Bittersweet – A Short PL Story

11/09/10

I said nothing at this moment. All my feelings had been drained after the incident the previous evening. Claire was gone now, and I had to suffer through it all over again. But that is another topic entirely. This is the present.

And Luke was crying into my jacket.

Today was the day that I had been dreading since that day we talked near the statue in the underground London. Luke's father had to move, because of occupation matters, and the Triton family was to move across the sea, to America. As I suspected, Luke had to move along with them. He kept this from me for several months, though I'm not entirely sure how he managed, and finally explained it all a few days back.

A few days went by so very quickly...it was incomprehensible to think about the spiral of sad events happening all within a few days time. Claire...Clive...and now Luke. All of them...gone. Well...almost all of them.

The frail boy was clinging onto my torso and shaking violently, his tiny sobs echoing through the air as if we were alone in a tunnel, despite the many people near us and the boats in the docks. This feeling was entirely new to me, I had never felt this sensation in the pit of my stomach or in the depths of my heart before. The air seemed colder than it should have. The boy's warmth was the only thing preventing me from shivering at the moment.

I could feel the tears soaking through my shirt. My eyes widened in comprehension of the intensity of this boy's feelings that I had never quite solved before. He himself was an unsolvable puzzle. But today was the closest I had ever come to solving it. I plan to figure it out before he leaves today...I had a few minutes left to spend with Luke. I was going to make them count.

"There, there," I spoke at last, my words not seeming to reach the boy's ears. He kept his face buried in the dark orange fabric, his sobs finally dying down at last. I pulled down my top hat a tad, over my eyes briefly and then back up again, before kneeling down to Luke's eye level. He still had small tears in his reddened eyes. He would not look at my eyes, only at his feet. I placed one hand on the boy's trembling shoulder.

"Look at me, boy."

Luke's head slowly lifted, and his eyes sadly met mine. My heart sank when I saw his tear-streaked face. I ignored this for now. My other hand reached into my jacket pocket and grasped something. I forced a smile, for his sake.

"Hold out your hand."

Luke did so, his large palm extended towards me, confusion written all over his face. I took my hand slowly out of my pocket, and placed something small in Luke's hand. Luke peered curiously at it, as I withdrew my hand from his.

It was a small piece of candy. A cream-colored candy, in yellow plastic wrap, perfectly round and circular from all angles. Luke held it in both hands and stared at it as if it was a priceless treasure. He investigated it from all possible views; from above, below, left, right, and everything inbetween, before finally looking at me again.

"Go ahead. You can eat it."

Luke slowly unwrapped it, being careful not to tear the wrapper or drop the candy. After a few moments of fumbling with the wrapper, he popped the candy in his mouth. His eyes lit up, and his cheeks gained back their rosy glow. A small smile even appeared on his face. I felt myself smiling as well, this time, not a forced one.

"It's called a peach button. They were my favorite when I was your age," I explained softly to him, watching him enjoy the taste of the candy. "But don't chew the candy...let it melt away in your mouth, savor it as long as you possibly can."

Luke nodded, and looked happily at me. I was going to miss that look; enthusiasm, optimism, and true happiness created a glow on his face that I hadn't seen in any other individual and doubted I ever would. I swallowed hard, then proceeded on with my speech.

"Now..." I put my free hand upon his other shoulder, and looked him straight in the eye before continuing to speak, "...this candy will disappear soon. We both know this for a fact. But that sweet taste that it leaves in your mouth, you can remember the taste forever, even if you never have another one again."

Luke cocked his head at me, not entirely understanding what this had to do with anything.

I smiled sadly at the boy, "The same goes for you." I pulled the small boy into an embrace, something I had never previously done for a reason such as this, "Even if I never see you again...I will always remember the adventures we shared. Those memories...the good and the bad...will live on in my mind until the day I pass...and I would like to think that the same applies to myself."

Luke was trembling again. I heard him whisper a soft yes to me. He returned the embrace shakily. The boat let out it's somber noise, the sound that meant Luke had to leave. I hesitated for a second, then let the boy go without another word. Luke looked back at me and stopped on his way to the boat. I heard him shout something that tugged very tightly on my already-weakened heartstrings.

"I'll never forget you either, papa!"

He called me papa. It was the best thing I had heard for many, many years. It was the last thing he said to me before departing.

Several weeks later, a package arrived upon my doorstep, along with a letter. They were both from Luke. I smiled immediately after finding this out, and opened the letter without wasting another second. I slowly read and reread the letter multiple times before placing it down upon my desk. I smiled. My apprentice hadn't changed a bit. He even had left me his own puzzle to solve, which was done within minutes.

I stared at the package curiously. I pulled off the tape, and opened the cardboard packaging carefully, to see a small, white bag inside. I removed it from the box and opened the bag slowly. My eyes widened, and my jaw hung slightly ajar.

The bag was filled with peach buttons.

I slowly and gingerly reached for one, unwrapped it shakily, and placed it in my mouth. It tasted just how I remembered it. It hadn't changed at all, through all these years. The taste had remained forever.

I noticed a small note pinned to the bag. In smudged writing, it said:

"Every time I eat one of these candies, I remember another adventure we had together. They will never fade. And I will never forget you, papa.

-Luke Triton, your apprentice, number one."

I made sure not to let my teardrops smudge the writing any more than it already was. The last bits of the candy fizzled away.