on something, so why don’t-”
“I’m afraid, okay!” The outburst immediately shut Jim up as he went back to listening. “If they find out I'm not who they think I am, that I'm somebody else pretending to be their son, then they... they might not want me anymore.”
Jim stared straight ahead for a moment. “Well, there’s the other half of it.” There was another pause as he let the words hang. “Bullshit.”
Aaron blinked and looked at Jim with surprise. “What?”
“That’s bullshit. You know it, I know, they know it.”
A scowl made its way onto Aaron’s face. “You don’t even know my family, so how can you say that?”
“I may not know them well, but I know them enough to say that your fear of them abandoning you is complete bullshit. The way they ran to you when they thought you were hurt, how they huddled defensively around you, hell, your dad threatened to literally flay me if I ever pointed a gun at you again.”
Aaron had a hard time picturing that as he had never heard Arc use such threatening language before. “Really?”
“Yeah, and I won’t lie, when he said that I could feel the hairs on my neck prickle a bit. Your dad’s a wizard too, isn’t he?”
“He prefers mage, but yeah. He’s really strong too. I haven’t even seen everything that he can do yet. He keeps telling me that advanced magic isn’t something you use around civilization.”
“Damn, I got threatened by a walking nuke.” Jim chuckled a bit, and even Aaron had a small smile at the thought. “Anyway, back on topic. You really need to tell your parents. Don’t overthink it too much. They’ll accept you for who you are, just as they always have.”
“Just because you keep saying it doesn’t make it any less scary.”
“Well, I’m not going to force you, but you need to decide whether or not you want to hide from your own family for the rest of your life, or if you want to finally tell them how you really feel.”
To say that Aaron felt nervous was an extreme understatement. He had kept knowledge of his past life hidden for so long because he didn’t want it to repeat itself. Sure, his new parents were nothing but supportive of him, but there was always that chance that things went horribly wrong, and they decided that he was some kind of freak.
He shook his head. No, he wanted to be a different person in this world. Before, he was a coward who couldn’t stand up for himself or fight back. He didn’t want to run anymore, no matter how scared he was.
“I can... try, I guess.”
“There’s no trying in this, kid. If you commit to that path, you have to move forward confidently.”
“Right, confidence.” He didn’t sound confident, so Jim thought he should do something about that.
With a hearty clap on the back that rattled Aaron a little, he gave the kid some encouragement. “Don’t overthink it, remember. They’re your parents, they raised you, cared for you. You don’t have to be afraid of them, they’ll accept you.”
Aaron took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “Okay, I can do it.” He sounded a little better than before.
Jim gave him an encouraging smile. “It’s all you kid.”
Aaron nodded and turned to head back towards the house. He stopped a few feet away before looking back over his shoulder. “Uhm, thanks. I don’t know you, was even rude to you, but you still tried to help me.”
“Anyone who can see someone struggling, know that they can do something to help, and turn away, is not someone I ever want to be. You got this, Aaron.”
Aaron managed a small smile in thanks, then turned back towards his house, and the parents that awaited him. They didn’t move much since the last time he saw them, simply sitting on some chairs out back while watching him closely. Concern was written plain on their faces, and the closer he got to them, the more his built up confidence started to waver. So many what ifs went through his head that it was all he could do not to just turn around and run away.
“Are you okay sweety?” His mom asked.
“Y-yeah, I'm fine.”
“He didn’t say anything weird to you, did he?” Arc asked.
“No, he... he just gave me some advice, and I think...” Aaron let out a sigh and decided to just rip the band-aid off. “Can we talk?”
The looks of concern on their faces seemed to double in intensity, but they maintained their composure. “Of course, you can talk to us about anything.” His mom said while Arc nodded in agreement.
“Uhm, could we maybe go inside and sit?” Aaron didn’t know why that would make a difference. Perhaps he just felt that it would be more comfortable.
Both his parents simply nodded and stood up to escort him inside. Lily walked next to him, with both hands resting on his shoulders in a comforting manner while Arc led the way back inside, opening the door for the two of them. They all found their way to the dining table, and Aaron sat down next to Lily while Arc took up the seat across from them.
Nobody rushed him to speak. Lily just kept doing her best to provide comfort while Arc waited patiently, but with anxiety, for his son to let them know why he wanted to talk. Arc couldn’t help but feel that this situation was supposed to be the other way around, but then again, nothing had gone to plan this morning.
It was a solid minute of silence before Aaron worked up the courage to actually start speaking again. “I’ve... I’ve been keeping a secret from you.” That immediately got both their attention, and they became much more serious.
Aaron took one last fortifying breath before pushing forward. “I have memories, memories from a life before this one.”
Both Arc and Lily looked at their son with wide eyes, casting a brief glance at each other before returning their attention solely to their child who was growing increasingly nervous.
“I had another life, another... well, I don’t even know if I can really call them family. Things were different, worse, than my time here. I wasn’t wanted anywhere, people treated me like an inconvenience at the best of times. Every day was the same nightmare stuck on repeat, and in the end, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I... I went to a parking garage in the middle of the night, and I was going to jump off the top floor.”
That particular bit of information really hit the other two hard. Lily gasped and put a hand over her mouth while she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Arc just sat there with his jaw hanging open and an aghast look on his face.
Aaron tried not to pay too much attention to their reaction and focused more on getting everything out. “I never got the chance. A strange magical door opened up in front of me, and a voice like the one that talked with Jim called out to me and beckoned me across the threshold. I didn’t know if what I saw was real or not, but I figured since I was already at the edge, I might as well just go along with it.”
It was strange. The knowledge that their son was sent to this world like they were came as less of a shock than the fact that he had tried to commit suicide. Just imagining their child, who they raised and cared for, in that situation was enough to make the two of them feel ill with worry.
“Is that why you’ve acted... distant, with me?” Arc asked, somehow feeling even worse than he had the other day after being compared to a man that was most likely abusive. “Aaron, do you... do you hate me?”
Aaron snapped up. “N-no, I don’t hate you. I was... I just didn’t know what to think. At first, I was worried that my life here wouldn’t be much different, so I didn’t want to get close just in case. But as time went on, I realized that you weren’t like them, and my life here was significantly better, so I thought that if I didn’t show that I was worthy of it, then I might lose everything.”
Aaron’s throat felt like it was trying to close on him. His breathing became slightly erratic, and his vision became blurry as he tried to keep tears at bay. “I’ve n-never had anything like this before. E-everyone always t-treated me like I was nothing, and I just... I just...” At that point he broke down completely, tears running freely down his face as he managed to get just a few more words out before falling into a sobbing fit.
“I just wanted someone to love me.”
His eyes squeezed shut in a desperate, and ultimately futile, attempt to stop the tears. Breaths came in shuddering waves as memories, anxieties, and panic came crashing down on him. Despite his frequent gasping, it felt like he was suffocating, and it was only the sudden presence of arms wrapped around him that kept him from passing out.
Lily had thrown her arms around her son and pulled him into a deep hug, and Arc wasn’t far behind, getting up from his seat and moving over to complete the encirclement. It was warm, comforting, and made him feel safe. Slowly, he started to calm down, and once he was at a point where he wasn’t in danger of passing out, his parents started to speak to him in a very personal tone.
“Aaron, your father and I both love you so much. It doesn’t matter if you have memories of being someone else, that doesn’t change the fact that you are still our son, and we will love you no matter what.”
Arc took his turn to speak after his wife finished. “Aaron, I'm sorry if you felt that you couldn’t trust us enough to tell us this.” Even though I'm one to talk. I kept the same secret from them. My son is braver than me.
“No!” Aaron exclaimed before taking an unsteady breath. “I’m sorry. I treated you like a threat even though you did nothing but care for me. You two are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm sorry I treated you that way Dad.”
It took Arc a moment to realize what Aaron had just called him, but as soon as it sunk in, he had to fight back tears of his own. “You have nothing to apologize for. You were caught in a horrible situation that anyone would have trouble coping with, then you ended up in a world with which you weren’t familiar that operated by rules completely foreign to you. The only thing I can say about you is that you are brave, braver than even I am.” If my child has the strength to trust others, I better be able to match him.
Arc had always thought that if it came to light that he was from another world, it would end badly. But, not only had his son proven him wrong, but this was his family, and they deserved to know who he was as well. Aaron looked at him somewhat incredulously when Arc claimed that he was braver than him, so he elaborated.
“I’ve been keeping a secret too, one much the same as yours.” That got both his wife and son to go wide eyed.
“You mean, you...”
“Yes, I'm from another world, Earth, probably the same one you came from. I died in an accident though, and I had no real reason to keep it hidden other than my own concerns about problems that might happen if people found out. I didn’t think-”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Lily interrupted before Arc could get any further. “You’re from Earth too?”
Arc nodded. “Yes, and I'm sorry I never told you; I was just worried that-”
“No, that’s not...” She waved off his excuse while trying to wrap her head around the ridiculous situation. “I’m asking that because I’m from Earth as well.”
Now it was the boy’s turn to be stupefied. “What?”
“Yeah! I used to be from Earth as well before this weird magic circle teleported me away. I didn’t want to tell anyone because I thought you might think I was crazy!”
“So... we’re all...” Aaron began before stopping and just looking between his parents.
There was a moment of silence between them all before it was broken by a scoff from Arc. Eventually, the scoff became a chuckle, and then outright laughter as the realization was able to fully sink in. The laughter continued for a minute, with the other two nervously smiling, wondering if perhaps Arc broke. After Arc had a chance to get it out of his system, he managed to calm down enough to speak again.
“I’m sorry, it’s just... Hehe, what are the odds? Whoever, or whatever, sent us here either has a wicked sense of humor, or this is the single greatest coincidence in the universe. I certainly hope I haven’t used up all of my luck for the rest of my life. Come here you two.”
Arc grabbed his son and wife, pulling them both into a hug. “Coincidence or not, I'm so happy that both of you found your way to me. You’ve brought so much color and excitement to my life that I can’t even begin to imagine it without you. I love you both more than I can possibly put into words.”
Aaron leaned into the hug, openly enjoying the affection now that everything was cleared up. “I love you too Dad.”
Dad. Dad! God, I love the sound of that. Arc was reveling in his newfound title that he had been working so hard for. Even attaining the title of master mage was nothing compared to this.
Lily replied to her husband’s hug with a kiss, which was accepted, much to the eyerolling of Aaron. This was by far the strangest way this day could have gone, but in the end, things turned out pretty well. All of this started with Jim, and his unintentional throwing of a wrench into the dynamic that was their daily lives. It might not have been planned, but he still helped them remove those last few barriers that existed between them. The family was stronger than ever, and they all could agree that they should thank him.