The Vacation

By Ryan J. Wagner

Chapter 1 (Fareeha Amari)

Staring out into the blue waves of the sea before myself, I felt at peace with myself for the first time in a long time.
I felt the cold distilled water against my bare feet as I stared out into the horizon.

As I gazed outward to the sea, I could see numerous vacationers both human and Omnic enjoying their lives in peace. Looking outward to these smiling faces, you can't help but forget about the crisis that engulfed the world years before.

As I turned back around I was pleasantly greeted with the sight of a young woman carrying a little girl on her back with both of their arms were outstretched like a

The pair of them laughs ever-so-innocently as they 'flew' around the beach before stopping near my location. "Okay, Kate...Air-Mummy needs to refuel before taking off again."

The child let out a playful 'aw' moan before sliding off her mother's back and ran off to play with a few other kids.

I slowly raised my hand up to my right eye and covered both the eye and the tattoo that ran down from it, remembering a time when I was ignorant of the world around myself.

Standing there, I felt a tear swell up in my right eye and gripped the two dog tags that draped around my neck.

The young Caucasian woman with light blue hair turned her head to me and cocked her head to the right. "You okay?" She asked in a curious tone.

I took a deep breath and simply nodded my head. "Yeah...uh...there was something in my eye," I said back to the woman while trying to make a convincing gesture with my hand.

She smiled at me and placed both of her hands on her back before approaching me. The mother turned her gaze to my eye and eyed the tattoo that ran down from it. "Your tattoo, it's beautiful."

I was taken aback by the random compliment and hid my blushed appearance with a grateful smile. "Thank you, it's the Eye of Horus. I got it to honor my mother."

The woman interlocked her hands together and continued to smile. "That's amazing. Was she in the military too?" She asked before immediately throwing up her hand. "Wait, before asking something like that I feel like you should know my name. It's Janet."

She extended her hand out to me and shook hands with one another. "Phar-Fareeha Amari, pleasure to meet you, Janet. And yes, my mother was in the military back in Egypt. She was...a soldier."

Upon hearing that, she covered her mouth in shock from hearing my tone. "I'm sorry, it's not my place to ask about such matters. I lost my father to the Omnic Crisis twenty years ago. He, along with thousands of others fought to protect the world against the Omnics."

I nodded my head and turned back around to face the bright blue sea. "It's amazing, isn't it? Thirty years ago something like this would never have been possible. A beautiful tropical resort where both human and Omnic can meet and play in peace." Janet said after stepping up beside me.

I turned my head to the woman with the intent of responding when my phone started to vibrate. Janet told me to take the call and hurried off to play more with her kid.

"Pharah here," I said through the speaker.

"Fareeha. It's Brigitte. Are you free to talk?" The German-accented woman asks in a soft-spoken manner.

I smiled to myself upon hearing that and proceeded to put on my socks and shoes that rested at my feet. "Yeah, I'm free," I grunted as I slipped my boot onto my foot. "How's the old man doing?"

Brigitte chuckled softly and started to speak. "He's the same as always." She said to me with a soft laugh. "He is always getting into fights."

I chuckled again and shook my head as I finished putting my shoes back on and grabbed my black leather jacket. "That's Reinhardt for ya. He's lucky to have you with him, Brigitte."

"Sometimes I wonder that myself. Right now we're heading over to Numbani to offer extra protection for their Unity Parade. What about you, Fareeha?"

I smiled to myself and started to explain my current situation. "My boss at Helix figured I was working too much and made me take this mandatory vacation on the Cayman Islands. It's such a drag."

"You deserve it, Fareeha. You work so hard for Helix while protecting your country that I think you deserve a little R&R. Also, I'm sure your mother would agree that you need a break." Upon hearing that, I took a subtle breath and bit my lower lip. "I'm sorry, Fareeha...I-"

"It's cool," I said to her as I reached the parking lot near the beach and the resort. "I need to go; nice talking with you again, Brigitte," I said bitterly before hanging up on her and slid the phone back into my pocket and drove away on my motorcycle.