Chapter 3

“Well, no, officer,” Michael said into his phone. “We don’t know where they came from. We just showed up, and...there they were! Standing in our kitchen with a chair knocked over! Can you believe...what’s that? No...no…”

Aaron and Elizabeth sat on the couch of the living room. It was between the kitchen and the bedroom with a fireplace in front of it. Elizabeth’s hands were on Aaron’s right leg with his own hands clasped over hers protectively. She looked around, frightened as if something might attack them at any moment.

Jackie, his mother, stared them down like a hawk with an intimidating gaze. Any movement they made caused her intense stare to grow more agitated. While Elizabeth was clearly too afraid to even look in his mother’s direction, Aaron kept looking at her with worry and confusion.

We’re related. He wanted to say. You’re my parents, biologically and my official guardians. It’s been that way since I can remember. You don’t even like me to leave town without you guys being there with me. You’re the most protective parents I’ve ever known. And you’ve known Elizabeth since at least grade school. You should almost be as familiar with her as you would me...what’s going on?

The whole time he sat on the couch, his mind was also in a different place. Aaron was staring at the pale face in his mind. Aaron could see himself staring at the raven-haired woman. However, Aaron was now looking at her vertically rather than below him. The surface of the water was staring him in the face. It was as though a wall of very dark, almost black water was facing him, and her face was the only one that emerged from the surface.

Her hair was so dark it was almost camouflaged with the black liquid behind her. What was most curious about the wall of water was it was barely flowing and looked to have no chance of collapsing in front of him. Her cerulean eyes were sad and peaceful. It stayed facing him flat in front of him while the woman passed words between her scarlet lips.

“There is nothing you can do for your parents,” she said. “Their familiarity with you is gone and will never return to you. They are no longer your relatives and regard you as a foreigner. It would be best to disregard them as they have been forced to forget about you.”

Anger welled up inside him.

“You don’t know what you're talking about,” Aaron replied. “They’re my mom and dad, and nothing would allow them to forget about me.”

He shook his fist at the disembodied face.

“They love me too much to forget me!” he yelled. “They’ll eventually remember! What we have is too strong to give way!”

“Love is a very frail thing,” she said. “It relies too much on emotions of the two it is shared between to remain intact and an environment hospitable to it. It is like ice. For ice to exist, it must be cold enough for the water to freeze. Also, even a little bit of force will cause it to shatter beyond repair. In much the same way, bonds and affections between people are bound to fall away to the ravages of time and tribulation.”

“What?!” he asked. “No…! Everyone I’ve ever talked to or heard from has compared love to warmth! It’s nothing like that!”

“Reject my advice all you want,” she said. “All I want is to assist you. I cannot help someone who closes their ears to warnings.”

“No, the boy is right.”

Aaron looked around at the source of the new voice to find another disembodied face lying at his feet. It was a man with beige skin whose face was full of holes. He had a disturbing smile, like a killer's grin when pouncing upon his neck victim. His eyes were blood red and full of dark mischief. The dark, featureless ground he stood on seemed to rumble rhythmically as he spoke, like soft yet energetic music.

“You are right in thinking that love and affection are more akin to a warmth or a heat of some sort,” he said. “They can be very intense. They can be so strong…”

The rumbling beneath Aaron’s feet became more vigorous, like a soft earthquake. However, it didn’t feel like the black ground he stood on was shaking as much as it was flowing. It felt like a piano was beneath him, and its melody shook his world. Even the usually still water the woman’s face was held within was rushing, her stoic face unaffected by the rhythm. On the other hand, Aaron felt as though his legs were about to buckle.

“That it’s like a fire,” he said. “An intense, raging...wildfire that spreads across the world and threatens to consume everyone else.”

His grin became more peaceful as if the rumbling was giving him an immense sense of bliss.

“Let the love for those around you go on,” he said. “Let it burn...as long as it can. Let it...feed. Let your love, let your passion…”

His grin widened, and his red eyes glistened like gems in the sunlight.

“Let it consume,” he said as though savoring a fine meal. “Don’t let people tell you to curb your passion...let the remains of embers become a blaze no one can put out.”

He then began laughing hysterically, the chuckling driving Aaron made. He began running his hands through his air and yelling. Aaron started to scream at the top of his lungs until the faces disappeared. He was no longer looking at the dark world within his mind but Jackie’s disapproving face. Neither Elizabeth nor his mother heard him scream as they didn’t look any different. This worried Aaron.

I know I was screaming. He thought. I know I was crying...did they not hear me? Or...was I in a different place entirely? No...no, that can’t be it. I must not have been screaming.

“No, officer,” Michael said. “Our city street has not had a string of robberies or thefts in recent months. We’re...we live in a pretty safe neighborhood.”

His father stood in the living room and continued to talk on his cellphone. Elizabeth kept giving Aaron nervous glances. Jackie kept shaking her head at both of them, clearly on the verge of yelling at them.

“Alright,” he said. “Yes…no, they didn’t appear to be violent. Yeah...claimed to be our kid...yeah...sorry to bother you...alright. Thank you.”

Aaron turned his phone app off before sliding it back into his pocket. He then glanced at them as they sat on the couch. Michael shook his head at them before Jackie stood up and walked toward her husband.

“Well?!” she said. “What’d they say?! What’d they say?!”

“They say they don’t have records on either of them,” he said. “As far as the police department was concerned…”

He glanced at them curiously before turning to Jackie with a shrug.

“They don’t think anyone with this young man’s name has even lived in the city.”

“Excuse me?” Elizabeth said, her eyes widening with horror.

“What?!” Aaron said.

He stood up, causing his father to straighten himself as if ready to fight, while his mother shot him an angry leer.

“That’s not true!” he yelled. “It can’t be! I’ve lived here my whole life! You guys...you guys don’t even like to leave me alone! Remember how you wanted me to go to med school in a town closer to here...how I wanted to be a doctor ever since Gale nearly got run over for me! How I bugged you to buy me some medical textbooks at the beginning of high school when everyone else wanted the newest phone!”

“Be quiet, you little brat!” Jackie shouted. “I want you to shut up!”

“But it’s true!” Elizabeth said. “I’ve not only known Aaron forever, but I’ve known both of you well! This isn’t even the first time I’ve been here! Honestly, I know every square inch of this house-”

“Settle down, young lady,” Jackie interrupted.

She stopped speaking and lowered her head.

“Young man,” Michael said.

He shook his head.

“We don’t know anything about that,” he said.

“Yes, you do!” Aaron said.

“Get out of my house!” Jackie yelled.

She then began swatting at him like trying to hit a fly. As he raised his arm to defend himself, Aaron felt like he was on the brink of tears. He couldn’t remember the last time his mother even spanked him. Now she was regarding him as the enemy.

What have I done to deserve this? He thought. This all started when I pressed that button...I didn’t even mean to put that armor or whatever on. Does it cause people to go crazy and forget things whenever someone wears it?

“Get out!” Jackie yelled.

“Jacqueline, stop!” Michael said.

He took both holds of her wrist and her back. After struggling a little bit, he let go of her arm, and she stopped attacking him. Aaron was doing everything he could to hold back tears at seeing his mother treat him like a burglar. He looked back at Elizabeth to see she was frozen in place, obviously too scared to do anything.

“Look,” his father said. “You’re going to be forced to leave eventually. They say that since you claim to be seventeen, you’ll be placed in foster care for minors who are almost adults. However, as for right now...the police have given us a choice. They’re pretty busy at the moment...so they said it’s up to me whether you sleep here for tonight or they pick you up and let you sleep overnight at a homeless shelter or...here.”

“What?!” Aaron and Jackie said.

“I’ve slept practically every night of my life here!” Aaron said.

“No!” Jackie said. “No! We don’t know who he is! He could have come here to rob us for all we know! While we’re asleep...he could kill us!”

“Mom!” Aaron said. “I would never kill you.”

“I am not your mother!” Jacqueline shouted.

She slapped him across the face. The surprise blow made Aaron stumble back. While holding his cheek in pain, he saw his father holding his mother back. The sharp pain in his face and the sight of his dad holding his mother from assaulting him again was too much for him. It finally hit Aaron that this was his life now.

She never hits me. He thought. Never...my dad doesn’t either.

Tears began streaming down his cheeks. His face contorted into a pitiful expression. An ugly look spread across him as he tried to stop himself from sobbing. Mere whimpers came from his throat as Michael shook his head.

“Look,” he said. “I don’t think you’re an evil person. I merely think you’re...confused. Maybe you’ve had some past trauma that you’re repressing. I’ve read about cases where people who’ve lost their families or witnessed them die will imprint onto others. I hope that hasn’t happened to your family but...just brace yourself for the truth.”

He then turned to Elizabeth.

“As for you…” he said. “The police have phoned your parents, and they’ll be right over. I hope a young lady like you...knows to avoid company with...bad company.”

“Aaron’s not bad company,” she said. “He wants to help heal everybody as a doctor. Aaron...wants to save lives. He would never harm anybody. He wants to save lives! Not destroy them.”

“Well, that’s good for him,” Michael said. “I wish there were more people like that. I just...hope he can be in better head space.”

“But dad,” Aaron said as he cried. “I love you.”

He gave him a faint smile.

“I hope the best for you,” he said.

Even when Elizabeth’s parents drove up, she insisted that she wouldn’t leave with them until the police came for Aaron. Her parents looked mildly worried as they sat in the car, waiting for their daughter to enter. He was staring blankly at the pavement of his driveway the entire time without so much as blinking. His head was running through possibilities of what he could do to win over his parents. What memories could Aaron conjure up that would force his parents to acknowledge him as their own?

“The Christmas where I got a series of Jack London novels as a present,” He told them. “I liked them more than anything I read in English class. Even though they were about dogs, they felt more human than any protagonist in the so-called classics. It even helped me get over my fear of dogs. I’ve been afraid of dogs since a dog that grew loose one day growled at me when I was five.”

“I don’t remember any of that,” Michael said. “I don’t even remember who Jack London was until you told me just now. I almost thought he was a painter for a moment.”

“You must have worked hard on constructing this whole fantasy world where we were somehow involved in every event of your life,” Jacqueline said. “If I ever see you near my house, I'll call the police.”

“What about my bedroom upstairs that’s full of collected items!” he yelled. “All the rocks and sticks and-!”

“How many times have you been in our house?!” Jackie yelled.

“Those are things from my childhood that I stored there,” Michel said. “I hope you know I’ll report the fact that you’ve been into our residence multiple times if you know about that.”

“But mom-!” Aaron said.

“I agree,” Michael said. “Please don’t come anywhere near us.”

“But I’ve lived here my whole life!” he yelled. “I don’t know what foster care would even be like! Please...just let me stay and I’ll...I’ll…”

“You’ll convince us to let you live with us?” Jackie asked. “Well, that’s not far-fetched at all.”

“Exactly,” Michael said. “People like you who have constructed bizarre fantasies and obsess over people are likely to kill those very people they hone in on. For all our sakes, please stay away.”

His head was hung in shame at the whole event. The only solace Aaron had was that Elizabeth held his hand the entire way. The sensation of her skin against his, the warmth between them, was enough to give him a feeling of safety through these perplexing times.

“Aaron,” Elizabeth said. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t at all, but I’ll be there with you...no matter what happens.”

She pushed herself against his side and buried her face between his shoulder and neck. The grazing of her lips against the skin against his collarbone gave him a feeling of euphoria that nothing could replicate. It was the feeling of stability it created between them that he missed.

“You were the first boy I ever loved,” she said. “And the only one I’ll ever love.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Aaron whispered, almost at the point of tears.

When the van he recognized as the city’s foster care vehicle drove up, a sense of alienation and fear overtook him. He sighed deeply before walking over to the van. Just as he stepped in front of it, he turned back to Elizabeth to see that she never broke eye contact with Aaron while she was heading to her parent’s car.

“Forget about her,” the woman’s voice said. “It’s too late to do anything for anyone you are attached to. You are on your own.”

He glared back at the face from the wall of water, emotionlessly gazing at him, her words inciting anger in him.

“I will never turn my back on those I love,” Aaron said. “I’ll find a way to return my parents to normal. I’ll never let those I care about slip from my grasp. And once I did...I’ll prove you don’t exist.”

He expected her to grow angry with him with his last statement. Instead, she smiled. This change of expression deeply disturbed him.

“When grains of sand experience the tide of waves,” she said. “They cannot imagine that there is an ocean beyond them.”