A Starman story by:
Yvette Jessen
© 2000, not intended to infringe on any previously held copyrights.
December 1987
Luna Smith entered her empty apartment and closed the door behind her. It had been another long day and although she enjoyed her work at the local post office, she was really glad that this day was over. It had been a pretty stressful one for her, not to mention a long one. Now, at last, she would have the entire weekend to herself. She glanced over and saw the small metallic marble that sat in the middle of her collection of minerals. The light from the full moon shone in through the window casting an eerie shadow across the small pinball sized marble that she had treasured ever since she was a small child.
Thankfully, it was finally Friday, and the long hard week was behind her at last. It seemed like everyone in town wanted to mail something, and with it being so close before Christmas, she could completely understand why most everyone was so ill tempered and crabby these days. The Christmas rush was now in full swing, and there was no question in her mind that it meant she had to hold tightly to her own supply of patience when it came to dealing with irate customers.
She rubbed her tired feet once she sat down on the sofa. After working there a little over a year, she should be used to the job, but the truth was, she really wasn't used to the rush that took place during the holiday season. All she knew was right now, the post office was the last place she wanted to see.
She stood up and wearily walked into the kitchen and retrieved a large bottle of mineral water. As she carried the bottle back into the living room, her gaze fell on the small marble that she treasured. She somehow believed that this marble acted as the link to her family, or rather, the family she often wondered even existed. She sighed deeply as she reached over and brushed her hand across the small object. She was about to reach down and pick it up, but as soon as her hand brushed against it, she could hear the phone ringing, and her intentions were forgotten as she walked over to the coffee table to pick it up.
"Hello," she said wearily into the receiver.
"Luna, hi, it's Tammy."
Luna sighed deeply upon hearing the familiar voice of one of her colleagues. As much as she liked Tammy, she couldn't help but wonder what it was the girl wanted. It seemed like every time Tammy called, she needed help of some kind. Tammy was fresh out of high school, 18 and had big dreams of going to college and studying to become an architect. Luna secretly admired the girl's ambition, because if the truth were known, she really had none of her own. She couldn't help at this moment but to ponder her own lonely and boring existence.
"I have a problem and need your help," Tammy said. "I know I ask you to do a lot for me, but this time it's an emergency. My sister's about to have her baby, and my mom wants me to drive her to the hospital tomorrow morning. Only trouble is, Frank scheduled me to work, and he said I couldn't get out of it unless someone was to come in and take my place. It's only 2 hours, from 10 until noon."
Luna ran her hands through her auburn hair. It always seemed to be this way, she thought to herself. The one weekend where I should be allowed to sleep in, and someone needs me to take their place. Maybe they always ask because I'm so nice about it, but then again, Tammy's sister is about to have a baby. The thoughts whirled through her mind, and finally she spoke, her voice soft, but filled with understanding. "I guess I can take your place tomorrow morning, but this is the last time."
"I know, that's what you said the last time you helped me out, but I really do owe you one this time," Tammy said, her worried voice sounding a little bit better.
"Is something else wrong?" Luna asked.
"No, I've just been really worried about Sue, she's been having a lot of problems during her pregnancy, and I hope that the baby will be OK," Tammy said.
"I'm sure everything will be OK, Tammy," Luna said trying to offer the younger girl some sort of encouragement.
"Thanks, I guess I'd better go, I'll see you Monday," Tammy said. "I'll call Frank and tell him that you'll be coming in tomorrow, OK?"
She sighed deeply when she heard Tammy mention Frank's name. He was supposed to be her boss, but her feelings for him were completely confusing. She glanced down at her palms and realized how sweaty they were. Her feelings for him were hidden behind her strong determination to maintain a professional environment at her workplace and she knew better than to expose to anyone else the romantic emotions she felt whenever his name was mentioned.
"Yeah, sure, I'll see you later," Luna hung up the phone, walked over to the shelf of minerals, and picked up the small marble. She walked back over to the sofa, once she held it in her hand, and sat back down on the couch. At this moment, her head was by this time, spinning as though it was out of control. Now I have to work tomorrow and I feel like I've been hit by a bus, she thought to herself as she returned the marble to the shelf it belonged.
It was no secret that Luna Smith for much of her life had been suffering from migraine headaches and sometimes they had been so severe that she had been sent to the hospital for treatment.
You fool, she chastised herself, when will you learn that it's OK to say no, after all sometimes you do have to look out for yourself. The thoughts buzzed around in her head as she grabbed the remote control from off the coffee table and turned on the television set. Her thoughts, all the while, were returning to the small keepsake that she had situated in the middle of her minerals at home.
After some time had passed, she finally turned off the television set and went down the hall to her bedroom. She laid down on the bed, set the alarm for the following morning, and drifted off to sleep.
o O o
The star filled sky welcomed Paul Forrester and his son Scott Hayden to their campsite. Scott's thoughts had been far away since they had managed to escape the persistent Federal Security Agency agent, George Fox, earlier that week. This man had been chasing them since Paul had returned to Earth some two years before, and both father and son were nervous about the possibility of staying in a hotel, because of the horrible situation that had led them to almost getting caught. Paul was concerned because it looked as though it had had a lasting impact on his son. Scott had been so quiet these last couple of days and this worried him, and he wasn't sure what he could say or do that would bring his son out of the funk he was in.
As they were sitting down on the ground and arranging the sticks for the campfire, Paul looked over at his half human son, "Scott?"
The teenager looked at his father. "Yeah," he finally said with lackluster energy that Paul couldn't help but take notice of. At that moment, his son had the energy of a deflated balloon and this was so unlike him.
"Is there something wrong?" Paul asked gently. "You've been really quiet these last few days. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really, I've just been thinking about some stuff is all," Scott answered looking back across the river near where they were camping. His intent was to remain silent in hopes that his father would simply let it ride, but Paul didn't.
"What have you been thinking about, Scott?"
"I'm just a little afraid is all," Scott admitted after some uncomfortable moments passed.
"Afraid? Why?"
"I don't know, I guess it's kinda stupid, but I'm afraid that one day I won't be able to use the sphere anymore. Like I'll grow out of it or something," Scott finally offered.
Paul shook his head, "don't worry, that won't ever happen. You're my son, Scott and using the sphere is a part of your birthright. You inherited your abilities from me, and those are enhanced by your mother's human side. Besides, you've developed your abilities during the two years since I came and found you, and you've been an endless source of surprise to me. I think your mother would be proud of you, I know I am."
"Thanks Dad. I feel a little better knowing that," Scott said and smiled weakly at his father. He dug in his pocket and pulled the small round object and looked down at it. "I never thought a gift from my father would bring me into so much trouble, though."
Paul looked at his son intently, "I get the feeling that there's something else bothering you besides the abilities you possess in using the sphere."
Scott nodded, "yeah, it's just that I sometimes wish that I wasn't the only one here that 1/2 human and 1/2 whatever it is you are, makes me feel a little bit like milk."
Paul smiled gently at his son, "I know sometimes you feel a little isolated here, being the only one of your kind, and if I could make things easier for you, I would. You should see yourself as special, Scott, someone unique in the universe. Maybe you should try to see that as a blessing and not so much as a curse."
"I don't think you're a curse, Dad. I mean, I guess when we were in San Leon, I had said that I wished that you hadn't come back. Do you remember that?"
"Yes," came Paul's soft but sad answer. Even for him to forget the harsh words of his son was not an easy task, and he knew that his son periodically felt a sense of guilt for having lashed out at him and right now, seemed like the time where Scott was coping with his feelings of recrimination for having acted as he had done.
"I wish I could eat those words," Scott said softly. "I guess the deal is, lately, I've been feeling kinda bad about the way I treated you right after you came back. I mean at least you cared enough to come and be with me. I've seen a lot of parents who would never even do that for their kids, and here you came from across the galaxy to be with me, and I treated you so badly..." Scott's voice trailed and Paul could see the tears under his son's eyes.
Paul inched closer to his son and rested his hand on Scott's shoulder, "it's all right, Scott. OK, at first, I didn't understand why you were so angry with me and reacted that way. But, now I know that you must have been hurt because I wasn't a part of your life for so long. I suppose, I should have come back sooner, but I really did believe that you were with your mother, and that you were getting along fine without me. I didn't realize how mistaken I was until you called out to me seeking my help and I returned."
Scott shook his head; the tears were now escaping from under his eyelids. "No, it's not OK," he looked over at his father, the anguish he felt was now showing, and Paul felt sad that he couldn't convince his son to forgive himself for the pain he was now feeling. "I love you, Dad, and I know I did a lot of things that were wrong to you, and I can't forgive myself for them."
"I love you too, Scott, and I'm really sorry you're feeling so much pain with all of this. I wish that there was something I could do for you. I know it hasn't been easy for you, always changing homes and schools, and doing all that without your mother here to help you. I think you want her to be with you now more than you are willing to admit and I really do wish we could find her soon, because I know, right now, you really need her."
Scott nodded weakly, his shoulders slumping as he looked out at the vastness of the stars, which were blanketed across the night sky. He didn't notice that Paul had moved even closer to him until he felt the strong arms of his father wrapping around him and holding him tightly in his embrace. It was then that he allowed the tears, which he had been holding back to stream down his cheeks.
o O o
Morning dawned and Luna crawled out of bed. The first thing she noticed was that her migraine headache was still there, and she was left feeling weak as though her brain was about to explode. Her inability to sleep the night before probably had something to do with her feeling worse about having to work. She quickly showered and got dressed, all the while wondering if she would be able to get through this morning without collapsing.
Normally, when she had these kinds of headaches, it had been the result of her contemplating where and who her biological father was, as well as all those times when she would fiddle with that small marble in her living room. She had never felt as sick as she felt at this moment and she was left to ponder carrying the marble in her pocket that day. Maybe it would counter the headache she was having. After all, it couldn't have made her feel any worse than she already was. She reached for her toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste and once she had brushed her teeth, she washed her face, ran the brush through her hair, and exited the bathroom.
As she came out into the living room, she could see sunlight shining in through the window and reflecting off the silver marble as it was casting fragments of broken rainbows across the ceiling of the room. Ironically, this had been her favorite keepsake as a child and she was always carrying it with her to school. But, one day, she had somehow started having strange emotional responses about her parents through it, and instead of trying to pursue why it was she was experiencing this, she opted to bury the small marble in the bottom of her drawer and ignore the feelings.
For much of her young life, Luna had been an orphan girl. Her mother had left her when she was two years old, a note pinned to her clothes, and lying in a small bassinet on the front door of the orphanage. The note simply had her first name printed on it, no family name, or address, and the small marble had been placed beside her. It had been as though she had simply dropped out of the sky. No one even knew her family name, and finally the foster parents she had been with when she was little had legally gave her their family name, Smith. A year later, both of them had died, and she was sent to a number of temporary homes until she was 18. The whereabouts of her birth parents was unknown and the only clue she had was the small marble her mother had left with her before she had vanished. There was no explanation about her family and had no one to ask about what the object was, and why it left her with strange emotions and headaches whenever she touched it.
She reached over and picked up the marble and looked down at it. Her thoughts were immediately centered on her father, as they always were when she would pick up the object. She was about to put it back on the small pillow where it was kept, but for some unknown reason, she suddenly stopped, feeling compelled to stick it in her pocket and carry it with her that day. Instead of questioning this motivation to carry it, she put the object gingerly into her pocket and walked slowly into the kitchen in search of something to eat for breakfast.
As she glanced down at her watch, she realized how late it really was, and instead of getting something substantial for breakfast, as she should have done, she simply opened the cabinet and pulled out a box of pop tarts, pulled a packet out, put the box on the counter, and rushed out of the kitchen. Although, she hated having to work that day, she knew that she would hate for Tammy to get into trouble if she was late coming in. With her sister having the baby, Luna knew that the younger girl was enduring enough stress and that it wouldn't be right if she came late. She grabbed her thick jacket and put it on as she walked quickly out the front door.
On her way to work, she stopped at a convenience store and picked up a bottle of cola. She figured that this would be the only thing that would keep her awake while at work, since she was starting to once again feel weak because of the headaches she suffered from.
Upon her arrival, she parked her car and went inside the small building. Once there, she met her boss Frank Giddings, a man who looked to be about five years older, who smiled gently at her when she approached him. "Luna, I really appreciate you coming in this morning. Tammy was frantic yesterday when I told her she had to work this morning, and though I tried to rearrange the schedule, there was really no way for me to do that. I also know you wanted to be home this weekend."
"It's OK, Frank. Maybe next weekend," she said and yawned, "excuse me," she mumbled as she walked slowly towards the employees' posts, opened the door and went inside. Frank followed her, the concern he had for the young woman was growing by the time the door was closed and she approached the window where she would be working.
"Luna, are you sure you're OK? You look really drained today." Frank said and ran his hand through his short dark hair. "If you're not feeling well, then you should go home."
"No, I'm OK, I just didn't sleep so well last night," she said, trying to retain her optimism.
He found it normal to look out for this particular girl, she had no family, and she rarely took time off for herself. He found her to be one of the most hard working and dedicated employees he had ever seen, but at the same time, he felt an indescribable attraction to her that he had been trying to hide from her as well as the other ladies that worked under him. Rather than press her about the issue, Frank nodded as though he understood.
After a few awkward moments of silence, he could hear Louise, one of other managers calling Luna's name, and the young woman walked slowly away from him and took her post. "Talk to you later, Luna," he offered still unable to ignore her haggard appearance, "I really appreciate you coming in today."
She smiled weakly, and opened her window.
o O o
At about this time, Paul and Scott were leaving their campsite and were walking slowly towards the town, which carried the name, Rockford, Maine. Paul was still somewhat worried about his son, but things seemed to be a little bit better now that Scott seemed to be in contemplation more than depressed and worried, as he had been the night before.
Paul found the silence to be somewhat unnerving, but he remained silent trying to give his son the space he needed to deal with everything that had been bothering him, rather than speaking and possibly imposing into the thoughts of his son.
After they had come into town, his attention diverted towards a small sign that indicated there was a post office in the area. He remembered that they needed to pick up a check and letter from their friend Liz Baynes. She had helped them right after Paul had returned and she acted as a contact person for them whenever Paul was looking for jobs, or when they needed help. At this moment, Paul was down to his last dollar and they really needed the money.
As they came closer to the post office, Paul suddenly stopped and closed his eyes for a moment. Scott had continued walking, not noticing that his father had stopped until some seconds later. He was about to cross the street that would lead towards the small building, but then he realized that his father was no longer standing next to him, he turned around suddenly, and saw Paul practically rooted to the ground, his expression soft, as though he was the one who was deep in contemplation.
Scott walked back over to him, "Dad?" he whispered trying to break Paul from out of the obvious trance he was in.
"I have to go in there alone, Scott," Paul said softly.
"I don't get it, what's up, you look like you've seen a ghost?" Scott asked waving his hand in front of his father's face. When Paul didn't react, Scott grew quickly agitated, his expression of contemplation melting away and one of intense fear replacing it. When Paul offered no answer, Scott's voice began to tremble as he spoke, "Dad, please tell me what's wrong, I'm scared."
Hearing the fear in his son's voice broke Paul's concentration, and he glanced over at the building and then back at his son. "I'm sorry, but I think I've picked up a signal from over there. Someone in the post office has a sphere."
"No way!" Scott's eyes widened and he looked towards Paul waiting for him to arch his eyebrows or something that indicated that he was joking, but when he saw the earnest expression on his father's face, he continued to speak, "Are you sure?"
Paul nodded.
"But, I thought you were the only one of your kind here," Scott objected.
"Yes, I know, and so did I," Paul said, "but I can somehow sense the presence of another sphere. If you close your eyes and concentrate, you might be able to pick up on the signal as well."
Scott did as he was told and after some moments passed, he felt a chill go down his spine, and couldn't comprehend why. Suddenly, he could sense something odd, and then he began to feel ill at ease. "Why didn't you sense it before?" he asked once he opened his eyes.
"I don't know, my guess is I can only sense it if someone has it with them or is holding it," Paul cleared his throat. "I could sense you before I came back here, but before you had the sphere, our connection was broken. The sphere is not only the source of power or abilities, but it also acts as a link between us, and if someone else has one with them, it somehow links us to them."
"But if you were able to answer my call from across the galaxy, couldn't you have sensed the presence of another sphere?" Scott asked. "I mean; it does kinda act as a homing device, right?"
"Yes."
"So if you were to use your sphere, it would home in on another one regardless of where it is, right?" Scott asked, and Paul nodded, "so why didn't you try it before?"
"I don't know, maybe I was too preoccupied to contemplate there were signals coming from someplace else," Paul offered.
"So what are you gonna do?"
"I'm going to find out where the signal is coming from," Paul affirmed.
"I'm afraid," Scott said.
"Don't be afraid, it is after all, 1/2 of what you are. If there is another of my kind in there, then they would have been able to pick up on both of us. But, I would feel better if you would stay out here for the time being." Paul said gently.
"But, why can't I go with you?" Scott asked not feeling particularly comfortable with the idea of staying outside alone while his father went inside by himself. He couldn't help but feel protective of his innocent alien father.
"Don't worry, Scott, everything will be OK," Paul said calmly. "Because I don't know who is in there, two of us going in there might be perceived by them as a threat it might frighten them."
"You mean, whoever is in there might not know that the sphere they're carrying is special?"
"It's possible," Paul said. "Now, please, don't touch or use the sphere until I come back, OK?"
Reluctantly, Scott nodded and watched as his father walked slowly towards the crosswalk, waited a few moments for the light to change, and then crossed the street. His steps were slow and deliberate as he made his way over to the post office.
Paul's hand was in his pocket as he opened the door and walked calmly inside. The sensations he had on the street were by this time growing stronger and stronger, until he was standing at a window looking into the hazel eyes of a young woman who was seated on the other side of the long desk separating them. He could tell that she looked tired, and he withdrew his hand from his pocket and smiled gently at her as she looked up at him.
"Can I help you?" she asked as he concentrated on her nametag. It said that her name was Luna Smith.
"Uh, yes," Paul stammered and proceeded to ask her about the check.
She stood up and walked slowly over to a drawer and began digging through it.
As he watched her while she worked, his interest in the young woman increased with every moment. This had to be the person who possessed the sphere similar to the one he was carrying. He glanced up to notice that she had found what she was looking for, had turned around, and was making her way back towards where he was waiting.
Once she reached the desk and handed the envelope to him, he intentionally brushed his hand against hers in his effort to get the check from her.
What he didn't expect was for the young woman to raise one of her hands to her forehead and grasp it as though she was in terrible pain. The energy from his touch caused her to begin moaning loudly, the pain in her head beginning to overwhelm her and she grasped the arms of her chair gripping the edges of it until her knuckles turned white.
The energy Paul had gotten from her left no room for doubt, this was the woman who had the sphere, and he sensed that she had somehow been reminded through him of a familiar, yet strange and frightening energy. Paul sighed deeply when it occurred to him that this girl obviously had no recollection of what all of this was meaning.
Paul had, by this time, overcome his initial surprise, and looked at the young woman as she slid from the chair, and crumpled to the ground in a heap. Not knowing what to do, he stood there for some moments until he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up and saw a security guard standing next to him. "The post office is now closed," the man said, "but it's OK, the manager will take care of her."
"I didn't do anything to her," Paul stammered.
"I know," he said smiling reassuringly at him, "Luna is really overburdened these days is all, but she'll be OK."
o O o
Inside the post office, Frank had managed to attend to Luna. "I told you, you should have let Tammy handle her responsibilities. You had no business coming today, you foolish girl." He rested his hand against her cheek and could feel her breathing against his hand. At least she wasn't having difficulties breathing, but all the same, he managed to get one of the other employees to call 911. He had decided from the start that he wouldn't leave her side until she was getting the help she needed.
He cradled her head in his hands, looking down at her. He was tempted to kiss her gently, but re remembered where and who he was and this prevented him from showing this girl that his feelings for her were real. Instead, he simply ran his hand across her face and waited for the ambulance to arrive.
o O o
Back outside, Paul joined Scott and the teenager seemed increasingly anxious to find out if there was really someone inside there that had matched his father's assertions. "So what happened?" he asked, his voice almost demanding the news.
"There's a woman in there with a sphere, Scott. Her name's Luna, she works there, and looks to be about 20 years old. She had reached across the desk to give me the check, but when I touched her hand, her face grew white, and she fainted. The guard said that the manager was going to take care of her and that I shouldn't worry, but I am," Paul said softly. "I must have frightened her when I just showed up in there. And it's obvious that she really doesn't know about the sphere or what it's capable of doing."
"I don't get it," Scott said. "Why would she faint?"
"She's linked to my world, Scott, and from the way it looks, she doesn't really know it yet," Paul said softly. "Somehow she has been denied the sort of wisdom you haven't. She's picking up on the energy, but doesn't know what it is or why she can sense it. It's confusing her and causing her to react to it in fear or anxiety rather than conscientiously accepting it as a fact of life."
"You mean in pain English, the entire deal is making her a basket case and she's not sure how to deal with it," Scott said.
"She needs someone to guide her in discovering the hidden truths of who she is," Paul said softly. "I suppose that is what lead us here, because she cannot go much longer not knowing who she is. Scott, I think we need to find out what hospital she's being taken to."
"You're really concerned for her, aren't you?" Scott asked.
"It's not just that, I feel responsible for her," Paul said simply.
"But, you don't even know her," Scott objected.
"You're right, I don't, but she has a sphere, and is connected to my world. I don't really know how to explain it, but in my world, there is a sort of connection of all people, and that's enough," Paul said and tried to put his thoughts into words. "When our fingers touched, I felt the same energy that I feel whenever we hug, and this energy is purely distinctive to my people, so either she is one of my people, which I don't believe because she would have known about it, or..."
"She's like me, and part of her is," Scott whispered.
Paul nodded, and glanced up to see a talk dark headed man coming outside right as an ambulance had pulled up in front of the building. They disappeared inside, and moments later, the paramedics were bringing Luna outside on a stretcher. Paul walked back over towards the door of the post office and when he reached the man, he spoke, "Excuse me, but I was wondering, is Luna Smith, OK?"
The man glanced up to Paul and nodded, "yeah, she's just a bit overworked, but they are taking her to the hospital, to run some tests and to see if she's OK."
"Thank you," Paul offered, "do you know which hospital they are taking her to?"
"Uh, yeah, County Heights," the man said, "Why? Are you a friend of hers or something? I've never seen you around here before."
"Actually, no, but she had waited on me when I was inside a few minutes ago, and right before I left, she had just fainted," Paul began. "But, you're right, my son and I are new in town."
"Sorry if I seem a little over protective of her, you see, Luna doesn't really know too many people," he began. "She's pretty much on her own here, I mean really on her own. I've never seen any of her family, and she also doesn't have a lot of friends here."
"She has no family?" Paul asked.
"None that I know of, I mean she came into town about two years ago, and has pretty much been alone for much of that time. I met her about a year ago when she started working at the post office, but outside of work, she seems to be alone much of the time," he said softly, and Paul could sense through his words, that this man really cared about her, but didn't seem willing to admit it. "By the way, my name's Frank."
"I'm Paul and this is Scott."
By this time, the ambulance was leaving the building and Paul nodded towards his son, it was time for them to get to the hospital, and then they would be leaving town.
Frank, noticing that they were carrying their stuff, looked at them, "you guys need a lift? I can take you to the hospital, that is, if you don't have anything else going on."
Paul nodded and they followed the man to his car and got in. Once he drove to the hospital, and parked, they all got out of the car and walked towards the doors leading inside. The hospital was relatively full of people because it was Saturday afternoon and many people were there to visit friends or family.
"I don't like hospitals," Scott grumbled, "It always reminds me of when you were sick."
Paul placed a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder, "I know," was all he said, but when he felt the shoulder of his son under his touch, he could feel a slight shudder under his hand.
Upon entering the waiting room, Paul and Scott sat down while Frank had gone to the nurse's station to see if he could find out what room they had taken Luna to. After some time, he returned, "they said that they are in the process of getting her into a room, and will let me know when she is ready to receive guests."
Paul and Scott nodded and Frank sat down in a chair near where they were seated.
o O o
After about an hour passed, they paged Frank and informed him about which room Luna was in. The nurse had told him the doctor had given strict instructions about not upsetting her, but also that he didn't see anything wrong with releasing her, if she was given two weeks sick leave from work. Frank agreed with that, and upon explaining that he was her boss, the nurse seemed pacified that Luna would be in good hands, and told him what room she was in.
Upon reaching the door to where Luna had been sent, Paul, Scott, and Frank slowly entered the room. When Paul saw her, he couldn't help but notice how frail and helpless she looked on the large hospital bed. Her eyes were closed and she was fast asleep. He approached the bed and when he reached down and felt her hand, he realized how desperately she needed the rest. "She's really overworked, Frank," Paul whispered.
"Yeah, I know," came the reply, and Paul could tell that Frank didn't like the situation one bit. He watched as Paul backed away from the bed, he approached, and he rested his own hand on her shoulder. At that moment, she started to stir and moments later she opened her eyes. "Luna," he whispered once he was looking at her questionably, "how are you feeling?"
"What happened?" she whispered as she licked her dry lips and looked up at him, "where am I?"
"'County Heights Hospital'," Frank answered, "you fainted."
She shook her head, "the last thing I remember was that there was a man at the counter, and he wanted a check, and after I gave it to him, everything went black, and I woke up here."
"Ah, yeah, well he's here with his son," Frank offered as Paul and Scott came closer to the bed. "He was worried about you."
Luna looked around the room, and when her gaze fell on Paul she smiled weakly, "thank you."
Paul nodded unsure of what he should say next. After what happened at the post office, he was afraid of what could happen if he tried to initiate contact with her again. He remembered how she had fainted upon touching his hand, so he could sense that she was different than most humans, perhaps not like him, but rather, like his son. Half of her, or at the very least, a quarter of her was like him, and didn't seem aware of it.
Luna remained stationary in her bed, "and here I thought it was Tammy's sister who was dealing with hospitals, and now I'm in one. I hope I wasn't too much trouble for you."
"No, you weren't," Frank offered. "I usually try to look out for my employees."
"I appreciate it," she whispered, and looked down at her lap.
"Yeah, well," he muttered and by this time, his face flushed slightly and he grinned impishly. "Oh well, I guess I'd better get going, today's my kid sister's birthday, and I really don't want to be late getting to the party." He turned to Paul, not noticing Luna's sad expression when he said he had to leave. "Can I drop you guys off somewhere, or do you want to stick around?"
"No," Paul answered, "we'll visit for a few more minutes and then leave."
Frank nodded, "OK, and Luna, you're on two weeks sick leave, so that means you cannot come to the post office unless you intend to mail a letter, understood?"
She nodded sadly, as her boss took his leave. How could she tell him that going to the post office gave her a chance to be around people? Now she was stuck at home alone for two weeks, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle it being alone. Her thoughts were interrupted when Paul came over and sat down in the chair beside her bed.
"Why are you sad?" he asked once Frank was gone.
Luna shrugged her shoulders; all the while her gaze was on her lap and not on him.
"I can only hope I wasn't responsible for what happened to you today," he offered.
She shook her head, "no, I guess it was because I was too tired."
Paul nodded as though he understood, but somehow, he couldn't get over the thought that maybe he was affecting her negatively or frightening her. Finally, he put his concerns into his question, "do I frighten you?"
She nodded weakly, "I think so, but at the same time, there's something familiar about you. Almost as though I've known you for a long time, but we've never met. I guess that sounds a bit dumb, huh?"
"No, it doesn't," Paul said softly, "I wouldn't hurt you, I think you know that you have nothing to be afraid of."
"I don't know if I'm afraid or just kinda out of it," she answered honestly. "The last thing I remember is when my hand brushed against yours at the post office, and how I felt something weird. It was as though you were reminding me of something that happened in the past, but I don't know what."
"Does the past frighten you?" Paul asked.
"I don't think so, all I know is that I felt different, odd, and eerie all at the same time," she whispered.
Scott looked at his father and then back at the young woman on the bed. He could tell that his father was trying desperately to convey his thoughts to her as gently as he possibly could. This is the same person that Paul said had a sphere, and now that he was aware of it; he could sense it as well. This was one weird situation, but also an extremely intense one. He continued to watch his father as he collected his thoughts.
Within seconds, before Paul could speak again, the door swung open and a middle-aged man in a lab coat walked into the room, "Miss Smith?" She nodded, "I'm Dr. Weston. I've been looking over your case, and it looks like you're well enough to be discharged." He laid his clipboard down on the small hospital table and smiled at her reassuringly, "Do you have someone who can take you home?"
She shook her head.
"We can get her home," Paul offered.
Luna looked at the doctor and nodded numbly, after some moments passed, she spoke, "Doctor, what exactly happened to me?"
"I'd guess it was your combination of little or no sleep, work, and lack of substantial proteins which basically took the wind out of your sails. While you were unconscious, we ran all the normal tests, and you're fine." The doctor smiled at her as he reached for the clipboard. "I'll leave you in the care of your friends, but I'm attaching a warning to your discharge, don't overdo it for at least two weeks, no work, eat lots of vegetables and fruits, and get your strength back. Your boss has already agreed to put you on sick leave, so you have no reason to go anywhere."
Luna nodded reluctantly as the doctor affixed his signatures to the paperwork and left the room. Once he was gone, she looked at Paul; mistrust was evident in her facial expression. "What do you want with me? I mean it's nice that you want to come see me, but why are you so insistent about helping me?"
"I don't mean to intrude," Paul offered, "but I need to talk to you, and here isn't the right place. Would you be willing to listen to what I have to tell you, it's important?"
"What's it about, I don't even know you?" she asked, her voice beginning to shake, and her nerves beginning to overwhelm her.
Paul looked at her, then at his son, and then back to her. He pulled the sphere out of his pocket and opened his palm so she could see it resting in his hand. "It's about this," he whispered.
"How did you get my keepsake?" she asked as she sat up in the bed.
"No," Paul answered softly, "this one belongs to me." He glanced towards his son as he returned the sphere to his pocket and nodded towards his son, who grabbed the folded clothing off the dresser and handed them to his father, who pushed them into her arms. "Please, go get dressed, we've got a lot to talk about."
Luna, although afraid, grabbed the clothing from Paul and went into the bathroom to comply with his request. While inside the small cramped bathroom, she rested her hand against the pocket of her pants to see if her keepsake was still there, it was. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and emerged from the bathroom, her fear evident.
She allowed Paul and Scott to lead her outside where a waiting cab was pulled against the curb, which would take her home. Once there, he paid the faire and the three of them walked up the stairs and towards the door, which would lead inside her small two-bedroom apartment.
Once inside, she sat down on the sofa and looked at them quizzedly. "Now, please tell me what you want."
Paul looked deeply into her eyes, "we want to help you, Luna is all, and I need to ask you an important question, do you always carry an object around like the one I showed you at the hospital?"
She pulled the sphere out of her pocket and showed it to him. "Normally, I don't, it's just that I took it with me today. I usually keep it with my minerals." She looked at the earnest faces of Paul and Scott as a cold shiver went up her spine. "Does this thing have anything to do with me fainting at the post office?" she finally asked.
"Maybe," Paul answered. "Do you remember what you said to me back at the hospital about how I made you feel something familiar about something, but not knowing why?"
She nodded, "yeah, but my thoughts were about my father. Funny thing is, I've never seen him, and don't even know what he looks like. I guess it's kinda weird to associate you with him, huh? I mean you're not my father, are you?"
Paul shook his head, "no, I'm not."
Luna looked initially sad, but after a few seconds, she spoke again, "I grew up wondering more about my father than about my mother. I used to cry because my friends all had close relations with their fathers and I was alone."
"Where is your mother?" Paul asked gently.
"I guess she's dead. I grew up bopping from one foster home to another," Luna said, her voice somewhat embittered, but soft as Paul noticed a tear sliding down her cheek. "Now, I'm 20 years old and should be OK, but I'm not. I have so many questions and no answers about my past."
"I'm sorry that I'm asking so many questions that cause you pain," Paul said softly. "I need to ask you only one more question, and then if you want us to go, we will."
"What?" she asked once she had gotten control of her emotions.
"How did you get one of these?" he asked holding up his sphere.
"When my mother left me in the care of foster parents, the small marble was with me. My foster parents said that I was a strange child, when they would take it away, I'd scream and cry. They thought at one point that I would swallow it, but I never did. When I started school, I carried it with me everyday, until I was 11."
"What happened then?" Scott asked.
"I started to feel something strange, emotional stuff, and stopped playing with it because I was afraid of it. OK, it sounds kinda stupid, but this thing wasn't like a rock or mineral, it was something else, and I didn't know how to deal with the effect it was having on me," she paused.
"Can you describe those feelings?" Paul asked softly.
"Not really, it was just a different sort of feeling. I haven't had any sort of senses about it since then, well not until today. Does that make any sense?" she asked as she started to feel that she had somehow was flipping out.
Paul nodded as though he completely understood what she had been saying. He extended his hand towards her. "Take my hand and we'll see if you are able to sense the same things you felt when you were a child. Don't worry, Luna, I won't hurt you."
She nodded and extended her hand towards him, but Paul could see that she was now extremely pale, as though she was going to faint again.
"Don't be afraid," he whispered softly as he reached his own hand out towards her and cupped her hand gently in his own. After initially making physical contact with her through his hand, he could see that she was starting to go into a sort of a trance. "Luna, are you OK?" he asked trying to break her out of the trance. When she didn't answer, he released her hand and asked again.
"I feel strange," she whispered, "I don't know what's wrong with me." She looked at the man sitting across from her, "Paul," she began to cry, her fear beginning to overwhelm what was happening to her, "what's wrong with me?"
"There's nothing wrong with you, Luna Smith," Paul said gently and placed one of his hands onto her shoulder, "you have simply grown up without knowing or understanding your true potential."
"Potential, what does that mean, I don't understand?" she asked looking strangely at Paul and then her eyes met those of the teenager sitting near her. "What does he mean?"
"Just listen to him," was all Scott could say as he moved closer to where his father was sitting.
"What I'm trying to say is that you are like my son, and you have a birthright which you apparently don't know about." Scott's ears perked up when he heard his father's words.
"Then I'm not the only one?" Scott asked.
"No, you are not," Paul affirmed.
"The only one what?" she asked.
"It's kind of hard to explain," Paul began, "but you shouldn't fear this, it's something that has always been a part of you, and it's what led me to you."
"The marble?" she asked.
"Yes," he answered, "but that is only a part of it."
"But, it has always been a toy to me. I mean, as a child, I played with it, but never really thought too much about it," she said.
"Did you ever wonder where it came from?" Scott asked as he remembered the night he was asking the Lockharts about it just moments before the accident.
"I guess I did, but I always thought that it was some sort of subconscious fantasy I had as I was growing up. Like hoping a prince would ride up on a dashing steed and whisk me away from all this moving around, and giving me a home. You know what I mean, things that never really happened. Now, I am being told that this marble is a part of a birthright and I can't imagine having something like that when I never even had a family. I never knew who my father is, or was," she said, and looked at the ground her eyes beginning to mist over, "I don't even know who I am anymore."
"But, you do know who you are, Luna, it's deep down inside of you," Paul offered, "but, it's difficult to see it now, because of how long you have hidden it away," he paused and scratched his head before continuing, "if Scott had done the same thing, he'd have not fully realized what his true potential was and would have probably encountered the same types of feelings you now have."
"Yes, but you're here to guide him. My father isn't here to guide me, and my mother, well, I don't know where she is," her voice cracked. "Scott's lucky."
"Do you want me to help you learn about this?" Paul asked.
"I don't know," came her frightened answer.
"You mustn't be afraid of what that may mean, Luna," Paul said gently. "I want to help you, but in doing so, both my son and I will be exposing who we really are to you, and it's important that you keep that secret to yourself. I think by doing this will help you to discover who it is you really are."
"It sounds like you are saying you are like my father," she said. "Do you know where he is?"
"Yes," was all Paul could say.
"Where is he?"
"He is home, Luna," Paul answered, "among the stars."
"Is this another way of saying that he's dead?" she asked.
"No, he is very much alive, he's just not here," Paul answered wondering if she would understand what he was gently trying to convey to her.
"Are you saying that my father is an alien?" she asked and gripped tightly to the edges of the blanket that she had wrapped around herself.
Paul nodded simply as Scott came over to where she was sitting, sat down next to her and smiled, "you're like me."
Paul nodded affirming the words of his son, "her father is from the same place I am."
Luna took the sphere from her pocket and held it tightly in her hand. After some moments passed, she looked down at it. She never imagined that she'd actually believe this, but somehow, looking at the man seated near her, she couldn't help but believe his every word.
He looked back at her, "I know this sounds hard for you to understand, Luna, but it is the truth."
"I don't doubt your words, but this sounds like something out of a Science Fiction novel. I mean, if my father is still alive, why doesn't he come to me?" she asked weakly, her voice etched with fear, but at the same time, she couldn't help but ponder if it was possible for her to send a message to him.
Paul looked at her and rested his hand on her shoulder, "Luna, you can contact him anytime you want, all you have to do is use the sphere and concentrate. My son used it to contact me, and you can use it to contact him."
"But, what would I say if he answers?"
"You'll know, the questions you have are deep inside of you, and they will come to you when you need them," Paul said gently.
"Will you help me?" she asked softly not sure she really wanted to even try, but knowing that someone like her father was there, gave her an uncommon sense of comfort.
"If you want us to stay and help you, Luna, then we will," Paul said gently.
"Do you think he'll come?" she asked, her voice sounding very much like that of a small child rather than the grown woman she had become.
"I do not know, maybe we should try to contact him and ask," Paul took his sphere from his pocket. "Now, you will need to hold your sphere and look at it. Whatever it does, you must not drop it. I know this will frighten you, but nothing it will do will bring harm to you. The light is a part of you, Luna," Paul said gently as he watched her looking down at the object she held. Self-consciously, she curled her fingers around it and held it tightly in her fist. "No, you must be able to see it, uncurl your fingers." As she did, he continued, "that's it, now hold it like this so you can see the sphere." Paul took the sphere from his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand. He smiled once she imitated his actions. "Now, concentrate on what you want it to do. That is, you want it to send a message to your father, so direct it with your mind to send him a message."
Luna nodded and began to concentrate on the object she held. She allowed her mind to completely focus on it, and after some moments, her mind cried out desperately, "Father, where are you?" The tears began to stream down her face as she tensed every muscle in her body in an subconscious effort to call to the father she had never known.
"Don't try so hard, Luna, just let the thoughts flow, as though you're relaxed," Paul's voice could be heard over the sphere she held. As it began emitting light, her initial reaction was to throw the offending object across the room, but somehow she couldn't even move her arm to allow her to complete the action she internally wanted.
After some seconds, as she sat bathed in light, she allowed her mind to relax and her thoughts centered around a message she wanted to send to her father. As she became a part of the light, she realized after some time that she had managed to send the message. That done, the light from her sphere began to fade, and she could see that Paul started to concentrate on his, and appeared to be sending messages of his own.
Moments later, the light from his began to fade and he looked up at her, "I spoke to your father," he said softly.
"You did?" she asked and looked at him unsure of what to say next.
"I spoke to him for some moments, and asked him to come, but he has refused," Paul said gently, his facial expression sad. "He has requested that I remain with you, and act as your teacher."
She looked down at her lap, and after a few seconds, he could see the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "20 years, what's a few more?" She stood up and fished the object from her pocket, this she extended to Paul.
"I cannot take your sphere, Luna, it belongs to you," he said gently.
"Please, take it," she whispered. "I can't bare to even look at it." The object fell from her fingertips and rolled over by Scott's feet. The teenager picked it up and walked over to her.
"Don't be so quick to get rid of it," he said as he fingered the sphere. "This is your birthright, and regardless of whether or not your father wants to acknowledge or accept it, you are entitled to whatever goes with it." He extended it back towards her and after a few seconds, she hesitantly took it.
Luna looked at the two people who were standing in her apartment, "I just can't look at it, now that I know he won't come to me, it's nothing more than a reminder of my father's rejection. I can't continue having it in my life knowing all the while that he did not love me enough to come." She sniffed loudly as she continued, "he could have come at anytime during the last 20 years, but he didn't. I don't understand why he didn't want to see me. Am I really such a grotesque creature that he wouldn't want to see me?"
"Why don't you convey that to him?" Paul asked gently.
"I didn't know how," she said softly.
"You pleaded with him to come to you, but you didn't tell him of your needs," Paul began.
"Dad, wait a minute. When I called seeking your help, you came, but you didn't know how I felt or that I was angry and hurt," Scott said. "I rejected you, and if it weren't for Mom's tape which explained everything, I'd probably be locked away in a lab somewhere, not knowing or understanding why I was there."
Paul nodded feeling sad about what Scott had said, but at the same time, he acknowledged it as being the truth.
"Paul, if I told my father how I really felt, then I would have to deal with his rejection or his pity. I can't think of what would be worse in this regard. If he were to show up now, knowing how I have been feeling for most of my life, then I could only assume that he came out of pity and not out of love."
"You don't believe your father loves you?" Scott asked.
"No, after all this, I don't," she answered sadly. "If he did, then he would have come back long before now, or at least he wouldn't have told your dad that he wouldn't come. Now, I feel rejected every time I hold that thing in my hand." The tears wouldn't stop, and she began to weep softly.
The sphere rolled out of her hand, and onto the floor. It landed near the front leg of the sofa and stayed there. She didn't care anymore about it; instead, she pulled a packet of tissues from her pocket and removed one of them. After blowing her nose, she looked up at them. "Please go," she said hoarsely.
Paul nodded and stood up, Scott followed suit. Before leaving, however, Paul crouched down in front of her and rested his hands on her trembling shoulders. "I'm sorry, Luna," he said softly. "If I'd had known, I wouldn't have pushed the issue with you."
"Please just go," her voice was filled with pain. Paul knew there was nothing he could do. He reached the door and grabbed his camera bag and one of the duffel bags. Scott grabbed the other and the two of them left.
Once they were gone, she picked up the sphere, placed it on the coffee table, laid down on the sofa, closed her eyes, and cried herself to sleep.
o O o
Paul and Scott made their way away from the town the following morning. Scott had been contemplating the situation with Luna all evening, but the one issue he couldn't get over was the guilty look his father seemed to carry. "Dad, it's not your fault," he said for what looked to be the thirtieth time.
"I should have known, Scott. She reacted in a very human way. She had lived for the last 20 years with the hope of finding her father, and now that hope is gone," Paul said. "That is my fault. If I hadn't have pushed the issue with her, she would still be living with that hope."
"Yeah, OK, but that would be a sort of false hope. It's like hoping for something that would never happen," Scott said softly. "If you hadn't have leveled with her about this, then she would go on believing in these fantasies and still living not knowing what she is capable of doing."
"Yes, but some fantasies are good," Paul said softly.
"Some, but the unrealistic expectations she has of a father from out there somewhere?" Scott asked.
"OK, you're right. All the same, I still cannot help but feel badly about it," Paul said.
"What exactly did he tell you?" Scott asked.
"He said that he didn't want to leave his home," Paul hedged.
"Dad, your slick act ain't working. Don't do this to me, besides, I know you too well, and I know you don't want to hurt me with the truth. I have a feeling that it's something that I would probably find offensive, isn't it?" Scott asked, his question direct, his eyes baring into those of his father.
Paul couldn't hold his son's gaze and after some awkward moments, looked down at the ground. Eventually, he nodded, "I'd rather not repeat what he said, but he did make his point clear."
"Come on Dad, tell me what he said, maybe I can help," Scott said. "Besides, of all the people here, I think I have more in common and a better understanding to Luna than even you do, so out with it."
Paul nodded, "OK, he told me that he thinks I'm a fool for wanting to come back to this hostile world. He said that though he loves his daughter, he's ashamed of the part of her that's human."
"Oh man, it's that bad then?" Once Paul nodded, Scott sighed deeply, "poor Luna. We've gotta help her, Dad."
"You heard her, she wanted us to go," Paul answered. "I think I remind her of her father."
"Maybe you do, but remember how she was to us? She didn't freak out about it and I think she has probably always accepted the fact that she's different. If we just take off, she'll never have a chance to fully understand what happened yesterday," Scott said softly. "It's taken me two years to learn from you, and I'm still learning, but this is a 20 year old woman who has not only learned that part of her is alien, but at the same time, she is grieving the loss of her father. If we take off now, then she'll be left to feel rejected by us as well as by him."
Paul nodded, "I know what you're saying and I've been thinking of that since we left her apartment yesterday."
"If I had a father like hers, I guess I would have turned out much different than I did, so I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm really glad you're my dad."
Paul smiled, "thank you."
The teenager shrugged his shoulders, "But, Dad, Luna does need some guidance, and right now, you're the only one who can give it," Scott said softly as he looked at his father earnestly. "I think we should go back?"
"You really do relate to her, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so, I mean she and I are alike, and it makes me feel a lot better knowing this."
"Does it make you feel a little less isolated?" Paul asked.
"Yeah, I think it's kinda like finding out I have a big sister or something. I guess that's kinda weird, but I can relate to her," Scott said softly as he started walking slowly back in the direction of the small town they had contemplated leaving.
Paul nodded, "OK, we'll go back, but you know she may not want to see us?"
"Maybe not, but we can't abandon her now. She may not believe it, but she needs us, and eventually she's gonna realize that. Besides that, it is Christmas time, and I would like to settle somewhere."
Paul smiled proudly at his son as they made their way back in the direction of the small town. He couldn't help but contemplate how grown up Scott was behaving. He remembered how things had been a year ago, and how Scott had felt a sense of family with Stella Forrester. Maybe in all of this, he felt that same sense of family with Luna. Whatever the case, he realized that there was a great deal of wisdom in his son's words.
As he walked next to his son, Paul couldn't help but begin to feel some strange sensations again. He glanced over towards his son, who seemed oblivious to the emotions he was now experiencing, and after a few more steps, he suddenly stopped, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his sphere. It was glowing, and looked over towards Scott and noticed that he too had stopped and was walking back towards him. Upon reaching his father, Paul was staring down at the sphere as though he was concentrating on it, but after the light faded, he sighed deeply. It was then that he noticed his son's curious stare. "We've got to hurry, Luna's calling us back," was all he could say.
Scott nodded, not fully understanding or comprehending what had just happened, but he was too surprised to even utter a sound. Instead of speaking to his father about what had just happened, the two of them broke into a run in order to reach the nearest bus stop, and reached it in time to get on the bus, which had just pulled up to the curb.
o O o
At the same time, Frank had arrived at Luna's front door and began to knock. Moments later, the door opened, and he saw the young woman looking more haggard than she had been when he had gotten her to the hospital the day before. "What happened?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.
She shook her head, her attempts to block out the events of the day before, but failing miserably.
Frank came inside. "What happened?" he repeated his question as he sat down on the sofa and looked at her intently. "You really look like you could use a friend."
She laid the sphere she had been holding on the coffee table, slumped down on the sofa next to him, and rested her chin in her hands. She sat there still as a statue unable to meet his gaze. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, she glanced up when she her his soft voice addressing her.
"You know you can talk to me. I mean, I know I'm supposed to be your boss, but I also want to be your friend," he said gently and blushed slightly.
She glanced up at him and shrugged her shoulders. Finally, unable to stop the tears that had begun to stream down her cheeks, she began to cry. Frank took a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.
As she was crying, he could only sit and wait until she had managed to get her emotions under control and tell him what was wrong. It was obvious to him that something had happened to her, but he had no idea what it was which would cause this otherwise stoic young woman to such an emotional outburst. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair, and looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?" he finally asked.
"I don't know if I can talk about it right now," was all she could say.
"You know, my mom used to say that a problem is half as painful when it is shared?" he offered gently.
She sighed deeply, "I know, but I don't think I can talk about it without crying. It hurts so much, Frank."
"Then hold onto my handkerchief, and use it when you need it." Frank looked at her seriously. "Come on, Luna, you know you can talk to me about anything and I'll do what I can for you."
She looked over at his earnest face, and it made her love him all the more. If only she could tell him that part of her feelings, and not feel like she has to hide them behind the pain of her father's rejection. After some seconds had passed she took a deep breath and spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, "yesterday, I learned who my father was."
"But, I thought you didn't know who your parents were?" he asked remembering the first interview he had with her prior to hiring her to go to work for him at the post office.
"I didn't, but yesterday, I learned about where he is and..." her voice trailed as the tears began to stream down her cheeks.
"And?" Frank sat up straighter, "This kind of news is supposed to make you happy, not bring you to tears."
She nodded acknowledging his words, but the tears continued to stream down her cheeks once more and she wiped her swollen eyes with his handkerchief, "Frank, he doesn't want to see me."
He rubbed his chin with one hand and looked over at her, her words finally sinking in. "I'm sorry," was all he could say. Why did those two words sound so incredibly empty to him? He glanced across the sofa at the girl he loved, weeping bitterly. She feels alone now, he thought to himself. If only I could take her in my arms and make all her pain go away.
Of all the girls who worked for him at the post office, he recognized that she was different than they were. He could see the vulnerability in her eyes, but there was something else there, it was a sort of strength she had about everything. Until the day before when he had to get her to the hospital. It was that moment on the floor of the post office that Frank Giddings was in love with the young woman he had cradled in his arms.
Now, seeing her sitting here weeping uncontrollably, he dismissed his reason and he slid over next to her and wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.
For a moment after she could feel his strong arms holding her, she looked up at him a mixture of shock and relief on her face. She was unsure if what he was doing was appropriate, but for some strange reason, in the middle of her grief, she felt safe and secure there and found herself not wanting to break the embrace, instead, she allowed herself to cry, her arms wrapping around him and holding onto him as though she wouldn't let go of the security he offered. The tears fell from her eyes and landed on his shoulder.
Frank backed away after her crying had gotten softer, and she lay practically limp in his arms. "Does this have anything to do with what happened at the post office yesterday with that guy and his son?" he finally asked, his voice soft.
She nodded numbly, now able to sit back up, "he knew my father, and had contacted him yesterday trying to see if he would be willing to come see me."
"And the guy said no?"
"Yeah, but Paul didn't say what he said, he just said that he didn't want to leave his home," she answered.
"What a dead-beat," Frank said, his voice now bitter, and so unlike the gentle soothing voice she had heard some moments before. He reached towards the telephone, which was sitting on her coffee table. "Do you know the number Paul called?"
Luna sighed deeply, her gaze falling on the sphere, which had rolled over by the telephone and rested against it. "I don't know how to contact him, Frank. Besides, what should I say; that my father is ashamed of me, or that if he came now it would only be out of pity? Maybe I'm just not worth it."
Frank moved his hand away from the phone as he spoke gently, his voice full of emotion, "Luna, you are worth far more than that dead-beat could ever realize. Don't ever believe that the words of a father who was never a dad to his child would carry so much weight. If he could only see the beautiful, witty, and intelligent woman that I see, then he'd be here in a heartbeat..." his voice trailed awkwardly, and he sighed deeply, "I mean, I'm sorry that this happened. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I don't know what."
"You can't do anything, Frank," she said softly, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the moment. "When Paul told me about my father yesterday, I thought I would freak out, but I didn't, it was weird. I just sat there completely at a loss as to what to say, but almost as though I could understand things about myself that I never knew."
Frank nodded, "so you did believe him?"
"Yes," came her simple answer.
"Why?"
"I can't really explain why, I just did. It was like when I used to go to church as a kid, and how there was just a feeling of acceptance about it, but not total comprehension. Does that make sense?" Luna said, as there came a knock at the door.
Frank nodded as though he understood, but was still confused as he watched her slide off the couch and go answer the door. He could see around her and when his eyes fell on Paul and Scott standing in the doorway, he sighed deeply. He watched as she wordlessly allowed them to come inside the small apartment. At that moment, he stood up and approached them, "hello," he said softly, his voice emerging somewhat hesitant, but he managed to keep the anger that had consumed him at bay.
Paul smiled, "hi Frank."
Scott nodded.
Frank glanced around the room, nervousness now evident in his eyes upon the arrival of the two of them. "I guess I should go now." He looked at Luna, who appeared to be dealing with their presence much better than he was able to. After some seconds passed, he looked back over at her. "Is there anything else I can do for you Luna?" he asked.
She shook her head, trying desperately to put the professionalism back into her voice, "I think I'll be OK. Thank you, Frank, it was very nice of you to come by this afternoon."
He blushed slightly, "yeah, well, it's really nothing. Just don't overdo anything, Luna, you're supposed to be on sick leave, remember?"
She nodded but objected, "you know I hate not coming to work, Frank, it's boring to just sit around the house and do nothing. I have to do something to get my mind off things."
"Listen, you are currently under doctor's care, and you are not supposed to work for two weeks," he said trying to sound more like her boss than he wanted to. "I know it's boring, but you're gonna have to deal with it. Get a hobby or something, I don't care, I just don't want to see you around the post office during the next few days unless you intend to mail a letter," Frank looked her deeply in the eyes. "You may not have a family, Luna, but you have me, and this sick leave is for your own good."
She sighed deeply, but finally nodded, sadness evident in her voice, "you're the boss."
He could tell that she looked miserable, but he had given his word, and his concern was for her, not for the short-handed work situation at the post office. He approached where Paul was standing near the door leading outside. "Listen, I don't know who you are, Mister, but from what I have heard, you seem to have some sort of connections to missing people, maybe you're with the FBI or you're a PI or something, but don't you dare say anything to her that's gonna upset her, she's been through enough."
Rather than reply to Frank's statement, Paul simply rested his hand on the young man's shoulder before he could leave. "I never intended to hurt her. I think you know that," he said softly.
Upon feeling Paul's hand on his shoulder, his defensive reaction faded slightly and he nodded.
Paul continued to speak, his voice barely above a whisper, but soft enough where only Frank could hear his words, "I know you really care about her, I can see it in your eyes."
Frank blushed and whispered back, "you're right, I do care about her, but I'm also her boss, and unfortunately, those kinds of feelings are inappropriate in a work environment."
Paul nodded as Frank abruptly left Luna's apartment.
By this time, Scott had made his way to the sofa and sat down not far from where Luna was now sitting.
Paul closed the door and turned to face her, "I'm sorry if our being here hurts you and I do feel badly about what happened yesterday. I wish there was something I could do to change all of this. If you want us to leave, we will, but I don't think you want us to go."
"Why are you here?" she asked softly.
"You used the sphere and called us," Paul answered honestly. "We're here because we had to answer your call."
"I called you?" she looked from Paul to Scott in disbelief.
"Yeah," Scott answered calmly, "you probably were asleep when you did it, so you weren't consciously aware that it had happened. That's what happened when I called my dad the first time."
"I don't understand any of these things that happened. Yesterday, I found out some rather strange information about my father, and a birthright I never even knew I had. I'm really confused by everything, and I don't know if I can deal with it all right now."
"You don't have to, Luna, but in time, you will learn and know what it is that sets you apart from other people. You'll learn who you are inside and what abilities you have inherited from your father," Paul said gently.
"But, without my father's guidance, I know I'll never understand what I am," Luna objected. "How can I develop to what I'm supposed to be if he won't come to me and help me? Isn't that what a father is supposed to be, a guidance for his children? I mean, how can I learn anything without him?"
"I don't know the answers to all your questions, but I can tell you this, Luna, your father does still care, and he has asked me if I would be willing to teach you some of what you should know. I told you this yesterday, but I think you were too upset to be able to hear my words," Paul said. "Would you like me to be your teacher?"
She nodded, "if he's not coming, then OK, but to be honest, you're more of what a father should be than he is. I mean you're here, regardless of the danger it may pose you to be here."
Paul blushed slightly and simply nodded. "You are aware of the danger my son and I are in, aren't you?"
"I guess I can kinda sense it. You're different, and I know how unkind people are to those who aren't like they are," she said.
Scott looked at her and simply nodded acknowledging her words.
She glanced back over to Paul, "you said you knew about my father, but I'm curious, do you know anything about my mother?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "no I'm sorry, I don't know anything. It seems as though your father has not relayed that information to us." He sat down next to her. "All that I know is that you called us and we've come back to help, but you must know that I never intended you any ill will when I told you the truth of your heritage. I initially believed that you might have known." Paul sighed deeply.
"I guess when it came to receiving any news about where my father was, I did accept everything you said, but now I wish that I hadn't have even asked. Ignorance is bliss and all that," she said softly.
"Yeah, but isn't it better to know the truth now than to learn about it much later?" Scott asked.
"Maybe, but now, for me, it is much later, Scott. I'm not that little girl with bows and ribbons in her hair anymore, I'm a grown woman, and I wanted to believe that I would one day have a father who would love me, and now, I find out he doesn't."
"I wouldn't say that, Luna, he does care, but in his own way. You see, in my world, human emotion is almost unheard of. We're a logical race, but there's something missing. In our language there exists no word for 'love', 'caring' and so on, it's just different, and your father has learned things differently than I have. I believe it encompasses his experiences here, and what he encountered when he first came. It's obvious, because of your presence here, that he did experience love, but maybe in the 20 years that have passed, he somehow forgot what love is, and maybe you're the one who is supposed to remind him of that," Paul said softly.
"I just can't see why he would not want to come, Paul. It hurts so much," she said softly. "It's almost as though he's ashamed of the human side of me, but I can't change that. I am who I am."
Paul was taken aback by the bluntness of the woman sitting in front of him, and rather than say the truth of what he had learned, he decided to ask a question which would divert the focus of attention, "Is that really what you think that he's ashamed that you're half human?"
She nodded weakly, "what else am I supposed to conclude? Shame means he doesn't love me, and that I would have to measure up to some kind of blind expectation so that he would, but I can't, because it's like playing a game and not knowing the rules," she stood up as the tears began to stream down her cheeks, "I wouldn't even know where to begin."
"Luna, you can't change what you are to make your father love you, he either does or he doesn't," Scott said.
"I know, Scott, but you're lucky, you have a loving father who accepts you," she said. "I don't have anyone, and my last hope was that my father would want me, but he doesn't, and now I'm alone." She rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe the fresh tears away, "I have lived my entire life hoping to find my father, dreaming that he would one day love me, and that I'd be his little girl. But, when I do, I discover that my father doesn't love me, and wants nothing to do with me. Basically, my fairy tale dream of having a father is gone. But, I will tell you this, I'll learn whatever I can about my heritage, because if there's one thing I do know, father or no father, I deserve it!"
Unable to offer any answer, all Paul could do was nod. He realized that now he was Luna Smith's teacher, and it was his job to teach her what her father wasn't there to.
o O o
Across the galaxy, on a round spherical spacecraft, a being of blue light was deep in contemplation. Since the previous Earth day, when his friend had contacted him, he had been watching with great interest the events taking place on Earth. Although, he couldn't forget the first time he had gone to Earth, he found himself completely drawn to the young half human child he fathered. The girl who called herself, Luna, was just beginning to learn of who she was and what her heritage was. She seemed determined to learn what it was about herself that was different, but he listened as she spoke of the pain she felt in his rejection.
I had told Paul that I was ashamed of the human side of this child, and yet, she is my child, and the emotions I felt back when I had met her mother were significant, but now the feelings I have for her are painfully real.
He watched Paul's son, Scott, who, for the last two years, had been learning as any teenager learns about himself and specifically what it was that sets him apart from other human children. He remembered watching how Scott had at one time, expressed openly the shame of the part of him that wasn't human. Was that the same prejudice as the same sense of shame I had been feeling about my child not being completely like me, he asked himself?
Finally, he couldn't help but watch his friend, the being he had known for generations just leave the home world and return to Earth to care for the half-human son he had left behind. He watched as his friend taught the boy about the part of him that sets him apart from other humans, but also watched while the boy taught his father the simple things about being human. Language barriers, food, music, sports, and all the other uniqueness of humanity, which made him begin to question the words, he had communicated to Paul the day before.
As his friend made contact with his daughter, he watched how much Paul had cared for her, almost as though he himself was the girl's father, and was taking the responsibilities, which he should have been accepting. The connected feelings he started to feel had somehow become conflicted with the loyalty and connections he had with his home world. Maybe Paul was right, it was important for him to accept everything that comes with being a father to this young woman who was half like him.
He could clearly see the pain she felt in learning that he refused to leave his home and come to her. He watched her as her friend, the human called Frank, came to her and consoled her in the intense pain that she had been enduring alone. As he watched over them now, he realized one thing; his daughter was hiding herself away, and completely encompassed by a great deal of pain. Her hopes of finding her mother was gone, and now with me she's feeling abandoned by the father, who was, to this day, a stranger to her. It pained him to see how isolated and alone she was feeling, and all because he had too much of what the humans had labeled 'pride' inside to return to the Earth and be the father he should have been.
He watched the conversation between his daughter and Scott, when Scott had asked her, "You don't believe your father loves you?" He felt a sense of sadness when she had answered, without any hesitation, "no, I don't."
As he continued to watch the events taking place on Earth, he realized that he was feeling sadder and sadder about what he had subjected his daughter to. By not coming back to her, he has denied her the basic right know him, and to learn from him. She believed very strongly that a child needs a parent to guide and teach them, and yet, he'd been out of her life for more than 20 years.
If I go, he continued to contemplate, she'll think I pity her instead of caring about her, but I do care for her. His thoughts returned to when she had kicked Paul and Scott out of her home the day before, and how he had pleaded with her in his mind to not throw them out, but to allow them to help her as he now longed to.
She had wanted to give Paul and Scott the sphere after Paul had told her what I had relayed to him. Paul had known that he had left it for her to learn from after he had returned to his home. She must have been devastated by what Paul had said to her, but he felt a strong sense of relief when she had used her sphere to call him back wanting and possibly needing his guidance. That makes me feel better, but I think she still feels that it is her only way to prove to me that she's more than just a half-breed, but one who is capable of learning about the other world which she is a part of.
When he took one last look at the painful determination on the face of his daughter, he knew that beyond any doubt, that he would have to swallow his pride, return to Earth, and offer her the guidance she needed. Hostile or not, he was determined to make amends with his daughter.
He went to ready himself for the long voyage that would take him to the star where his daughter was born.
o O o
Three days later, Paul was working with Luna on how to move objects using the sphere. Although, she was tired, she was determined to accomplish the task. She had spent the entire day working with Paul and it had been a long afternoon. She figured that Scott would eventually return from school and she would be able to take a break. But, until that time would come, she would continue trying.
On this particular afternoon, she had been trying to levitate a large lamp, and was quickly growing discouraged. "I can't concentrate on it," she said softly when the lamp had eventually fallen and the base had shattered on the tiled floor. She sighed deeply as she looked down at the porcelain that was lying on the linoleum floor in the front hallway of her apartment. She looked down at it, and kicked a couple of the pieces with the toe of her shoe. "I can't do it!"
Paul nodded, it had been a long afternoon, and though she had made some progress, he could feel her beginning to tire from the work, and he looked at her sympathetically. "Why don't we take a break then? Scott will be back from school soon and we can get something to eat."
"But what about the lamp?" she asked.
"It seems that you're not yet ready for a break, so why don't you try to fix it?" he suggested.
"Fix it, but, how?" she asked.
"Use visualization as a tool, and concentrate on the picture of what you want the sphere to do. See how the lamp was before you started levitating it, and see it coming together again," he said softly.
"OK, I'll try," she took the sphere out of her right hand, and wiped the hand against the jeans she wore. That done, she placed the object back in her hand, moved the bracelets up her arm, and began to concentrate on the metal object she held in her hand. She began to feel the familiar blue light begin to radiate from her hand and she concentrated on the fragments of lamp she wanted to repair.
She must have been concentrating too hard because she suddenly felt Paul's hand on her shoulder as her sphere returned to its natural state, "don't try too hard, Luna, just let the energy flow. If you put too much concentration into it, you'll not be able to do anything."
She nodded and began to shake out her arms in an attempt to relax the muscles, and with a sense of determination, she began to concentrate again.
After a little bit of time, she could see the fragments of lamp coming together and she had managed to repair the lamp. When her sphere returned to it's normal state, she looked at Paul proudly after the lamp was once again whole and once more sitting on the dresser in the hallway. "I did it!" She said excitedly and smiling broadly, "I never thought I would manage to do it, but I did."
Paul nodded, "you did that well, Luna."
"Did you help me with it, even a little bit?" she asked still not believing that she was capable of succeeding at this on her own.
He shook his head as Scott came through the front door, "you did it all by yourself. How do you feel about that?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes," came his answer.
"I feel a little weird about it, but I also feel grateful to you for teaching me," she said softly. "I could never have gotten this far without you."
"I'm glad I could help," he said gently.
Seconds later, her earnest expression melted away and she grinned sheepishly, "right now, though, I'm starving. This takes a lot of energy out of me, and I suggest that we levitate ourselves into the kitchen and find something to eat."
Paul smiled, "yes, like anything where you must center your thoughts, it does take a certain amount of energy from you to accomplish this."
Luna nodded but looked at Scott, "what about you, you want something to eat?"
"Always," Scott answered smiling at her, and the three of them headed into the kitchen.
o O o
Two weeks later, Luna returned to her job at the post office. She had spent the two-week sick leave learning to use the sphere, and she felt herself proud for having accomplished as much as she had in the short period of time she had. There was still so much for her to learn, but as they all learned, her hunger for knowledge was making her progress even faster.
With Scott around, she had learned a great deal from him about accepting the part of herself that is different, but also feeling like she had a sort of younger brother in him. These feelings were all so new to her, and something she discovered to be extremely special.
She walked into the building that morning, her sphere sitting in the bottom of her pocket, and when she saw Frank standing in the room, she smiled somewhat shyly and approached him.
When he saw her, he smiled, "wow, you look great. How do you feel?"
"Much better, thanks," she said, "I've been really busy these past few weeks, as you suggested that I get a hobby, so I did."
"What kind of hobby did you find?" he asked.
"I've gotten interested in magic, of all things," she said as she patted the pocket of her blazer. If only he knew just what kind of magic she was involved in. She walked over to take her post, but there; she turned around and faced him before the security guards unlocked the glass doors. "I just want to thank you for everything, Frank, I'm really grateful to you."
He smiled at her, "that's what friends are for, Luna."
She nodded, "only three more days until Christmas, and then things will get back to normal around here. You know it's funny, but I never really got into the holidays before, now I'm kinda looking forward to them."
"Do you have plans?" he asked hoping that her answer would give him an opportunity to pay her a surprise visit.
"Actually, I do, Paul and Scott have been staying with me, and since they're alone too, we're going to celebrate together," she said softly.
"I figured the two of them had moved on by now," Frank mused, "but I'm glad you guys have become friends."
"Yeah, you're right, they're good friends," she said simply and went over to the desk where she would work.
As the morning drifted by, Luna found herself in rather high spirits. The customers would see her smiling and they would return her smile, and this gave the entire building a sense of the holidays. At noon, Luna's shift had ended and as she was reaching for her purse, she glanced up and could see a middle aged man walking through the room. She couldn't understand why, but her eyes started following his movements and after watching him drop a letter into the mailbox, he walked slowly out without saying a word. Once he disappeared, she subconsciously reached into her pocket and her hand felt the metal of the sphere she carried.
She wasn't sure why she was to carry it everywhere, but Paul had told her that she should keep it with her at all times, and she wasn't about to question anything he had told her about it. She pulled her hand out of the pocket of her blazer, and reached for her jacket. Once she had it on, she removed her nametag and put it in her purse. That done, she walked towards the exit. As she was leaving, she smiled at Frank who had waved at her from the podium where he was working.
Outside, she stood on the sidewalk in front of the building for some moments. Paul had promised her that once he finished up at his new job, that they could meet for lunch and plan how they were going to spend the holidays. As she waited, her attention was diverted to the man she had seen earlier inside the post office. He was now standing about three feet away from where she was and appeared to be either lost in thought, unsure of where to go or what to do.
After some moments of standing there, the man hesitantly approached where she was standing, "hello," he said softly.
She looked up and smiled warmly, "hi."
The man returned her greeting a second time, and upon hearing his somewhat shaky sounding voice, she turned to face him, as she tried to cover of the strange sensations she had around him. "Are you OK, Mister? You look a little out of it."
"Out of it?" the man repeated as though he didn't really understand what she meant.
"I'm sorry, it just means that you look a little pale or like something is wrong," she said softly, but repeated her question, "are you OK?"
"Oh, uh, yes, I am OK," the man answered, his words soft and for some reason, they reminded her of Paul and the soft and gentle way he always spoke to her.
"You're not from around here, are you?" she asked. "I mean, I've never seen you around here before and you do look a little lost."
"No, I'm not from around here," he said and smiled at her, his soft blue eyes meeting hers as he pushed his graying blonde hair out of his eyes. "My name is Nathaniel Roberts."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Roberts, my name is Luna Smith," she said softly all the while hoping that Paul would show up and rescue her from this somewhat awkward meeting.
"No, please call me Nathaniel, but I think, I should be going," he said softly, "good-bye, Luna."
The breath she had been holding, she calmly released as he walked away. Before he turned the corner and made his way down the street, she spoke again, her voice somewhat hesitant, "good-bye, Nathaniel," she said softly, as he walked slowly away. After some moments had passed, she glanced up to see Paul approaching her, the ever-present smile on his face.
"Are you ready to go have lunch, Luna?" Paul asked once he approached her, but after some moments, he looked at her confused, "Is everything OK?"
"Uh, yeah I guess so, but there was something kinda strange that just happened. There was a guy that came over and talked to me before you came," she said. "I noticed him this morning, he had come into the post office, but left just as suddenly as he came. He came over and talked to me after my shift ended, but there was something weird about him that I don't understand."
"I did notice you speaking with him," he said, "but what was it about him that made you nervous?"
"I don't know, I just got the feeling that he was intent on finding out something about me, but I don't know," she paused, "Paul, is it possible for me to be able to sense things about people?"
"Well, it is how I found you, and how we became acquainted, so I believe you can do that, particularly when you concentrate, or touch someone," Paul said as they walked down the sidewalk in the direction of a small pizzeria. "Did you touch him or sense something about him?"
"I didn't touch him, I guess I was scared to, but yeah, I guess I did sense something, but I don't know what. It was a sort of strange feeling, as though he knew me, but I've never seen him before," she said, but quickly dismissed it, "oh well, I probably won't ever see him again anyway."
o O o
From the opposite side of the street, Nathaniel Roberts was standing and watching as Paul had approached the young woman and they had made their way down the street. He watched them until they entered a small pizzeria. Unable to approach them again, he watched them through the glass from outside, but after some moments of watching, he walked away from the window.
It would be better for me to approach her when she's alone, he thought to himself. The initial contact was nice, and she seemed to be an unusually caring young woman. As he watched her work in the post office, he could tell that instead of watching his movements, she was watching the man called Frank. Her eyes carried an expression that he hadn't seen before. But, he remembered an event in his life that had happened some 20 years ago when he saw the eyes of the young man watching Luna Smith. As he mailed the letter and left the post office, Luna had glanced over towards the exit. He had glanced back in the direction of where she was working, but didn't dare find the nerve to approach her.
I rejected her, he thought to himself, the sadness enveloping him. I should have come here immediately, and never turned away from her. Would she ever be able to find it in her heart to forgive me for the pain I put her through, he asked himself as he watched her talking and laughing with a long-time friend. Did his friend tell her what he had said, he kept asking himself, or did he even sense that I had come back?
He walked slowly towards the park. It would take a few more days of observations before he would have the courage to make contact with her, but when he looked towards the pizzeria Paul and Luna had gone inside of, he made a decision to get something to eat, and continue recording his observations from a safe, undetectable distance.
o O o
Paul and Luna entered the small pizzeria and once they were seated, she reached to the center of the table and retrieved a menu. Paul began to look around the restaurant and when his gaze came to rest on the door, he could see it open, and the man he had seen Luna talking to at the post office entered. He watched as the man took a seat on the other side of the room, but he could tell that the man was watching them, or in this case, Luna, rather intently. Rather than speak of the man to Luna, Paul tried to ignore the strange emotions that were coming to him, but it was obvious that he knew this man very well.
It had been so long ago for Paul, but it was, after all, the same being who had gone to Earth before the Voyager Probe had been sent up, before he had journeyed to Earth the first time, and before he had met and fallen in love with Jenny Hayden. Strangely enough, there had been no talk of a union between one of the beings of his world and an Earth woman. Furthermore, there was no record of a child, but Paul detected that the child of this being was sitting across the table from him and was unaware of his presence.
Could Paul tell her that her father, for reasons only he knew, had come back to Earth and that she had unknowingly become acquainted with him while waiting for to meet for lunch? Sighing deeply, he realized that there was no way that he could tell Luna the truth; this was something she would have to discover by herself. One she did, he and Scott would probably have no choice, but to disappear from her life.
"Paul?" Luna's voice interrupted his thoughts, "is everything OK?"
When he didn't offer her an answer, she turned around and looked in the direction of where he attention now was. When her eyes met those of the man called Nathaniel, she swallowed the lump in her throat and subconsciously reached inside her pocket and could feel the object in the bottom of the blazer she wore. A strange bolt of energy shot up her arm when her eyes met those of Nathaniel Roberts. Unable to move, she realized that she was afraid, and her knees began to shake from under the table. "Paul, he's like you, isn't he?" she mumbled, her voice beginning to crack. When Paul began to stand up, she reached across the table and grabbed his arm. "No, please don't go and leave me here alone, I'm scared."
"Luna, you have nothing to fear. I'm going to find out what he wants is all, and will be back in a few moments," Paul said softly, reaching over and patting her hand gently.
Luna nodded, slowly releasing his arm and allowing him to stand up and walk a few feet over towards the table where the other man was sitting. She watched from the table for some moments, but after a few seconds passed, she abruptly stood up, threw some money onto the table, and ran out of the restaurant, fear and confusion now evident on the young woman's face. Upon reaching the park, she stopped running and allowed her breathing to return to normal.
o O o
"I'm surprised to see that you returned," Paul greeted the man as he sat down at the table.
"Yes," the man answered not offering any further information.
"Why? You made your point very clear when we communicated some time ago," Paul said softly. "Luna was devastated and it has taken her a great deal of time to overcome the pain your rejection has caused her."
"I realize that, Paul, but I've been watching her for some time after that, and I realized that it would be better for me to come and to try to be her father," Nathaniel said as he took a sip of his soda.
"Do you have a name you're using?" he asked.
"Yes, Nathaniel Roberts," he answered.
Paul glanced back over towards the table where they had been sitting, Luna was gone and he sighed deeply, knowing that she was probably reacting more out of fear. He put his observations into his words, "I think she sensed something different about you."
"Please, you must not tell her that I am her father, I would rather tell her myself."
Paul nodded, "I won't tell her who you are, but you're going to have to explain to her why you came back, but in a way where she will sense you care for her, not that you pity her, she doesn't want that."
Nathaniel nodded, "I understand, and I know that I have to tell her everything about herself, only I don't know where to begin, or if she will accept it as being the truth."
"Luna is a very special young woman, and I believe that she will accept what you tell her, but you must tell her honestly that you will stay with her, and not plan to leave again. It would do little good to come to her if you have no intention of staying with her."
"She is in a great deal of pain, then?" Nathaniel asked.
Paul nodded, "during the last couple of weeks, she has been able to cope better with her feelings about everything that has come about, but she desperately needs to feel love, and as a teacher, I cannot give her that which her father is only capable of giving."
Nathaniel nodded, "I know that I have to explain to her what it was that happened, and why it may have been my fault that her mother left her alone when she was a small child."
"What do you mean?" Paul asked. "I remember when you returned home, that you had failed to tell anyone of what happened."
"The truth is, Luna's mother was not much older than your son, Paul. She was 18 years old, and alone when I came to observe life here. I remember when I came into her home that night, and she was alone. Her parents had gone away, and would be gone for weeks at a time. She was very fragile person, alone for much of the time, and so dreadfully sad. I observed her for sometime before taking human form and coming to her, but before I had even come to her, she could sense me in her home, and was frightened of my presence."
"And who's form did you take?" Paul asked as he remembered his own experience on his first trip to Earth.
"There was a young man, who had died in a car accident not far from where she was living, and I found him. He was called Joshua, and appeared to be about 25 Earth years old."
"Then you went to her mother?" Paul finished.
"Yes," Nathaniel said softly.
"Did you love Luna's mother, Nathaniel?" Paul asked gently.
"I don't really know what it was called, but I felt protective of her, and wanted to take care of her," he said softly.
"And what about Luna? Do you still feel shame about her human side?" Paul asked, his voice lowering considerably. "Or can you accept her as being a part of her mother's people?"
"I don't know what made me convey that to you," he answered.
"I think I do, my son calls it fear of facing up to something," Paul said. "But, now the question I have for you is, are you ready to face up to the fact that you haven't seen your 20 year old daughter yet and that coming to her now may not be easy for your or for her?"
Nathaniel nodded, "I watched you teaching her, and thought maybe it would be better if I taught her since I am her father."
Paul nodded, "then you must go to her, find her and tell her what is in your heart. She really does need you; much more than even my son needs me. She's been alone for much of her life, and the emptiness is easily detectable in her."
Nathaniel stood up, "then I must go to her, now. I cannot wait any longer."
o O o
Luna was sitting alone on a bench not far from the pizzeria. She knew that she shouldn't have run away, and that maybe Paul would be upset at her for doing so, but she didn't know what else to do. When she had turned around saw Nathaniel coming inside the restaurant, her instincts told her that the best thing for her to do was to run away. She zipped up her coat and wrapped her arms snugly around herself as she attempted to block the winter wind. Her feelings were whirling. Why did this man give her such a strange feeling? It seemed as though she had known him her entire life, but yet had never seen him before. She sighed deeply remembering the similar emotions she had had when she had first met Paul and Scott.
She could see children playing together in the snow, oblivious to everything going on around them except to either build snowmen or throw snowballs at each other. How simple they had it, but she felt a stinging sensation in the pit of her stomach as she thought about her own complicating and strange life. Nothing could change the fact that she felt alone for much of the time, bouncing from one place to another, not knowing who she was or where she really came from. Now she was torn between two cultures, and it was not only her first name that depicted her feeling like an oddity. Why had her mother named her something like Luna, a Spanish word meaning 'moon'? Was she trying to convey to her daughter that she had some sort of alien heritage? Or was she simply a woman who thrived on an idea of naming her something where she would be the subject of ridicule as she was growing up?
"Luna Smith," she heard her name being called in very much the same way Paul often called her, but she knew that the voice, which resonated through the trees, didn't belong to Paul, it was someone else calling out to her. She glanced up slightly, as the person who had called her name sat down beside her. She recognized him immediately, it was Nathaniel Roberts, the same man who had talked to her outside of the post office and then followed her and Paul to the pizzeria. She wrapped her arms even tighter around herself in an effort to not show him that his presence frightened her.
"Don't be afraid," he said softly and reached over and took one of her hands in his and turned it over and uncurled her fingers so the palm would face up. She eventually closed her eyes when she felt the weight of a metal object in her hand.
Some moments later, she finally found the courage to open her eyes, and was left looking into the eyes of the man seated next to her. After a few seconds, she looked down at her hand, and found the sphere resting there. Unable to speak, she swallowed the lump in her throat as his soft and gentle voice could be heard above her hammering heart, "you've been alone too long, Luna Smith. You have forgotten the part of yourself that is me."
She nodded numbly, still unable to speak. She rubbed her free hand against her skirt, and contrary to the freezing cold wind surrounding her, she could feel her hands beginning to sweat. When she felt his hand reach over and grasp the one, which held the sphere, she began to experience the same dizzy feelings she had felt the day she had first met Paul. She could feel her body starting to drift, but when she tried to will herself to remain conscious, she found that the effort in keeping her eyes open unsuccessful.
No, don't pass out, she willed herself when she opened her eyes again and saw that the colors around the park had started to whirl about her in rapid succession. Her head was spinning, she felt the migraine headache hit as though she had run full force into a brick wall. After that, everything went black and her body slumped and she fell against Nathaniel Roberts. The sphere he had placed in her hand fell, landed on the ground, and rolled a few centimeters before coming to a stop against the leg of the bench.
Nathaniel could feel her limp body falling against his side, but after a few moments, he reached down and retrieved his sphere. The object, he slipped quickly into his pocket and wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly but securely in his embrace for some moments. He could feel her soft breath against his cheek, but realizing that she needed to get warm soon, he stood up with her limp body in his arms and once he was stable on his feet, he managed to walk with her slowly out of the park and in the direction of the small restaurant where he and Paul had talked. He needed to find his friend, because Paul knew where she lived, and if he took her to the hospital, they'd ask questions about her which he did not possess the ability to answer.
When he couldn't see Paul through the window at the pizzeria, he carried her back in the direction of the park, and decided instead to use the homing signal of his sphere to locate Paul. He laid her down on the bench, his arm still wrapped around her to prevent her from catching cold, and he awkwardly reached into his pocket and pulled the sphere out. As he began to concentrate on the object in his hand, her eyes slowly opened.
"Daddy?" she moaned, her voice barely above a whisper, but it was obvious that she was still in sort of a dream-state and he sensed that she wasn't fully aware of what had just happened.
Nathaniel nodded, his concentration broken when he heard her call him 'Daddy'. He could see her heavy lidded but soft hazel eyes looking up at him, and after some moments of hesitation, he found his voice. "I'm here, Luna," he said softly.
"Daddy," she repeated licking her dry lips, her eyes opening somewhat wider, "you came back?"
Nathaniel returned the sphere to his pocket and wrapped her securely in his arms. "Yes, I'm here for you now and I won't ever leave you alone again, I promise."
"Why didn't you come sooner?" she whispered, as her eyes filled with tears. Her head was still resting against his shoulder, as though she was too weak to even be able to sit up.
Nathaniel sighed deeply, "I was afraid," he said simply.
"Afraid, but why?"
Nathaniel looked at her, his eyes serene, "I want to explain everything to you, but here is not the right place. Is there somewhere we can go and talk, or are you too weak to move right now?"
"I think I'm OK," she answered softly as he helped her to sit up. Once she was in a sitting position, he helped her to stand up and she led him in the direction of where she lived. As they made their way through the park, she kept her gaze on the sidewalk in front of her. She couldn't bring herself to even look at him as they reached the apartment building where she lived. When they reached the small apartment complex, she looked around the courtyard, but noticed that Paul and Scott were nowhere on the grounds. She was left wondering if they had left without even saying good-bye. Sighing deeply, she led Nathaniel up the stairs and nervously reached inside her purse to search for the key as they came to the front door.
Her hands were shaking as she attempted to fumble with the key chain, but after some moments of trying, the object slipped from her fingers and landed on the ground near her feet. Instead of picking them up first, Nathaniel placed his hand on the doorknob and it clicked open. That done, he leaned down, picked her keys up, and extended them towards her.
Luna accepted the key chain, and once they were inside, she closed the door. At that moment, she felt the migraine headache kick in again, and she leaned up against the door in an attempt to stabilize herself. She placed her hands over her forehead and began to moan softly.
Nathaniel approached her once they were inside, "are you feeling all right?"
"Honestly?" she asked and once he nodded, she answered his question, "no, I feel absolutely terrible, I have another migraine headache."
"Migraine headache, what is that?" he looked at her questionably, but when he saw her still leaning against the doorframe, he took her hand, led her over to the sofa and helped her to sit down.
She allowed him to help her sit, her head still resting in her hands. "It's a headache, but it's really intense and I've been getting them since I was a kid. They're terrible, and usually come when I think about my fath...uh, I mean you, or when I would touch the sphere."
He sat down beside her, and extended his hands towards her as she moved her hands away from her face and looked at him. His sudden movement startled her and she backed hesitantly away from him.
"Don't be afraid," he whispered, his voice soothing. "I'm going to see if I can help you, it's OK, Luna." She relaxed slightly, and he reached over, placed his hands against her forehead, and upon feeling the intense pain that was in her head, he gasped. As his hands moved around her temples, she felt a bolt of pain shoot through her head and she moaned once again. Upon finding the places where the pain was the most extreme, he kept his hands where they were and concentrated. After a few seconds, he removed his hands from her forehead, and she could feel the tension in her head ease somewhat. "Is that better?" he asked.
She nodded weakly, "what did you do?"
"I wanted to help you is all," he answered. "Did I scare you?"
"Paul and his son have been living here for the last few weeks, so I've kinda gotten used to hanging around with people with weird talents," she said dryly as she tried to hide the trace of sarcastic fear, which was evident in her voice. She wasn't going to admit it, but she was extremely frightened by having him in her home and she hoped that he would soon leave.
He looked at her intently, not fully understanding what she said, but after some moments, he sighed and spoke honestly to her, "I know you probably have a lot of questions, and I will answer every one as best I can. But you must know; I did not come here out of pity, Luna. I came, because after I had communicated with Paul, I realized that it was important for me to be here for you."
"Y-you rejected me," she whispered as she wiped the tears, which started to fall from her eyes.
"I know," he said just as softly, "and for that I'm sorry."
"I think you are ashamed of a part of me I cannot change," she said, her voice raising slightly, the pain etched in her words.
"Where did you get that idea?" he asked, his voice filled with sadness at hearing his earlier words thrown back into his face. "Did Paul tell you what I said in our communications?"
"No, Paul said nothing to me about what you really said to him, I could simply draw my own conclusions about it from talking to him, and from the way you are looking at me, because now your face is red," she looked away once she spoke. "It's true, isn't it, you are ashamed of the human side of me."
"No," he objected, "I couldn't be ashamed of you, you're my daughter. But, like people here, Luna, my race is also capable of making mistakes. Relaying that message to Paul was one such mistake," he answered. "I came back here because I realized that I do have a responsibility to you."
She looked down at her lap. "Is that all I am to you, simply a responsibility or a burden?"
"No, you're much more to me than that," Nathaniel said gently and stood up and kneeled down in front of her, his blue eyes looking deeply into her own. "I don't have such a good English vocabulary, but I want you to at least listen to what I have to say to you. Luna, you're my daughter, and as much as I am capable of human emotion, I do care about you."
Luna looked up at him unsure of what to say. Eventually, she found her voice, "why did you wait so long to tell me this? If I was so significant to you, couldn't you have come to me before now? I mean; I spent my entire life alone, no family. On holidays, I would sit here alone, and watch people through the window wishing and hoping that I would one day know what it feels like to have a family." The tears began to stream down her cheeks, and her voice began to shake as she finally was able to ask him the questions that had been in her mind since she was a child, "why did you leave me? If you cared about me, you would have stayed, or at least come back after the Smiths died." She broke down at this moment, and began to weep softly all the while unable to even make eye contact with him.
Nathaniel reached over and grabbed one of her hands in his own, "Please, don't cry, Luna," he said softly and when her tearstained gaze met his he continued to speak, his voice soft. "I don't know why I did the things I did, I guess because I was frightened, and I really didn't know how to be a father. I didn't intend to hurt you, but I know I did. I watched over you during the last few of your weeks, and I realized that I should have come to you when Paul contacted me the first time. I truly regret not having done that."
She wiped her hand over her eyes, and after some uncomfortable moments passed, she finally found her voice once again, and asked the most important question she had, "Do you know where my mother is?"
He shook his head, "no, after I left, I thought everything with her would be OK, and that she would be capable of taking care of you, but your mother was young, a little older than Scott is now, and I overestimated her."
"What was her name?" she asked.
"Sabrina Connor."
"Did you love her?" Luna asked.
"I didn't know what love was, but I did care for her," he answered softly. "What happened was, before I met her, I had been watching over her for some time before I made contact with her."
"Tell me what happened, please," she asked.
Nathaniel took a deep breath before he began to speak. "Sabrina was living in a small town in Connecticut, and she had been spending much of her childhood alone. I had been observing her as a sort of archeological and psychological expedition. I wanted to study the effects of a human beings who grow up without the attention of their parents. It's a very complicating study to explain, but because your mother had been alone much of her life, it seems as though she was an ideal subject of study in order for our species to learn about the subject of 'human need'." He sighed deeply, and continued to speak, his words beginning to bring her with him back into the time when he had come to Earth the first time...
November 1966
He had visited the Earth on many occasions, but only as an observer from the safety of the spacecraft he had been flying. However, this time, his curiosity got the better of him as he began to observe a young girl named Sabrina Connor. He could see from his observations, the intense feelings of loneliness she had experienced. Her parents had neglected her often by leaving her home alone. On one such occasion, it was to take a two weeklong trip to Nevada.
As he continued to watch her activities, he could see the deep sadness in her eyes as she watched her mother and father drive away without so much as a look back. The money she held in her hand had been given to her for food, but she hadn't even been hungry enough to open a small box of cereal and eat it. As the time progressed, he watched as she started losing weight from lack of food, she wouldn't go to school as she was supposed to, and he watched as she demonstrated the feelings of confusion, and pain.
At first, his objective was to learn about the psychological aspects of a girl who was often left on her own, but his thoughts about her began to increase and suddenly became a consuming obsession for him. His feelings of intense sympathy grew for her as he continued to keep track of her activities and on top of that, he realized that she was young, about 18 years old and considered by many to be a child, so her pain was much more empowering and she seemed in desperate need of a friend.
He watched first from the observation craft, but then made the decision to journey to the Earth's surface and attempt to make contact with the young Earthgirl who had spent much of her existence alone and isolated even from those of her own kind.
He arrived at her home, the blue light of his being drifting through the small house where she lived. He could see her on her bed, asleep, his essence coming closer to her, but at the moment when he had found her, she had opened her eyes, seen him, and reacted to the light in fear. "Please, don't be afraid, Earthgirl," he had silently pleaded with her, but his signals were not understood and he could only watch as she got off the bed, and ran through the house attempting to escape from him.
After some time, it occurred to him that he must find a human body to dwell inside of, in order for her to accept him, understand or hear that his intents were peaceful. His essence left the house and he traveled quickly to where he found the body of Joshua Hudson, dead, the car accident he had been in, had gone undiscovered.
Cloning the body of Joshua, he decided to return to the home of Sabrina and try to help her. He knew that he only had three days to be with her before he would return to the area where he had found Joshua and meet up with the being of his world that would be arriving to pick him up once his mission was completed.
He returned to the place where Sabrina was living and using his power he managed to enter the house. She had been sitting in the living room when he had come inside and upon turning around and seeing him standing not far from her; she began to scream.
"No, please, don't do that," he offered, but it seemed to have been futile because moments later, she scrambled to her feet, had run out of the room, and through the house, trying to make good on her escape. He followed her using the ability he had to run fast, and eventually, he reached out and grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards where he was, his arms wrapping around her as she struggled against him, all the while screaming in complete terror. After some moments, he placed his hand firmly, but gently, over her mouth to muffle the screams that emerged from the terrified girl. "I won't harm you, Earthgirl," he whispered softly into her ear, once her screams died away and her sobs replaced them. His words did little to ease the fear she was experiencing and she continued to fight against the hold he had on her.
By this time, she had managed in her fight to escape from him to strike his shinbone with the heel of her foot. He moaned and reached down to rub the effected area of his foot, but as he did, he loosened his hold on her, and she managed to pull away from him. She ran hysterically down the hallway, and into her parents' room. Once inside, she slammed the door behind her, and locked herself inside. Her fear was mounting as she heard his plodding footsteps coming down the hallway and approaching the door to the room where she was hiding. She eventually could hear him turning the doorknob and she wondered if he would be able to break the door down. Finally, not knowing what else to do, she crawled under the bed, and remained there her fear mounting with each second. She knew that there was no way she could even call for help, because she was frightened that this 'man' would discover where she was hiding. In the darkness, she began to weep softly once again, her tears falling down over her cheeks and her hands trembling as she tried to wipe them away.
Back out in the hallway, once he had recovered from the pain she had inflicted on his shin, Joshua walked slowly in the direction of the door he had seen her open and go into, and when he reached the room, after trying to turn the knob and open the door, he realized that it was locked. He placed his hand on the knob, the lock gave way, and he opened the door, entered the room, and walked straight to the bed where she was hiding. Once there, he got down on his hands and knees and looked under the bed at her as she peered out from under it, as though she was a frightened kitten trapped in a corner.
"Please don't be afraid, I mean you no harm," he repeated, extending his hand under the bed in an effort to get her to come out. "Here, let me help you out from under there," he said, his voice now considerably softer. When she did nothing, he spoke again, "it's OK, I won't hurt you," he repeated, his hand still stuck under the bed. After some moments of silence, she hesitantly reached out and allowed him to help her out from under the bed. Once she was sitting on the floor, he moved over so that he would be sitting next to her.
"W-who are you?" was all she could say to him. Her fear of him prevented her from being able to even make eye contact with him.
"I mean you no harm," he repeated for the third time. "I am called Joshua."
"S-Sabrina Connor," she stammered looking briefly over at him.
"You're frightened of me?" he asked, but his question sounded more like a statement of fact than a question. "Why is that, even though I have told you I wouldn't hurt you?"
She could do nothing except to simply nod her head.
"Tell me why I frighten you," he said gently.
"I-I saw you here last night, but you were different, a light, and then when you came here, you tried to kidnap me," she said softly.
Joshua sighed deeply, "I'm sorry I frightened you tonight," he said softly, "I don't always know how to approach your people, you see, you're the first human being I have ever met, but I wouldn't harm you, Sabrina, I want to help you."
She nodded as though she understood him, but after a few seconds, she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, "then -- you really were here before, right?"
"Yes."
"I don't understand," she said still trying to calm herself down.
"I didn't come here to do anything more than to watch you," he said softly. "When you reacted to me last night in fear, I thought it would be wise if I found a human body to dwell in, so that I may speak to you and you wouldn't be afraid."
"But, why?"
"You are a very interesting planet Earth person, Sabrina," he said gently, not sure if the vocabulary he had used would be understood by the frightened girl. When she gave him a strange look, he began to speak once again, "my vocabulary is limited, I'm afraid, but to answer your inquiry, I have been observing you, and have been waiting for the moment to make contact with you."
"Y-you mean, you want to take me out there and study me like a rat in a Biology lab?" she shuddered, the fear returning to her voice and she backed slowly away from him.
"No, my mission does not mean that I would do such things to you. The truth is, I could not ever take you to my home, you would die there," he said softly reaching out and taking her hand. "The truth is, I only have a short amount of time to be with you, and all that I wish to do is talk to you and learn from you before I must return home. Will you allow me that opportunity?"
She looked back over at him, her eyes filled with fear and mistrust, but there was something else there, a feeling of