AUTHOR'S REINCARNATION IN A FANTASY SETTING

It took us a whole day to reach Roswell city—it usually takes half a day but since we took several breaks along the way and traveled with comfort, it took us a little extra time.

We had spent the night in an inn on the roadside, and by noon of the next day Anya and I were walking down the road that led to our house.

The area around here hadn't changed at all, and actually, why would it change? It had only been four months since we left and while it may have felt like a long time to us, out here in the world it was nothing so much.

"Have you informed them that we are coming?" I asked Anya as we walked alongside.

"No, I haven't," she replied. "I was thinking of giving them a surprise." 𝐟𝘳𝘦𝗲𝘸e𝒃𝘯𝒐𝐯e𝒍.c𝒐𝘮

"That's a neat idea, count me in."

Honestly, I was more than interested in seeing Ron's face when we arrive at the doorstep out of nowhere.

"I'm betting a hundred thousand C that he will cry," I proposed.

"Well, well, there isn't much meaning in doing all that. As I can't bring myself to argue against that statement," Anya said.

"So you think he'll cry too?"

"Yeah, some things don't change."

" 'Don't worry about me kids, these are nothing but my tears of joy!'," I tried to mimic Ron but failed miserably.

However, that didn't stop Anya from breaking out into a burst of small laughter. She laughed while trying to hold it in but was not able to.

"We're finally home, aren't we?" I mumbled as we stopped in our tracks.

In front of us was an iron gate and behind it a small garden and a house. Our house. My house.

"Yeah, we are," Anya replied and we pushed open the gate and stepped inside.

***

Anya knocked on the door while I stayed still on her side, a few moments later the door was opened by one of the maids. Her face lit up when she saw us but Anya put a finger on her lips and gestured the maid to stay quiet.

The maid then followed Anya's advice and stayed quiet while she opened the door. We got inside, and we were only in the hallway when a woman while golden blond hair and purple eyes appeared in front of us.

Ainge; and from the look on her face, I could guess that she seemed to be searching for her. I didn't know why.

"Oh my, here you both are," she said as she stopped in front of us. "Welcome home."

Originally, the plan was to surprise them but here we were the ones getting astonished instead by the fact that how she knew we would be arriving.

"Did the academy tell you that we were coming?" Anya asked, not being able to suppress her curiosity anymore.

"Now, now, we will have lots and lots of time for chatter. So why don't the two of you come and sit first, I'm sure it must've been a tiring journey," Ainge said.

I had forgotten how caring and loving her voice sounded, I'd forgotten the warm look in her eyes, I'd forgotten how her words sounded like a melody even though she was just talking normally.

I'd truly forgotten.

"Yeah, I think I'm a little bit tired," I stated as I eased the bag on my shoulder.

"But—" Anya didn't seem fully satisfied and was about to say something when she was interrupted by Ainge.

"I know, my child. You want to surprise him, don't you? I won't stop you from doing that. Rather I'd like to see his face when he looks at you with utter amazement."

I guess the whole family was interested in this. I didn't know if this was wholesome or creepy. Either way, I was proud to be a part of it.

"Come, he's in the hall," Ainge said and led the way.

We followed and after taking a couple of steps we arrived in the hall. There in the middle was Ron, sitting on a couch while skimming through a couple of documents. Since his back was toward us, he wasn't able to see us coming; and we were careful enough to keep him from sensing our presence.

Ainge gestured with her eyes toward him, and we did just that. Both Anya and I, taking measured and quiet steps, sneaked up behind the couch he was sitting on.

"Father," Anya said, her voice was low but loud enough for him to hear.

At first, he didn't flinch—I guessed that he was confused about the fact that he cares for his children so much that he was hearing her daughter's voice. But then a second later he put the documents on the table in front of him, and then stood up.

Slowly he turned in our direction. His eyes widened.

_{𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢}

"Anya…Zero…"

And there it was. His eyes got wet and before long tears were streaming down his cheeks. He wasn't exactly acting 'father-like' here, but for some reason, it didn't feel weird, and neither was I angry at him for crying in front of his kids. I guess he had his own charm and personality that made him who he was.

"I can't tell you how much I missed you two!" he sulked.

Then he wiped his tears and did something I hadn't expected. He literally jumped over the couch, came to our side, and grabbed both me and Anya into a tight hug.

"I missed you so much!!!" he said.

"Come on, that's not the way how a father acts," Ainge stated from behind, but from the tone of her voice, I could tell that she was just teasing him.

"Yeah, I believe you are right. I can't let my kids see my weak side, no kid should see their parent's weak side. That's the way of the world," saying that Ron released us from his hug and stood at a foot's distance.

"I'm sorry," he said while wiping the remaining tears off his face.

"It's fine," Anya replied.

"Yeah," I agreed.