The Year 2020…
I got out of the car and stared at the old dump. It was small and worn down, and I could have sworn that For Sale sign had been posted out front for at least the last ten years. “Well, here it is,” I said. “The old homestead.”
I was a little wistful about it still. There were secrets hidden from me, and I’d never felt like it was my real home, but it was still a part of me.
I walked toward my driveway, glancing up at the old basketball hoop and the missing strips of paint. Smiling to myself, I walked over to the half-open garage where my father’s old Ford sat parked for ages. I couldn’t believe it was still there.
“Nothin’ like American made,” he used to say. Of course, I was a little rebel. I would disagree, and drive around town in my Toyota, vowing that it would live forever. Actually, it did live a hell of a long time, but it wasn’t about that. It was just one of many examples displaying how different we were.
There was a lot I was going to miss, but it was time to say goodbye. The world might have never understood our journey, but they didn’t have to. I had a new life I wanted to start.
I turned back and shrugged. “There you have it,” I said. “Can we leave now?”
“No,” Mag said with a laugh. “Let’s take a look inside. You might want to take a few things before we go. It’ll be a long time until you get to see it again.”
If ever.
“If anything, you should do it for the kids. They’ll want to know about their mother,” Cadmar said.
My belly was heavy and full, and my body felt like it had suffered a nine-mile hike, or something. Yes, I was completely pregnant. One child, for now, but there would be more on the way. Lately, there was just so much to look forward to.
“You’re right. I’m getting ahead of myself with our plans to move to Pennsylvania,” I said. “They’ll probably end up tearing the place down, and there is something that I wanted to grab.”
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Donovan asked.
Mag practically ran through the front door. For a second, I caught a glimpse of the wonderful beast, lunging throughout the forest with me riding on his shoulders. Strangely, I was going to miss those days, but there was plenty of riding to be done inside our own realm.
Donovan and Cadmar followed us through the front entrance. The smell of wood immediately filtered through my nose, causing old and complex memories to crop up. I walked farther and stopped near the old dining room table.
On it was a picture of my father and I. I quickly went to look at it, but Donovan took my hand to shelter me from any painful thoughts. “It’s okay,” I said. “I can handle this.”
I picked up the photograph and looked at the image of a girl, a happy girl who just wanted love. I looked at my father. He was stern and proud, but his smile was big. He always had a sense of humor. For the first time since I found out about everything, I forgave him.
I flipped it over and saw the faint etchings from the pen he always carried in his jacket pocket. It said:
My girl and I.
That was it. No elaboration or anything. It was simple, yet beautiful. And the more I thought about it, the more I wished he were still alive.
It was weird how life worked like that. Sometimes, the worst experiences can turn into the best. I couldn’t help but think about our unborn daughter. She was about all we talked about, these days. We were going to give her the best damn life a kid could have.
For the next hour or so, I explored the mid-century home for the last time. I walked into my old room and smiled when I remembered how many times I snuck out to see boys. Sometimes, it was just to go on a solitary bike ride in the middle of the night.
In my closet was a small stuffed animal. It was given to me by Zane, and under any other circumstances, I would have thrown it out. Only, this time, I knew why he gave it to me. I didn’t care to know much about the orphanage I was raised in. For some reason, it just wasn’t something I needed to know more about. But, for Zane, it was a really hard thing to deal with. He was older, so he experienced and remembered more, maybe. I’d never really know, but the stuffed bear came from those days.
It was important to keep the past alive.
When I was done reminiscing, I walked to the front of the house and leaned against the sturdy staircase. “I think I’m ready to leave,” I said.
Donovan nodded. “You feel okay about everything?”
I smiled and kissed his clavicle. I turned to look at the long hallway where my father’s study used to be. There were probably plenty of papers proving what we had seen and what they had experienced in the realm. Even they knew that. Strangely, none of that mattered anymore.
The fight was over. W
e had won. And none of us wanted to fight the modern-day CIA.
Yeah. Fuck that.