Chapter 71: Going Home

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Going Home

As graduation drew closer and closer, Daniel decided it was time to go home for a visit.

A year had passed.

Mary and John had learned the truth about Carol long ago. Even knowing that Carol would return six years later, they were still heartbroken.

Every time Daniel went home, the sight of his parents’ sadness filled him with guilt. Whenever he saw the sorrow in their eyes, he wanted nothing more than to fly out immediately and bring Carol back.

During that year, he had even sought out the Ancient One, hoping she would tell him where Carol was so he could bring her home. But after repeated warnings and persuasion from the Ancient One, Daniel eventually gave up on the idea.

Mostly because she simply refused to tell him, there wasn’t much he could do about that. To convince him, she had even taken him on a journey through the Multiverse.

After that experience, Daniel never went back to Kamar-Taj again. He decided he would return only after becoming significantly stronger, after he entered his next growth phase. The next time he went there, he was determined to get even.

Because he hadn’t brought Carol home, Daniel now felt a little bad whenever he returned to visit. When he arrived at the house and stepped through the door, he found Mary sitting in the living room wearing reading glasses and working on embroidery.

Silver strands now mixed among her hair. The wrinkles on her face had become more noticeable as well. The sight made Daniel’s heart ache. In just one year, Mary had visibly aged.

"You’re back."

Mary looked up and smiled.

"Yeah."

Daniel nodded and sat down.

"I’m graduating soon."

He paused.

"But after graduation, I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to do."

"No matter what you choose, your father and I will support you."

Mary set aside her embroidery and looked directly into his eyes.

"I know you will."

Daniel rubbed his forehead.

"But that’s the problem. I don’t know what I want."

He let out a long breath.

"Everything feels too easy. There are no challenges, no goals, no dreams."

He looked down at his hands.

"I don’t want the rest of my life to just drift by like this. But when I think about the future..." He shook his head. "I don’t have a clue."

For the first time in a long while, Daniel poured out everything he had been keeping bottled up, all the confusion, frustration and uncertainty. He just needed someone to talk to. After finishing, he leaned back against the couch.

"I’ve decided that after graduation, I’m going to travel alone."

"I want to see the world and maybe find the reason why I’m here."

Mary listened quietly until he finished. Then she stood up and walked over to him.

"If you have an idea," she said softly, "and you truly believe it’s a good one, don’t let a bunch of fools convince you to give up on it."

She squeezed his hand.

"Of course, that doesn’t mean every idea you have is a stroke of genius."

A smile appeared on her face.

"But if something feels right to you..."

"If it’s something you genuinely want to do..."

"If it gives your life meaning..."

"Then you should try it."

Her voice was gentle and warm.

"The best results come when you’re doing what you truly want to do, in the way you believe it should be done."

Then she looked at him with eyes full of affection.

"My boy..."

Daniel looked up as Mary took both of his hands.

"Your father and I don’t really have anything valuable to leave behind for you and Carol. But I’d like to think we gave you both a happy childhood."

She smiled faintly.

"And in that regards, I think we’ve done an acceptable job as parents. The future is a road you’ll have to walk on your own."

She gently patted his hand.

"But if you get tired... come home."

"You can rest here whenever you need to."

Daniel felt warmth spread through his chest.

"I will."

Then he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right. I recently made some money."

He reached into his bag and pulled out a checkbook.

"This is for you and Dad."

Mary immediately pushed it back.

"We don’t need it."

"Mom... "

"We’re doing just fine."

Mary smiled.

"Your father and I have a good life here."

"We work for what we have."

"We eat well."

"We sleep well."

"We don’t need that extra money."

"But you could live even better," Daniel argued.

"That’s true." Mary nodded. "We probably could."

"But we’re already satisfied with what we have."

Daniel frowned.

"Then I’ll give it to Dad."

"You can try."

Mary laughed.

"When he gets home tonight, he’ll refuse too."

She pushed the checkbook back into his hands.

"Take it."

"Your father and I are very happy already."

Then she glanced at the clock.

"Oh. I should start dinner." She stood up. "Since you’re home today, I’ll make your favorites."

A teasing smile appeared on her face.

"And tonight, you and your father can have a few drinks together."

With that, she headed towards the kitchen. Daniel remained on the couch, lost in thought.

’I really envy people who have a clear goal...’

’People who know exactly where they’re heading and spend their lives moving toward it.’

That evening, the three members of the family sat around the dinner table, one chair remained empty. Even after a year, the absence of Carol still lingered. The atmosphere wasn’t quite right, that was one of the reasons Daniel disliked coming home. The emptiness was impossible to ignore.

"You’re planning to travel after graduation?" John asked.

"Yeah."

Daniel nodded.

"I plan to spend a few years exploring, so I don’t know how long I’ll be gone."

"Then go."

John smiled.

"You’re young."

"How old are you now? Eighteen?"

"When I was your age, I’d already traveled across half the country."

He raised his glass.

"Young people should get out there. See the world, experience life..."

"Yeah."

Daniel answered absentmindedly. John was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Daniel."

"Hm?"

"We know you’re different."

Daniel froze.

John continued calmly.

"Remember that tree in the backyard?"

"And my old pickup truck?"

Daniel’s eyes widened.

Mary chuckled from across the table.

"I personally saw six year old you lift that truck."

Daniel was completely caught off guard. One of the reasons he’d come home this time was to figure out how to explain his powers to them. Instead, John had beaten him to it.

"You thought nobody was home."

John laughed.

"So, you were tossing my pickup truck into the air for fun."

"You almost broke it, by the way."

Daniel blinked. Then laughed awkwardly.

"Did I really?"

"Absolutely."

John nodded firmly.

The three of them burst into laughter, as the atmosphere instantly became lighter. After a moment, John looked at Daniel seriously.

"Listen, son."

"Whatever you want to do..."

"Go do it."

"You’ve got a long life ahead of you and eventually, you’ll find something worth dedicating your entire life to."

Daniel thought about that. Then curiously asked, "Did you find yours?"

"Of course."

Without hesitation, John wrapped an arm around Mary’s shoulders. Then he kissed her.

"My life’s goal is making your mother happy for the rest of her life."

"..."

Daniel stared. For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether he was eating dinner or drinking vinegar. The sweetness was just overwhelming. He’d just been force fed an entire truckload of affection.

They had been discussing a serious life issue. How had it suddenly turned into a public display of love?

Not counting his previous life, he had already spent eighteen years in this world as a grand master wizard level single man, and who knew how many more years he had ahead of him?

Critical emotional damage, as Daniel suffered a direct hit.

"I’m full."

He immediately set down his plate. "I’m going back to my room." Then he fled.

Back in his room, Daniel lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. John’s words had given him an idea.

Maybe he was overthinking everything because he didn’t have a girlfriend, just think about it. If he had a girlfriend, would he really have so much spare time to sit around questioning the meaning of life? Probably not.

Resting his hands behind his head, Daniel began considering what kind of girlfriend he wanted.

"Pretty is definitely the most important requirement."

He nodded seriously.

"Then we’d need to get along."

"An outgoing personality would be nice."

"And it’d be even better if she could cook."

As he thought about all the girls he knew, a familiar figure gradually appeared in his mind.

"Huh?"

Daniel blinked.

"Doesn’t Susan meet all those requirements?"

A second later, he vigorously shook his head, that’s impossible. He and Susan could never happen, not in this lifetime.

At least, that’s how Daniel had always thought about it. Susan was the person he could joke with, complain to, and call at any hour without overthinking it. She was his favorite person to spend time with, but in the safe, uncomplicated way that came with being best friends.

They were bros.

Best bros.

And bros were not for dating.

Definitely not, while thinking about girls, Daniel slowly drifted off to sleep.

That night, he had an incredibly exciting dream. In the dream, he finally had a girlfriend. They even got to do all the romantic things couples did. The atmosphere grew hotter and hotter, everything was progressing perfectly. Then, just as Daniel finally got a clear look at his girlfriend’s face, he woke up in terror.

"Holy shit!"

Daniel shot upright in bed.

"Susan?!"

The next morning, after saying goodbye to Mary and John, Daniel flew back to school. As soon as he landed on the rooftop, he spotted T’Challa crouching there. His expression was unusually dark.

Daniel frowned, a look of confusion and concern settling across his face.

"T’Challa?"

"What’s wrong?"

"You don’t look so good."

The moment he saw Daniel, T’Challa immediately stood up.

"Daniel!"

Relief flashed across his face.

"You’re finally back!"

His tone turned grave.

"Something happened."

Daniel’s expression slowly became serious, a bad feeling rose in his chest.

"What happened?"

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A.N: Any guesses for what might have happened?

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