Seth
Chapter 16: Departure

“I guess I should start at the beginning.”

Tom took a slow swallow of coffee from the mug she had placed in front of him, his movements sluggish and slightly dazed. He had been remarkably calm while she had fed the boy spoonful after spoonful of the peanut butter and jelly, never once saying a word. Two of the economy-sized jars he had brought her lay empty on the floor near the table, forgotten for the moment.

The boy was sitting up now in one of the chairs, a plate of store-bought cookies in front of him. He had regained enough strength to manage chewing on his own, and while his color and temperature had more or less returned to what passed for normal with him, he still appeared wan and listless.

Sweat rolled down into the collar of Tom’s shirt but he didn’t seem to notice. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of the boy who sat across from him, happily eating one cookie after another. A large glass of orange juice sat next to the plate, and he drank from it at regular intervals. Leave it to Tom to have enough foresight to include a gallon of orange juice in the odd assortment of items she had requested he bring from the store.

The boy finished chewing and sighed, a look of contentment on his face.

He smiled up at Jennifer and then glanced over at Tom, affording him the same pleased look.

Full.

Tom started, nearly upending the mug of coffee in front of him.

Jennifer hesitated, not sure what to do or say next. It was more than obvious that Tom had heard the boy speak, and while he may not quite understand the mechanics of how it had occurred, he at least was still seated.

She came around the other side of the table and knelt down next to the boy. He remained silent as she took his injured hand in hers, careful not to hurt him. The scratches were still red and swollen, but at least they appeared no more worse than they had this morning. She gently kissed his knuckles and he smiled again, his gaze fixed on hers.

“I’m so glad you’re feeling better.”

She angled herself sideways so that she could see Tom and gauge his reaction. Sweat continued to roll down into the collar of his shirt, but this was more due to the thermostat’s settings than actual fear. Condensation had completely built up on the windows and obscured the view of the early morning sun outside.

It was now close to eleven o’clock.

Nearly two hours had passed since Tom had arrived and stumbled onto the scene of chaos and heartache. Since that time the boy had been resuscitated, fed, stabilized, and fed some more. He had watched all of this in relative silence, and the explanation she owed him—that he most assuredly deserved—was well past due.

“Tom, say something.”

His eyes moved from hers to the boy’s. They glanced briefly down at her hand as she held his, and something quickened in his gaze.

He cleared his throat as he shifted uneasily in his chair. “What,” he hesitated as if he realized that had sounded a bit unkind. He tried again. “Who is he?”

She glanced down at the boy who continued to stare at her and at Tom trustingly. Some silent communication seemed to pass between them that Tom was not aware of and the boy nodded.

“Tom, this is…Seth.”

Something passed over Tom that bordered on panic, but he made a Herculean effort to get himself under control. He leaned back in his chair and wiped absently at the sweat beading his brow. He shook his head. “Jennifer, it can’t be…he can’t….” He exhaled loudly, the large vein on the side of his face standing out in stark relief. He shook his head again. “I saw your son. I saw him before you could see for yourself, and he’s gone.”

Your baby is gone, dead.

Jennifer nodded, her eyes fixed on Tom as he reacted once more to the silent communication.

He chuckled bitterly and continued to shake his head from side to side. “I must be going crazy, because this is not possible.”

“Tom, listen to me.” He stopped shaking his head and looked at her, his expression haunted. “I know that Seth is gone. Even though you tried to keep me from seeing, I saw him. It was just for a moment before they took him away, but I know. I’ve spent months trying to forget in order to remember how he was, but this,” She brushed back the overlong curls of hair away from the boy’s forehead. The look he gave her was of pure adoration, and she continued. “This is Seth, if only in name. I can’t explain what he is or where he came from, only that I love him and that I’ve promised to help him return home.”

“Return how? What home?”

She indicated the spherical apparatus on the table between them. It continued to glow with a pale blue light and was still emitting that low, pulsating hum.

Tom glanced over at it, and then at her.

“Those rocks I showed you a couple of days ago, the meteor that passed over my house, this boy…they’re all linked and are a part of this whole beautiful and mysterious event.”

She gave the boy’s hand a lingering pat and then stood up. He reached over and took a cookie in his other hand and began to eat it slowly, chewing carefully.

She strode over to the middle of the table and slowly rotated the object so that Tom could see the hole in the side. The myriad crystalline structures winked and glittered under the overhead lights, and the blue glow cast a pale pool of light on the table top.

She tapped her finger near the hole, careful not to touch the inner workings. “Those rocks I found, they are part of whatever this is.” She glanced back again at the boy who continued to eat and chew happily. “This is what he needs to return home, but I lost several of them. Well, threw them away, actually, but I didn’t realize what they were at the time.” She sighed. “That was stupid and impulsive of me, but—”

“You didn’t know.” Tom’s voice was reassuring as he leaned forward, careful not to touch the object. “We’ll replace them, and when we do he can go home.”

“He can’t stay here much longer. His body is too sensitive to cold and he has to eat constantly just to stay conscious. The slightest injury results in infection and I’ve nearly lost him twice already. I know all of this, but I don’t want him to go. I don’t want him to leave me because then I’ll be alone again, and I can’t bear it. I’m already haunted by Seth’s memory, and when he goes I’ll have two ghosts to contend with.” She sniffed, aware that she was crying silently. “Does that make me a terrible person, to want him to stay so that I can feel comforted?”

“You are the furthest thing from a terrible person. Whether you found him or he found you, Seth is lucky to have you looking after him.”

“And what are you today, my treasure?”

“…I’m S.A.D: Seth Allan Daniels, the luckiest boy in the world.”

“And why are you the luckiest boy in the world?”

“Because I have you for a mom.”

She glanced over at the clock as it continued ticking away on the opposite wall. She knew on an instinctive level that these moments would remain forever cemented in her memory, and that whatever the final outcome of all this, that it had somehow brought her and Tom closer together.

Something passed between them even though neither one had spoken. The boy stopped chewing and gazed at them, his expression knowing and seemingly wise beyond his years.

Be happy.

She scoffed and shook her head, not in negation, but in wonder and acceptance. “Amantle,” she whispered, though it was loud and clear enough for Tom to hear.

He seemed about to say something, but didn’t. The boy merely smiled enigmatically and began to eat another cookie from the plate before him.