Twelve: The Road Home
The battle is done, but what does the future hold for Ethan?
Ethan was awakened to the face of Miranda hovering over him. He blinked to clear his eyes, and all at once the feeling of pain crushed through his body.
“Shit!” Ethan shouted.
“Oh, I am sure it hurts like hell. Still, I guess a thank you is in order,” Miranda said, looking away from him.
Ethan turned his head to look in the direction of her eyes, and smiled lightly when he saw Abraham and Miranda’s grandmother leaning against the doorway.
“Eh, I would let you come into the house now,” the elderly lady said.
“Not bad, kid. You could have really shown up earlier. That would have made it a lot easier,” Abraham said as he took a long drag off of his pipe. The smoke was already filling the room, but no one else seemed even remotely bothered by it, except for Ethan.
“What--- what happens now?” Ethan asked before coughing, attempting to pull himself up to sit against the back of the rickety wooden bed frame.
“Now, you have done everything you needed to do… here,” Grandma said. She looked at him and nodded to his finger. Ethan looked down and saw that the ring was no longer fused to it, but instead, it rested as normal.
“Am I stuck here?” Ethan asked.
“No boy, once you remove the ring, you will wake up wherever you left off,” Abraham said as he looked away.
“What if I put it back on again? Can I come see you all?” Ethan asked as he tried to stand up.
“No. You have helped us avoid this calamity, and we can never thank you enough. Other places need you,” Miranda said as she stepped forward and took Ethan’s hand.
“I finally found purpose here, and I have to go? That doesn’t seem fair. I know I belong back on my Earth, but can it not wait until I am ready?” Ethan pleaded.
“That just isn’t how it works,” Miranda said, a waiver in her voice.
“Remember, boy, what I told you. The good news is, now you are just a piece of matter in a universe that gives a tiny shit about you. It needs you, just like we did,” Abraham said.
“I just don’t think---” Ethan began. Everything whirled and pitched around him. He could feel his stomach turn and flip in on itself, and he held off the urge to vomit. He closed his eyes as he grasped for some sort of reality. In a moment, everything stopped.
Ethan opened his eyes and looked around. He was back in his apartment, laying on the carpet in his living room. He looked down to see the ring in his hand, slyly taken from his finger by Miranda. He shook his head and raised himself off of the floor.
I will find a way to get back, he thought. Right after I go to the hospital, he continued as he grasped his wounded arm.
---
Miranda stood in the room with Abraham and Sally. They nodded as Miranda turned to them, her hand still held out as if she had pulled something from a person that was no longer there.
“You have done what needed to be done,” Sally said.
“I know,” Miranda responded.
They each walked out quietly and went their separate ways. Sally headed to her home down the street, and Abraham returned to the chair in front of his smoking house. Miranda walked down the street and watched as the kids ran back and forth, chasing each other and playing make-believe war.
She returned to her own house and made her way into her bedroom. She ran her hand over the top of the chest of drawers, and pulled the cold metal handle. Shuffling through the various clothing, she pulled out a small velvet cloth and laid it on the top of the chest. Slowly unfurling it, a soft purple hue began to emanate from its center. She looked around and paused for a moment.
I guess it is my time for an adventure of my own, she thought. She placed the ring on the tip of her finger and slid it down. Before she could think, everything began to fade to black and felt a cool rush of wind envelope her body.