Before he could say anything else...

His mom stood up from her seat and had her hands on the table with her head down.

“Ace...”

After everything that’s happened, the reunion at the front door, the hug, the warm smile she gave before he started, the nod in response to his seriousness, what he received was...

“This is not the time for jokes!”

His mom sounded just as serious as Ace did when he first started talking.

It wasn’t serious, more on the angry side.

After the reunion with her son, he tells her that he was in the middle of the forest when he woke up...

This was not the time for jokes!

She wanted a proper explanation from her son, not some fantasy he thought up in his head!

“Explain properly! I want to hear the proper story! I’m your mom! Why’re you lying to me?!”

Ace couldn’t say anything to that, he was too shocked himself to respond.

He pushed his chair back with his body and stood up from the kitchen table.

“I am... being... serio--”

“ACE! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOUR FANTASIES! TELL ME THE TRUTH!

Before Ace could speak again...

“Ace...”

His dad was the one to speak this time.

—Dad must believe me! There’s no way he wouldn’t!

“Just tell us the truth...”

“—?!”

They didn’t believe him.

Ace couldn’t take it.

He wouldn’t be seeing his parents for a whole year, and this is how they’re going to say goodbye?

He couldn’t take it.

He ran to the bathroom, locked the door, and dropped to the floor in front of the toilet, vomiting as soon as his knees hit the ground.

“AGHH!!”

His mom started banging on the door.

“Ace! Are you okay?!”

He continued to vomit for a few more seconds, completely emptying out his stomach.

“Agh...”

Once there was nothing else left to be removed from his body, he stood up in front of the sink and turned the tap on.

He washed his mouth in the sink, then dropped his head in front of the mirror and responded to his mom.

“Leave me alone for a little... please...”

He didn’t get a response for a few seconds, his mom not wanting to leave him alone.

“We’ll be waiting in the kitchen...”

He heard footsteps leaving the washroom and he looked back up at the mirror.

He was a mess.

His hair was hanging over his forehead, not being styled in over a day.

His eyes looked tired from everything that’s happened over the past day.

His clothes were a mess, his t-shirt having a few rips in it and his shorts covered in dirt from the training from last night.

His body was tired and was ready to drop at any time.

His mind hasn’t been thinking straight for a while now.

It was all a mess.

——

—Why?! Why won’t they believe me?!

The only 2 people in the world he wanted to believe him... wouldn’t believe him.

He was going to cry again, but he’s cried a lot recently so tears wouldn’t fall this time.

That was for the best though... if he cried now, he wouldn’t be able to stop, and it wouldn’t let him think straight at all.

He gave himself one last look in the mirror and remembered his purpose for being back in his world.

He splashed his face with water and got out of the washroom.

He made his way back into the kitchen where his parents were sitting at the table.

He sat back into the seat he was sitting in before and started to speak, his parents letting him speak first.

“I know it’s crazy...”

“I know it’s idiotic...”

“I know it’s impossible...”

“I wouldn’t believe myself if I was you guys...”

“But... I will be gone for one year after today.”

“So... please... believe me.”

He looked up at his parents to see how they reacte--

*SLAP*

“ACE!”

“I’M NOT PLAYING AROUND ANYMORE!”

“TELL ME THE TRUTH!”

Ace wasn’t feeling sadness anymore, he was feeling the same thing his mom was...

Anger.

He was their son; how could they not believe him!

He disappears for a whole day, he shows back up, and they have a touching reunion.

After all that...

After looking at his desperate face, his desperate cries...

They still don’t believe him!

All he wants to do is have a proper goodbye with them!

Why won’t they believe him!

“MOM!”

He slammed his hand on the kitchen table where his dad was sitting and stared directly at his mom in front of him.

“I AM TELLING THE TRUTH!”

“YOU THINK I WANTED TO BE PULLED INTO THAT HELL HOLE!”

He swung his arm across his chest, his emotions raging.

“I ALMOST DIED IN THAT ONE DAY THAT I WAS THERE!”

“LOOK AT ME!”

“MY SHIRT IS TORN, MY SHORTS ARE MUDDY, AND I HAVE SOME STRANGE CLOTH HOOD ON MY BACK!”

“HOW WEIRD CAN THAT GET!”

Before he could continue talking, his mom chimed in, bringing her face close to Ace’s.

“I DON’T HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR YOUR CLOTHES OR YOUR DESPERATE ATTITUDE BUT...”

“YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT YOU WERE PULLED INTO SOME CRAZY, OTHER WORLD!”

“WE’RE NOT IN A VIDEO GAME! THIS IS REALITY! TELL ME THE TRUTH!”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?! THIS IS THE TRUTH!

“I KNOW YOU’RE LYING! WHY WON’T YOU TELL ME! I’M YOUR MOTHER!

“Hey...”

“I AM TELLING YOU! YOU JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE ME!”

“HOW COULD I BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!”

“Hey...”

“I’M TELLING YOU IT’S NOT IMPOSSIBLE!”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT!”

“Hey...”

“WHY?! I’M YOUR SON, IF YOU WON’T BELIEVE ME, WHO WILL!”

“NOBODY, BECAUSE YOUR STORY IS IDIOTIC!”

“HEYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!”

——

The man stuck his arms out in front of the mother-son pair and finally caught their attention.

“LISTEN TO ME! YOU TWO ARE NOT GETTING ANYWHERE YELLING AT EACH OTHER!”

He was just as furious as the other two.

Their attention was focused on him, feeling there would be consequences if they tried to speak.

“SIT DOWN ONE MORE TIME AND TRY TO TALK IT OUT AGAIN!”

“ONCE YOU TWO SIT DOWN, I’LL ASK THE QUESTIONS!”

The mother and son stood there staring at the man, too in shock to know what to do next.

“WHAT’RE YOU TWO DOING?! SIT DOWN!”

“—!”

They rushed over to their seats and sat down, obeying his orders.

“Now that you two have calmed down, we can have a proper talk. Ace, to be honest, it’s also hard for me to believe you because of how crazy your stor--”

“I’M TELLING THE TRU..”

“DON’T INTERRUPT ME!”

Ace’s whole body shook, and he sat up straight in his chair with his hands on his lap.

“It’s also hard for me to believe you because of how crazy your story is...”

“But!”

“If you have something to prove your story is real... I will believe you.”

“—!”

Ace remembered the blue haired girl sitting on idly on his bed.

“Do you have anything? Anything at all to prove you’re not lying?”

Ace stood up and bent his body over the table, slamming his hands into the table, bringing his face close to his father’s.

“I DO! Wait here!”

He dashed out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs.

He ran over to his room and opened the door to find the girl sitting in the same position she was when he first left her.

He looked at her through the door and waved his arm towards himself.

“Come.”

He was too in a rush to be polite or considerate.

Aliza nodded towards him and followed him down the stairs.

They started walking towards the kitchen, but stopped before becoming visible to his parents.

“Wait here a second.”

Ace went into the kitchen, leaving Aliza in the hallway.

“Mom... dad... this is my proof...”

He went back into the hallway and pulled Aliza into the kitchen.

“This girl came back with me from the other world.”