Hopping Celestial Fox

“Heya, we’re here.” Frank grinned at me as soon as I opened the main door.

“Hi,” Casey added.

“Hey, welcome.” I tried my best to smile without seeming nervous or tired.

I failed.

“What’s with that face? Are you not happy to see us?” Frank raised his eyebrow teasingly.

“I am! I’m just…” Anxious. “…a bit tired.”

“Well, you shouldn’t party hard into the night on Saturdays, then! Did you learn nothing from my wise advice?”

I rolled my eyes as I let the two inside the building.

“I wasn’t partying, Frank. I was… uh, talking to my mom about something…”

“Wait, your secret date was your mom all along? What a twist!”

“Frank…” I groaned as I pushed the button to call the elevator. “We were talking about, well, me. We’re doing this experiment thing… And, um, I was showing her that one game, Rogue Life Online, remember that?”

“Yeah, I remember. You playing it again? I thought you quit.”

“I recently got back into it… It’s… It’s related to what I wanted to show you.”

The two glanced at each other as we entered the elevator; I pressed the fourth floor button and waited as the door closed behind us.

“Wait, we’re gonna be playing a game? Is that what you meant by a fantastical adventure?” Frank raised his eyebrow. “Did you buy extra VR sets or something?”

“Ugh, please don’t make me play VR.” Casey groaned. “They always make me sick and nauseous.”

“No no no, that’s not what we’ll be doing. It’s… well, you’ll see.”

The two shared a glance again. “If not playing the game, then what? Did you secretly become an expert at D&D or something? Are we gonna be roleplaying?”

“Uh, not quite…”

“C’mon! What else could you possibly mean by a fantastical adventure?! Are you gonna teleport us into the game world or something?”

I stared at him, unsure of what to say. Who would have thought one of Frank’s off-hand jokes would hit the mark?

“Waaait… seriously?” Frank looked understandably skeptical.

“Just… wait and see. I’ll show you.” I shook my head.

“Well, alright then…” Frank said before going silent.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, letting us out. We walked over to my apartment’s door.

“By the way, you said something about an experiment with your mom. What’s that about?” Casey tried to fill in the awkward silence as I fished out my keys. But it only made me feel more anxious.

I stopped for a second, steeling myself for what was to come, before putting the keys in the lock and turning it.

“Well, I… We’re pretending I’m a girl. I’m playing the role of a daughter rather than a son.”

There was a moment of silence behind me. I didn’t dare to turn around and look at their expressions.

“M-my name, for the time being, is Renee. S-so, if you could call me that… that, uh, would be cool.”

I stepped inside, nervousness building up inside me. I looked up and saw Mom peeking into the hallway, smiling in my direction. That gave me enough courage to turn around and sneak a peek at my friends.

“Sure… I mean. We can play along,” Frank replied, looking a bit confused. Casey nodded with an inquisitive frown on her face.

“But what exactly is that experiment for?” Frank asked.

“Well, it’s…”

“Hey there, kids.” Mom finally stepped out into the hallway and greeted us, interrupting my train of thoughts.

“Oh, hey, Missus Chrona! How are you doing today?” Frank instantly switched from his confused self to the usual cheerful one. I envied his adaptability.

“Hello, Missus Chrona,” Casey added.

“I’m doing alright. A bit tired from work, but yesterday, I suddenly gained a daughter, so I’m happy,” she declared whilst putting a hand on my shoulder.

I shrunk away in embarrassment.

“Riiight…” Frank briefly glanced at me.

“I’ll be cleaning up around the kitchen and the living room, you kids go and have fun with your game.”

“Suuure, let’s go then, uh, Renee,” Frank said, seeming unsure.

I nodded with a faint smile and led them to my room. Once I closed the door behind us and heard the vacuum cleaner from the living room, I turned to my friends standing in the middle of my room, staring at me expectantly.

“So…” I started.

“So…?” Frank raised his eyebrow. “What’s the experiment about? It feels kinda random.”

“I… It’s…” I went silent for a second. “It’s actually also related to what I’m about to show you.”

“Oh… alright…?” Frank looked even more confused than before, but he quickly switched to his regular joking self. “Well, I hope no trucks are involved in the teleportation process.”

“Trucks?” I asked, taken aback by the non-sequitur. “What are you… No, I…” I cut myself off and took a deep breath.

Enough stalling.

“Okay, here’s the thing. Remember back when I told you about the purple floating things I was seeing everywhere?”

The two exchanged a glance, concern growing in their expressions.

“Yeah…? You said you weren’t seeing them anymore…” Frank said.

“I lied,” I stated. “I lied to stop people from being worried. I’m still seeing them and they are real.”

Pity. The same look they’d given me back then. Full of pity.

I pressed on even though my stomach was clenching on itself. “I found out what they really are a few days ago. They are closed portals. And I can open them.”

“Portals…?” Casey whispered.

I turned to look at the closed portal in the room and pointed at it. “There’s one right here. I can show you.”

They exchanged a glance again. Concern, anticipation, surprise, and several other emotions showed.

“Alright…?” Frank said as they turned back to me.

I took a deep breath, stepped toward the portal, and grabbed the edges. It immediately shocked me and I let out a muted yelp.

In the heat of the moment, I’d completely forgotten I needed to be transformed to not get shocked. But it didn’t matter anymore. I was committed now.

Just as always, my fingers curled into the thing, before I ripped the portal open, revealing the familiar sight of the Golden Woods on the other side.

I took a few steps back from it, waving my hands around to ease the pain on my fingers.

Then I looked back at my friends.

They were staring at the open portal bug-eyed and with their jaws hanging.

I let out a mental sigh of relief.

Alright. They could see it. Good.