"That was enough"
"Although I became a completely different person in a completely different world."
"Although I lost everything from the previous world."
"The current me... no, we, could confidently say we were happy."
*
*
*
Tears rolled down Jace's cheeks as he laid his eyes upon the ending lines of the novel he had been reading for the past months. He wiped the tears away as he reminisced upon the past. It took a year of constant all nighters and a hiatus from the author for this journey to finally come to an end. After everything, all he could say was that the ride was definitely worth every second he had spent.
Sighing, Jace flopped onto his bed staring blankly at the dirty, yellow ceiling, his eyes tracing the edges of his room. His bedroom was just a measly 100 square foot space that barely held enough space to move around even with the bare minimum amount of furniture.
What could he do though? It was the best they could afford.
'What should I read now.?'
He turned to the old digital clock on the nearby night stand.
7:18 PM
His eyes then wandered towards the blank papers on his desk.
'Should I do my homework?'
Jace contemplated for less than a split second before shaking his head in disbelief. He hadn't done any homework for over a month. What's another day gonna do?
Instead, Jace opted to browse the internet for another novel to read. Picking up his old-fashion smart phone, he pressed on the browser app.
Nowadays, people would've just used their hologram phones or, if they were rich, used the hologram chip implanted into their brains. Jace, however, could not afford such luxuries. He had barely scrapped together enough money for the old-school phone. Yet, he bought it believing the purchase would make him more productive. The results show for itself.
Jace laid on his bed browsing the forums for a few minutes before his grumbling stomach interrupted his concentration.
Sighing, he got up from the comfort of his bed and left his room.
Jace lived alone with his sister in a three room apartment which only included a bedroom, bathroom, and living room with a small section used as the kitchen. It was the bare minimum but the best they could afford with the money they scrapped together.
Entering the living room, Jace heard the crinkle of a plastic wrapper.
"The lazy beast has awaken." Rain glanced up and scrunched her nose in disgust. "You look horrible."
Turning his head, Jace's gaze found his 13 year old sister siting on the floor munching on a Pocky stick. A sitting table was propped on the floor where her notebook and school supplies sat on top of.
Due to their living conditions as well as Rain's refusal to share a room, they had converted half of the living room into a suitable living space for her. And due to her persistence for privacy, a large blanket was hung from the ceiling acting as a curtain.
"Like you're one to talk." He jeered back. "You're not exactly a pretty sight either."
Rain scoffed but couldn't find the words to deny it.
Rain had not grown up in the most ideal places. She was malnourished causing her short and scrawny figure. The clothes she wore hung off her body as they were hand-me-downs. The only thing going for her was her long black hair that flowed lusciously without a single fray or tangle.
"What are you looking at." She scorned.
Jace ignored her comments and open the refrigerator door scouring for leftovers. Unfortunately for him, all that lay before him was an empty refrigerator.
Tsk!
He was always greeted with an empty fridge whenever he opened it. He didn't know why he still bothered to check it.
Swallowing down his annoyance, he walked off into the bathroom to relieve himself. After flushing the toilet and washing his hands, Jace took a quick glance at himself in the mirror remembering Rain's harsh words.
A scrawny, pale, pimple ridden face stared back at him. The long, black, greasy hair that sat on top of his head covered his eyes, hiding the dark bags that hung under. His body was malnourished and void of any muscle. He looked exactly as his sister said. Horrible.
Sighing, Jace re-entered his room and put on the jacket that was sprawled messily on his chair and grabbed the wallet laying on his table.
Jace then entered the makeshift foyer and begun to put on the running shoes that was neatly organized on the shoe rack.
'Must've been Rain'
"And where are you going?"
'Speak of the devil.' He cursed in his head.
Growing a little annoyed, Jace replied, "I'm heading out to grab some food and supplies. Why?"
"Nothing." She took a deep sigh. "Just make sure to not overspend again."
"That's obvious."
She eyed the phone that was in his hand and glared at him, clearly not believing a word he said.
"We have living expenses as well a mom's hospital bills to pay."
"Yeah I know, I know."
"THEN ACT LIKE IT!" She bursted out. "It doesn't seem like you know, now does it? Actions speak louder than words, idiot."
"Relax, Rain." Jace tried to shut up his sister but this only angered her further.
"Relax? Am I the only one who's worried!" Rain clenched her fists tightly. "Mom has been in a coma for 3 years and Dad's out of the country living God knows where doing God knows what just to provide for us!"
"Don't worry, we have enough money in dad's bank account to cover 6 months. We have a lot of money left." He tried to reason.
"That's barely anything! First it's your manga and then it's a phone. What, next it's gonna be a whole computer? You don't even make money so why are you spending it so easily?"
"Okay, okay. Fine. I understand, I won't buy anything expensive. Sheesh." Jace finally admitted defeat. He was too tired to continue on.
It was silent before Rain sighed heavily and returned back to the living room
Jace also took a second to catch his breath before turning his attention back to his half tied shoelaces. With everything in order, he opened the door revealing the outside world. Before stepping out completely, he could hear his sister whispering from the living room.
"Hey Jace? I'm sorry. I've just really stressed with everything that's happening... Just be quick and come back home safely."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He muttered to himself taking a step into the outside world and locking the doors.
Outside, he felt the cool autumn breeze on his face. The fresh wind was a nice change compared to the stuffy air of his room. He approached the right side of the building and descending the stairs, each step creaking under his foot. At the bottom, he turned to face the apartment building.
Jace, Rain, and their dad had begun living here due to not being able to afford the cost of an actual house. They had to sell their old house as well as most of their belongings just to survive. It wasn't until their dad had left oversees for a job that things stabilized and they could live a somewhat normal life in the cheap apartment building.
Jace could still remember having to sell the PlayStation he had spent a good part of his childhood playing on. His mom had bought it for him for his 10th birthday, but now it was probably in the hands of another person if not recycled. It left a bad taste in his mouth remembering the past so he quickly began his walk to the market.
Although Jace was 17, he didn't have his driver's licenses nor a car. Obviously the latter was the result of not having enough money to afford one. Jace was left with no choice but to walk.
Fortunately, his journey wouldn't be a long one as the nearest market was only a twenty minute walk away.
Exiting the dirty alleyway, Jace entered the main street that was bustling with pedestrians. Businessmen and civilians roamed the streets alike, each having their own life to attend to.
"Babe, let's try that one!"
"I told you I would have the documents ready by Monday!"
"Sorry, did you wait long?"
"Mom, I don't want pizza. Can't we get hamburgers instead?"
"Dude, I absolutely destroyed you in that game. Bow down to me."
It was loud, chaotic, and humbling. There was so much happening in this city. It really put how little important he had in perspective. He was like a small screw in this giant machine called society. Whether he did his job didn't matter.
As Jace was almost arrived, something caught his eyes and he immediately hid in the side alley.
"Ack. I totally bombed that test."
"Yeah, me too. I wish I had studied more."
"I probably failed too."
"Don't lie to me, Krone! Are you making fun of me!"
"You better..."
Only when the group of high school girls turn the corner did Jace release the breath he had unknowingly held. He had almost ran into people from his school and that would have been a tragedy.
Jace returned to his arranged path and like he had done countless times before, arrived in front of the market without too many issues.
He took a quick glance throughout the store before grabbing a basket.
'Don't buy anything expensive' He reminded himself. He felt that if he bought anything expensive this time, his sister's pestering would get even worse.
Jace grabbed himself a shopping basket and then went aisle to aisle, placing whatever he deemed necessary into the basket. He also made sure to get the products that were on sale.
His streak of responsibility abruptly ended after passing the junk food aisle. The next two minutes were filled with intense deliberation as he mulled over his current situation. Finally he placed two bags of chips and a package of cookies into the basket.
'As long as Rain doesn't find out, It'll be fine'
Jace's second moment of deliberation came quickly as he stood facing a cart full of bouquets. Having already broken his promise Jace had any easier time on deciding whether to buy them.
After grabbing the bouquet of flowers, Jace went to the cashier to pay for all the items. He placed his basket on the conveyor and waited patiently for his turn.
"Hello. Will this be all for today?" He had finally arrived in front of the cashier.
With slight hesitation, he pulled out a coupon from his wallet.
"Actually, this coupon, I was wondering if I can use it for this." He said stumbling over his words.
"Of course. Let me check." She responded to him with a bright smile. His heart fluttered slightly. Of course he knew this was just her doing her job.
"Oh looks like the coupon has already expired."
"Ah." Jace said weakly. "Then I guess that will be all then."
"That will be $71.91."
Jace swiped his debit card and paid for the items.
"Thank you for shopping. We look forward to seeing you next time!"
Jace nodded as he grabbed his bag of groceries and left the market. However instead of walking back home, he called for a taxi. In a matter of minutes, Jace was climbing into the passenger seat of a cab.
"Good evening. Where would you like to go, sir?"
"Angel's Care Hospital."
"Of course. We'll be on our way immediately."
Jace pulled out his phone to continue reading his novel only to remember he had already finished it.
Sighing in disappointment, he reminisced on the novel.
A story where an author falls into the universe of his own writing. It had characters with a surprising amount of depth, detail, and care. Its action scenes were always jam packed with intensity that kept its reader at the edge of their seat. The plot were always fun, entertaining, and never grew stale. It was a beautifully made novel that spawned a mythical world with it.
A mythical world that Jace wished he could be apart of. If only he was the one who had fell into that world, all his problems would be solved. Money wouldn't be a problem. His mom and dad would be at home. He is sister would never go hungry. He would be successful. He would have a warm and happy family.
All these thoughts were useless though. Jace wasn't delusional enough to actually believe that any of this existed. There was no such thing as transmigration or reincarnation. All this only existed in the world of fiction.
Still that didn't stop him from imagining his perfect life.
"Sir, we've arrived." Jace was awaken from his thoughts by the taxi driver.
"Ah. Thank you." He grabbed his groceries and stepped out of the taxi.
He checked the time again.
8:09 PM
He still had time.
Jace had only just entered the hospital but the lady at the front desk noticed him immediately.
"Oh Mr. Kuliner welcome back." She greeted. "Are you here to see her again?"
Jace nodded and then went through the regular visiting procedures. Before long, he was heading up the elevator. The nurse who accompanied him made small talk which he tried his best to respond to but it ended up being a silent trip after. Finally they arrived at their destination.
"We're here." The nurse stood before a room. "I'll leave you two alone now."
Jace walked into the room and saw her frail body laying on the bed, unmoving except for the slight breaths she took.
"Hey mom. I'm back." Jace spoke softly to her even though he knew she couldn't respond. It was a little over 3 years ago that she had gotten into that accident.
"It's been a while since I came to visit you so I bought you some flowers. It seems like the last flowers have already gone bad." Jace grabbed the nearby vase on the bedside table and dumped the rotten flowers in the trash. He refilled the vase with fresh water before placing the newly bought bouquet into the vase.
"There." He placed the vase neatly onto the table again. "Mom, how have you been? I've been doing pretty well since I last visited. Rain has also been doing great. She's really excelling in school and I... I'm doing the same as I always have."
His mom breathed in slowly as he spoke about the past few weeks with her. He held her hand in his. It was warm. It gave him hope that she would wake up one day.
"Recently, Rain has begun scolding me. I've been spending money irresponsibly I guess. Though you don't have to worry. Rain and I are still as close as always. You also don't have to worry about money. Dad has been sending more than enough money for your hospital bills and for our living expenses."
His ramblings went on. A part of him knew that there was little chance of her hearing him and even less of a chance of her responding, but Jace wanted to believe. He wanted to imagine that he was actually speaking to his mother and that she would scold him for being irresponsible or that she would comfort him saying it's not his fault.
"It has been a bit worrying lately." Jace clenched onto her hands as he said this. "Dad hasn't been in contact recently. He usually sends a letter and money every month, but it's been 4 days past the usual time. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared, but I don't want to worry Rain too much. She needs to focus on her studies so that she can live a good life and eventually, even find a man that she wants to live the rest of her life with."
Jace felt a tinge of pain in his heart as he clenched his fists. He didn't know when but soon there would be a day when Rain would no longer need to rely on Jace and Jace would no longer have to care for Rain. Through all the arguments, hatred, and foul language that they threw at each other, he still loved her and hoped that she would still love him.
Even though it was heart wrenching, Jace earnestly prayed that they would survive to see a day like that.
Maybe it was a bit childish, but It was times like these that he desperately wished he was a character in a novel. If he was, his father wouldn't be out of the country. He would be staying at home while Jace fought monsters. They would be able to make money by selling monster parts. He would've already obtained a mythical cure-all artifact and healed his mother. He would have the warm and secure home that he always imagined.
But this was not a novel. This was reality. There was no such thing as a cure-all artifact. The only thing he could rely on was modern medicine.
Jace shook his head clear as he realized he was going on a weird tangent again . He breathed out, refocusing his mind.
"Anyways, I'm sure Dad is alright. Dad has always been a strong person. So don't worry too much and wake up soon." Jace finished speaking and just sat by his mother's side in silence, relishing in the moment.
He was woken from the moment with a knock on the door. It was the nurse.
"Mr. Kuliner, your time is almost up."
"Well mom, I'll have to get going now." Jace got up from his chair and opened the exit. "The next time I come visit, I'll make sure to bring Rain. I promise."
With that, he left his mother's hospital room. Waiting outside was the nurse who led him back down. Jace thanked them before leaving the Angel's Care Hospital.
Jace called another taxi.
"Where to?"
"Westside Beach." Westside Beach was obviously not where the apartment complex was located, but Jace often found himself coming here after visiting his mother.
He would go there just to listen to the sounds of waves crashing and to watch the stars shimmering in the sky. It was soothing.
It was also nearby the apartments and would only take him 30 minutes to walk home.
It wasn't long before they arrived.
"Now I don't want to dig into your personal business kid, but do be careful out there." The taxi man warned. "The docks are slippery and the waters are icy cold at these times."
Jace nodded his head, not paying too much attention to him. Although he couldn't swim, the shore was nearby by so Jace believed he would be able to get to safety quite easily and he had never once fallen in before.
Jace thanked the taxi driver and paid him. Afterwards, he grabbed the groceries and stepped out of the taxi.
The empty beach spread out before him lit up by the far away street lamps and moonlight. Down by the bay, he saw the familiar shack that usually sold snacks for any beachgoer. The wooden dock laid right next to it, hovering a few inches above the ocean's surface.
Jace took in a deep a breath. The aroma of the beach was the same as always. The salty smell engulfed him sending him straight into a wave of nostalgia. He remembered a simpler time when he was just 8 years old and Rain was only 3.
Back then, his family hadn't been torn apart and he wasn't who he was now. They had gone to the beach to celebrate Jace as he had achieved top of his class as well as winning first place in the district's spelling bee. They had celebrated with a nice barbecue and a big juicy watermelon.
Back then, he was a prodigy. He was more intelligent than the other kids and had a larger grasp of reality. His future seemed so completely bright that there wasn't a shadow of a doubt about his success.
Jace thought that this was natural and that he would always be special and be top of his class. And he would be right for the next ten years. He was rank one and achieved the best grades throughout elementary and middle school. But things changed when high school came around.
It was in high school when he was faced with the truth. He wasn't anything special. It became apparent when kids who were actually talented and intelligent were in the class. It wasn't even a competition. Out of all the people, Jace was last place. He was no longer sat at the top of his class but sank to the bottom of a new food chain.
Even then, things became to change more. There was only so far that his natural born intelligence could get him and he lacked the essential thing that would lead him further. Jace lacked effort.
All of his life, he was called a prodigy. He never had to try hard. Math, English, science, he excelled at all of it. But highschool was different from middle or elementary school. He couldn't just pass because he was smart or because he put in some time. He actually had to study for tests, take hours out of his day to do homework, and dedicate the weekends to doing school work.
It all sounded simple but Jace couldn't do it. It was too different from what he was used to. Jace didn't know how to try and put effort into work. He didn't have the passion that the other kids had.
It wasn't long before even the kids who he thought was inferior to him started to surpass him. The platform that he stood atop of was unexpectedly fragile and unsteady. Once it collapsed, he couldn't climb back up. Eventually, Jace gave up. He didn't bother putting even the minimal amount of effort. He ran away from his troubles. He started investing hours of his days to just reading, loafing, and YouTube. Anything to not have to face reality.
The world didn't stop for anyone however. Time continued to pass even as Jace ran away. His life continued fall apart as both parents became absent from his life. Whatever was left of his grades took a nose dive and Jace began distancing himself from friends. Finally, Jace was a senior in high school. He was still failing all of his classes and was not even on track to graduate. He was a failure.
Tears had begun streaming down his eyes. No matter how much he tried to run away, life had still managed to grab him and drag him back in his self created hell.
Waves were still crashing in the background as Jace found himself on the docks sitting at the edge. By now the moon was high up in the night sky. The stars quietly illuminated the world without a care in the world. As he grew more aware of his surroundings, he quickly wiped away the tears that had formed around his eyes.
"Shit." Jace weakly chuckled to himself. "I didn't know I was so emotional. What's up with me today?"
His phone screen blinded him as he checked for the time.
9:50 PM
Jace sighed and picked himself off the ground.
Suddenly a wave of dizziness crashed into him and his legs grew unsteady. Time seemed to freeze all around him as he tried to understand what was happening. The world seemed to have been flipped on its side and the water came directly into view.
Yet, Jace stared at sparkling water as rays from the moon reflected off of it.
'It's beautif-'
SPLASH!
Jace had fallen into the ocean.
Immediately the freezing cold water engulfed his body and salt water began to enter his lungs. Panic began to settled in as a burning sensation started to attack him and he began flailing his arms and legs erratically.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!'
His head would surface for a second only to sink once again under the waves. His clothes, clinging to his skin, felt like heavy weights.
Jace kept on struggling but his arms and legs grew tired quickly. Whether it was due to never exercising or improper form, it didn't matter.
He could no longer tell what was up and what was down. What direction was the shore, he had no idea.
Every time his head broke surface, another wave would come crashing down throwing him into disarray.
His eyes hurt, nose burned, and chest felt like it was going to burst. With each stroke, the pain only grew worse.
He tried to reach for the wooden beams of the dock but his current condition didn't allow him too. It seemed like he had already drifted too far away from it.
Jace felt himself sink down into the water and tried desperately to claw his way to the surface of the water, yet with each passing moment, the surface was getting harder and harder to get to.
Finally, Jace couldn't keep his body afloat any longer and his head dipped into the sea water.
Jace clutched his throat as he began intaking dangerous amounts of sea water.
It was the worse pain he had ever felt.
His body began to sink deeper and deeper within the ocean as he no longer had the energy to claw his way out. It wasn't long before his conscious began to dimmer.
As he sank into the dark abyss of the ocean, Jace's life began to flash before his eyes until it paused on one last memory. Rain had told him to come back home safely just before he had left.
Just like everything else, he wouldn't be able to keep his word.
The life began to drain from Jace's eyes and the images of the past disappeared. The light in his eyes finally dimmed.
'Rain. I'm sorry.'