Chapter 1

I stood in my own living room, watching my wife hold another man’s baby, while my son, Theo, called a complete stranger "Daddy."

Nobody knew that I had only gone out to take out the trash, got dragged onto a spaceship by aliens, and spent what felt like sixteen minutes there.

But when I came back, six years had passed on Earth.

When Catherine saw me, she looked like she had seen a ghost. Then, she put her hands on her hips and tried to kick me out.

"George, do you have any conscience left?" she shrieked.

"You vanished for six years without a single word! Now that I’ve finally rebuilt my life and started a new family, you come back to ruin it?"

"Theo doesn’t even remember you. This house has nothing to do with you anymore. Get the hell out!"

I didn't say a word. I just raised my hand, showing her the glowing dark stone resting in my palm.

It was an Obsidian Wishing Stone, given to me by the aliens to make up for their "time-dilation error." It had the power to grant wishes.

I looked at the lovey-dovey couple in front of me, and then at Theo, who was hiding timidly behind the man. Calmly, I made my wish in my heart:

I want everything I lost back, with interest.