Luke Triton and the Empty Chair
"Professor?" Luke called, wandering down the hallway. "Professor Layton?"
Silence.
Luke pushed open the study door sheepishly. "Professor?" He stood on his toes and reached for the light switch. "Professor?" Finally managing to swat it to the "on" position, he turned to face the now illuminated room. Luke wandered the office, looking at all the professor's ancient doohickeys and doo-dads. It was a little intimidating to be in the room without the professor; furniture towered over the small boy, throwing shadows in the dimly lit area. The gas lamps worked better, but he wasn't allowed to touch those. Not yet, anyway.
Luke struggled to climb into the professor's overstuffed chair, standing on the cushion to peer back out into the dark hall. "Professor?" He felt cold…cold and alone. Where was the professor?
"Professor Layton?" Luke hopped down from the chair and tottered back into the hall. "Professor…?" He ran a small hand along the wall of the hallway. Luke was terrified of the dark, but he was too much of a gentleman to admit it. He kept calling out into the night, but it was wall in vain. The professor wasn't home.
Somehow, Luke knew this. He knew this, and yet he kept calling. He travelled the entire house, searching. He wanted the professor. He wanted to know that he wasn't alone. If only he could find the professor, then—
Luke coughed, startling himself awake. He sat up blearily in the orange chair, blinking dumbly until his vision cleared. The book he had been reading had been dropped to the floor, pages crushed underneath. Groggily, Luke wondered why he had fallen asleep in the professor's chair. Why was he there in the first place? It wasn't as though Luke lived there. Certainly, he stayed with the professor once and a while, but he had his own home to return to.
Luke pushed himself from the chair and onto his feet. He stretched. It was morning now—had he slept through the night? Where were Flora and the professor? He called out, but was answered only with the creaks and groans of a settling house. Had they gone out to get groceries?
Luke walked through the familiar door, down the hall and into the professor's living room. He plopped down on an elegantly upholstered couch and curled into a ball, deciding to wait for the pair to return. They couldn't be out long, really. The nearest market was only a ten minute walk.
However, as the minutes turned to hours, Luke began to wonder what had happened. Were they lost? Had something happened to Flora? Had something happened to the professor? It was unbearable to think of. Perhaps a drunken car had swerved a little too wide as they passed on the sidewalk, or maybe—
No. No speculations. The What If? game was always a cruel one. His friends were safe. They had to be.
Luke decided to switch on the telly. He watched a program about baseball, followed by a few cartoons and a short film about jellyfish. He learned quite a lot about jellyfish, then wondered if the professor knew all the trivia Luke now knew. The professor probably did, though. He seemed to be a walking encyclopaedia at times.
Luke went upstairs to get his teddy bear. Whenever he was lonely, he would hold his bear. It made him feel better. He was already eleven and two-thirds, considering himself far past the age to have a teddy. But it did comfort him. Wasn't comfort a rational reason for keeping something? Of course it was. His teddy was special.
The professor had given it to him for his birthday one year. It had been his favourite present. He carried it around everywhere. He still did, sometimes, when the professor wasn't looking. But the professor knew. He would smile when he found that the bear had changed locations in the house. He was glad to know it was still appreciated.
Luke returned to the professor's armchair, teddy in tow. He pulled himself back up and rest his head a while on the bear. The professor would be back soon. He just had to wait. Wait and not…and not…fall…as…leep….
Luke sat in front of the door, waiting. It was dark out, but the porch light had not yet turned on. He knew the professor would come through that door eventually. It was all a matter of time. Luke pulled at his teddy bear's legs in frustration. It was only a few weeks old, but already it was beginning to show the signs of wear and tear. More than once the professor had had to clumsily stitch a burst seam or two. The professor may have been good at puzzles, but he was never quite as adept at sewing.
Luke was lonely. His parents were away so often… He didn't really have friends other than the professor, either. He was too shy to approach the other children. He was afraid they might not like the same things he liked. Other children liked to play at sports and make-believe. Luke liked puzzles and games. He liked to think about things. The professor liked to think, too. He was good at puzzles. Luke really liked the professor. But…where was the professor now? Had Luke done something wrong?
Luke began to cry.
Luke was still crying when he was drawn back to consciousness by a warm hand on his cheek. He sat up to find the professor kneeling beside the chair, a look of concern on his kind face.
"P-professor," Luke sniffed. "Where were you?"
"Where was I?" the professor seemed surprised. "I should be asking you that, my boy."
"What do you mean?" Luke rubbed his eyes, quickly wiping his tears on his sleeve. A true gentleman didn't cry.
"I was waiting in the car. Weren't we going to visit the zoo today?"
Luke gulped. He had completely forgotten. "You…you waited all that time for me in the car?"
"I had the radio on and lost track of time," the professor reasoned. "I'm afraid I may have fallen asleep, as well. They make those seats rather comfortable nowadays."
"I'm—I'm sorry, professor. It completely slipped my mind."
The professor lifted the fallen book from the floor. "Really? You were even reading all about it last night."
Luke read the cover of the book. It was all about foreign and exotic animals. He had been looking at which exhibits he wanted to visit most the next day.
"I'm….sorry," Luke repeated.
The professor stood, patting the boy on the head. "It's quite alright, my boy. It happens to the best of us. How about we go out for dinner instead? We can visit the zoo another day."
"Yes, professor," Luke said, jumping out of the chair. "Can we have pancakes?"
"I believe I know a good place for just that sort of cuisine…" the professor replied with a smile. "The directions are quite the puzzle, though. Do you think we could decipher them?"
"Leave it to me, professor. I'm your number one apprentice, after all!"
At last, the door opened. Luke stopped crying abruptly as snowflakes blew into the house, melting on his hair and eyelashes as they fell over him.
"Luke?" The professor shut the arctic door and bent down. "It's past your bedtime. Why are you still up?"
Luke sobbed a little. "I woke up…an'…an' you weren' here…" The professor sighed, then lifted the little boy into his arms.
"A true gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved," the professor said. "Now, I'll read you a bedtime story—but only one. Then you go to sleep, okay, Luke?"
"Okay, professor."
Luke wasn't lonely anymore.