Connections to the Past
I woke up to Jim softly stroking my cheek.
"Laura, wake up."
I propped myself up on my elbows without a smile, remembering last night.
Jim continued, "Listen. I thought about it a lot last night. I mean, I got like four hours of sleep!" he said with a chuckle. "He should go. You and Liz were right. I guess I was just mad that he broke the surfer."
Reflecting on this, I said, "I thought you were only angry about him not following orders."
"Well, maybe the surfer was a little part of it. I'm sorry. I lost control."
"I may have talked you in to letting him go anyway," I said with a smirk. "After all, I am your wife. By the way, it was your idea."
"Yeah. So are you gonna tell him? I'm a little afraid he's gonna fly into a rage when I get up there."
"No! No, Jim, this is your job. It'll be okay. Thanks for doing this."
"Well, he does need this, and I sure hope it works."
Suddenly, Liz screamed from upstairs. She ran down to us with a small piece of paper in her hand.
"He's gone!" she panted anxiously.
"What?" we responded in unison.
"You heard me! Danny's gone! I saw a rope hanging out of his open window. He must have lowered himself down. Anyway, he left this note on his bed"
I grabbed it hurriedly, and Jim read over my shoulder.
Dear family,
I'm sorry. I've had it. I'm sick of being brainless and of being different than the rest of you. Face it. I'm just not smart enough to be part of this family. I mean, all of you are so good at so many things, and I'm not. Don't worry about me. I need to leave. I'll probably go to the spaceport and see where I go from there. I don't know. I'm not mad anymore that you took away my voyage, Dad. Sorry I crashed the solar surfer. I'll be fine. And don't worry about my eye. This blind spot won't be that hard to get used to. I love you guys, but you don't need a troublemaker around making things worse. Take care of each other. You might hear from me sometime later on. Who knows?
Danny
My legs gave way from beneath me. I sank to the sofa. My baby. Gone. Alone. I burst into irrepressible tears. I could hear Liz's quiet sobs echo mine. Jim stood there motionless reading and rereading the letter. I think he tried to speak but couldn't find the words. When my tears almost completely ran dry, I looked up at my husband. He sank to the sofa as well and put his head in his hands.
"What've I done?" he sniffled. "Th-this is all my fault."
"Jim, no," I cried, taking him in my arms.
Liz came over and sat on his other side. "Daddy, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. He wanted to leave. Besides, we'll find him. I know it sounds impractical, but my navigation job starts tomorrow. If I find him out there, I'll-"
"Oh, honey," I chuckled nervously. "Don't worry about it. Just focus on your job."
"What have I done," Jim repeated.
Liz and I continued to comfort him as if he were a little boy. Our own comforts reassured us as well.
We took Liz to the spaceport the next day, said our farewells silently, and watched as her ship disappeared into the Etherium. Then we went to the control hub and informed the officials of our son's departure. They told us they would send out officers and other forces to search. We thanked them as we left.
The days dragged into weeks. Needless to say, Jim and I were heartbroken. He kept on cursing himself while I continued to comfort him. One night on the porch, he brought up the distant memories of which he rarely spoke.
"This is just like my dad," he seemed to say randomly.
"What do you mean?" I was quite used to his curses upon himself, but this was different.
"I thought I was the cause of my dad leaving when I was a kid. I partly was. He didn't like me. Now, I'm the cause of my son leaving. And just because he says he's not angry at me anymore doesn't necessarily make it true."
"Jim, don't. This isn't the same. Again, it wasn't your fault. We all played a little part in his mind--or so it seems to him--to make him leave. But, like your father, it was his decision."
"Exactly. Like my father."
"But Danny left a note. What did Leland leave you? A memory of his back as he walked away, right?"
Jim was silent after this. I didn't know what else to say, so I went inside while he stayed on the porch.
The Dopplers were a comfort as always. The doctor seemed to have a never-ending patience with Danny, and while the captain made a remark here and there, she was still the kind soul toward our son that she had always been. Their children were out of the house already, so they did not know about Danny leaving. Our mothers were also a great consolation to us. Danny seemed to have a special connection with Sarah and Momma that sparked when we visited them. They always seemed to talk about things that stimulated his interests. I didn't know exactly how they did it. Maybe it was something I would learn if I became a grandmother. B.E.N. and Morph were absolutely devastated. They loved Danny more like brothers than anything. He seemed to connect with them fairly well in a strange way (although he was much more withdrawn than B.E.N.).
We continued on with our daily lives. Jim made frequent trips to Crescentia as usual not only checking updates and getting newcomers ready to fight but also fixing mechanical issues in warships. Morph and I often went with him because there were no children at home to talk to or care for. The little blob brought some comic relief and reassuring babbling sounds to a turbulent time. I often wondered if something bad might happen to both our children while they were out in the Etherium (although I knew exactly where Liz was going, anything could happen on the way), but I shut these fears out of my mind.
It was nearly a month later when Liz knocked on our door and we gave her an ecstatic welcome. We had not expected her home so soon.
"Mommy. Daddy," she sighed with a smile. "I brought a little something home with me."
She pulled our son, who had been standing on the side of the porch, to the front door. He was smiling. Smiling. The lump from his concussion had gone. Jim and I poured over him and, with tears of joy, embraced him. I knew Jim was as beyond relief as I was.
"That's not all," our son said with a happy note to his voice.
We had not looked out into the yard yet, but when we did, we saw a tall man with a large round waist and some metal limbs. It was him. The murderer.
"Silver!" I don't think I had ever seen Jim so happy. He was happier than Danny was when we told our son of his voyage. Jim ran to the cyborg and hugged him like a son hugging a father. My hard feelings toward the man soften when I saw Jim's delight. I even laughed.
"How'd-what-what all happened?" I stammered, wondering about the events that must have taken place.
"Hey, Dad! Silver!" Danny shouted to the reunited surrogate father and son. "Come inside! Liz and I wanna tell you how we found him, Dad!" Turning to Liz, he inquired, "Or did he find us?"
Liz shrugged with a smile, and we went inside.
Author's note: More events to come... Hang in there.
I woke up to Jim softly stroking my cheek.
"Laura, wake up."
I propped myself up on my elbows without a smile, remembering last night.
Jim continued, "Listen. I thought about it a lot last night. I mean, I got like four hours of sleep!" he said with a chuckle. "He should go. You and Liz were right. I guess I was just mad that he broke the surfer."
Reflecting on this, I said, "I thought you were only angry about him not following orders."
"Well, maybe the surfer was a little part of it. I'm sorry. I lost control."
"I may have talked you in to letting him go anyway," I said with a smirk. "After all, I am your wife. By the way, it was your idea."
"Yeah. So are you gonna tell him? I'm a little afraid he's gonna fly into a rage when I get up there."
"No! No, Jim, this is your job. It'll be okay. Thanks for doing this."
"Well, he does need this, and I sure hope it works."
Suddenly, Liz screamed from upstairs. She ran down to us with a small piece of paper in her hand.
"He's gone!" she panted anxiously.
"What?" we responded in unison.
"You heard me! Danny's gone! I saw a rope hanging out of his open window. He must have lowered himself down. Anyway, he left this note on his bed"
I grabbed it hurriedly, and Jim read over my shoulder.
Dear family,
I'm sorry. I've had it. I'm sick of being brainless and of being different than the rest of you. Face it. I'm just not smart enough to be part of this family. I mean, all of you are so good at so many things, and I'm not. Don't worry about me. I need to leave. I'll probably go to the spaceport and see where I go from there. I don't know. I'm not mad anymore that you took away my voyage, Dad. Sorry I crashed the solar surfer. I'll be fine. And don't worry about my eye. This blind spot won't be that hard to get used to. I love you guys, but you don't need a troublemaker around making things worse. Take care of each other. You might hear from me sometime later on. Who knows?
Danny
My legs gave way from beneath me. I sank to the sofa. My baby. Gone. Alone. I burst into irrepressible tears. I could hear Liz's quiet sobs echo mine. Jim stood there motionless reading and rereading the letter. I think he tried to speak but couldn't find the words. When my tears almost completely ran dry, I looked up at my husband. He sank to the sofa as well and put his head in his hands.
"What've I done?" he sniffled. "Th-this is all my fault."
"Jim, no," I cried, taking him in my arms.
Liz came over and sat on his other side. "Daddy, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. He wanted to leave. Besides, we'll find him. I know it sounds impractical, but my navigation job starts tomorrow. If I find him out there, I'll-"
"Oh, honey," I chuckled nervously. "Don't worry about it. Just focus on your job."
"What have I done," Jim repeated.
Liz and I continued to comfort him as if he were a little boy. Our own comforts reassured us as well.
We took Liz to the spaceport the next day, said our farewells silently, and watched as her ship disappeared into the Etherium. Then we went to the control hub and informed the officials of our son's departure. They told us they would send out officers and other forces to search. We thanked them as we left.
The days dragged into weeks. Needless to say, Jim and I were heartbroken. He kept on cursing himself while I continued to comfort him. One night on the porch, he brought up the distant memories of which he rarely spoke.
"This is just like my dad," he seemed to say randomly.
"What do you mean?" I was quite used to his curses upon himself, but this was different.
"I thought I was the cause of my dad leaving when I was a kid. I partly was. He didn't like me. Now, I'm the cause of my son leaving. And just because he says he's not angry at me anymore doesn't necessarily make it true."
"Jim, don't. This isn't the same. Again, it wasn't your fault. We all played a little part in his mind--or so it seems to him--to make him leave. But, like your father, it was his decision."
"Exactly. Like my father."
"But Danny left a note. What did Leland leave you? A memory of his back as he walked away, right?"
Jim was silent after this. I didn't know what else to say, so I went inside while he stayed on the porch.
The Dopplers were a comfort as always. The doctor seemed to have a never-ending patience with Danny, and while the captain made a remark here and there, she was still the kind soul toward our son that she had always been. Their children were out of the house already, so they did not know about Danny leaving. Our mothers were also a great consolation to us. Danny seemed to have a special connection with Sarah and Momma that sparked when we visited them. They always seemed to talk about things that stimulated his interests. I didn't know exactly how they did it. Maybe it was something I would learn if I became a grandmother. B.E.N. and Morph were absolutely devastated. They loved Danny more like brothers than anything. He seemed to connect with them fairly well in a strange way (although he was much more withdrawn than B.E.N.).
We continued on with our daily lives. Jim made frequent trips to Crescentia as usual not only checking updates and getting newcomers ready to fight but also fixing mechanical issues in warships. Morph and I often went with him because there were no children at home to talk to or care for. The little blob brought some comic relief and reassuring babbling sounds to a turbulent time. I often wondered if something bad might happen to both our children while they were out in the Etherium (although I knew exactly where Liz was going, anything could happen on the way), but I shut these fears out of my mind.
It was nearly a month later when Liz knocked on our door and we gave her an ecstatic welcome. We had not expected her home so soon.
"Mommy. Daddy," she sighed with a smile. "I brought a little something home with me."
She pulled our son, who had been standing on the side of the porch, to the front door. He was smiling. Smiling. The lump from his concussion had gone. Jim and I poured over him and, with tears of joy, embraced him. I knew Jim was as beyond relief as I was.
"That's not all," our son said with a happy note to his voice.
We had not looked out into the yard yet, but when we did, we saw a tall man with a large round waist and some metal limbs. It was him. The murderer.
"Silver!" I don't think I had ever seen Jim so happy. He was happier than Danny was when we told our son of his voyage. Jim ran to the cyborg and hugged him like a son hugging a father. My hard feelings toward the man soften when I saw Jim's delight. I even laughed.
"How'd-what-what all happened?" I stammered, wondering about the events that must have taken place.
"Hey, Dad! Silver!" Danny shouted to the reunited surrogate father and son. "Come inside! Liz and I wanna tell you how we found him, Dad!" Turning to Liz, he inquired, "Or did he find us?"
Liz shrugged with a smile, and we went inside.
Author's note: More events to come... Hang in there.