I was just waking up, stretching, and heading for my morning bath like usual. Everything was normal… until the TV caught my attention. Mom was already staring at the screen, and I had to pause, listen.
The news anchor's voice filled the room.
"Reports are coming in of sightings… yes, sightings of unidentified people… in the sky!"
I froze. People? Flying?
The anchor continued, "Let's go live to our reporter on site. Hello—what's your name again?"
"Hello, I'm Li Wei," said the reporter, a young guy with a calm voice. "We're live at the small town plaza in the Gradient Belt. Right behind me… well, you can see it yourselves. Something unusual is happening—people are flying in the sky."
Li Wei turned to a bystander nearby. "Sir, what can you tell us about these… flying people?"
The man waved nervously at the camera. "Oh… hi. Hello everyone… I… I'm on TV? Uh… well… they just appeared! I don't know how, but—mahhh…"
Li Wei quickly cut him off, giving a small laugh. "Alright, thank you… we'll keep watching."
I stared at the screen. My normal morning… just vanished.
I laughed so hard when I saw the guy on TV… it was one of my classmates! He's always a little weird, but I didn't expect him to get even weirder on national TV.
Mom gave me a quick glance, raising an eyebrow. "Is that… Mrs. Deng's son?"
"Oh… yeah," I said between laughs. "He's usually so nice… but wow, TV changes people."
I shook my head, still laughing. "Oh man… TV really makes people weird," I said. Then I stepped outside… and wow. Streets were full of cops and even soldiers. Everyone looking serious. Huh… okay, something's definitely happening.
While I was walking to school, I looked up and… wow. People were in the sky. It was like something out of one of the oldest movies. They were standing on swords, one hand behind their back, just floating there. I blinked. Shit… this is real.
My phone rang. It was Mia again. I already knew she wanted to tell me something. I grabbed my phone and met her at the school entrance.
"You need to bring your ID," she said, a little worried. "There are soldiers checking every student."
Great. That sounded serious.
And yeah… it was true. Soldiers were inside the school, patrolling with these huge guns. "ID? One by one. You, there." They were checking everyone carefully.
When I moved to the other side, I noticed someone with a massive thermal camera or something. I could see the screen. My figure was glowing orange. The soldier looked at me, nodded, and I moved on, trying not to stand out.
I kept walking. My backpack felt heavier, my heart was racing, but… I guess this was just another strange day in Oriethion.
Everyone was still staring outside, like it was just another morning. Some people were chatting, laughing even, like nothing unusual was happening. But for me… I knew better. This wasn't a show. Why were there so many soldiers outside?
Then I saw one of my classmates running toward the classroom. He looked panicked. "Someone's been detained!" he yelled.
And just like that… everyone started running. Me too, of course, glancing around to see what was going on.
Before we could really figure anything out, a teacher came in. Well, I knew she was a teacher—her… presence was impossible to miss. She wasn't in our school uniform and… okay, let's just say she had this huge, almost intimidating aura.
She started asking questions. "What did you feel? What do you think about what's happening?"
No one dared to answer. I mean, there was a guy with a massive gun on the table, just smiling like everything was totally fine. Who in their right mind would say anything?
Everyone froze inside the room. Some of my classmates had a ton of questions, but no one dared to ask. The guy walked in like he owned the school.
"Okay, little boys… we got an emergency. Everyone has to stay here for observation. And do you know why?"
He pointed toward the window. One of my classmates started crying. "I… I don't know… I don't know…"
The guy laughed. "Relax, kid. We're from the Bureau of Tepelcorp. See outside? People… in the sky."
Mia raised her hand. "Are they real? They look like… holograms."
The guy smiled. "Kids, that's right—they look like that. But we're not sure. All we know is, keep everyone safe."
After that, questions started flying. Everyone wanted to know about the news, the soldiers, the flying people—everything. The room buzzed, but the tension never left. Even with all the questions, no one moved too fast. You could tell everyone was trying to act normal… but it was impossible.
By the afternoon, we were finally freed. I wasn't disappointed, though—my mind had been mostly on the teacher with… ahahaha… that calm, composed figure.
As I headed home, I saw other students walking faster than usual. Soldiers were still everywhere, and some kids were chatting about a random video online… something about a crack in the sky. My ears felt like they were getting bigger just from trying to listen.
When I got home, Mom looked worried. Every news broadcast was talking about universities being locked down. She asked me if I was okay. I smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm okay… better than okay, actually."
We sat down to eat the hot pot she had made. It was simple, warm… and somehow, after such a crazy day, it felt perfect.
While we were at the table, Mom glanced at the old photo on the cabinet. It was her and Dad… well, I've never met him. All I know is he's a jerk—left Mom and never contacted her. She's been everything for me.
Even if I don't have a so-called father, it's fine. I don't really know him, and maybe he didn't really know me either… so it's okay. I'm not that sad.
I remembered when I was seven. At school, some kids kept pestering me because I didn't have a father. They even called my mom a puffer fish. I didn't even know why. I just got mad, made my hands round like a puffer fish… and punched the air like I was punching them.
Mom looked at me, her eyes tearing up.
"It's time to tell you the truth about your father…"
I glanced at her. "What do you mean? Mom, it's okay. He's a jerk and he's always gonna be a jerk—"
Slap.
"You don't know what he's been through," she said, her voice shaking. "So stop spouting nonsense."
I was shocked. I couldn't believe she defended that jerk. My cheek was still warm.
"So tell me, Mom… was it worth it? To leave us? To go somewhere else? Maybe find another family?"
Mom started crying harder. Her hands were trembling while holding the necklace Dad gave her when they first met. It looked like a carved stone, with some kind of letter or symbol on it. I never understood what it was… but it always felt weird. Not normal.
She clutched it tightly and whispered—
"He never left us… we left him."