On the other side

Kiara's Story

Hello! My name is Yuki. 17 years old. Living here in the suburbs in Tokyo, Japan. I am a senior high school student. I have a cat and I named her Mira. I always wanted to name her Kira but my childhood friend, Sato, keeps calling her Mira. She's pretty cute with her yellow, glowy eyes. I keep my circle small, with Sato and Aiya. Things go well until it's summer vacation. My dad and I have a plane ticket to London this summer! I am pretty excited about our trip there. He has a business meeting to attend to and have extra time to stroll around the city.

It's the time of the year. SUMMER! Well, what can I say? I am pretty excited. I feel bad for my mom. She'll be staying and couldn't go with us.

"Are you sure you're not coming with us?" I asked mom. - "Yes. I am sure. Go and have a great time with your dad" - "Bye, mom! See you again soon! I will miss you"

On our way to the airport, I saw my friends already waiting outside. They're gonna miss me, huh? I mean, my vacation in London will only last for 10 days. It doesn't mean I will never go back.

"Yuki! Enjoy your vacation there. Take care and take good care of your dad. I know we will miss you but you will be back here, right?" Sato asked. - "Of course! I will be back after 10 days. I'll bring souvenirs for you guys. Take care here. Can you visit my mom from time to time and take care of Mira?" - "Sure!"

We present our tickets and we are waiting for our plane for departure. While waiting, I stroll around the area to look for something to eat. I am starving. I got a couple of chips and sodas.

"Flight BA376 is now boarding, please make way to gate 4"

This is it! We're going to London! It's a rough 12 hrs flight. I ate my snacks and fell asleep. As I wake up, we are landing in London. "Woah! This place is so cool! I can't wait to walk around!" - "Slow down, Yuki. We just landed. We need to get to the hotel first" Ok dad. I know. I am just, excited!

We stroll around the city. We went to the British Museum and look at the cool artifacts they got there. We did ride the London Eye. It has the best view of the city. It was amazing!

We are on our last day in London and things got a little strange. Instead of staying in our hotel, we decide to rent a unit downtown. Why would we transfer here anyways? I asked my dad about it.

"Hey, Dad, when are we going back home?" - "Sorry sweety but we have to stay here a little bit longer. I have a business to attend to. Is that okay with you?"

It's been weeks and we still don't have a plan on getting back to Tokyo. What is happening here?

"Yuki, I have some good and bad news. I will start with the bad news. We may not go back to Tokyo anytime soon. I know this will be hard for you and to your mom but, we can't. Dad is stuck here and I want you to be here with me. The good news is, I don't want you to wander around this city without doing anything. In the meantime, I enrolled you in a school for now. I don't know if you'll gonna like it but you have to. And also, you will be now called Kiara. I always wanted this that you will be named, Kiara"

"But dad, why Kiara? What is happening?" - "I chose Kiara to be your name long before you were born. I tell you, we're gonna go back to Tokyo soon. I must finish everything that I started here and it is safe to keep your name Yuki hidden. From now on, call yourself Kiara."

What could my father did that we have to stay in London? Until when exactly? I miss my mom and my friends already and the worst part, I AM ENROLLED! Oh my. This means I have to be away from home for about a year. This is ugly.

Time went by. It's the middle of the school year. I did what I had to do. I made some friends along the way to keep myself busy from the situation I am in. Here I have Charles. He is like Sato to me. A caring and trustworthy friend. I can always rely on him every time. And on the other hand, I have Anna. She's smart and also a trustworthy friend. She reminds me of Aiya back in Tokyo. I guess, I already have my substitute friends while I am here in London.

Time passed by. We are now in college. I got this strange feeling that never wanting to go back to Tokyo. I barely hear a word from my dad about mom. Eventually, I completely forgot my life back in Tokyo. I grew up to be an apathetic person. I care less about anyone's feelings. I don't even mind my mother if she really missed me. Years already passed and not a single word, letter, or even message through my messenger I have received. Even my friends Sato and Aiya. I always send them messages through social media and I got nothing from them. Maybe this explains why I grew up an apathetic person. I have this feeling that I died and reincarnated here in London. New life it seems.

At the age of 22, I am more of a rebel girl. I still live with my dad but I rarely go home and I always choose to stay with my friend's house. My dad didn't get mad about the things and lifestyle I am doing. It's like the opposite of myself.

Things that happened to me lately were great. I begin to renew myself from my past lifestyle and have a better one. My friend Charles and Anna are still with me hanging out and we support each other's back. I am taking a degree in Psychology.

One night, I was on my way home from a cafe with my friends, the sky started to light. A shower of lights in the sky. It was beautiful! I have never seen anything like this before. While I was completely amazed, my dad was there to pat my shoulder and said, "I miss your mom. I hope she's doing well and I hope to see her soon enough" - "I miss them too" After several minutes, the sky lit up so bright. It was kind of scary to witness such a phenomenon. We decide to go back to the unit we're staying. We are completely clueless about what's happening. News reports around the globe experiencing the same phenomenon. I got worried about mom all of sudden as I see through our television the scenery of the skies in Tokyo.

The next day, when I was getting ready to go to school, dad called me to see him downstairs. As I went down, he told me "Yuki, it's a little strange that we are here in this city. I don't know anybody here. What are we doing here?" Wait, she calls me Yuki? I thought he is the one who wanted to name me Kiara? Maybe he missed mom. I ignore the words he told me and proceed in going to school. On my way to school, I saw Charles and Anna. They seemed they are in a hurry for something. Did I forget something related to our school events? I run towards them and they have seemed surprised. "Where are you guys going?" I asked. - "Hello? Do we know you?" What the hell? They don't usually do this but it is really annoying. "What? It's me! Kiara, your friend. You don't remember me?" I was pissed that they have to pull a prank in times like this. "Kiara who? Of course, we don't remember you because we don't know you!" - "Hurry up Anna! Don't waste your time with that girl. We have a test to catch!" Charles added. Wait, test? What test? So I proceed.

As I entered the school, it's really strange to feel like no one else knows who I am. Not only that but the school is in total chaos. They are like cats and dogs fighting. I am confused about the situation that I decided to go back home.

As I got back home, my dad was not around. I don't feel his presence. I mean, the scent he always had was gone like a bubble that was popped. No trace or signs of him. It doesn't matter maybe he has an important meeting to attend to. I decide to watch the news and yes, chaos is all over the world. Even the reporters were not in their selves. This is pretty strange.

It's getting late and no signs of dad yet. Maybe he's still in that meeting because of the sudden events that are happening around the world. Strange that I am the only one that can think things clearly. Oh well, I decided to have some sleep.

(Dreaming)

"Hey Yuki, I saw your dad around town. He's acting strangely. I know your dad doesn't go out much but, earlier when Sato and I are on the way to your house, he doesn't recognize us. He is acting like he's lost" - "Yeah! I say hi to him but, he didn't respond. He just stared at me, blankly"

"Wait, is that me? With Sato and Aiya? What is this? It's in Tokyo! What? They are talking about dad? Dad is in Tokyo? He left me here?"

- "Actually, your dad didn't leave you here. Oh, by the way, I am Yoh"

"Wait, and who are you? Where am I? Why I am seeing this?"

- "You are dreaming and dreams connect yourself to your other lives which is currently happening right now. This is you, in another reality. Your dad, on the other hand, didn't leave you. It's the part that their mind was slipping depending on what universe is heavily retained his memories. As you can see, most of his memories stayed in that universe. The phenomenon that happened last night is the reason why the world is in chaos. It was a rare event that only happened right now. It is called the great convergence."

"You mean, I can actually go see my other self in this world?"

- "Yes, you can. Only one of you will remain in this world or new reality or else both of you will fall into oblivion. I am here to guide both of you. You can stalk your other self by entering this state when you are asleep. Just think about yourself in a different universe and the next thing you'll know, you are already stalking yourself. Your other self can sense you that you are stalking yourself. You can able to hear her but she can't probably hear you because you are asleep. Pretty self-explanatory. If you have further questions, you can ask me anytime and anywhere but remember I don't often answer questions from both of you. Sometimes, it's better to find it yourself."

"Okay, Yoh. Thank you! Can I go back to the empty void so that I can rest well tonight?"

- "Sure you can. Rest well. There's a bigger storm approaching for the two of you"

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