“From that moment on, we were inseparable. I didn’t know anyone else in the area, so your mother and father sort of adopted me. We became friends. More than that, really. We were family. I was there when your father picked out their engagement ring. I was best man at their wedding. I went with them for the second viewing of the cottage that was to become your home. If they ever tired of me, they never showed it. They welcomed me into their home like a child, or maybe a pet—I never could tell.
“They looked after me with all the kindness I could ever ask for, and I tried to repay it, but no matter what I did, it never seemed enough. I hope they took something from our relationship, though. I like to think they enjoyed my company and that there was a sense of completeness, the feeling that together, we somehow made a whole. They gave me something I hadn’t felt for a very long time, not since I lost my own parents. They made me feel welcome. They gave me somewhere to belong.
“And then you were born, and I was almost as proud and amazed as David and Beth. I mean, think about it. As a species, we can choose to create life. We can breathe being into a collection of cells, and from such simple biology emerge creatures who can hold the universe in their minds. We can dream the stars, picture the beginning and end of time, relive countless histories, both real and imagined. My path means I’m unlikely to ever have children of my own, and I doubt I’ll ever get to find out whether I would have made a good dad.
“I hope our time together wasn’t too much of a disappointment, Elliot, and that you’ll forgive my failings. I only ever wanted the best for you.
“I was there for your birth. I wasn’t allowed in theater, but I was waiting in the corridor for news from your father. I almost burst with joy when he came out and told me everything was okay. I held you soon after you were brought up to the ward, and I’m not ashamed to say I cried. David and Beth were perplexed but they humored me. They couldn’t understand what I was feeling. Our connection coursed through me, it made my soul shiver, and I knew the moment I saw you that we had great things to achieve together. You were so tiny and perfect, and I marveled at the miracle of life and the magic of the universe bringing us together.
“I’ve known you your whole life. Every step, every word, every fall, every tear, every smile, I feel it all so deeply. And your parents could see that love, which is why they asked me to be your guardian in the event anything happened to them. How could I say no?
“I remember the day we went to their lawyer’s office. It was a somber occasion. They joined the lawyer in cracking jokes and making light of the need for such preparations. They were young and healthy and your mother was so strong as you squirmed in her arms.
“I was the only one who wasn’t smiling and joking. I was the only one wrapped in a cloud.
“Because I knew what had to happen.
“Beth was diagnosed when you were seven. They tried to keep it from you to begin with, but eventually she became too sick, and it became too much to hide, so you finally knew what I’d known sitting in that lawyer’s office all those years ago: she was fated to die.”