The World of Tom Stafford by D.A. Sanford - HTML preview

Chapter 10: The decision

They sat there in the parking lot for a long time. The silence was deafening. Neither could put into words what they heard and saw. The wonder of the revelation that they

were lost children. That the sea is their actual natural habitat. Why was the best part of the summer for almost everyone a trip to the beach? Despite the ritual of sunburn, there was always the fun in the water. Swimming, diving even just lying on the sand looking at the water. There was a primal comfort. You could relax and let go of most restraints.

Tom and Nadean looked at each other. They both found a resolve that they now understood Brian and Reba. Without saying a word, they knew what the lure of a peaceful return home would be. First, they had to return to Thornton. Funny, they no longer considered it as returning home. Thornton was a place.

Tom was the first to act. With a hardy laugh and then a long exhale of his breath, as if to purge the last vestiges of any residual doubt from his body, he smiled at Nadean as he leaned over to give her a kiss.

Looking out the windshield he saw Marvin still sitting there on the bench. The last person that was with him, the one who was most loyal to Marvin, had evidently talked with Marvin then calmly walked into the river.

I looked back to Nadean

“Let’s go back to Thornton and let them know that it is time for all of us to go home.”

She gave me a smile and a nod. I started the car, backed out and then we drove to Thornton.

As I was backing out, Nadean sadly said,

“He won’t go home, will he.”

“Nope, but I would be willing to bet he stays here thinking they will come back to him. I would not be surprised that his mind is gone. I feel sorry for him. He probably would drown if you threw him in. I feel that it must be of our own free will. The lost must want to be found.”

She says “Back to Thornton and then home.”

On the leisurely drive to town, we now realized why we were left behind. I felt that it was to witness this and tell the last of the lost children that it was time to come home. Time to take the ones that wanted to go home.

As they pulled into their parking space, at the fort, almost the entire town showed up at their door step. Tom asked for someone to get the few that did not come and bring them to the meeting room.

Everyone was excited to hear what happened,

“What did you see?”

“Did Brian and Reba really go into the water?”

I told them that we needed to wait until everyone was here. Nadean and I were already calm in the knowledge of what we were going to do. The only worry would be if there was anyone that needed further proof. The only proof that could be shown is what we personally saw.

“Now that everyone is here, Brian and Reba are in their new life. Reba’s mother came to get her. Along with a man who has been always in the sea. After the ones we knew went below the surface, the man talked how they were responsible for that signal that caused the majority of the population to go into the water.”

I thought, now for the major point

“Nadean and I are going back to the park in one week to join them. As the man told us, the ones that still are on land are their lost children. No one was forced to go into the water. Those who heeded the first calling were willing to go. We who did not answer the first call did so of our own free will with the exception of Nadean.”

Explaining that I woke her up from her walk, I turned to Nadean.

“I’m so sorry that I did that to you. These couple of years you could have been in peace and enjoying yourself.”

“No, you don’t have to say anything. By wakening me, I got what I didn’t have, you. Now that we are together, it’s time to go home.”

“A few other things that I need to relate. The wanderers are no longer here. With the exception of their leader, they all went with the merman. According to that man there are only a handful of these communities left in the world. That means that when our supplies run out, that is it. You would need to go nomadic searching from one place to the next for what little manufactured food that is still good.”

“Now you are faced with the choice. Follow the two of us to our new home or stay here.

What will it be? No one will force anyone. I believe that it must be your decision. The transformation will not happen if you are forced. The only thing is that I ask you all to come with Nadean and I next week and see for yourself. We will do the same thing that Brian and Reba did. We will return to the surface after along while and you can set the time. Want an hour or two just say so. Everyone now needs to go to a private space and discuss it with yourself. Alone. What do you want? Meeting adjourned.”

After the meeting, Jim and Doris came to us.

Jim was the first

“Tom, the peace I see in your face is the same that I saw as you took those two to the river. I feel as if there is a weight lifted off me. I will leave Doris to answer for herself but I am going.”

Then Doris

“You aren’t going” she hesitates “without me. I see the same thing. This life we are living really is clinging to the old way. Generators, cars, canned goods and weapons. I do not want to spend the rest of my life hand to mouth knowing that there is a paradise waiting for us and ignoring it for this.”

Over the next few days almost all the residents came to say that they were convinced.

They would go with us. The remaining were teetering on the fence. They would go but they needed the assurance of seeing us again.

“How’s this” I say “While you are on the river bank and you see someone come to get us, ask them to have one of your relatives come to get you. I’ll come back up at the agreed time but I bet I won’t have to because you will be with that relative”

The last two hold outs will join us at the river park. That has come to mean to me as well as what will become to most of us lost at this location as redemption park.

The whole group of us went through all the inventory that the fort has. Where all the keys are. Everything that they would need to know if they do not follow us.

The night before we go, the town throws itself a going away party. Plenty of food, some of the last wine coolers. Enough for each to have one. Talk and reminiscing. Each regaled their tales of how they got to Thornton. A few said that they thought them needed to move on the way we talked to them on arrival.

“We had a relatively quiet life here, didn’t we?” I ask.

Some said “Relatively” in a sorrowful manner remembering Gladis and Sadie.

“Yeah relatively” also now as I remember them.

To change the mood back Jim wonders out loud, “I wonder if we will have to sit through an orientation lecture? Maybe a probation period.”

Susan adds her thoughts, “We shall see probably more than we want to.”

“What do you mean?” Doris inquires

“Well, our clothes won’t last underwater. Think about it.”

“Oh” Doris gets it. “Well, it’s not like I haven’t seen that before”

We all laugh. It was a good last night but the party wound down. The only thing anyone said as they left was

“See you tomorrow at our new beginning.”

Thornton is once again vacant. Hopefully it will remain so. All ten of our residents are in three cars heading for the river front. There is happy talk, nervous talk and nostalgic talk. Everyone is both apprehensive and elated at the same time. Logic says that this is crazy but the feeling says it is going to work out fine.

Parking at the river park, we see Marvin is still there.

“Marvin, why are you still here?”

“My people will come back. They sometimes will pop up to see if I’m here. They talk to me, asking me to come home. I tell them that I’d rather shoot myself than to fall for their tricks.”

“Marvin, there are no tricks here. This is real. If all ten of us go in, that will be the last of the people on the surface at least in this area.”

“Don’t care”

We approach the water and call out. After a few minutes, Brian breaks the surface.

“I told them that it would be around a week until you would come home. That gave us time for a surprise. Nadean, someone is here to welcome you.”

Another person comes up.

“Hello mom, I’m here for you.”

Nadean lets out a scream “Bart!”. She looks at the person then looks to me.

“Go ahead, I’ll be right behind you.” With that she dives into the water, hugs her son and then they start her journey.

Now the man from last week comes to the surface.

“Welcome home children. I can feel that the two of you are now ready. Tom, I will ask you to be the last in. The eight of you come on in.”

They now have no hesitation; they all wade into the water. Charles looks back to me winks and goes under. Now there are only two surface dwellers left. The man talks to the both of us.

“You two are the last of the surface dwellers. There is no one left alive on the surface in the whole world. Again, you two are the last.” He looks at me “Tom please come on in and wait.”

I go into the water. Then he turns his attention to Marvin.

“Marvin, I will welcome you to your new life. It is not too late. Please do not do what you intend to do.”

Marvin remains silent and does not budge from the bench.

“Let’s go Tom”

We go under. As we get below the surface, we hear a muffled bang. I know what it was.

Marvin made his last decision.

It suddenly occurs to me that I haven’t taken a breath but I can breathe. I look at the man and he points to his neck and then mine. There are gills on his neck. I touch my neck and I find that I also have them.

It’s then I hear Nadean in my mind. “Tom, Isn’t this the kicks? We now have telepathy. I just project my thoughts to you. Try to send me your thoughts.

I think towards her that I am glad that she has her son but she says back,

“You are almost there. I heard most of what you said. Try again.”

“I said that I am glad you have your son.” I shouted in my mind.

“That came through but a little too loud. Bart said the same to me when I first tried. I was loud.”

At a lower tone the man said to me “Now that you are adjusting to our world, let me introduce myself. My name is Karzanku. You can call me Kar.”

“Nice to finally be able to call you by your name Karzanku.”

“Please Kar”

“Okay Kar, what happens now?”

“I would not call it a tradition of you new ones but look down.”

I look down to the river bed. There is all the shoes from the people that have gone before. I spot Nadean’s shoes. I remove my boots and watch them sink. Then I remove

my sox. My toes are starting to form webs. It’s then that I realize that my fingers are forming webs also.

Now Kar lets us know that it is time to go to our group. We swim to an area that they are waiting. Brian and Reba joined us along with Bart.

Bart thanks me for taking care of his mother. He asks me to continue because she finally is happy.

“I don’t know whether she said anything to you but we consider ourselves married.” I suddenly have a concern and ask Karzanku

“Is there marriage here?”

“Don’t worry. It is a solemn institution here. Taken seriously. If you consider yourselves married, I would encourage you to have our ceremony as soon as possible.”

Brian tells us that both he and Reba have been joined. “It is simple. You appear before their altar and declare your love. The altar will then show that you are married and display how long before you need to renew your marriage.”

He really laughs with joy as he says to us,

“Reba and I need to renew in two hundred years”

Nadean and I both say “Two hundred years?”

Kar says yes. “You see your life span is now around nine hundred years.”

“Mom” Bart says “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to escort both you and Tom to the altar?”

“Nadean, would you please make it official in our new life. Please marry me?”

“Son please show your mom and new step dad to this altar, Tom you ready to go two hundred years with me?”

The two of us appear before the altar. Bart is behind us. I say my vow “With all my love I, Thomas Stafford take Nadean Hosier as my wife”

Nadean then says “I Nadean Hosier take Thomas Stafford as my husband whom I love with all my heart.”

The altar shows the words “Registration scans in progress”

Then it displays “Registered the marriage of

Names: Thomas and Nadean Stafford

Duration: Four hundred years

ALERT ON THOMAS STAFFORD

Royal Lineage: Heir to the throne of Seaden.

Relation: Third great grandson of the lost King Podacke of Seaden We read and all I can say is WTF!