“Who the hell does she think she is?” I paced the room, raging like a wounded bull. “How could she even think of taking my son?”
“David, calm down,” Falcon said.
“No! She knows nothing about him. Nothing about me. What kind of a self-centered, spoiled little brat just goes ahead and makes those kinds of decisions!”
“She thought she’d be saving him—”
“From me? From the man who has raised him?”
“David, you can’t hold this against her. I only told you so you could be a bit more careful in the future—”
“And what? Tie a rope around Harry’s leg in case she just suddenly decides to take him?” I yelled. “How can I trust her now? How can I be sure she isn’t planning her escape while she makes us all think—”
“Just calm down. She’s not planning to take Harry—”
“You don’t know that!” My heart raced now with fear. I put my hands in my pockets to stop them shaking, wishing I’d heard her say that when I rushed in to save her earlier. The things I would have said. The things I would have done instead of talking her down. “I should’ve let her leave—”
“And she’d have taken Harry—”
“What’s going on?” Elora called over us. “Why are you yelling?”
“Ara planned to take Harry away after what you told her!” I shouted.
“So David’s freaking out,” Falcon added in his usual calm tone.
“And you don’t think that’s justified?” she said to him.
Falcon looked at me, and I presented my daughter in all her brilliance.
“You two know nothing about Ara.” He stood up. “She won’t take Harry. It was an impulsive thought in a heated moment—”
“But you would say that, wouldn’t you? Because you’re blinded by the curse,” I said.
“I am not blinded by anything. I—”
“Are you sure about that, Falcon?” Elora asked softly, trying not to be offensive while also attempting to ask what we’d all been curious to know. “You have made some odd decisions for her and—”
“I have my reasons.”
“Like what?” Elora got a bit snappy. “Like that you know her better than any of us? Or—”
“Lily had a vision.” He sighed heavily and took a step backward, sitting down on the arm of the couch again. “Which is why I agreed so readily to foster her—after originally being an advocate for her release back into David’s care.”
“What was the vision?” Elora sat down on the arm opposite him.
“It was while David was at Loslilian for Jason’s wedding. In the vision, Lily saw us take David to her. From there, he cared for her like I have—doing everything—but Harry was left in the wind a little. Ara needed so much just to get her looking human again and then even more of David when she had to learn to talk and walk and be a functioning person. He was her number one carer; he fathered her in a lot of ways, and from that, began to baby her. When she did finally start to understand this life and start pulling away to essentially ‘grow up’, he pulled back. As she began to explore the world and explore herself, he reined her in even more. Instead of letting her find out who she is, which was vital to her becoming herself again, he tried to tell her who she was. She fought against his restraints and they started screaming at each other all the time. She wasn’t so much a wife to him anymore but a willful teen. It destroyed the relationship between her and Harry, and she left. Lily couldn’t find one scenario in the future following where Ara ever came back to us.”
Elora slowly exhaled and I shut my eyes for moment, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“That’s why I fought so hard for her human life,” he continued. “It was never me trying to trap her, but merely give her the space to grow up without interferences. I was certain that if she was given the chance to be herself, she would eventually be a part of the family again. And I was certain she would remember things and one day know who she is through finding it within her, not by being told.” He looked at me. “David, that’s why, when you came back from your journey across the sea, I was so hesitant to let you tell her.”
“I’m sorry I ever doubted you, Falcon,” I said humbly. “I should have known better.”
“Yes, but you didn’t trust the curse,” he said. “I understand that, because it’s the same reason I’ve never trusted Mike with her. And why I don’t completely trust you.”
“Well I’m not under her curse,” Elora said, looking in to the small mirror charm she kept around her neck. “And even I would have told her who she is before now, but I would have been wrong. Oh! Shit!” She angled the glass and sat taller, peering closer. “I can see it! I can literally see it.”
“See what?” Falcon asked.
“A vision. I haven’t had any about Mom—at all. But… I think this is about Harry.” She showed the small hinged mirror by way of explanation.
“What was it?” I asked.
“Wait.” Elora put a finger up, shutting her eyes to follow the vision. “She had a dream about being pregnant—right before you came back from your trip down Self-Pity Lane, Dad.”
“What?” Falcon said in a high voice. “She never said anything about it.”
“She was afraid the child might’ve died. And she’d been kind of searching for it since then. I saw a version of this life that breaks away from this moment now.” She looked at me, her eyes pale with worry. “I see her at Harry’s graduation, but shortly after, she’s gone. And Harry’s gone too.”
“She’s going to take my son!” I stood up.
“No.” She shook her head softly. “He begs her to stay, and when she explains that she’s in search of something she lost—which I think maybe is the part of her that loved you and hasn’t yet learned that—Harry goes with her. He refuses to let his mother go again.”
“Then what do I do?” I sat back down, holding my head in my hands.
“Extend the olive branch. Be a friend to her again, Dad—”
“How? After hearing she was going to take Harry—”
“You have to let that go,” Falcon said.
“But I hate her right now.”
“You don’t hate her,” Elora said flatly.
“I do. I hate that self-righteous, stuck-up little bitch version of her, and I’m not sure I can ever love her if she can’t be my Ara again.”
They looked at me like I’d just slapped an infant.
“Then you better have a chat with the part of you that could once love her no matter what, Dad.” Elora stood up. “Otherwise, you’ve already lost her.”
Falcon and I watched as she left the room, the front door slamming a second later.
“Forgive her.” Falcon stood too. “She’s a child, David. She thinks like a child and acts like a child. She needs our compassion and understanding until she grows up. You have no right to be angry at her for this.”
“And still”—I folded my arms—“I can’t change what I feel.”
“Then you’re a goddamn fool!” he barked, storming off in the same manner my daughter had.