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fandomweekly2026-03-27 02:20 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2026-03-27 02:20 pm
Entry tags:
[#294] So Far From Home (The Fantastic Journey)
Theme Prompt: #294 – Pining
Title: So Far From Home
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Scott misses his home and family, longs to get back to them, but perhaps he’s not the only one pining for everything they’re missing.
Being shipwrecked on the island had been scary, stranded in a strange place, no clear idea of exactly where they were, because according to old Ben’s charts, there weren’t supposed to be any islands in that part of the ocean. Certainly nothing as big as this one appeared to be. But it had been okay, because his dad was with him, and Fred, Ben, Eve, and Jill. He hadn’t been alone, his dad would keep him safe, and they’d get home to his mom. He didn’t have anything to worry about.
And then they’d met Varian, a man from the future, disguised as a native Arawak tribesman, and he’d known so much more about the island than even Scott’s father could have guessed at. He’d agreed to help them find their way across the island to a place on the far shore, where there was a way for all of them to get back to where, and when, they belonged. Scott had been positive then that everything would be fine, that he’d be safely home in a few weeks at most.
But then Ben had died, and Scott’s dad, Eve, and Jill had found a quicker way home, and Scott had been left behind… He knew his dad had expected him and Fred to follow as soon as they reached Atlanteum, had never imagined that might prove impossible, so there he’d been, with only Fred and Varian for company, facing the long walk across the island that all of them had intended to take together…
Scott missed his dad, missed his mom even more, had never really realised how much, even at thirteen, he still needed both of his parents. He missed his home, his friends, his life, and he wished he could have gone home with his dad. He wished he’d never wanted to go with Fred and Varian to fetch some of the gear they’d salvaged from the shipwreck instead of sticking with his dad and the two women. He could have been home already, he’d just never thought his dad might leave him behind, and even though he understood WHY his dad had gone, it still hurt.
It wasn’t that he was scared now, not really. He had Varian and Fred for protection and company, and Liana, who’d joined them with her cat, Sil-El, and then Willaway had joined them too, so he had plenty of people around him that he could trust, but…
The five of them had been walking for months now, and home seemed further away than ever. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever get there, ever see his mom and dad again… What if he never got home? Would they eventually forget about him?
He’d thought he already knew what it felt like to be homesick, to pine over everything that was safe, and familiar, and so much more precious than he’d ever realised, but that had been nothing compared to this. He’d woken up a little while ago from a dream of home, thinking he heard his mom calling his name, telling him to get up or he’d be late for school, and being late would not be a good way to start the new school year.
But when he’d sat up, in the pre-dawn light, he’d found himself not in his own bed, in his own room, but wrapped in his bedroll, partway down a hill, with the others still sleeping around him, and the campfire burned down almost to ashes. Knowing he wouldn’t get back to sleep again, he’d pulled his jacket on against the cool of early morning, and come to sit here on a rock a short distance above their campsite, staring out across the valley to the opposite hilltop, where the first light of dawn was beginning to edge above the horizon.
He looked down at the camp as the night faded to grey, and wondered about the people he was travelling with. Were they pining for their homes as much as he was? Liana had only been a young child when she’d become stranded here. She remembered her mother’s home planet, with its crystal spires, but it had been more than ten years since she’d last been there, while he’d only been missing his home for a few months.
Fred had come from the same time and place as Scott, he was Scott’s dad’s friend, but surely he had people of his own back home that he missed. Scott had just never thought to ask. He knew Fred’s mom was still alive, but Fred must have other friends, and maybe a girlfriend waiting for him.
Willaway… Well, he was a scientist, and as far as Scott had been able to tell, didn’t have any family. He wasn’t married, except maybe to his work, and Scott got the feeling that he wasn’t used to having friends. He’d said once that he would never go back to his own time, and yet now he seemed as eager as Scott to reach Evoland and the portal. Scott was sure he’d never really understand the man; he wasn’t at all sure Willaway even understood himself.
As for Varian… In many ways, he’d lost more than any of them through becoming stranded on the island. He’d been eager to get home to the world he knew, where war and violence didn’t exist, until he’d met the woman he was going to marry. He would have stayed with her, never gone back to his own time, if she’d lived, but she’d died less than a day after the wedding, and now all he could do was carry on without her, and help his friends find their way home.
‘It’s not just me,’ Scott though. ‘I guess we’re all pining for something, or someone. Home, family, friends, lost love, things we might get back to if we’re lucky, and things, people, that’re gone for good. But we’ve got each other, we’re not alone. Someday soon, this is what we’re gonna miss.’
The End
And then they’d met Varian, a man from the future, disguised as a native Arawak tribesman, and he’d known so much more about the island than even Scott’s father could have guessed at. He’d agreed to help them find their way across the island to a place on the far shore, where there was a way for all of them to get back to where, and when, they belonged. Scott had been positive then that everything would be fine, that he’d be safely home in a few weeks at most.
But then Ben had died, and Scott’s dad, Eve, and Jill had found a quicker way home, and Scott had been left behind… He knew his dad had expected him and Fred to follow as soon as they reached Atlanteum, had never imagined that might prove impossible, so there he’d been, with only Fred and Varian for company, facing the long walk across the island that all of them had intended to take together…
Scott missed his dad, missed his mom even more, had never really realised how much, even at thirteen, he still needed both of his parents. He missed his home, his friends, his life, and he wished he could have gone home with his dad. He wished he’d never wanted to go with Fred and Varian to fetch some of the gear they’d salvaged from the shipwreck instead of sticking with his dad and the two women. He could have been home already, he’d just never thought his dad might leave him behind, and even though he understood WHY his dad had gone, it still hurt.
It wasn’t that he was scared now, not really. He had Varian and Fred for protection and company, and Liana, who’d joined them with her cat, Sil-El, and then Willaway had joined them too, so he had plenty of people around him that he could trust, but…
The five of them had been walking for months now, and home seemed further away than ever. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever get there, ever see his mom and dad again… What if he never got home? Would they eventually forget about him?
He’d thought he already knew what it felt like to be homesick, to pine over everything that was safe, and familiar, and so much more precious than he’d ever realised, but that had been nothing compared to this. He’d woken up a little while ago from a dream of home, thinking he heard his mom calling his name, telling him to get up or he’d be late for school, and being late would not be a good way to start the new school year.
But when he’d sat up, in the pre-dawn light, he’d found himself not in his own bed, in his own room, but wrapped in his bedroll, partway down a hill, with the others still sleeping around him, and the campfire burned down almost to ashes. Knowing he wouldn’t get back to sleep again, he’d pulled his jacket on against the cool of early morning, and come to sit here on a rock a short distance above their campsite, staring out across the valley to the opposite hilltop, where the first light of dawn was beginning to edge above the horizon.
He looked down at the camp as the night faded to grey, and wondered about the people he was travelling with. Were they pining for their homes as much as he was? Liana had only been a young child when she’d become stranded here. She remembered her mother’s home planet, with its crystal spires, but it had been more than ten years since she’d last been there, while he’d only been missing his home for a few months.
Fred had come from the same time and place as Scott, he was Scott’s dad’s friend, but surely he had people of his own back home that he missed. Scott had just never thought to ask. He knew Fred’s mom was still alive, but Fred must have other friends, and maybe a girlfriend waiting for him.
Willaway… Well, he was a scientist, and as far as Scott had been able to tell, didn’t have any family. He wasn’t married, except maybe to his work, and Scott got the feeling that he wasn’t used to having friends. He’d said once that he would never go back to his own time, and yet now he seemed as eager as Scott to reach Evoland and the portal. Scott was sure he’d never really understand the man; he wasn’t at all sure Willaway even understood himself.
As for Varian… In many ways, he’d lost more than any of them through becoming stranded on the island. He’d been eager to get home to the world he knew, where war and violence didn’t exist, until he’d met the woman he was going to marry. He would have stayed with her, never gone back to his own time, if she’d lived, but she’d died less than a day after the wedding, and now all he could do was carry on without her, and help his friends find their way home.
‘It’s not just me,’ Scott though. ‘I guess we’re all pining for something, or someone. Home, family, friends, lost love, things we might get back to if we’re lucky, and things, people, that’re gone for good. But we’ve got each other, we’re not alone. Someday soon, this is what we’re gonna miss.’
The End