"The Gift": Edward's Storyline, Ch 3, Part 2
Story by comidacomida on SoFurry
Hello readers, and welcome back to "The Gift"! We move forward at pace with part 2 of Edward's third Chapter.
We pick up where we left off with Edward's request, which was a dream about his mother. He gets what he asks for... or does he? What he ends up getting was certainly not what he was expecting, but perhaps it's something he desperately needs. At this point however it's up to readers to decide on his next move.
And this is what they chose:
5) --shook my head, looking back at the three different parts of The Ancient One and spoke plainly. "Alright... that's enough. I don't want you hiding behind my memories or her essence or whatever. We need to talk... all of us, and now is as good a time as any."
The voting is now open and will remain so until midnight (PST) on Saturday, June 9th.
The Gift
Edward's Storyline, Chapter 3.2
copyright comidacomida 2018
There was a pause until Red realized that my silence was meant to be an unspoken question. He voiced it. "You are wondering what will fill your dreams tonight?"
I shrugged, setting my tooth brush back by the sink. "Yeah. Kinda."
The soft touch of a feathery wing brushing my shoulder made me realize that it wasn't Red who would provide the insight. Rather than answering my question though, the rainbow Serpent countered with one of his own. "What would you like to dream about?"
Without realizing that answering his question would answer my own as well I looked down at the sink, swallowing a knot of emotion. "I'd kinda like to dream about my mom."
I remember thinking I must have been incredibly tired because I distinctly heard Green's voice speak up from the right rather than behind me. "Stuck to such emotional rubble... it makes me wonder if you will be as weak as she was after all."
From behind me, Ch'upikaq's soft, comforting voice objected. "Emotions, both positive and negative are powerful drives for Humans, Green. In all this time I am surprised you have not learned this."
Red, oddly enough, spoke up from my left. "Emotions properly harnessed, yes... but when left adrift in a sea of emotions most Humans will drown."
I spun around, expecting to see any one of the three Spirits that made up The Ancient One, so imagine my surprise when I saw all three. They were each distinct and their own being, neither connected nor superimposed. There was no bathroom there as a backdrop, and only then did I come to the conclusion that offered any degree of clarity. "I'm already asleep, aren't I?"
Red glanced to Green, an expression of smug superiority on his thin snout. "You see, Green? There is hope for our new functionary."
Their back-and-forth wasn't really helping me and I'd already been weird-ed out enough during the day that I didn't want my sleeping hours to be filled with more insanity. "Okay... so what in the hell is going on? What's the deal with this dream and why are all three of you here in it... separate?"
Green moved with far more grace than I'd ever recalled seeing; it reminded me of what you'd expect to see if a wrestler were learning ballet. He twirled once, his thick tail spinning around after him before he spread his wings out and came to a stop; his vivid purple eyes gleamed. "Here, in your mind, we are free."
Red, much more sinewy and fluid than Green seemed to hover in air, his fur ruffled by unseen breezes while his little whisker-tentacle-things wriggled as if floating in the water. "You perhaps did not realize it when you agreed to the terms, but we have made an Accord. You are dreaming, and have invited us into this realm-- into your mind."
The explanation did not sit well with me and I had no qualms about voicing my objection. "So you tricked me?"
Ch'upikaq, who was in the middle of the three, was coiled on the floor with only his head and a third of his body risen up, suspended by gently flapping rainbow wings. He shook his head faintly. "No, Edward. Although Red planted the suggestion, when I inquired about the subject of your desire it was with pure intention. Our presence is simply a side effect of that."
I defiantly stared all three of them down. "How convenient. So tell me then, if you had any intention of helping me dream about my mom then why isn't she--"
Her voice called from behind me. "Here?"
Spinning around, I saw that the sink, mirror, and wall were gone, replaced by a blackness that had no feature. There was no ceiling nor walls or even a floor and yet, somehow, there was still a sense of staging because my mom was there, and she was walking toward me on the blackness. I didn't really know what to say or what to do, so I kept it simple. "...mom?"
Green snorted. "Your mother is gone. That is an echo of her... not the real thing."
Red quickly objected. "She is as real as you wish her to be, Edward."
It was a 'Matrix-y' moment. Did I want the red pill or the blue pill? Hell, I realized, why not just take the purple one. Looking back over my shoulder, I called them on it. "If it's a dream then she is about as close as anything in my head could be-- but that also means she can't be as real as I want either... so cut it with the... uh..."
Red slowly lowered to the ground; his fur ceased blowing and his whiskers drooped neutrally, yet he had the hint of a smile on his muzzle. "Platitudes?"
Ch'upikaq interjected. "We cannot bring back your mother, Edward; that is not within our power... but she lives within us in a sense. We hold some of her essence and, combined with your memories of her, you may have this time together. Yes... she is not real, but that does not mean that her presence here cannot also have meaning."
I glanced at Green then Red and then Ch'upikaq, then slowly turned back to my mother or, I guess, a fake version of her... a simulation. She smiled. "Thank you for coming to see me at the hospital, Eddie. I didn't know if I'd get to see you again."
It was hard trying to find the right words to say, especially because I didn't really know how much like her she'd be. "It isn't really you, is it?"
She offered one of her half-smiles; it was about all the smiling she'd ever done. My mom stepped up and brushed my bangs out of my face. "Despite all the bad things The Ancient One does, it doesn't lie, Eddie... no, I'm not really here."
The words coming out of my mouth didn't match what I was feeling in my heart. "Then why does it even matter?"
Her hand slid down to my cheek and she hold my face for a moment before it transferred to my shoulder. "It matters because you wanted to see me and you wanted to talk to me, Sweetie. We can here, in a way I couldn't at the hospital."
I sighed, looking down. "But it's not really you."
Her other hand came to rest on my opposite shoulder. "Edward... people talk to grave stones all the time. I am gone, but this is still me in a sense. I am a combination of how you remember me and what non-physical parts of me that were left behind when I passed. I am what The Ancient One knows of me, and what memories of mine that it kept for itself. No... I'm not me in the exact sense, but I'm still your mother."
My eyes were starting to tear up and I hated myself for it; I hated the Ancient One; I hated the fake version of my mom... but I had asked for her because I needed her. I still wanted her. There was so much I wanted to say and to ask and to hear from her. It had never been harder to speak in my life as I demanded "Why? Why are you gone?"
She leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead; when I'd seen her in the hospital I had realized that I'd grown taller than she was-- why was she taller than I was in the dream? Some of what she said suddenly made sense; in my memories of her she had always been taller than me; she was my mother; I was her little boy. I found myself crying, and eight years old. She shushed me and knelt down to hug me and pick me up and comfort me and, for a moment, everything felt right.
I don't know how long it took for me to calm down but, when I finally did, her next words struck me just as much as anything else in the dream. "I hope you don't hate The Ancient One, Edward... they saved me, you know."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "They're the reason you were raped!"
She let out a sigh, and sat me in her lap as she stroked my hair. "Oh, Eddie... there's so much you never knew, and things you shouldn't have to know. YOU are the reason I kept on living. YOU are the best thing that ever happened to me, and it doesn't matter how you entered my life. I'm so glad that I had you with me for as long as we hand... I'm just sorry that we couldn't be together longer."
It certainly sounded like my mom, and she was saying the things I never thought I'd get to hear. The pain and anger and frustration and confusion was still there but, somewhere in the roiling cauldron of emotions and thoughts I think a little bit of closure managed to come together. At least, until I had a moment to consider what I'd heard. Damning myself silently for not being willing to just enjoy the time with her, I glanced to my mom and I--