Repercussions
Dawn had broken hours ago, and now the sun was directly above me, casting only vertical shadows on the beings it shone upon. The trees were a light shade of green, with unswept brown leaves scattered across the park. Standing where I had, for a time, disappeared off the face of this planet, I heaved a sigh. Although everything looked the same as I had left it, it felt different in nature; from seeing the sun, in its own control, soar high above the world, to seeing the clouds move by them selves without the need or the assistance of a pegasus. For reasons that still remained unclear to me, time seemed to synchronize with that of Equestria, at least that's what I knew from possessing the medallion. And knowing this, it brought a sense of relief, or peace. I couldn't quite my put my finger on it, but I was happier nonetheless.
But now I had an even greater problem on my hands. Having just returned to Earth, I knew nothing of the events of the past two months.
What did I miss?
Did people miss me?
Did people even notice I was gone?
While I stood there, questioning and asking 'what if?'s, my phone began to vibrate rapidly, in the same two-time vibration that signaled a message. Only this time, it didn't stop. It didn't surprise me, in fact I had been expecting it to happen. It was a theory, but it was highly plausible. I flipped out my Iphone, watching as notifications of message after message filled the lock-screen. Some of them came from family, but none of real concern. Not that I could really tell from how fast they flashed pass. I noticed several messages flash by from work, but I only managed to make out their first few words before more notifications filled the screen;
[Raymon]: Hey, man. You didn't come to work today. Something up?...
[Raymon]: Dude, it's been a few days man. You can't just not come to work like that. Reply ASAP...
[Donovan]: Boss is pissed. Where you been? Get your ass back in office, man!...
I looked up from the screen. Not a single person was in sight. I suppose it was better this way; I didn't need to give anyone a long-winded explanation if they saw a psychedelic-coloured portal spit out one of their neighbours. At the same time, it was a little depressing. Because back here, I was back to normal: My old self. The 'me' that trudged through life, living each day and hoping for the next to be more interesting than the last. Back here, I was just an average person again.
"Doesn't have to be that way, bro..."
The weak whisper of a voice echoed in my head. Arty still managed to send the slightest of messages now and then, even though he barely spoke up in my mind anymore. But he was right. I didn't have to live each day like a drag. The beautiful, surrealistic, life-threatening place called Equestria had changed that view. And even if life gets ahead of me now, at least I have an escape. A place as close to paradise as I could get so far.
Faintly remembering the direction of me and my Sister's place, I slowly began my way home, or as least my Earth home. Swiping the screen, I unlocked my phone so as to get a better look at what I had missed. A total of 72 messages had piled up in my absence. I found myself smirking. I never got that many messages in my life! I sifted through them, skimming over each one of them and only opening the important ones. I ignored the invitations to parties, or outings or whatever insignificant event. Whether it was from friends or family, it didn't matter right now. I had to get my issues straightened out first. Not only had I received texts, but voicemail as well. Most were from work. I expected that, knowing that the friends I had weren't very tight or outgoing.
"Voicemail message one: Sup man, how you been? Just so you know, we're goin' out for drinks tonight and I was just wondering if you'd get your lazy ass out of your room to join us. Oh and LAN party later tonight. C'ya!
They wouldn't really care if I disappeared for anything less than a year. Opening one voicemail, I mentally braced myself. I was probably out of a job now.
"Voicemail message two: Hey, Conway, this is Raymon. You've been gone for a week man! Boss-man's gonna get pissed if you don't get back soon. I hope you got the other messages. Get back to us ASAP."
And that was only the first message. As the dates stretched on, I knew that it was only going to get worse.
"Voicemail message three: Hey,man. Don here. Boss is pissed. You're this much closer to losing your job,dude. See ya soon... or maybe not..."
And finally, the final voice message that I expected the most. From my boss.
"Voicemail message four: Conway! Your AWOL bullshit has ended your career in this company. Your fired! And if you don't come and collect your things by the end of this month, you can find them in the trash!"
I ended the voice message and pocketed the phone, letting out a long breath I unconsciously held. But it wasn't a bad thing. I hated my mundane job. It was a relief to hear that piece of news, no matter how rudely given. Besides, I had discovered better ways to earn an income.
Before I knew it, I was home. At the front gate of the place our parents had thrust us into to live our own lives, while they went off to enjoy theirs. I lamented on the way things had changed when we were all under the same roof. Things were definitely better then, but if it was still that way now, this would be a lot harder to explain. I found thanks in that.
The rocky, white-washed walls of our one-floor house had barely changed since I had left, give or take the need to wash the measly driveway. The black paint on the rusted gate peeled as I pushed it open, squeaking on its hinges. I drew another smirk. Without me around, my sister would barely know how to keep up with the place. Walking up the driveway pass her sky blue Toyota Prius, I made it as far as the front door before I stopped and hesitated.
It all seemed to simple when I planned it. Get back home, back to the house, find Dayna and explain myself, and got it out of the way. It didn't sound so hard, except for the 'explain myself' part. I never really thought about what I would say, and I couldn't tell her what really happened. She would think I was crazy... or more weird than I usually am.
But what other plausible reason did I have? I dug through my mind for a reason. Any reason that made sense! I couldn't say that I was with my friends. She probably already checked with them anyway. I couldn't say I was on a work trip because I had no job now in the first place, and they probably called home several times as well. I couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the earth like that. Not to someone sensible and realistic like her.
Wait... I got it!
Pulling out my Apple device, I looked at it thoughtfully. Having to have survived through the entire journey seemed like a miracle. A bent over to the edge of the shoe rack, next to the door.
And hopefully, I'm not going to regret this...
With a moments hesitation, I sent the white Iphone smashing screen first into the sharp corner of the rack. I did it again several times, until I heard crunch sound it produced. Pulling the phone back, I looked at the almost completely scratched screen. In the center of it was one big crack surrounding a hole, and the pixels of the screen were completely dead. A few stray pixels of colour scattered across the screen like a broken television, and it no longer responded to the buttons. As wasteful as I knew it was, it did the job. It would help make it more convincing too; at least now I had a reason to why I couldn't respond. I carefully replaced the broken Apple product.
Alright, Keith, you can do this. It's not that hard. Just stay calm. How hard could it be?
I took a deep breath in front of the polished wood of the front door. I actually missed my Sister. A part of me hoped she was home, the other part hoped she wasn't making it easier to explain over the phone. I raised a hand half-heartedly to the doorknob, ready for the encounter. Suddenly, when my hand was just inches away from the metal handle, it twisted on its own. Someone was opening it from inside! The door swung open, and put me face to face with my sibling that watched my lazy ass all these years.
Dayna hadn't changed. I looked down at her, more so than usual. Even though she was older than me by five years, I was still taller than her. I just hoped she didn't notice any difference from before. With a light layer of make-up and straightened black hair, I could tell she was just going out. She certainly dressed the part, in her bright blue sleeveless top with a frilly v-neck patterned down to the belt and neat, black denim jeans, she carried one of her branded leather bags. She still looked herself, only now with a look of utter shock on her face.
For a moment, none of us spoke. We just stared at each other, surprised to see each other again after quite some time. I found the need to speak first, for I had some explaining to do in the first place.
"Good to see you again, Sis-"
Before I could even finish that sentence, she wound back and threw a palmed hand at me, slapping me right across the face. A burning sensation filled my right cheek.
"Ow... okay maybe I deserved that but-" I was stopped again, but this time, by a breath-squeezing hug.
"You jackass! where the hell have you been!?" That was what she had to say to me for missing for two months.
"You slap me, then hug me, then call me a jackass?" I wheezed. "Some way you show affection!"
"Well you are!" She released her grip, eyeing me from head to toe. "Wow, you've gotten thin. And tan..."
"Yeah about that." I smiled sheepishly while I invited myself back into my own home. "Has anyone-"
"Called? Visited? Messaged?" She slammed the door behind her. So much for going out. "Do you know how hard it was for me to cover for you for two months?! It's a good thing Mom and Dad are still out of the country!"
"They are?" I knew they were on holiday when I left, but not until now.
"Yeah, their really enjoying themselves." One side of Dayna's mouth turned up, forming a half-smile. "You don't even know where they are, do you?"
"Yeah, I do!"
"Where?"
"Um... I dunno... galavanting in Europe or something?"
"Italy, Dumbass." My Sister sighed in exasperation, but it was relief as well. "It's good to have you back, Keith." I grunted at the comment, looking around the place to see if anything had changed. Nothing was out of place, nothing had moved.
"No, I didn't touch or sell your stuff, and your room is full of dust by now." She still stood at the doorway while I got up to go to the kitchen. "Now seriously, where the hell have you been?"
Now came the hard part, I could only hope she believed it. Time to put those high school drama lessons to use.
"I was out when they called me to back to reservist."
"What? the National Service?" Her voice echoed down the hall.
"Yup." I cooly replied, pouring myself a glass of water. "It was at night though. You know the different squads they call back from time to time? One of those was my squad." What I told her was partly true. Every able-man up to the age of forty had to return to the military for reservist. It took at least one month for most soldiers. "It was a little late and you were out, so I just came back to quickly grab some stuff and go."
"Really? And where is that 'stuff' now?"
"Stored in my locker at camp." I quickly retorted. So far so good. I was half in the clear by now. "Oh and after that, some of the army buddies invited me up to Malaysia. Needless to say, some of us were barely sober." If she had come into my room, she would have realized that my gear was still stuffed under my bed and that my passport was just in the bedside cupboard.
"Is that so?" Dayna had her hands on her hips, grasping on to every word I said. We both went to the sparsely furnished leaving room. "Surely, you had time to at least call to tell me all of this?"
"I couldn't." I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the broken Iphone, tossing it face up onto the couch. "It broke in camp. That thing is barely a Nokia." She picked it up and tried it out for herself, finding the device completely useless.
"You could've used your friends phones to call."
"You think I bothered to remember your number?" I cockily smiled.
"So what you're telling me is that you went back to the military camp without me knowing, like a ninja, for reservist, and then went up to Malaysia for a drunken vacation?" Her smiled disappeared and she asked in a serious tone.
"No, I was falling through rainbow portals, meeting pastel-coloured ponies from a cartoon show, battling mythical creatures and a long forgotten human race." I hope she didn't take the sarcastic remark seriously. "And I barely got out alive."
Dayna produced a small giggle. "Okay, I give up. I'll accept your explanation, only because someone like you would do something like that!" She pulled out her own Iphone. "I'm heading out, you can take care of yourself right?"
"I'm a freshly re-serviced soldier who survived half drunk in Malaysia for a month aren't I?" I replied. Slumping down onto the couch, I looked at the blank television. Dayna's reflection from the doorway was visible, as she prepared to go out again.
"Well, what are you going to do now?" She asked.
"First off, I'm gonna go get a cheeseburger." I reluctantly got back up. I couldn't celebrate my relief just yet. "Second of all, I'm gonna go buy a new phone". I remembered what I had originally intended to come back for. "And third; I'm moving out of here as soon as I can."
"Really now?" She pulled open the front door a second time. "And how are you going to do that? Last I heard, you were out of a job... again."
I got up to hug her another time before she went out. "You know I have my way of working things out." I smiled.
"Where are you even going to get the money, bro? You can't even afford a new phone right now!" I followed her out onto the driveway, as she got into her car.
"Trust me, Sis! I have my ways!" Waving her off as the revved up the car engine, I felt into my hoodie's pockets. The golden bits jingled in the tiny sack as I fiddled with a few of them. I had to keep one hand in my hoodie for almost the entire time to prevent it from making a sound. Thanks to the kind-hearted Baron, I had quite a few extra funds. As Dayna drove off, I gave myself a high five while walking back into the house, barely avoiding a crisis.
I grinned as I threw two little bags of bits onto my bed. I was basically carrying around significant amounts of gold! As far as money was concerned, I knew I was going to be okay.