Variable# 73@!e^13

Audrey watched as Dan swept up the last of the debris from the living room floor. "You should rest up in your room," she said, giving him a glass of water. "We've done enough for today."

Dan shook his head. "It's fine. I will just finish cleaning up a little more."

It had been a week since their mother's funeral, and the siblings had come back to their childhood home as they couldn't bear to see it in such an awful state. They had both moved out years ago and didn't need to live here, but they had decided to at least clean it up and make it habitable again.

As he worked, Audrey stared at Dan, wondering if the death of their mother had changed him. Before, he was always awkward in social situations, barely able to hold a conversation with anyone, and he couldn't even bring himself to meet her boyfriend. But now, he had taken care of all the funeral arrangements and during times that she needed it, he had been there for her: holding her when she cried, listening when she talked about their mother, and even making breakfast for her in the mornings. Audrey had always thought of herself as the stronger one, but she was starting to realize that maybe Dan had been strong, too, in his own way.

"Aunt Martha called again," Audrey was jolted back to the present as she heard Dan, "She said we can stay at her place for a while," he added.

"I guess she still thinks we are kids." Audrey smiled weakly, remembering how supportive their aunt had been through everything. Audrey hadn't expected so many people to come to say goodbye to her mother. What happened with their father years ago had led many to distance themselves from them, but it seemed their mother's kindness and strength were still remembered. Audrey pushed back the tears that threatened to surface and changed the topic.

"So, Melisa is back, huh?" Her voice was still somewhat hoarse.

Dan seemed to pick up on this, but chose to ignore it and merely replied, "Guess so."

"That's it? Nothing about how different she looks now?"

"Hmm? Yeah, she seems to have changed." Dan replied half-heartedly, still consumed in his work.

"Looks like she is also together with Brad now." Audrey persisted, curious about his true feelings but all she got was a faint shrug of agreement.

Audrey then asked hesitantly, "Did you ever tell her..." but stopped, realizing it might still be hard for him to see them together.

Dan didn't pursue the conversation further, instead changing the subject himself.

"Aunt Martha probably had the investigation in mind." His voice changed slightly as he spoke and Audrey's expression turned serious as well.

"They said we could travel now so we should be fine."

Dan nodded in agreement.

"Did they contact you with any new information?" She asked, "They mentioned there was some DNA evidence, there must have been some matches, right?"

"Maybe," he replied, thinking of how the detectives' attitudes had changed a couple of days into the case. He was certain that whoever was behind the person he'd killed must have put pressure on them—or maybe bought them off. He knew nothing would come of it and he'd already taken his revenge, but it hadn't brought him any closure.

Audrey's trembling voice brought him back to reality, her hands shaking as she spoke.

"When I think that the person who did that to her is still free, it makes me feel..."

She stopped before she could finish, overcome with grief. Sensing her pain, Dan rushed to her side, taking her hands in his.

Dan wanted to tell her the truth about what he had done, maybe then she could find peace -- something that that he couldn't.

"Audrey, I..." he began, but stopped short when he saw the look in her eyes.

How would she react if she knew he was a killer now? Would he be able to bear it if she looked at him in disdain?

"I will go take some rest then." he finally said, turning towards the stairs.

"Okay," she said quietly, holding back her pain like she'd been doing all week.

Dan entered his room and immediately let himself collapse onto the bed. He stared at the ceiling, berating himself for leaving Audrey like that but he didn't know what else to do. In an attempt to distract himself, he got up and walked over to the open window, gazing out at the world below. He watched as people hurried along the sidewalks, going about their routines. The sun was setting in the distance, casting a golden glow over the city. Buses drove by, their engines roaring as they disappeared into the distance. He thought back to the time when everyone thought he had attempted suicide, which now felt like ages ago even though it had only been two weeks. His eyes followed a bus, tracing its path until it eventually disappeared into the horizon.

As his eyes remained fixed on the same spot, a thought slowly formed in his mind. Despite taking revenge on his mother's killer, the guilt of being responsible for her death continued to haunt him. He knew his sister would never find peace as the people responsible were untouchable and too powerful to bring to light. Even if they were caught, there will still be no justice to be had as he had already taken the life of the person who had put his mother through so much suffering. And yet, he could never share it with anyone, especially not his sister. Every time she brought up what had happened, he would be reminded that he was a killer and she would be ashamed of him if she ever found out--just like his father. His hands closed into tight fists as the thought of being compared to his father crossed his mind.

But he could become free of everything if he just took a leap. Audrey would be devastated, but she'd eventually get better. It wasn't like he was needed anyway.

He immediately jumped out the window, the fall barely giving him any trouble. He then slowly started walking towards the road buses usually travelled. Not considering consequences for anyone else, even the driver of the bus itself, he decided to act on his thoughts. He activated time dilation and stepped in front of approaching vehicle while it was almost at a standstill. He disabled the power and looked up at the headlights of the incoming bus, temporarily blinding him with its brightness. He shielded his eyes from their intense glow as his vision went white.

He braced for the heavy impact but...it never happened. Surprised at the result, he opened his eyes as everything slowly returned to normal. He became speechless at the sight before him.

He was now sitting at the table in the living room in his home. He would have dismissed the previous incident as another hallucination and wouldn't have been so shocked if not for one fact - he was looking straight at his mother. But there was something different about her. It took a moment for him to realize that she looked younger, like in his childhood memories.

The years seemed to have melted away from her face, the wrinkles of time smoothing out as if they had never existed. She smiled at him with a warmth he hadn't seen in a long time. His breath caught in his throat; she was here again, like this moment had frozen in time. "Dan," She said gently, "what's wrong?"

"No...Nothing" He stammered out in response.

"Hmm, okay" She nodded knowingly before saying, "Go ahead then, it's your turn now."

Confused, Dan glanced down to see a board game laid out between them. He looked over the contents on the table, the chairs and finally noticed the girl sitting next to him. His eyes widened in realization once he saw who it was.

"Come on!" Melisa said in an annoyed tone, "Just because you are losing doesn't mean you can drag this game out."

She gave him a teasing grin that revealed her braces. Dan stared at her in silence as he observed her. She was chubby, had messy hair and her face looked different with blemishes all over. He was surprised again when he compared this young girl to her current self, it was almost like she had been given an entirely different body.

"If you don't do it then you should pass it to Audrey." Dan's attention immediately shifted to the person beside his mother as Melisa spoke. Just like the others, she looked younger too but what made Dan feel happy was not seeing her in tears. As he looked around the room, he noticed the old TV that he remembered from his childhood. The room also had a different color - one that he knew they had only changed much later.

"No, it's his turn" Audrey said softly and nodded encouragingly at Dan, "Go on Dan, throw the dice."

It was only then that Dan realized he had something in his hands. He opened his palm to see the dice Audrey was referring to. Without thinking, he threw the dice on the board and watched as it rolled to a stop. That's when he noticed his own hands - they were smaller, and he realized he was back in his younger self too. The others were saying something, but he was too lost in his thoughts to pay attention.

Is this all hallucination too? Or am I actually dead?

It felt too real to be a hallucination but he did observe something odd. Everything was slightly off. The table appeared to be bigger than he remembered, and the color of the room had a different tint to it. The couch was in a different place, and even the clock ticking away on the wall was different. It was as if he was in a different timeline, where everything was similar, but with some small changes.

"You kids set it up for the next game while I get us some snacks." His mother said as she stood and stretched before shuffling towards the kitchen, her slippers making a soft squeak against the hardwood floor. The others cheered happily while Dan stayed silent as he watched her go. Suddenly, he heard a voice beside him.

'This isn't real or a hallucination'. Dan looked around to see the stranger casually sitting at the table. He was taken aback by his presence and asked him, with furrowed brows.

"What do you mean?" he then continued after a short pause, "No wait, how are you here?"

The stranger replied, 'As I told you before, I am part of your interface.'

"What does that have anything to do..." Dan was cut off by the stranger.

'All of this is its doing', the stranger explained, 'It must be recreating environment and people from your memories, that's why everything feels off'

After thinking for a few seconds, Dan asked again. "So, where I am right now if I am not physically present here?"

The stranger shrugged. 'I don't know, I can only infer from the information you possess yourself'.

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Then how did you figure this isn't real?"

The stranger gestured towards the kitchen and said, 'Because she isn't real. I can see the underlying code, so she must be part of the system as well'.

As Dan took in the information, his anger flared up towards this unknown system for trying to deceive him using his mother's memories. He stood up and made his way to her.

As she stood at the kitchen counter, she tore open a few packets of food and poured their contents into bowls. She glanced at Dan as he entered and her face broke into a smile. "Dan, can you please help me with these?" she asked, gesturing towards the bowls.

Dan's expression was cold and suspicious as he approached her. His voice dripped with venom as he demanded, "Who are you, and what is this place?"

For a moment, she froze, taken aback by his hostility. Then, with genuine surprise on her face, she responded, "Dan, honey, what are you saying? I am your mother."

Dan's eyes widened with fury. "You are not her," he growled, his hand moving to grip a nearby knife. "She died...because of me."

He took a step closer, pressing it against her throat, "So why don't you drop the show and tell me what's going on?" Dan was short and had to stand on his toes to reach her neck, the situation almost comical were it not for the weapon in his hands.

The room was filled with tense silence as the two stared each other down. Eventually, a chuckle escaped her lips and grew into an infectious giggle. Dan was taken by surprise but didn't interrupt her as she continued to laugh. He knew deep down she wasn't really his mother, but she looked so much like her that he couldn't bring himself to harm her. Finally, when she'd settled down a bit, she looked at him curiously and said, with the same carefree expression.

"Never expected to be seen through by someone like you."

Irritation welled up inside Dan as it confirmed his suspicions, he pressed the knife further.

She finally raised her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay I get it", she said, attempting to calm him down. "I will explain everything. Do you really want to kill your own mother?" She taunted him.

At her provocative words, Dan removed the knife from her neck but still kept his grip on the handle tightly.

"Well then," she said, taking a step back and spreading her hands in an exaggerated manner. "Welcome to your interface, and I am your handler."