The Myth and The Guardian
Chapter 11

One month after he had fixed his relationship with Alex and was starting to enjoy his life again, Austin woke up to the sound of his adoptive parents having their, as of recent, familiar discussion about him. He knew all too well that Frank was feeling a bit disrespected that he still did not call him dad. Austin did not know exactly why he still had no desire to refer to Frank and Susan as mom and dad, but he knew that something did not feel right about saying it. He did not feel ungrateful towards them at all; perhaps a part of him still hoped his real parents would replace him someday. He wished that he could give them what they wanted and consider them as his only parents, but the bad feeling he had about it was far too powerful to ignore.

Austin got out of bed and finished packing for the trip he and the Andersons were going on to South America. Like most ten or eleven year old boys, he had never been outside of the country, but he did not feel as excited as he imagined he would. This feeling was more than likely due to the fact that he assumed the trip would be boring. Frank and Susan were both researchers, and they loved their work more than any two people he had ever known. Austin imagined the trip would mainly consist of them working while he was left being bored by sightseeing. The experience would be better if he knew he would not have to be accompanied by Chris anytime he wanted to go anywhere.

Chris was just like his parents in many ways, and he and Austin seemed to tolerate each other and like each other for the most part. Austin still remembered how Chris helped him out when he caught him snooping around in Frank’s personal study which Austin assumed meant they were closer as siblings, but Chris had settled back into his ways of treating Austin like he was afraid of him. He was always nice and extremely polite, but Austin could tell that Chris had rediscovered his problem with him. The lack of affection was not the usual hateful or jealous kind one might expect from a foster sibling, but it was almost as if Chris was uncomfortable and literally frightened to the point of being speechless around Austin. Dr. Wilson told Austin that he assumed it was because Chris considered him to be more unusual than he expected at first, which was a normal reaction considering Chris’s age and Austin’s gift.

Austin was a genius by definition, I.Q., learning ability, memory, and wisdom. He knew things that some of the smartest minds in the world could not even understand. His memory skills and overall knowledge were neither inferior nor equal to anyone, including his professors at Harvard. Austin could tell that even they were starting to consider him to be a freak because of his mind as well, but he never complained. He understood that by addressing the issue, he would be insulting his professors and appear to be boasting. Although sometimes he wished he had someone to talk to about how lonely he felt being a ten or eleven year old boy and a junior, according to the number of credits he had earned, at Harvard University, he was forced to remain silent about the issue because of the awkward topic of conversation. He talked to Alex about the issue at times, but she could never really understand exactly what he was dealing with on a daily basis. She was adored by her creative classmates in the Harvard Art Department and had no idea how it felt to have an entire campus feel threatened or uncomfortable just because she was around.

Austin finished packing and began walking slowly down the stairs to the kitchen for breakfast, but was stopped by the interesting nature of Frank and Susan’s conversation.

“Maybe we should reconsider taking him on this trip, Frank. You and I both know how dangerous it could be if anyone found out about him.” Susan said in an overly concerned voice.

“Susan, I understand, but we are the only ones who know because of the notes about him that were left to me. Nobody else cared enough to make the connection, and as I said before we have to take this risk in order to help Austin remember so that he can tell us….” Frank cut off his sentence as Chris called for him from his bedroom.

Austin thought about running back to his room quickly and pretending he did not overhear the discussion, but Frank would hear his footsteps if he ran. He decided to continue to walk downstairs and see what would happen. He met Frank on the first step and noticed the worried look in his eyes.

Frank stared at him for a moment and then said:

“ Hey champ, you ready for the big trip?”

Austin did not want to make it obvious that he knew anything and just replied:

“Yes Frank, I am all packed and ready to go.”

Frank tapped his shoulder and continued to go upstairs to Chris’s room. Austin walked into the kitchen and greeted Susan who was smearing cream cheese on a bagel. She returned the greeting and gave him the same concerned look that Frank had on his face.

“You did not happen to hear what we were talking about did you Austin?” She asked carefully.

Austin tried his best to fake a confused look.

“ No, in fact, I’m not even fully awake yet.” He lied smoothly.

Susan smiled at him, gave him a bagel, and replied:

“ Good, because we thought long and hard about your birthday present and we would hate if you ruined the surprise by overhearing our conversation and figuring it out” She replied as she did not question his lie.

Austin simply smiled back and took a bite out of his bagel. His mind began to immediately wonder about what was so important and serious that Susan would lie to him about a talk. He could not figure it out, and he soon began to realize that he had forgotten his own birthday was in a week. It was not technically his birthday, but they had him choose a date on the calendar to be his official birthday since nobody knew his actual date of birth.

Frank and Chris came into the kitchen for breakfast and began discussing the newest main item of research. Austin found it strange that they kept referring to the item as “it’ as if they did not wish to let him know what was being discussed. Susan soon began talking about “it” as well which made Austin feel even more left out. He decided to ask what was so fascinating about the new item in question but was immediately disregarded. Frank tried to change the subject by focusing on what Austin wanted for his birthday. Austin said he assumed that his gift had already been picked out and bought. Frank looked as if he had no idea what the boy was talking about until he caught the look on his wife’s face.

Susan then spoke awkwardly saying:

“You remember honey, the gift that we both agreed Austin would love.”

Frank played along with the lie and replied:

“Oh yeah, guess I forgot we bought it last week. Austin, you are going to love this present son.”

Austin simply nodded and continued to eat the other half of his bagel.

The ride to the airport was surprisingly silent, and Austin had plenty of time to think about the mysterious item that nobody seemed to want him to discover. He went over several items that could possibly be the item in question, but none of them had the potential to cause this much concern from Frank and Susan. After his thoughts proved to be getting him nowhere, Austin decided it best to simply take a break from the guessing game and relax. He looked out the backseat window and noticed a child about his age playing football with his friends at the park. Austin stared at the children until they were out of sight, but he could not help the strong envious feeling that erupted inside of him.

He longed for more than anything to be able to run around and play with other kids without a care in the world or to have a desire to do so. It was not that he could not play with other kids because he was so busy, but he could not because he always wanted to learn and focus. The way his mind worked did not leave room for the normal childhood desires such as playing sports or going to sporting events. Instead, he was always keeping himself busy by working on projects, doing homework, tutoring, spending time with his family, spending time with Alex, and thinking about life.

Austin realized that in one word “life” is what he seemed to think about more than anything. He thought about his life, his foster family’s lives, and the life of anyone he came in contact with that made an impression on him. He also still often wondered about why he could not recall any memories before his days at the orphanage. This thought used to keep him up late into the night, and he could never come up with an answer that was rational enough to be the truth. He had not suffered any injuries to his brain or been through any trauma in his life, according to a few doctors he had visited. He considered the possibility that he had simply forgotten those memories as he learned more and more daily, but that theory did not make much sense because of how his brain worked. He did not forget anything at all, and he certainly would not forget his earliest memories of childhood.

He believed that if he had those memories to cherish then maybe he would not have to feel so alone all the time. He would give anything to remember playing at the orphanage, fighting with another kid at the group home, falling off of a bike and having someone place a bandage on his hurt knee. Any memory that other people had to look back on, as they grew into adulthood, would be enough to satisfy Austin. He just wanted or rather needed to feel as if he was not always this abnormal, isolated, and only semi happy kid.

Once they arrived at the airport, they all sat around talking about how much fun the trip would be for everyone. Austin was bored by the conversation before it even started and let his eyes and mind wonder. He noticed that the airport had an antique gift shop. He asked if they could have a look inside before they had to board the plane. He thought that he would not be allowed to go because Susan had that worried look on her face again, but Frank said it sounded like a good idea. They walked to the store and went inside to be greeted by the smell of old paper, lightly scented candles, and dust. Austin looked around at the items of the store in complete fascination. He knew he would not replace anything special in the store, but he had always been a lover of old items that have passed the test of time.

He liked to think about how many people the item had belonged to, how many people had touched the items, and how many memories the items would have if items had brains. The whole point of view was overly romantic in a poetic sense, but Austin felt like a kid in a candy store. He assumed the “feeling like a kid” part was what he loved most about being around these antique lamps, clocks, swords, pictures, drawings, and books.

“A book.” Austin thought.

This is what he decided he should buy from the store for the plane ride. He went to the section where all of the old books were kept and began his search for the book that would ease his boredom for a while.

As Austin searched through numerous books about different cultures, he came across an extremely old book that had no title on the outside cover. He flipped the book over to read the description, but found that the only writing on the outside of the book was mainly a very fascinating review of the author. The words read:

“Christopher Cage is by far one of the best writers of his time. His diction alone is enough to keep readers intrigued by his well thought out description of the events that take place in this novel, but his creativity and unique point of view creates an entirely new set of standards for fiction writers around the world. Christopher lives up to his label as “genius’ as he creates characters, scenarios, and an ending that leaves readers speechless. The Myth, formerly titled The Myth and The Guardian, is a must read by all lovers of literature. Readers are in for an epic journey as they are taken to a world of mystery surrounding an unrealistic burden and a tragic ending that is undeniably the most life changing example of self-sacrifice shown through the words of this ten year old author!”

Austin was at a loss for words as he finished the review of the author. His heart began to race as he immediately felt a sense of relief rush over his body. Could it be possible that he was not alone in this world? Could this boy have been exactly like him in anyway? Is the boy still living and could he possibly have found someone who could possibly relate to his own burden of having an unexplainable gift? These questions filled Austin’s mind one after another as he found it hard to control his excitement by the very thought of this person he had never met.

He rushed to replace Susan or Frank to tell them about the book he had just found. He knew once they heard about the author they would understand why he wanted to book so badly. Frank was explaining the origin of an ancient sword to Susan and Chris when Austin found them. He presented the book to them in an expeditious manner which made Frank decide to take a look at the contents of the book. He showed the book to Susan who was not as obvious about hiding the horror on her face as Frank had done. They gave each other a look and told Austin that the book was mainly a fairy tale about South America, and they would not waste money on it. This was unusual to Austin because the Andersons never said “no” to him. If anything they tried too hard to be in his good graces in order to get him to call them mom and dad. Austin did not know exactly what all the mystery about the book meant, but he knew that they had been acting strange all morning. He decided at that moment to do what a normal ten year old would do and begged.

“Please, I really want this book. You guys can return my other birthday present and get this for me instead.” Austin pleaded in what he hoped to be an irresistible childlike voice.

Susan, who was not at all used to Austin acting like a child, looked conflicted between whatever she was worried about and her love as a mother figure for Austin.

She looked at Frank and responded:

“Well….I don’t know…but if you really want the book.”

She was immediately interrupted by Frank who stood firm in his answer.

“No, Austin, we are not going to buy this book for you right now. Maybe we will get it once we return from our trip.”

Susan looked as if Frank’s tone had reminded her of something more powerful than Austin’s pleading. She looked at Frank as a savior for being her strength at resisting her child begging for something. Austin knew that if Frank would not have been around then he would have gotten the book. He walked with Frank to return the book to where he had found it, and he did not mention the book again.

They continued looking around the store, and Austin pretended to be interested in some of the other items in the store. He walked around from one display to another and spent a little time browsing at each one. Eventually, Susan came and told him it was time to leave and get ready to board the plane. Austin noticed that Frank was purchasing a watch and Chris was outside of the store waiting impatiently. Susan went out to join Chris while Frank was still in line waiting to pay for the antique watch. Austin saw this as his last opportunity to get the book before they had to be on the plane. He grabbed the book and waited for Frank to get to the front of the line before running up beside him. The cashier asked if the watch would be all he wanted to purchase and Austin gave the book to Frank at the last second.

“ Austin, I told you I will not get you this book right now. So go put it back so we can leave.” Frank commanded.

Austin managed to create the most innocent kid face and a few tears in his eyes

“I know you said we could get it later, but I really want this book. Please buy it for me. Please dad, I will not ask for anything else to whole trip.” Austin begged.

Frank looked as if he was doing all he could to keep from getting emotional and grabbed the book to pay for it.

“My son wants this book, sir.” Frank said proudly.

The cashier scanned the book and placed it in a bag for them.

“I can’t say no to my little boy either when he gets like that.” The cashier replied as he scanned the items.

Frank smiled, grabbed his watch, and gave Austin the bag with the book inside of it. Austin walked out of the store about to burst with excitement as he returned to where they had been sitting. Susan gave Frank a look when he walked out of the store for buying Austin the book.

Frank just smiled and said:

“What else was I supposed to do? He called me dad.”