In a bright and lively part of Tokyo, there was a tall man who walked with a limp, seemingly towering over every person he walked past. As he walked through the people-filled streets, he looked drowsy with dark bags beneath his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for days.
As he walked through the busy streets, he made his way to an apartment complex, lazily entering the building and going into an elevator. His head hung, looking like he'd fall asleep. His drowsiness was broken by reaching the floor he selected. He walked toward an apartment, fiddling with the keys in his pocket. As he entered his apartment, he threw his keys and wallet onto an unkempt bed.
He made his way to a fridge filled with beer, took one, and sat against the front of his bed. He looked around a dirty and messy home that had a sink filled with dirty dishes and a floor riddled with empty beer cans. His tired face turned into one of shame as he cracked open the beer while digging through his pockets looking for his phone.
As he finished his chug, he opened his phone to look at the date, 2019, July 24. Right as he was done looking at the date, his phone rang. He refused to answer, simply staring at the caller ID with a sad look on his face. He couldn't bring himself to decline it yet refused to answer. It rang and rang until it stopped, and once it did, it rang again. The caller refused to give up, and the tired man finally answered solemnly, saying two words, "Hey Dad."
As he said those two words, a happy voice could be heard saying, "Mako, thank god you finally answered. It's been ages since we talked." The man said in a relieved voice, "I know. I've just been busy."
"For 4 months. You do realize the last time you talked to me or your mother was back in March when we were celebrating your mom's birthday, right?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. It's just recently things haven't been the best, and I'm a bit down because of it," Mako said, sounding a bit depressed.
"Really? What's wrong?" his father asked worriedly.
"My grades went down pretty badly."
"Mako, I told you that you shouldn't have gone to one of those harder universities. How badly did they drop?" he asked nonchalantly.
"My grades dropped from '80s to '70s," he said, scared for his father's response.
"Son, you're doing fine. I don't think your grades are as important as you or your health. And even then, it's summer; you can't change them anymore. Also, I'm worried about your drinking. So, have you, or am I (hopefully) wrong?"
"I haven't been drinking as much as I was back then, but I still have a can here and there," he said sheepishly.
"I see. Well, just make sure not to drink too much. After all, you don't want to get out of shape," he said in a bright tone.
"You're right. I worked hard to get where I am. Wouldn't want to lose it all because of some beer."
"That's the spirit, son. But I wanted to tell you something really important, so please pay attention," he said, changing his happy voice into a serious tone.
"I'm listening. Please just tell me what it is."
"Son, I just wanted to tell you that me and your mother love you with all our hearts, and you're always welcome home. So please consider visiting; me and your mother miss you."
"I... miss you guys too. I'll come by sometime in August," he said as his voice turned from sad to a bit happy.
"That's great. Remember, you're always welcome."
"Okay, love you, Dad."
"Love you too, Mako," they said to each other. As Mako pressed the end call button, once the call ended, he stared into space as if he were pondering something. As he did, he picked himself up from the front of his bed and threw himself onto the bed. He continued to think about whatever he was thinking of as he closed his eyes. He began drifting off into sleep.
As the man slept, he heard a voice seemingly getting closer and closer until he heard a woman's voice say something to him, "How is it that you are in this sorry state?" She said in an almost condescending tone.
"Huh?" Mako mumbled
.
"You heard me. How is it that you fell this far?"
"What do you mean by that?" he says to the voice of the woman.
"What I mean, is that you should be better, way better than some sorry recovering alcoholic," she said in an irritated tone.
"Makoto, I want you to be better than the sorry mess you are now. But tell me, do you want to be better?"
"..." As Mako hesitates to respond, he says, "Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I? Ever since I started college, things have been so complicated. I wish I could go back," he says with desperation in his voice.
"You and I know damn well that's not the only reason. After all, you never gave her an answer, did you?" she says in a smug tone.
"That's... part of it."
"Well, now look at that. You want something from me, and I want something from you. Isn't that interesting?" she says, clearly happy at his response.
"Then how about this. I can send you back to where you want to be, just promise me that you will do me one favor," her voice changes to a serious tone.
"Whatever it might be, I'll do it," he says with desperation in his voice.
"Very well then, pretty boy. Sleep well because tomorrow you're going to be in for a surprise," she says with joy in her voice.
The next morning, the man wakes up with a splitting headache but he feels different, lighter, and a bit more energetic. As he gets up to walk to his kitchen, he walks into a wall. As he looks around, he sees that he's in a room he hasn't been in for a good bit of time. In confusion, he walks toward a mirror, wondering if what he dreamed wasn't just a dream. As he looks in the mirror, he sees a tall, well-built man in a tight shirt with messy hair, clearly from just waking up. As the man sees this, he mutters a few words, "I looked like this when I was 17," the man says in surprise.
Author's notes: This was my first attempt at writing it took me longer than i thought to get this over with but I did wanna say that I have 2 more chapters finished that I'll probably post in the next 2 weeks feel free to give them a read and if you have something to say to me your welcome to message me on Twitter