Parting Gifts
Luke hopped off his briefcase. "It's over. . . isn't it?"
He looked at the ground, the brim of his cap shadowing his tearing eyes.
"Yes, Luke," the professor confirmed. His expression was neutral. Luke imagined his mentor was masking his sadness more gracefully than he was himself.
"It was fun traveling with you. You'll have interesting stories to entertain your parents, won't you?" the man assured.
"Yeah."
Luke's heel kicked his suitcase, never minding it as it dropped on the cobblestone. "Do I have to?" he asked, resisting the inherent urge to whine.
"You don't have to," the professor said objectively, "but your parents will be disappointed."
"Right," the boy said. He looked across the ocean. He had almost forgotten how homesick he had been before. He preferred to not remember that he used to hate the professor for those first few months. Luke had associated the man with his parents' desire to, "Straighten him out"-- which the professor did-- but he had never forcibly taught him anything. He was just there. With his advice and puzzles.
"Then before I go, can I tell you something? Privately?"
The man bent down to eye level and lent his ear. Luke leaned forward, then snatched the top hat, gracefully switching it with his blue cap. And in that instant he dashed up the boarding plank, neglecting his trunk. He didn't care for those belongings. He only wanted one thing. . . but oddly enough it wasn't the hat he had just stolen.
The thing he really longed for was chasing after him with knit brows and yelling his name. When Professor Layton finally caught up with him, Luke obligingly gave him back his hat with a smirk. Hershel was befuddled by the expression until the boat began to shift...
X
If only that could be so. Luke lifted his face and wiped the wetness from his eyes. "Thank you for everything."
"You're welcome."
"I'll come back," Luke said, and took his cap off.
X
The boat set sail, leaving Professor Layton with a blue cap in his shaking hands.