Aki

Something Strange

Aki woke up in his bed. He slowly opened his eyes and realized these sheets weren't the same ones he fell asleep in. He blinked a few more times to clear his vision. Nothing changed. A myriad of questions flooded his mind. He lifted up and noticed he was the only person in the room. It was gloomy outside, so he barely was able to make out everything. He found the light and flicked it on. The room was small and it looked to be dated.
He opened the door to notice he was in an apartment. He saw a picture of him and his mom. He did not remember taking this picture before. It was professionally taken but it looked like it was taken in a different era. Also, it was just a picture of him and his mom, where was his dad and his younger sisters.

He heard water cut on from what sounded like a sink. He slowly turned away from the picture and began walking towards the sound. He hit the corner and found himself looking in a kitchen. He saw his mom cleaning a pan out. Looked like she just got through cooking. Suddenly an aroma of bacon flew threw the air.

"Good morning Jamal," she said.
"Mom.... it's me Aki...what's going on?"
"Aki? Is that the new nickname you're going by?" She replied drying the pan and putting it away.
"Mom...where are we?" Aki said with a puzzled look.
"We're at home. The same place we've been for 17 years boy. Now sit down and eat this food up before it's cold." She said and sat down herself at a small round table that had 4 seats.

Aki was very confused. He went to sleep in his house in Jaqar, Alswedi. His home with his mother, father, and two sisters. What happened last night to bring him to this alternate reality. He was into science fiction and stories he read was similar to people traveling in time or ending up in alternate realities. But how can this happen to him? He's just a normal kid, why and how can this be happening to him.

Aki slowly bit the bacon and spit it out.
"Mom is this swine!?" He said disgustingly. As he said that he heard a lot of people talking outside.

"All of a sudden you changing faiths too? We're Christian in this house boy," she said as he got up and walked to the window.

They were on the 2nd floor, and outside Aki noticed the street was filled with trash. Graffiti tagged on the building he was in and the buildings across the street. Grass grew wildly in yards and old broken down cars were in those yards. The apartments weren't well kept either. Peeled paint, ripped gutters, cracks in the cement, even more graffiti on the ground.
Aki felt like he was in Hell.
"How is this possible?" He asked himself as he put his hands on his head.

He noticed a group of guys downstairs hanging out smoking and rolling dye. People that looked like him. Black people. He was shocked. In Jaqar, his people looked nothing like this. The towns looked nothing like this, this was the barbaric stories he heard of which occurred frequently further north in a place called Europe.

"Aki whats going on with you?" his mom said placing her fork down and gazing up at him.

"What's going on with me? Mom! Where's dad?!" He shouted.

"Boy your fathers been gone for 14 years! You know I have no idea where he is! Left me here to raise you all by myself," she said grabbing her orange juice.

"Dad wouldn't do that," Aki argued.

"Well he did! How the hell do you know? Boy do I need to take you to a doctor?" She asked.

Aki ran back to his room. He hopped in the bed and closed his eyes and got into the fetal position. This was all too strange. He hoped it'd go away. He called to his ancestors asking for the bad dream to stop. This alternate reality was the worse ever imagined. Please wake him up from this nightmare!?

He opened his eyes and found himself in familiar sheets. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you ancestors," he said.