It will have been five years soon, he realizes looking in his hologaming profile of all things. The number is simultaneously too big and too small for all the ways he feels about it. For five years he's been lost, drifting in and out of whatever gravitational pull will have him. Almost fell out of orbit entirely, were it not for a select few who kept him tethered to a reality that wasn't virtual.
"Mindeulle," his father greets him one evening, the full name a sign that conversation to follow won't be light of heart. "I've been thinking, we should go to Mahoroba. Visit your mother." There's something in his father's countenance that hasn't been there before, when the topic of her has been raised. Like a readiness. Some sort of finality. He too had been drifting, Min knew. His intial response is wide-eyed wonder. A bit of fear, a clenching in his chest. He doesn't know if he's ready. He used to dream of going back to Mahoroba, for all of its lush comforts, but it has taken him these years to realize he was latching onto not a place but a memory.
"I think it will be good for you," his father continues, then a pause. "I should have- it should not have taken this long." At first, it was time. Never the time to take such a trip when they were getting the shop started. Then, money. Never enough credits to warrant the travel. But they both knew that there were reasons beyond the tangible that held them both back for so long, from taking any real steps towards closure. But now - they could surely afford a trip. Could close the shop for a few days or even leave it in the hands of hired help. Min wasn't fixated on the details, but rather the possibility. Maybe his father was right. It would be good for him, to see his home planet for what it is now rather than what it once was. To say the goodbyes that he never did, then.
"In the spring. Let's plan for it." Min simply nods. It was always the season of fresh buds. New beginnings. Maybe he could take the chance to bloom anew too.
"Mindeulle," his father greets him one evening, the full name a sign that conversation to follow won't be light of heart. "I've been thinking, we should go to Mahoroba. Visit your mother." There's something in his father's countenance that hasn't been there before, when the topic of her has been raised. Like a readiness. Some sort of finality. He too had been drifting, Min knew. His intial response is wide-eyed wonder. A bit of fear, a clenching in his chest. He doesn't know if he's ready. He used to dream of going back to Mahoroba, for all of its lush comforts, but it has taken him these years to realize he was latching onto not a place but a memory.
"I think it will be good for you," his father continues, then a pause. "I should have- it should not have taken this long." At first, it was time. Never the time to take such a trip when they were getting the shop started. Then, money. Never enough credits to warrant the travel. But they both knew that there were reasons beyond the tangible that held them both back for so long, from taking any real steps towards closure. But now - they could surely afford a trip. Could close the shop for a few days or even leave it in the hands of hired help. Min wasn't fixated on the details, but rather the possibility. Maybe his father was right. It would be good for him, to see his home planet for what it is now rather than what it once was. To say the goodbyes that he never did, then.
"In the spring. Let's plan for it." Min simply nods. It was always the season of fresh buds. New beginnings. Maybe he could take the chance to bloom anew too.
