The Glitch
Akiko watched as the water fell from the facet and into the sink. The pixilation was strange to get used to, the water the easiest to see the strange phenomenon in, but it was starting to seem normal almost now.
"…the incident now being referred to as 'The Glitch' is raising protesters in every large city across the world," the voice from the TV said, her voice almost drowned out under the sound of running water.
Akiko swept back her blank bangs before turning the facet off. She grabbed her sponge and went to work at cleaning the dishes, throwing a look at the protesters in front of the mayor of Paris up north. It had been two months since The Glitch happened. A worldwide glitch in the Earth's atmosphere caused everyone to lose their pull on gravity for just a split second. But it proved to all the world's leaders there was a problem.
Theories had been thrown out for years that everyone was just living in a virtual world. Now they had proof to that theory.
"The suicide rate is still rising, today another group of teens jumped from the Eiffel Tower."
Akiko froze, her eyes stuck on the water at her hands. She instantly thought of her children. Anxiety ran through-out her, almost desperate to know they were alright. She took a breath and retracted her hands, wiping them dry on the apron tied around her waist. She picked up the cordless and quickly dialed her daughter's cell number, reaching over to turn the volume of the little TV down to mute its sound. She leaned back against the counter as the ringing went through her ear.
As the ringing continued, worry budded inside her. Ever since The Glitch happened, her daughter was the only one who seemed unfazed by the whole affair.
"Moshi moshi, sorry I can't answer my phone right now, leave a message after the beep."
"Musume, call me back when you can," Akiko said, her free hand gripping the counter's edge. She pulled the phone away from her ear and ended the call before calling her son.
"Hey mom, a bit busy right now," her son's voice said after just one ring.
"Do you know where your sister is?" Akiko asked quickly, afraid he might hang up on her.
"She's right here, gotta go Mom."
The line went dead in Akiko's ear, giving her a pause before she ended her side of the call. She held the phone at her chest, worry biting her bottom lip. She took a deep breath and put the phone on its receiver before going back to work. She checked the clock to see she had just an hour to get dinner going before Takeo got home from work. She reached her hands back into the warm water to find the sponge and started cleaning chopsticks only to hear the front door open.
"Tadaima!" Takeo announced from the other side of the kitchen wall.
"Okaerinasai," Akiko called over her shoulder. She could hear his socked feet walking down the hallway and into the living room before entering the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder and asked, "You're home early, something wrong?" The sight of him made her turned around, watching him sit in his seat at the table. He sat his suitcase on the floor beside him as he loosened his tie. Her eyes traveled down to the still muted TV, it on commercial now.
Takeo mumbled something under his breath, leaning his head against his hands on the old table.
Akiko drew her attention back to her husband, worry pulling at her again. She wiped her hands dry on her apron and took the step that closed the gap between the two of them. She reached out to place her hand on his shoulder only to second guess herself. He had been easier to live with since The Glitch happened but old habits die hard. Ignoring the instinct, she placed a gentle hand on his closest shoulder.
Takeo looked up, his face unreadable to his wife of twenty-three years.
"What's wrong?' Akiko asked. She used her free hand to pull out the adjacent chair and sat down, his brown eyes following her movements.
"I've been fired," Takeo admitted.
Akiko studded his face, the man's warn features showing their age. He was forty-six, his raven black hair turning gray at the temples, wrinkles starting to form around his eyes. He was already starting to need a shave, even though he had shaved that morning.
"Akiko?" Takeo asked, dropping his arms to the table.
"I love you."
Takeo took the hand off his shoulder to hold it in both of his hands. "Are you alright?"
Akiko realized how long of a pause she had created while studying his face and let out a small laugh. "Yes. Yes, I'm alright. I'm sorry."
"But… I was fired," Takeo repeated himself.
"Yes, we'll find you another job, I'll help you," Akiko threw off. "We'll make out alright until you do."
Takeo studied his wife for a moment, Akiko giving him a small smile as he looked for the answers to his unasked questions.
"Tadaima!" male and female voices called out in succession as the front door opened loudly.
Taheo quickly released his wife's hand in surprise, turning towards the doorway.
"They're home early," Akiko commented before getting to her feet. "Okaerinasai!" she called out as she pushed the chair under the table. She turned back to the dishes in the sink and found the sponge once more in the lukewarm water.
Two pairs of footsteps made their way into the kitchen before stopping in the doorway.
"Dad?" Hiroki asked.
"Things are going to be tough for a bit, kids," Takeo said.
"Mom, Dad, we need to tell you something." Yumi said.
The seriousness in her voice got Akiko to drop the sponge back in the water and turn around to see her two children still standing in the doorway. She wiped her hands on her apron, waiting silently for her daughter to continue.
"Um, maybe you should sit down," Hiroki offered, throwing a look at his sister. Akiko noticed the four year difference between the two was starting to disappear.
"What have you two been getting into?" Takeo asked as Akiko took her seat beside her husband. He let out a laugh as he added, "Did you cause The Glitch?"
Yumi gave a grimace as Hiroki let out a nervous laugh. "You, uh, you could say that," Hiroki offered.
"Not entirely," Yumi chastised, elbowing her brother.
Akiko stole a glance at Takeo, his face serious as he eyed the two. She looked over at the two, waiting for them to explain.
Hiroki looked up at his sister, waiting for her to start.
"When I first started going to Kadic, a computer virus started to attack so me and my friends did what we could to fight it. It can use electrical devices in the real world to attack people," Yumi started with. "To prevent people from remembering and finding out, we used a program in the supercomputer the virus lives in to turn back time to before the attack."
"It's a lot to take in," Hiroki interrupted. "I thought she had lost it when she first explained it to me last month."
"So you've been fighting a… virus?" Akiko asked, trying to understand.
"A computer virus," Yumi said, nodding her head.
Akiko threw a worried glance to her husband, seeing the man hiding the same worry.
"Continue," Takeo offered.
"Two months ago, Xana, the virus, managed to merge virtual aspects into the real world," Yumi explained. "Xana caused The Glitch. Only today did we finish deactivate all his towers and ending his control, but…" her voice trailed off.
"The digital effect is still there," Akiko pointed out, throwing her thumb to the water still in the sink.
"Yes, and it will be until Jérémie returns time," Yumi said. "It's just, no one's tested it that far back. The farthest we've gone back in time at once is three days and now he's got to figure out how to go back two months."
"What can we do to help than?" Takeo asked.
"There's nothing left to do now," Hiroki admitted, putting his hands in his shorts pockets.
"We just wanted to be here if…" Yumi paused before continuing. "In case something went wrong."
"When will it happen?" Akiko asked, getting to her feet.
Yumi looked at the clock on the microwave and said, "Any minute now."
Akiko walked around her husband, trailing a hand over his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around both her children. She felt their arms wrap around her just as the chair squeaked against the linoleum floor behind her. Takeo embraced the three in a large hug.
Akiko closed her eyes as a bright white light covered her vision. She pulled her children closer, worried for the future as time rewound.
The End
ODD: There are so many unanswered questions I have.
AN: I know, but this is all that had come to mind with the writing prompt.
ODD: But there's story both before this and after this. What happened during the Glitch? Did the return to the past work?
AN: Well, if anyone wants to see what happens, let me know. It might get continued… It feels good to write again. April ended up whipping me out and I had been fighting the worst writing block ever that came along with depression and suicidal thoughts again. That's what I get for going ahead and writing a Christmas story that turned into 130 pages! And then the sequel to it. My poor Harley's been just sitting on the floor… waiting for me to work on him. It's now late August when I am writing this so, yay finally able to be creative again!