"Virginia, Vivian is all alone. No family, no friends. She's in the hospital and there's nobody to even sign the forms. I can't just leave her."
"Mm."
"Can you just bear with me on this? Please?"
"I am bearing with you."
"Then why are you—"
"I've been bearing with you for ten years, Robert. What's one more time."
Silence on the other end.
Finally, all he managed was one line.
"When you get here, I'll make it up to you. I promise."
I hung up and leaned back in my seat, letting out a long, slow breath.
Ten years. It was all about to end.
At last, the boarding announcement came.
I grabbed my backpack and walked toward the gate.
Fifteen hours later, I saw the coastline. Familiar and foreign at the same time.
My eyes blurred with tears instantly.
The elderly man in the seat beside me patted my hand.
"We're here, young lady. You're home."
"Yeah. I'm home."
I turned on my phone.
The second the signal kicked in, messages flooded the screen like a tidal wave.
Robert's voice messages sounded increasingly frantic.
"Virginia, it's only an eight-hour flight. Why aren't you here yet?"
"Virginia, are you lost? Call me back right now."
"Virginia, Vivian and I picked up groceries and we're waiting for you at home. Reply the second you see this."
The later messages had turned sharp with irritation.
"Virginia, what is going on with you? Just because I didn't pick you up, you refuse to come home?"
"Turn your phone on already. Stop making Vivian and me wait. Her stomach is already acting up. Can you just be considerate for once?"
I shook my head.
These barking orders. I was so tired of them.
I got off the plane, collected my luggage, and headed for the arrivals exit.
My phone rang. Robert.
The moment I picked up, his voice came through at full volume.
"Virginia, you finally turned your phone on!"
"You are so selfish. You want to throw a tantrum, fine, but pick your timing! Do you know how worried Vivian and I were? She cried!"
When I said nothing, he hesitated. His tone softened a fraction.
"Have you landed yet or not?"
The "abroad" he meant was Valkenheim.
That wasn't where I was.
I looked at the sea of red banners and lanterns stretching out before me, and my heart surged.
"I landed a while ago."
