Part 9: On the Growth of Crystals[/u]
With two babies in the household, things were rather busy. Notes became a little sparse as even Aurum’s calm was completely broken by balancing two sets of little needs.
Darren could feel himself relaxing as time went on, and he could enjoy the time spent cuddling and bathing his daughter. His daughter. In all his worries for a future… His little half-vision, half-dreams…The child Darleen left behind was a boy.
Somewhere along the line, he’d changed the current of history, the current his life was to be swept up in. In his own heart, he couldn’t help but sigh with relief.
Darren realized it most clearly and directly. The rest of them just sort of felt it, to greater or lesser extents.
Aurum saw her fate as unchanging, with that monomaniacal focus towards her end-goal that made Aurum’s world made sense…But even she’s already admitted that the journey she’s taking isn’t the one she expected. Darleen didn’t weep for it; flexible as a snake, she shifted her goals to ride the changing winds, almost not noticing how much they changed.
And Jaycen?
To be honest, I don’t know how much of it he realized. Only that he felt he’d grown up. Was that inevitable, for him? Looking back, was that the way things were going to be, sooner or later? Well, it wasn’t what he’d wanted, back when this story began. But that’s not the same thing.
Being happy, playing with his boy, sculpting… Having a family, contented. That, too, was a change of the path his life could have taken. But he seemed happy enough in it.
One person arriving in a town…No, even earlier than that. One little fire. That’s what it takes to change the universe. I think I needed that reminder. Neon located a rock requiring further study. Specifically, it seems to have an intense chrystalization growth rate. From a relatively small growth, like the piles created by my gem machine, I theorize it may be possible to train the growth of entirely new sections of crystal.
Since my Geiger counter informs me that the substance is rather dangerous to carbon-based lifeforms, the currently unused outer garden will serve as storage as I observe.
Within a few days, the growths were dramatic enough that I considered my trials a success and sold them off, netting extremely heavy profits from the three pieces I had. The financial security is a comfort.
I continue my elixir trials; a change to this ratio or that may have potent effects on my work, as well as reveal the true nature of the objects involved.
And anyway, it’s something I can share with Jaycen. I don’t have to tell him how my work is going; I can show him. It’s…The way I’ve always said hello after a long day, spent in the quiet corners of the house. I honestly do not believe he wants anything more or less from me. And I…
There is much I want from this world, from my life. So many things left to learn, so much knowledge left to chase…My greatest wishes are yet ahead of me.
But at the same time…This is a special happiness, that cannot be lessened or replaced. I will treasure this time, not just while it lasts, but always. My lifetime’s happiness.
…But I suppose a nature like mine is ill-suited to contentment. I find my mind wandering when I’m with Ferrus.
Looking at my little boy, I wonder: is this what my father felt? He never was really able to hold me like this, heavy with trust. I was never an infant, or a toddler, or a child. When he watched me sleep for the first time, was there the odd fear that arose from not knowing the difference between sleep and death, even for a second? The odd joy of seeing a peaceful murmur in the dead of night? The wondering if, for all this love, you will not be good enough?
Ferrus is very peaceful when I rock with him like this. Maybe he likes the feeling that I’m thinking of him.
Darren’s pursuing his own happiness; he’s begun writing children’s books. I wonder if he intends for Diane to read them one day.
My ingredient supply is no longer quite stable; tracking planting through the snow is difficult enough that we intent to put it off until Spring comes again, and I’m holding off on Chemistry to see if opportunities for further learning present themselves. But…I can’t stop and settle for that, either.
So in the meanwhile, I’m pursuing my studies of magic. Alchemy requires a bit of magic to get by; certainly, magic is essential for my unique existence. I am also hoping I can supply us with some death fish, since all the local water is frozen over.
Perhaps the reason Darren’s been working on his lifetime wish particularly hard is…
That he’s getting older. I think he was nervous at first; he didn’t tell us, so perhaps he was unhappy with the whole notion.
Well, then again, it did mess with his hair. Maybe he resented this.
Darleen, however, managed to set things right with some kisses. I would have recommended therapy, personally; I’m told mid-life crises are rather common, and our hospital has an excellent program for them.
In the middle of the night, we received a rather odd visitor. I wonder if he’s connected to those men in black…Or if he’s just a very odd person. I suppose the costume is warm, anyway. He offered several services.
I would love to go to a university one day, study seriously with the best and brightest scientists available… All that knowledge. All those resources... It’s all so dreamy.
However, we’re unable to make use of his services at this unstable time. I will have to save his basket for later. Also, it appears that local social trends, referred to as the nerds, seem to have noticed me with some interest. I’ll pay them no heed, if I can help it. They even said I was socially awkward. Well… At least they agree with my assessment.
Particularly since the next morning was Ferrus and Diane’s birthdays. Diane, as the older child, went first.
How she ended up blonde, no one knows. I’d be interested in tracking the genetic anomaly that occurred there.
Still, she’s a darling girl.
Next up was my Ferrus.
Like Diane, his genetics are unusual; that eye color doesn’t exist anywhere in my family tree, nor in Jaycen’s…But it’s also very hard to see in that image. I note with some pleasure he has my ears.
As you can see, his eye color is very unusual…But also quite fetching, very bright against his skin (he’s paler than I am. I will require skin samples…But perhaps when he’s older.) The shape is mostly mine, but the inner corners are not; are they Jaycen’s? divorced from the rest of the shape, it’s hard to pinpoint.
Well, we will have a good deal of time for analysis, won’t we, my little sweetie?
