The front door clicked shut behind him.
For a moment, Jack simply stood on the porch.
Warm sunlight settled over his skin, gentle and comforting. A cool breeze brushed past him, carrying the scent of freshly cut grass and blooming flowers. Somewhere nearby, birds chirped lazily, while the distant hum of traffic blended into the quiet suburban afternoon.
He closed his eyes.
"...So this is Earth."
Not memories.
Not borrowed knowledge.
Real.
When he opened his eyes again, everything felt... alive.
Rows of neat suburban houses stretched along both sides of the street. White fences surrounded carefully maintained gardens overflowing with roses, tulips, and shrubs. Lawns shimmered beneath rotating sprinklers, tiny droplets catching the sunlight like scattered diamonds.
A child laughed somewhere down the road.
A golden retriever chased a tennis ball across a yard while its owner smiled from the porch.
A mail truck rolled past at an unhurried pace.
Even farther away, the unmistakable rumble of a garbage truck echoed through the neighborhood.
Jack watched it disappear around the corner.
"...Interesting."
He found himself staring at everything.
The cracks in the sidewalk.
The leaves dancing overhead.
Clouds drifting lazily through an endless blue sky.
Passing cars.
The sound of tires rolling across asphalt.
None of it was extraordinary.
Yet to him...
It was.
His lips curved into the faintest smile.
"So this is what Veer admired."
He remembered fragments of another existence.
Stories.
Pictures.
Videos.
Dreams of a peaceful blue planet.
Back then, Veer had only known Earth from afar.
Now...
He was standing on it.
Jack slowly walked toward the side of the house.
Leaning against the garage was an old mountain bicycle.
The memories came naturally.
Mine.
No.
Jack's.
He remembered riding it to school.
Remembered replacing a punctured tire.
Remembered complaining about steep hills.
The familiarity was unsettling.
"...Convenient."
He wheeled the bicycle onto the driveway before climbing on.
His body felt weaker than it should.
Months in a hospital bed had stolen much of Jack Donovan's strength.
Even pedaling across level roads required more effort than expected.
"I'll have to fix that."
The neighborhood slowly slipped behind him.
Every street looked peaceful.
Families watered their gardens.
Children played basketball in driveways.
An elderly couple walked hand in hand beneath rows of maple trees.
Jack couldn't stop looking around.
His head turned from one sight to another like an excited tourist.
A red pickup truck.
A school bus parked beside an empty lot.
A delivery van.
Traffic lights changing from green to yellow.
The ordinary rhythm of everyday life fascinated him.
People glanced at him occasionally.
Some smiled politely.
He nodded back without thinking.
The memories knew exactly how to respond.
Jack himself simply observed.
Eventually, a familiar golden arch appeared ahead.
He smiled.
"McDonald's."
Even someone who had never lived on Earth knew that symbol.
The bicycle rack outside held several bikes.
He locked his own beside them before stepping inside.
A pleasant burst of cool air greeted him.
The smell reached him first.
Fresh fries.
Grilled beef.
Coffee.
Soft drinks.
His stomach growled.
"...Right."
Jack's body hadn't eaten since yesterday.
The restaurant wasn't particularly busy.
A family occupied one corner.
Two teenagers laughed over milkshakes.
An old man quietly read a newspaper while sipping coffee.
Behind the counter stood a middle-aged woman wearing the familiar uniform.
She smiled warmly.
"Hello there, young man. What can I get for you?"
Jack looked up at the illuminated menu.
For just a second...
His thoughts went blank.
Then Jack Donovan's memories quietly answered for him.
"Can I get a cheeseburger, a large fries, and a large Coke?"
"Sure thing."
She tapped the register.
"Diet or regular?"
"Regular, please."
"You got it."
Jack reached into his pocket, pulling out a few crumpled dollar bills.
Enough.
Barely.
He handed them over.
"Thank you."
"No problem, sweetheart."
Only then did the woman notice the bruise across his forehead.
Her smile faded into concern.
"Oh my..."
"You alright?"
Jack blinked.
"...Hm?"
She pointed gently toward her own temple.
"That looks painful."
He touched the bruise absentmindedly.
"Oh."
"I fell."
"You should be more careful."
"I'll try."
She chuckled softly, though concern still lingered in her eyes.
Jack stepped aside to wait.
Only then did the dizziness return.
His vision blurred.
"...Still recovering."
The room tilted ever so slightly.
He immediately grabbed the nearest chair and sat down before his legs could betray him.
Several customers glanced his way.
The woman behind the counter watched him carefully.
Not suspicious.
Concerned.
Jack understood why.
The healing scar on his right temple.
The pale complexion.
The lingering weakness.
Anyone could tell he had recently survived something terrible.
"...Hospital."
Five months.
His body remembered.
His mind merely accepted it.
His order arrived a few minutes later.
"Cheeseburger."
"Large fries."
"Large Coke."
"Take care of yourself."
Jack accepted the paper bag with a small nod.
"Thank you."
Outside once more, he unlocked the bicycle and continued riding.
This time...
He had a destination.
A park.
One Jack Donovan had visited countless times.
The route appeared naturally within his memories.
Ten minutes later...
He arrived.
His bicycle rolled to a stop beside a wooden bench.
Jack stood silently.
Before him stretched a wide lake, its surface sparkling beneath the afternoon sun.
Gentle ripples danced across the water as ducks glided peacefully by, followed closely by tiny ducklings paddling in neat little lines.
A massive oak tree spread its branches overhead, casting cool shade across the grass.
Flowers bloomed along winding paths in brilliant shades of yellow, purple, and red.
The warm breeze carried their fragrance across the lakeside.
Children laughed somewhere behind him.
Someone tossed breadcrumbs into the water.
The ducks eagerly gathered around.
Everything felt...
Peaceful.
Jack slowly sat down.
The wooden bench creaked softly beneath his weight.
He unwrapped the cheeseburger.
"...Finally."
A bite.
Warm.
Salty.
Simple.
Delicious.
He laughed quietly to himself.
"Hah..."
"So this..."
"...This is what living feels like."
He leaned back against the bench.
Clouds drifted overhead.
The sun warmed his face.
For several long minutes...
He simply existed.
No battles.
No bloodshed.
No monsters.
No desperate struggle for survival.
Only wind.
Water.
Birdsong.
Peace.
A strange tightness settled inside his chest.
An unfamiliar warmth spread through him.
It almost hurt.
Jack lowered the burger.
"...Is this..."
His voice barely escaped his lips.
"...Happiness?"
The feeling caught him completely off guard.
He took another oversized bite.
Almost immediately, he choked.
"Cough—"
"Cough!"
He grabbed the large Coke and drank nearly half of it in one long gulp.
"...Too fast."
He laughed at himself.
A genuine laugh.
One that belonged to neither Jack...
Nor Shadow.
Simply...
Him.
Minutes passed.
The meal disappeared.
His eyes wandered lazily across the lake.
Then...
Something caught his attention.
Folded beneath the opposite end of the bench was a discarded newspaper.
The afternoon breeze flipped its front page open.
His eyes drifted toward the headline.
May 18, 2010.
"Hm."
Jack smiled faintly.
"So it's May."
Then his gaze lowered.
Printed beneath the date was the newspaper's name.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The smile disappeared.
"...Atlanta?"
He stared.
Georgia.
Atlanta.
The words echoed through his mind
Silence.
The cheerful laughter of children continued in the distance.
Ducks floated peacefully across the lake.
The breeze carried flower petals through the air.
The world remained beautiful.
For now.
Jack slowly folded the newspaper closed.
His hazel eyes no longer carried wonder.
Only calculation.
"...So that's where I am."
The peaceful afternoon suddenly felt much shorter than before.