What Leaps May Come
Well, he'd done it. Al's marriage was saved; Beth would be waiting for him when he came home. The question now was, what happened next?
So this was Limbo. If Sam still had a body, he would have tried to move his head to look around-if there was anything to see. Right now, there was only darkness. No, not even that-it was nothingness, the void that existed between Leaps.
Sam thought about all the times he'd moved on before, about all the people he'd helped. They'd started out as complete strangers, as a way to get home. Then, he'd gotten to know them, care about their futures, and really believe that what he was doing was for a higher purpose. And then there was his final Leap, and that damn bartender…
No; he couldn't blame "Al" for this. He'd said as much-that he was the one in control, but he hadn't wanted to go home yet. So, the question remained-why was he still here, aware but formless?
"Dammit, Al, where are you when I need you?" Sam wondered what Al was doing now. Did he even remember him? Had he created a new timeline where PQL never even existed? But that didn't make sense-wouldn't he have Leaped back into his own body, with no memory of this life?
On a whim, Sam imagined himself spreading his arms and said-or heard himself say-"Let there be Light!" Nothing happened. Sam didn't know whether to be pleased or not. "Well, I guess that settles that," he told himself. His consciousness swam in the darkness as he thought aloud.
"I did what I was supposed to do. Is this all that's left? Am I still in control? Do You have anything left for me to do? Or am I just supposed to wait-and for what?"
There was no answer, but Sam felt as if he already had one. He was a part of Time itself now, and maybe that meant he had become the Observer, unseen, yet always there.
But that didn't make sense, either. An Observer had to have somebody to look after, otherwise what was the point? "Okay," he said. "Whoever's out there, whatever's been bouncing me around in time, I've got a deal for you. I know I'm not done Leaping yet. So, if this is my last Leap, I want it to mean something. I…I want to go back and keep from making the same mistake that started me on this Swiss-cheesed journey in the first place. If I Leap again, I want to be able to do it with a clear head and a reason. Can I do that? Can I go back and…make what went wrong right again one more time? For the people I care about-for the ones I left behind…"
A blue light began to shine in the darkness. It was just a pinhole at first, but then it grew until it enveloped him. As he felt himself being drawn back into Time, Sam closed his eyes, weary but grateful.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Then he was gone.
THE END