Welcome back. The journey between two worlds concludes.
Chapter 12 – Exhale
Their eyes were locked where Ellie stood, as if refusing to accept that this was the end. Frozen. With no one daring to move or make any sounds.
A short “meow” broke the tension. The old cat’s quiet entrance reminded them to breathe again.
“Mom…” Nathan said and held Sarah tight in his arms.
“She left… It’s only us now,” Manny whispered and started coughing.
“What’s with this coughing, Dad? It doesn’t sound good,” Nathan said, truly concerned.
“Boy, I’m so happy we had this moment. All we did was right. All our suffering was a small price, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Now… I can rest. You have Sarah. You are no longer alone.”
“Manny…” Sarah said, but Nathan cut her off.
“What do you mean, Dad?” he said, and for the first time he saw him, really saw him. Manny looked thinner than he remembered. His skin was pale, and his eyes were cloudy and tired. Nathan had missed all of this before, blinded by anger.
“Boy, I’m fading. I should have been for a long time. We beat all odds, and for that I’m so grateful. Time is approaching for me to join your mother. She has been waiting for me long enough. But for now, I need to go back. Sarah, my girl, take good care of him.”
“Sure…”
Manny hugged them both and left. The sound of the crooked door closing announced that they were back on Earth. Nathan could now feel the transitions. He sat for a while. To gather his thoughts and to calm down, to adjust to the new reality. “Wha’s next?” he wondered and looked for Sarah. But there is nowhere to be seen.
“Sarah… Sarah,” he called, panic rising.
“What?” she said after a few seconds, coming out of the kitchen.
“I thought…”
“No chance. You are stuck with both of us now.”
“Both?”
“Sarah–Olivia, Olivia–Sarah. I though you got it.” she said and started laughing.
“You… you… come to me now, you trickster… You have to explain yourself…” Nathan said and started chasing her around the living room.
In the end, they fell into each other’s arms and kissed. A kiss as a reward for their waiting, for their understanding and acceptance of their destiny. Their true life together had just begun, and they planned to be as legendary as it could be.
…
Two months have passed since the events that changed Nathan’s life forever. He felt no more depression, no more frustration. He now observes details of the neighborhood that he was never aware of before. Like when families are visited by their friends and family from Othearth. No cars, no fuss. All “emerging” from the empty green house, which now he knows is the point of traversal.
Lenzo and Migo are now more than overly‑friendly, jogging, always‑popping‑up neighbors. They are part of the family. His anchor in reality that he didn’t know he had, what kept him grounded.
He could have gone with Sarah to Othearth, but he decided that he needed some time here, in the place he grew up. Not to put anything in order. He just needed time to adjust and to prepare. Besides, he couldn’t leave without seeing Mr. Brownson’s face when he saw the resignation letter that contained a single word for reason: Freedom.
Sarah stayed with him, but every now and then she had to be on Othearth for two or three days. She had just arrived when Nathan was watering the backyard flowers.
“Nat, I’m home,” she said. Nathan stopped the water, kissed her, and held her in his arms.
“I missed you.”
“Me too. And you know who else is missing you?”
“I know… I know… I miss Dad too. It’s time, isn’t it?”
Sarah nodded. The old cat rubbed her head against their legs, marking them with “you belong to me”.
EPILOGUE
Three years have passed since Nathan and Sarah built their life on Othearth. It’s late autumn, and their arrival in the old neighborhood on Earth came with nostalgia. He never knew that one day he would also emerge from the empty house.
Without Sarah knowing, Nathan arranged everything in advance for the old house: cleaning, fixing, modernizing it. They stopped at the front door.
“Look, this is the house where your dad grew up. This will be our home for a while. You will love it,” Sarah said, rubbing her big belly, which was carrying twins. A boy and a girl.
Their time to continue the tradition is here. And that is another story.
>>>>> THE END <<<<
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