A Story of Their Lives

Chapter 5

The pod's door opened. I was ready for this brief nothingness. All the procedures went quickly this time, including the mandatory health check-up. My parents greeted me, excited to see me again. From their perspective, I wasn't there for three years.

"Where's Alice?" I asked as we got in the car.

"Alice is home, with little Alex. You've seen Alex, right? Before the freeze?"

"Yeah, he was born right before I left. I just remember him crying all the time."

"Well, he is all grown up now," my dad said with a grin. "I got him the toy version of my pick-up truck and he loves it."

"What about Nathan?" I asked. My parents looked at each other in awkward silence.

"They got divorced. Your sister was devastated," my mom replied. "Luckily, it happened after we woke up, so we could provide all the support she needed. Oh, poor baby."

No one talked for a while, everyone feeling guilty for not being there for Alice. To me, they were still happily married half an hour ago. There was a kind of movie feel to it: I was watching my family and friends as characters, growing up and living their lives. Whilst I remained as a spectator, watching the plot unravel, as I put my own life on pause.

"We are going hiking now, every weekend. Alice joins us sometimes when the babysitter is available," my mom said, looking at me in the front mirror.

"That's nice! Dad, I can't believe you're finally into hiking."

"He bought loads of professional equipment," we all laughed. My dad did this routine every time he started a new hobby: buying expensive outfits, tools, and materials, only to ditch the new activity in a few months, leaving everything he bought to collect dust in the attic.

As we approached the house, I started dreading meeting Alice. There was no doubt I was a terrible sister. At least when she lived abroad, we could have calls from time to time and message each other whenever we wanted to, but you can't really talk to an icicle. She couldn't reach me when going through one of the worst moments in her life.

"Is she mad at me?" I asked my mom.

"Honey... She's mad at all of us."

We entered the house; it smelled like chocolate chip cookies. My mom baked them briefly before picking me up. Alice briefly looked at me, smiled politely, and said hi.

"Alex is probably upstairs. Alex! Alex, say hi to your aunt!" my dad shouted from the hall.

"My aunt? I don't have an aunt," he responded with a confused tone as he ran down the stairs.

"Hi Alex, I am your aunt," I said, my voice unexpectedly trembling. Of course, he had never seen me, so it made perfect sense that he thought he didn't have an aunt. But it hurt me more than I wanted to admit to myself.

Alex quickly waved at me and then went to the kitchen to sit next to his mom. Neither of them was interested in talking to me any more than that.

We had dinner, during which our mom was cheering everyone up with hiking stories. They were planning to take Alex for an easy hike sometime soon. She suggested I should "obviously join" them as well.

"There is a lovely lake nearby, a hidden gem, gorgeous this time of the year. Well, you'd need some hiking shoes, of course. We donated most of your clothes by the way because this house is quite small for all of us. The rest of your stuff is in the basement, you can take a look after dinner," my mom said. I nodded. It was sensible of them to do it, although I couldn't help but feel like an extra in my own family, which was a dumb teenage thought that I tried to disregard right away.

Alex went to play video games while we cleaned up. I was helping Alice with the dishes.

"I am sorry to hear about Nathan..."

"Shit happens. That's life," Alice shrugged. We continued to clean up silently.

"I am sorry in general, Alice. For not being there when you needed me."

"It's alright, don't worry," she looked at me indifferently. "Neither Alex nor I am mad at you. He doesn't even know who you are. We just got used to you not being around and knowing you as that person who appears here once every five years. I'm sorry, but we're not enthusiastic about your visit this time."

She didn't sound harsh, there was no intention to hurt me. These were simply facts. My family got used to living without me and I understood that.

I looked at my parents, preoccupied with Alex. My sister focused on finishing the dishes. I had no job, no place to live, and most of my belongings were donated. I am not running away this time, I thought, I am committing to living life now.