Welcome Home

"We will be landing in San Francisco in about 15 minutes. Be sure to fasten your seatbelts."

The sound of the flight attendant woke up Alice. She pushed her long black hair out of her eyes and began to gaze around the airplane. Her father was still fast asleep, and her mother was entranced by her book.

"Has it really been ten hours", Alice thought to herself.

Her family had lived in Tokyo for the last 10 years since her father was stationed there, but now that his time of service was up, he decided to move the family to San Francisco. Alice had been born there 21 years ago, but the homecoming would be cut short since she was going to be leaving in a few days. She had to head out to St. Fierro for school. She decided it be better for her to have some independence as opposed to staying and attending school in San Francisco. St. Fierro was only a few hours' drive from San Francisco so if she needed to go home it would be no real problem. It was a decent sized town with plenty of stuff to do so it wouldn't be as boring as when she stayed in Inaba for a few months.

"Oh, you are awake. That's good, we are almost there," her mother announced.

Alice turned to her mom, "I know, the attendant's announcement is what woke me up." She paused and looked at her dad, "Should we wake him up?"

"No, let your father rest. He never took his seatbelt off so we can wake him up when we land."

"It's hard to believe dad fell asleep so fast. I couldn't sleep till after a few hours."

"You know your father…once he lays his head down, he's fast asleep."

"Lucky", she thought to herself.

The plane landed. They got their luggage and walked towards the parking lot. Alice's aunt was going to pick them up and take them home. They were going to stay with her until they could get their own place.

"Maybe that's why I decided to go to St. Fierro instead of San Francisco", she thought to herself.

It wasn't that she hated her aunt, but the idea of living with family from her dad's side of the family made her uncomfortable. While her aunt was accepting, the rest of the family, due to his father fighting in WWII, had much prejudice towards Japanese people. In fact, when they got married, his sister was the only person from the family who attended his wedding.

"Well we're home", her aunt announced. "Make yourselves at home…pardon the mess; I didn't get a chance to clean up."

"It's fine. We're grateful for your hospitality", her father replied.

"Well look at you, looks like your time in Japan has taught you good manners."

"Being slapped on the hands every time you are discourteous will teach you to behave in a guest's home."

They all laughed. Her mother was always smacking him around every time he'd act like pig and she didn't hesitate to tell him so. After that, they sat down in the family room and watched some TV.

"So Alice", her aunt inquired, "I heard you are going to St. Fierro University."

"Yes"

"It's a nice school, but I am curious. Why not just go to school here in San Francisco? It'd save you money on room and board."

"I guess…I got used to being away from my family when I went to school."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I went to Gekkoukan High School while my dad was stationed at Camp Zama so I lived in the dorms."

"So you are used to being away from your parents..."

"In a sense, I mean I still miss them when I'm gone but my education is important to me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound judgmental."

"It's fine…I hear it's uncommon for kids in the U.S. to be apart when they are still in high school."

"Indeed it is…I can't imagine my kids being that far away. Speaking of which…where are those two? They should have been home by now. Excuse me"

She walked down the hallway. Alice saw this as a good time to sneak off and take a shower. She grabbed her shower caddy and darted for the bathroom. She enjoyed finally being able to shower after sitting on a plane 10 hours. The feeling of hot water hitting her felt almost tranquil as she could feel the muck of the day washing off. Just as she was about to finish her shower, her began to feel like her head was spinning. She sat down in bath tub waiting for the headache to stop. After a few minutes, it stopped and she got out of the shower.

"Must be exhaustion…from the long trip."

There was a knock at the door. It was followed be her mother's voice, "Alice, are you ok?"

"Yes mother, just not feeling well. I think I'm just going to lie down and get some sleep."

"Do want to eat before you lay down?"

"No, I'll be fine. I'll eat when I get up."

"Ok"

Alice heard the sound of her mother walking away. She put some clothes on and went straight to her room. As she lied down, she felt herself getting sleepier and sleepier. Her eyes felt as heavy as cement and she passed out in seconds. When she awoke, she was not in her bed but in a strange room. She looked up and saw bizarre-looking man, with an enormous nose, staring directly at her.

The man began to speak, "Welcome to the Velvet Room. My Name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance. The place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Do not worry…I assure you that you are fast asleep in your bed."

"W…what do you want from me?"

"My master has asked me to inform you that you face a perilous journey. In due time, I shall call you back here so I may aid you in the trials to come. Goodbye now."

Alice's vision began to sink to black. Igor and the room were disappearing before her very eyes until she, and the chair she was sitting on, were all that was left. The chair fell backwards and Alice plunged into the dark abyss.

Her eyes shot open and she sat up like her hair was on fire. She looked around and saw that she was back in her room again.

"It was all a dream", she sighed. "This is what I get for going to sleep before I could eat."

She looked over thinking it had only been a few hours but it was actually already the next day. Even though she knew she didn't have anything to do, she shot out of bed, got dressed, and went out into the family room.

"Morning sleepyhead", her father announced. "You feeling any better?"

"Huh…oh yeah. I feel fine."

"Had me worried…your mom came in last night saying you weren't feeling well."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"It's fine. Your dinner is in the fridge if you're hungry."

"Thanks…where's mom?"

"Your mother? I haven't a clue. She took off this morning and all she said was that she was going downtown."

"Oh…ok."

"Don't worry kiddo…she'll be back in time to see you off to school."

Alice smiled. Her dad always knew how to cheer her up when something was worrying her. She walked over to the fridge and saw a plate with a pork chop, some vegetables, and some potatoes. She heated it up and ate it.

"Really wish I could have eaten this fresh", she thought to herself. "This stuff reheated tasted like a fried boot."

She finished up and joined her dad, who was watching TV. A few hours went by and her mother still hadn't returned. She was starting to worry and then the phone rang. A huge sigh of relief washed over her as she heard her mother's voice.

"Hello honey, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was more worried about you. Dad said you left this morning."

"Oh, I went to downtown to try and find a job. I didn't want to be a burden to your aunt while we stayed here."

"Oh…ok. Are you on your way home now?"

"Oh that's right; you are heading to St. Fierro today. I'll be home in about an hour depending on this bus. You know what they say about American public transportation. On time if you want to be an hour late."

Alice laughed and replied, "That's for certain… I'll see you when you get home. I love you."

"I love you too."

She hung up the phone. Her dad smiled knowing that his wife was alright. They watched TV while they waited for her to get home. Once she got home, they helped Alice pack her stuff into her aunt's car. She let them borrow it to help her move down there. After they packed the car, they had one last meal together as family and then they jumped into the car for the four hour drive to St. Fierro. Time passed quickly as it seemed like it took no time to reach the "Welcome to St. Fierro" sign.

"Well sweetheart", her father announced, "welcome to your new home."

Alice looked out the window and saw the place she'd call home. She rolled down the window and was hit with the crisp air. It was much more pleasant than the smoggy air that San Francisco had. It reminded her a lot about of her time she spent at Port Island. It had that big city feel all while being a small town where you could get from one side to the other in less than thirty minutes.

"So this is where I'll be living?

"Nice ain't it…and its close enough to San Francisco so if you ever need us…"

"I think I'll manage", she replied with a smile.

"Of course you will… you're a Robinson."

"Ahem", her mother interrupted.

"Hehe… I mean you're a Tanaka-Robinson. Sorry honey."

"That's better", she exclaimed.

The three of them laughed as they pulled up the drop off point to the dorms. Her dad helped her move her stuff into her room. Once all the luggage was out of the car and in the room, they stood by the car. Alice hugged her parents' goodbye and she walked to the door. She waited till the car drove over the hill into town before she walked into the dorms. She reached her room and saw that her roommate hadn't come yet so she lied down on her bed and looked up to the ceiling.

She smiled and said, "Bring it on St. Fierro."

Author's note: Italicized words are spoken in Japanese. (probably should have put that at the start hehe)

I hope you all enjoyed the story. If you did, be sure to follow the story so you can keep up-to-date on the future releases. I hope to put out a new chapter for you guys every few weeks. Stay tuned :)