The Way of Reality

Visiting her family didn't mean Mia could completely step away from work.

One of her projects was scheduled to launch in the first week of the new year, and there were still a few final things that had to be checked before the end of December. Early that morning, she opened her laptop, telling herself she would only be on it for a few minutes.

All she had to do was review the approved images, check the revised copy, and send a few replies to the team. Nothing major had gone wrong, but one small thing led to another, and by the time she finally closed the screen, more time had passed than she meant to spend.

The house was quiet when she walked into the living room.

Her younger sibling had fallen asleep curled up on the couch. An unopened bag of snacks and a game console sat on the table, while the gifts Mia had brought were still stacked off to one side.

Her mother lowered her voice from the kitchen.

"They were waiting for you and fell asleep. I think they wanted to hang out since it's been so long since you've been home."

Mia stood there for a moment, looking at the sleeping figure on the couch.

She hadn't been home in years, and somehow work had still come first.

Feeling a little guilty, she carried her laptop back to the bedroom and shut it down completely. Then she cleared the remaining work notifications from the edge of her vision.

For the rest of the day, she decided she was done.

The next morning, Mia was the one who woke her sibling.

"Get up. Let's open the presents."

A pair of sleepy eyes appeared from under the blanket.

"It's not Christmas yet."

"I know. Open them before I leave."

That was enough to get them sitting up immediately.

Her mother insisted they were supposed to wait until Christmas, but somehow she ended up sitting between them a few minutes later anyway.

The first thing her sibling opened was the pair of shoes, which went straight onto their feet. Her mother held the new sweater against herself and asked several times whether the color was too bright.

"You need to wear colors like this more often."

"Why?"

"Because everything in your closet is gray."

Her sibling laughed and agreed, earning a throw pillow from their mother.

Mia ducked out of the way, laughing.

So the three of them celebrated Christmas a little early.

They cooked together, put on an old movie, and went through childhood photos her sibling had dug up. Their mother brought out the same Christmas decorations she had been using for years, and although her sibling complained that a hologram could do the whole thing in seconds, they still ended up standing on a chair to hang the lights.

There were a lot of old things in the house.

Even with faster, easier options available, her mother and sibling rarely replaced something just because something newer existed. Neither of them wanted a brain chip or a fully integrated system managing every part of their lives.

Mia had never tried to force them to change.

When her mother had medical bills, Mia paid them. If something in the house broke, she replaced it. Making sure they had enough for everyday expenses had become one of those responsibilities she barely thought about anymore.

If that was what allowed them to keep living the way they wanted, then it was enough.

At least, that was how Mia had always seen it.

But that day, she didn't send anyone money or fix anything.

She simply sat at the same table with them, ate, talked, and laughed.

Her work notifications stayed off all day.

Because she had kept in touch with her family over the years, Mia had always thought of them as still being close. But after spending a few days under the same roof, she realized that seeing someone regularly through a screen wasn't quite the same as sharing a space with them.

It was the smallest moments that stayed with her.

Her mother piling more food onto her plate. Her sibling getting scolded for putting their feet on the couch. All three of them spending far too long trying to fix one old Christmas light that refused to turn on.

ARCA could have made all of it smoother. Cleaner. Perfect.

But nothing in this house needed to be perfect.

Mia had to leave before Christmas was even over.

Once the new year began, the launch schedule would start moving in earnest, and she couldn't stay away from work for much longer.

On the morning she left for the airport, her mother kept stuffing containers of food into her bag.

"Mom, I seriously can't eat all of this."

"Then save it for later."

"I already have food at home."

"That's not the same."

Eventually, Mia gave up arguing.

Her sibling followed her to the door and told her not to make the next visit so short. Mia promised she would stay longer next time, then caught herself smiling at how familiar the words sounded.

She had said them before.

Still, this time they felt a little different.

At the airport, Mia slowly scrolled through the photos that had been posted in the family group chat.

Her mother standing awkwardly in the bright sweater. Her sibling posing dramatically in the new shoes. Mia herself laughing between them.

She saved one of the pictures.

Before long, work notifications related to the New Year launch began appearing again. Once she got back, her usual life would be waiting for her.

While going through a file, Mia suddenly opened her messages.

The last thing Logan had sent was from a few days earlier, when she told him she was going to visit her family.

Have a good trip.

They hadn't really talked since.

Mia hesitated, then typed:

I'm heading back now.

Her finger hovered over the send button.

Once she got home, she would be busy for a while. With the launch starting in the new year, she probably wouldn't have much time to spend in ARCA anyway.

Maybe there was no reason to tell him right now.

Mia deleted the message and closed the screen.

Boarding had just begun, and people were getting up and moving toward the gate. Mia picked up her bag and joined them.

Beyond the airport's wide glass windows, a plane moved slowly across the runway.

As she walked, Mia found herself wondering what Logan was doing right then.

Was he in ARCA?

Or was he somewhere out there in the real world, moving through his own day just like she was?

It wasn't that she suddenly missed him.

There had been plenty of moments over the past few days when she hadn't thought about Logan at all.

But now, on the way back, the person who had been quiet in the back of her mind seemed to surface again.

Mia didn't try to give the feeling a name.

She simply let herself think about him for a moment as she followed the line through the gate.