Chapter Seventeen

Belief beyond Logic

(2nd Version)

Jack Bolton stared at Troy as he tried to digest everything that his son just said. He looked normal enough. He had a good night's rest and ample food since he was found. His drug test came out clean and the scans on his head revealed he didn't get brain damage.

So why in the world was Troy still going on about wishing shrines and turning into a fish?

"Do you believe me now, Dad?" Troy asked.

Jack couldn't answer. He spent the past several hours in a hospital suite, listening to his son relate what happened to him while he disappeared.

It was the second day since they found him. Mr. Evans brought Troy to the hospital in the mainland yesterday. Troy was confined overnight while they had him tested and scanned thoroughly for any signs of physical damages. So far, the doctors found nothing apart from a bruise on his head and a few superficial cuts on his arms and legs. They were now just waiting for the doctor's orders to discharge him. Jack was all for going back to Albuquerque with Troy as soon as possible but with Troy still going on with this fairy tale, Jack was now considering taking up Vance's offer of having Troy talk to Sharpay's psychiatrist. Sharpay was in session right now. Jack thought maybe Troy should have a turn after her.

Troy sighed. "You still don't believe me." It wasn't a question.

"Troy…" he began gently. "I wish I could son…" He meant it, he really did. Because if he was honest with himself his son's story was beginning to sound more valid than any scientific explanation he could come up with. His mind went back to the movie he saw last night on the TV while he sat watching over a sleeping Troy in the hospital bed. The TV was broken and stuck to only one channel: Disney. They were showing the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jack normally didn't watch children's movies but he had nothing else to do so he watched it. He did enjoy the battle scenes in the end. But now he was remembering the scene where Peter and Susan went to the Professor to consult about their problem with Lucy:

"What was it like?" the Professor asks.

"Like talking to a lunatic," Susan answers

"No, not her - the forest!"

"You're not saying you believe her?" Peter asks.

"You don't?"

"Of course not. I mean, logically, it's impossible," Susan voices.

"What do they teach in schools these days?" the Professor mutters to himself.

"Edmund said they were only pretending," Peter explains.

"And he's usually the more truthful one, is he?"

"No… this would be the first time." Peter answers.

"So, if she's not mad and she's not lying, then logically…we must assume she's telling the truth."

Peter looks at him doubtfully: "You're saying we should just believe her?

"She's your sister, isn't she? You're a family. You might just try acting like one."

Jack was now feeling a bit like the older Pevensies. He stared at his son who was still giving him that disappointed look. Finally Troy just shook his head, his shoulders slumped. "It's okay Dad. It doesn't matter now." He turned away to look outside the window.

Jack was a lost what to do. There was a knock on the door and he was grateful for the distraction. It was the doctor with Troy's discharge. He was followed by Vance. The doctor pronounced him well enough to go home and left immediately.

"I'm glad that Troy's well," said Vance who looked relieved. He lowered his voice so only Jack can hear. "How is he? Is he still insisting on the…"

Jack understood and whispered back. "Yes."

Vance sighed. "Sharpay doesn't say much. She's rather tight-lipped with her psychiatrist. She says she doesn't want to lie, so she refuses to say anything anymore about what happened. Her doctor figures her old problem's recurring, probably with all this stress over her nanny. But she's clean Jack, I can assure you that. She's not on drugs and she's still…"

"Still what?" Jack asked.

Vance looked even more uncomfortable and whispered: "Her hymen's unbroken Jack, I had a gynecologist check her."

Jack understood and was glad that Vance put it in scientific terms rather than spelling it out. Well at least my son's not sleeping with her or any other boy for that matter, but that's the least of my worries.

"She's going to continue taking psychological counseling," Vance went on. "She's very cooperative so far on seeing her doctor though she's not saying anything yet. But I'm sure in time she'll get herself back. Her nanny's back at the island now and I'm taking Sharpay home there as well in a few minutes. You and Troy are welcome to come back to the island to get some rest and recreation. I'll have the chopper ready for you at anytime. But maybe Troy can see Dr. Johnson now."

Jack looked at Troy. His son's attention focused on them as soon as he heard Vance said something about Sharpay's nanny. Troy had nagged him the previous night about seeing the nanny. He already explained to Jack why he needed to.

I'm his father, Jack told himself as he met Troy's pleading gaze. Maybe it's time I started acting like one.

"I appreciate it Vance," Jack said. "But I think Troy needs a bit more rest, so if you don't mind maybe we could just go back to the island with you. I don't think Troy's apt for talking to a shrink right now."

Vance nodded. "Alright. Let me just go make the arrangements and I'll come by to pick you up when Troy's dressed and ready."

"Thank you, Vance."

Vance took his leave and once the door closed Jack turned to Troy. His son had a grateful smile plastered to his face.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Just get dressed," replied Jack. He turned to open the wooden wardrobe to grab Troy's clothes that he hung up there the night before. As he did, Jack couldn't help but wonder whether Troy's story is as true as Lucy's Narnia.

He gave the back of the wooden wardrobe a knock just for good measure.

Troy stepped off the van and found his friends waiting to greet him at the doorstep. Despite everything that happened, he was glad they cared enough to stay and find out the result of his check up. Gabriella wasn't there and Troy hoped she returned home in his absence. He didn't really fancy another meeting with her.

"Everything alright with Troy?" Chad asked though the question was addressed to his father. Troy felt slightly annoyed at that. But Chad wasn't the only one doing it. Everyone else seemed to be addressing questions to his father and not to him. It was like they were afraid to talk to him.

"I'm fine," Troy answered in the most even voice he can muster. "There's nothing wrong with me. I'm not on drugs, I don't have brain damage, I didn't get dehydrated and I'm not hallucinating."

There was a long uncomfortable silence, before Zeke finally muttered: "That's good to hear…"

Troy ignored them. He could see that it was hopeless to try to make people believe him. What was important now was that he talked to Sharpay. He hadn't seen her since he got caught in her bed the previous morning. He was anxious to find out how it went with her therapy. She didn't take the same chopper with him and Mr. Evans said she had gone ahead of them. He turned to Ryan who stood at the back to ask, but at that moment Sharpay herself appeared bounding down the staircase. She looked healthy enough and appeared like her usual sparkling self.

"Sharpay no!" her mother cried as she came running down after her.

"Mother, I need to see her," Sharpay called back.

"I don't think that's a good idea Sharpay," her mother said knowingly.

"But she just got out of a coma and she almost died. I need to see her." She turned to her father. "Daddy please?"

"Now princess, Mama Liat is fine and I don't think she should be bothered for now."

"But she's asking for me. Please, if I could just talk to her for a few minutes." She finally noticed Troy standing there. She made a move towards him but Mrs. Evans blocked his path.

"Mrs. Evans, please, I just want to talk to her," Troy begged though his gaze shifted between her and Mr. Evans who appeared just behind him. He was still aware how precarious his situation was with Sharpay's parents at this time.

"Look, Vance, I don't see the harm of them talking to each other," Troy was startled to hear his father speak. His Dad then whispered something to Sharpay's father. They seemed to discuss something for a minute. Mr. Evans looked hesitant.

"Not alone," Troy heard Mr. Evans say.

"Then let me," his Dad replied and Mr. Evans nodded.

"Derby, let them see Mama Liat."

"But…" Mrs. Evans protested. Mr. Evans said something to her that Troy couldn't discern but it appeared to convince Mrs. Evans enough—or at least reassure her halfway. "Everyone to lunch," Mr. Evans called out in a tone that expected to be obeyed. Troy's friends cast a worried look between him and Sharpay but followed Mr. Evans to the dinning room until Troy was left alone with Sharpay and his father.

"Come on," his father said gently. "She's in the ground floor guest bedroom."

Troy didn't need an explanation to what his father meant though he couldn't understand why he was doing it.

"Thanks Dad, but… why are you…?"

His father breathed a sigh. "Look, I'm not saying I believe you. If you two are just messing around with me I promise you'll regret it." Here he cast a warning look at Sharpay then continued. "But I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I just want to know what's going on and if talking to your nanny helps, then so be it. But I'll be there the whole time."

Troy shared a hopeful look with Sharpay. His father wasn't totally convinced but it was a start and a half-believing ally was better than none.

"I'm not lying sir," Sharpay told him seriously. "I'm sorry for all the trouble you've been through these past few days. But I assure you I would never try to hurt Troy. I need answers like you do. Mama Liat could get them for me. I just need you to keep an open mind."

His Dad looked eyed her steadily and Troy could tell he was trying his best to see through her. He finally gave a curt and uncompromising nod. He led them to the end guest bedroom on the ground floor where one of the maids was on standby by the door.

"Is she awake, Maile?" Sharpay asked.

The maid stared shiftily at her but Troy's Dad nodded that it was okay.

"Yes," Maile replied. "She keeps asking for you." She opened the door and let them in.

"Mama Liat!" Sharpay cried as she rushed to the old woman's bedside.

"My little Tiki...?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Troy was struck at how weak she appeared from just a few days ago. Sharpay noticed it too and was suddenly engulfed with tears.

"I thought I lost you!" Sharpay sobbed as she buried her head on the side of the mattress. Mama Liat stroked her hair like a dotting mother.

"Do not cry my Tiki," she soothed though Troy noticed her swallow hard and her eyes went glassy. Troy thought there was something strange about her eyes, but he figured it was just tears she was struggling to hold back.

When Sharpay's head finally rose to meet her gaze, she held her nanny's hands tight against hers. "You're going to be alright Mama Liat," Sharpay said though it sounded more like a question than reassurance.

The nanny gave her an almost sad smile. "Yes, I will be alright, now that I have seen you again, my little one. And you have brought your young man and his father." She stared at his Dad and seemed to assess him for a moment. Troy noticed his father looked a bit uncomfortable at her gaze. But Mama Liat finally gave him a satisfied look. "His doubt is understandable, but his love is enough. All will be well."

Troy couldn't help but feel an assurance with that pronouncement. His Dad looked frightened and put a hand on his shoulder. Troy let him be comforted that way.

"What is the time?" Mama Liat asked.

Troy gazed around. He had no watch and the room was bare of a clock. His father glanced at his own watch and pronounced it was eighteen minutes after two. The old woman nodded almost gratefully. "There is time." She squeezed Sharpay's hands. "Now tell me my little princess, what happened?"

Troy wondered whether Mama Liat was actually ignorant of what happened to him and Sharpay or she actually knew and merely wanted to hear their story. Either way, Troy and Sharpay didn't hesitate to tell her everything. His Dad said nothing but sat a little away and kept silent watch. And even when Mama Liat confirmed that she was the fish that wished to be human, he refrained from interrupting. Troy could tell his father he was wondering whether he was suddenly caught in the company of three lunatics. Troy though was fighting his own internal battle of questions for Mama Liat as soon as she admitted she was indeed the foolish fish. Why hadn't she warned them about all this? She could have prevented it. But he said nothing until they finished their tale. He was sure she would have an explanation for it.

"Was it true about my sister, Mama Liat?" Sharpay finally asked when their tale was over. "Did Lucy wish for this ability for me?"

"I thought she must have," Mama Liat said wistfully. "She was always an unselfish little one and she loved you so much."

Troy couldn't help but feel that Mama Liat had a very different view of what constitutes as a loving gift. "Well that gift cursed Sharpay for life!" he blurted out. Suddenly his anger over all the injustices done to Sharpay for years and his own horrendous experience in the last few days mounted and he couldn't stop himself: "Why didn't you tell her about the cave? You knew what the cave was. You knew Sharpay's sister found it. Why didn't you warn her against such a wish? And when Sharpay found it too, why didn't you warn her either?!"

"Troy, don't…" Sharpay warned him to calm down. However, Troy was too angry to listen.

"You could have prevented all of this! You could have told Sharpay not to make a wish or even prevented her from finding the cave or…" a sudden horrible idea struck him and he stared at Mama Liat with half-fear and suspicion. "Was it you that actually told Lucy where the cave is?" he asked. "Did you plan this all along?"

"Troy, what are you talking about?" Sharpay asked.

"No! She knew Sharpay! She knew about the cave. She was a fish that was cursed to become human. She made a mistake with wishing for it and yet she didn't stop you from doing the same thing!" He faced the old woman. "You said you loved Sharpay, but all you did was let her condemn herself to a curse! And now maybe she's twice cursed because of my wish that you could have stopped but didn't!"

Mama Liat didn't appear fazed by the withering look he gave her. In fact, her face remained serene and that just unnerved Troy that he backed away from her.

"Mama Liat, forgive Troy, he doesn't mean it," Sharpay said, but the nanny just offered a smile at her.

"He is angry because he cares for you, my little Tiki. He is afraid I have endangered you. And yes, I admit, he is right."

Sharpay's mouth fell into a round 'O' and she dropped her nanny's hand.

"I did not tell Lucy where the cave was. She found it on its own, brilliant child that she was. It was her fate to find it, just as it was the fate of my dearest husband Palani to find it. We all made wishes at great risk to ourselves. That is true. But life is a risk, without it we do not live at all."

"I don't understand, Mama Liat" Sharpay said. "You mean you let me risk myself? You risked me to a curse?"

Mama Liat gave a faint smile between her and Troy. "What is a blessing? What is a curse? It all depends on how you see it." She paused and stared up at the ceiling as if in deep thought before she spoke again in a tone of one who was happily reminiscing. "Many of my birth family thought me strange. I was a fish who dreamed of becoming more and the Great Spirit was my friend. I feel his presence always watching me like a father."

Troy sat down next to his father and stared at her, fascinated with her story. His Dad seemed in rapt attention as well as Mama Liat continued her tale:

"One day I saw a man swimming alone in the lake. I watched him from a far and he would dive down to the depths of my home as if he wanted to know every inch of it. He came everyday alone and I played beside him. He never brushed me aside and was always careful not to hurt me if I came too close. I thought how fascinating this other creature's world must be. Yet he appeared to be as curious of my world as I was of his. One day he found the cave and I followed him. And it was there when we were alone together that I began to understand what he was saying. He wished for a friend and I was able to speak his words. We became friends and he told me such wonders as I have never heard and also despair and loneliness as I have never experienced. And that's when I wished that I could be part of his world to ease his pain. Fufu granted my wish and I became human. It was painful, I admit that. I was torn from my family, forever unable to communicate with them. But he was there. He took care of me. He showed me his world and showed me to live a human life."

She stopped and turned to look at Sharpay. "My dear Palani. We had 28 years together—far longer than a life I could have spent with a hundred fish mates. When he died it broke me but I saw it not as a curse, for he showed me that there is much of a blessing in a human life. There is sorrow but there is also joy—in greater magnitudes that I can ever have as a fish."

She paused to touch Sharpay's cheek gently with her fingertips. "I have found my joy once in my husband. I found it again in you my Tiki. I found my chance of happiness at the greatest risk. I do not want to prevent you from finding yours by giving you a warning."

She turned to Troy and reached out a hand to him. Troy couldn't help but obey. She took his hand and put it in Sharpay's. "It is yours to decide. If you think it is a curse, it will plague you all your lives. But if you look deeper you will see it for the gift that it is."

Troy looked to Sharpay from their clasped hands together. He thought about all that they went through and realized that he would not have discovered her if it weren't for everything they've been through. Well perhaps he would have, he thought as he remembered their friendship back in kindergarten. Who knows what journey they would have gone together if she hadn't tossed his Goldie into the pond. He would never know. But it didn't matter now. What matters was the present and what he would make it.

He felt Sharpay's warm hand in his and he thought how right this felt. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring to them, but he was definitely going to find out.

"Thank you Mama Liat," Troy finally said to her. He pressed a kiss on her forehead after Sharpay did as well.

"There is one more thing I ask," Mama Liat said.

"Anything Mama Liat," said Sharpay eagerly.

"Bring me to the lake today, before the sunset."

Troy stared at Sharpay uncertainly. Mama Liat was still very frail. She couldn't possibly make the long climb up that mountain even with help. He eyed his father who was giving them doubtful looks. He had almost forgotten his Dad was there and he wondered what his father made out of what was going on.

"Perhaps when you are better, Mama Liat," Troy told her. "It's a rather difficult climb up and you need rest."

But the old woman shook her head. "It has to be today before sunset," she insisted.

"Why?" asked Sharpay.

"So I can be well again," she said with conviction. "And so will you."

Troy and Sharpay looked at each other. They no longer doubted that Mama Liat had a strange way of knowing things. So even against logic, Troy knew they had to obey her. He turned to his father.

"Dad?" Troy asked the question for his help but he shook his head.

"No," he said definitely.

"Dad, please," Troy begged. "Help us bring her there."

"Are you crazy? She just had a stroke! You can't expect her to climb up there in her condition. Besides this is all insane—"

He stopped and Troy realized why. Mama Liat just got up from the bed and stood up without any hesitation.

"Mama Liat, you shouldn't…" Sharpay began as she tried to push her gently back to the bed, but the old woman resisted her with a strength that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Please, my little Tiki. I have no time and I cannot explain. Before the sun sets!" she said urgently.

Sharpay turned to Troy's father. "Coach, please. I know you probably don't believe us at all, but I need you to help us."

"I… I don't know…" he stuttered. "Anyway, Vance won't let you go out there. You're not supposed to go anywhere."

"Look, Coach, you don't have to go if you want, just don't tell my Dad or anyone else. Please." She approached him. "I know you're not convinced that I'm not whacked in the head but if not me, believe Troy. You know him. He's not insane and he wouldn't lie about this."

Troy shot his father a pleading look and for a long moment Troy was afraid his father would stubbornly put his foot down. His father appeared to search his face and then Sharpay's and finally Mama Liat's.

Finally he heaved a defeated sigh. "Alright, fine. Just let me go out first and check the hall if the coast is clear."

A/N: I know this has been long in coming but I'm really busy and I shouldn't really be writing fanfics right now as I've got work to do. But I had to update at least so you wouldn't think I abandoned this fic completely.

I couldn't help but put in that bit about Narnia. It just fitted so well with this story line and I do love the Chronicles as much as HSM.