So This is Love - Chapter Five (Final)
“What do we do now?” Tommy said, head in his hands. Adam was exasperated, leaning his forehead against the wall of the cave.
“That’s up to you,” he said. “This is all my fault. I never should have spoken to you, it was never my place. I never should have told you anything, because now not only can they get you for breaking your match, but now you have knowledge of the Past Before. I wouldn’t stop you if you tried to leave right now.”
Tommy stood and placed a hand on Adam’s back, willing him to turn from the wall and look at him with those beautiful colored eyes.
“It’s not your fault,” He murmured, cupping the taller boy’s face with his hands, forcing him to look him in the eyes. “And I’m not leaving - not without you. I wanted you to speak to me, and I’m glad you did. I would have found out about the Past Before anyways, it always intrigued me. You gave me the answers I was searching for and helped me discover who I really am. Thank you, Adam. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude. And thank you for your friendship. I’ve never had a friend as good as you.”
“Tommy,” Adam started to speak, something he had to tell him, but they were interrupted by a sharp voice.
“Thomas Joseph Ratliff!” The man yelled. He was wearing the uniform of the Officials and carrying the biggest weapon that Tommy had ever seen. He dropped his hands from Adam’s face, both of their eyes widened in fear.
“That was quick…” Adam whispered.
“Thomas, you are wanted on account of breaking a match, and it has been brought to our attention that you may have unlawful knowledge of the Past Before. We’re going to need you to come with…” The man’s sentence trailed off as he noticed the photograph that had carelessly fallen to the floor. Tommy quickly reached for it, but the Official was quicker and snatched it in his hands.
Upon inspection of the foreign object, the Official’s eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed in something like disgust.
“Thomas Ratliff, are you aware that this is an illegal artifact from the Past Before?” He said, with nothing but ice in his voice. Tommy opened his mouth to answer, but Adam spoke first.
“It’s mine!” Tommy whirled to face Adam again.
“Adam, no!”
The Official turned his attention to the darker haired boy.
“And who are you?” He walked around Adam with his hands behind his back, inspecting him. “I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen you before. And I know everyone in this town. Even if you had recently moved here then you would have had to register. I would know if you had, and you haven’t.”
Adam stood straight, looking the Official in the eye. “That is the truth, sir.”
“And now you have abducted this boy, and you are in possession of illegal artifacts.”
“He didn’t abduct me, I came to him! And the artifact was mine!” Tommy blurted out, not able to stand Adam taking the blame for his own crimes. “I broke the match, I had the artifact, I ran away. It’s all me!”
A second Official stepped out of the shadows. “Thomas, do not try to take the blame for this criminal. He must receive the punishment he deserves.” The first Official raised his gun and aimed it at Adam, who flashed a reassuring yet heartbreaking smile at Tommy, knowing what was about to happen. He knew that he would not be allowed to speak, so instead he managed a miserable wave before the sound of the bullet being fired was heard.
Tommy acted on impulse. He took a running leap in front of Adam, and took the bullet.
Some people are afraid of death - afraid of the pain - but Tommy felt no pain. In fact, the experience for him was... beautiful. The last thing that he saw before everything went dark was color. Brilliant, bold; millions of colors. Everything that he had always known in black and white and shades of gray was all in color, and it was beautiful. And then, it was all black.
-*-*-*-
Adam sat, back pressed against the wall. He couldn’t believe that he had returned to the place that had once been home. He had hidden in the secluded cabin that had once belonged to his mother for at least a week now, and he was miserable.
Tommy - his only true friend - was gone. He had taken a bullet for him, and died instantly. Adam couldn’t escape the memory, the lifeless body at his feet where his own should have been. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye, to say the things that he had needed to say.
The Officials had put their guns away, retrieved the body, and walked out silently. Adam knew their society well enough that if someone takes a bullet for someone else, they are accepting all of the blame for the crime. It almost never happened - there were only two reported cases of someone else accepting the blame - and it was usually frowned upon. Most people didn’t understand the sense in doing something like that. However, because of Tommy, Adam was no longer a wanted man.
But there were still plenty of people who hated him, downright despised him. They blamed him for Tommy’s death, and honestly, he blamed himself for it too. For this reason, he had to hide.
Ever since then his world had reverted to black and white. He no longer saw the warm brightness of the sun, or the cool calm of the water. He missed his unique gift, but most of all, he missed Tommy.
Most of the time, Adam slept. It started out being the only way to escape the pain, but it soon became unavoidable even in his dreams. He had such vivid dreams about Tommy coming back that when he heard the knock on the door and saw the tuft of light hair out the window he figured he was dreaming yet again…
But he wasn’t.
He ran to the door and flung it open, pulling the smaller boy inside and wrapping him in his arms. The moment their bodies pressed together, the color returned to Adam’s vision. He could see Tommy’s hair, and his eyes, and the warm glow of the sun on his face.
Neither boy could stop the tears that threatened at the corners of their eyes from falling as they stayed in each other’s embrace silently for what felt like forever. Adam finally broke away first, taking Tommy by the shoulders and pushing him gently away so he could get a good look at him.
“How?” He whispered. “How are you here, and alive, and real?”
“Here,” Tommy said, walking past him and pointing to the couch, “sit with me and I’ll tell you about it.”
“When you were little and your parents told you stories, did they ever tell you anything about the Born Again?” Adam nodded.
“Yes, those that died under circumstances where they would be considered a hero, and died long before their actual predicted time of death… oh. Oh!” He exclaimed, as he realized. “I thought that was a myth! There are no records or evidence of that actually happening!”
“Apparently it happens more often than most people would even dream of, but the thing is, when the people are born again they are given a different identity, so to speak. It would cause too much controversy and confusion if someone were to rise from the dead and show up on their mother’s doorstep, you know? And those who don’t receive a new appearance don’t want to return to their home anyways.”
“So why are you… why are you still my Tommy?” Tommy felt his face turn hot. He liked the sound of that, of being Adam’s.
“Well, I didn’t think you would want to go back to where I’m from… right?”
“What, you mean you’re… you’re going to stay with me? You’re not going back there?”
“Of course not, why would I? What is there for me there? I took your blame, anyways. I’d be hated if I went back.”
“It’s all my fault…” Adam whispered.
“No, Adam… no. You can’t think that way, it wasn’t your fault - it wasn’t anyone’s fault. We’re different, and we don’t fit in there with that society. We’re outcasts. I did what I had to to save you, and I’m okay now. We’re both okay now, and we have each other, and that’s all that matters.”
He gathered the shaken boy in his arms and ran a hand through his dark hair, smoothing it down.
“While I was… wherever I was in that week that I wasn’t here, I learned things. Adam, I was with people who had answers. Who shared those answers with me.”
Adam distanced himself from the smaller boy enough to be able to look him in his beautiful eyes.
“What kind of answers?”
“Well, I told them about the color.” Adam nodded. “They told me what you had before, that it used to be the normal thing for everyone to see it. But when I mentioned that it wasn’t everything in color - that it was just a few specific details, mostly you - they seemed to know something else. So I asked them. I said, ‘why do you make a face like you know something more?’ They told me that there was something I was curious about that was the reason for my ability to see color. I was confused, but they told me to really think about it, that there was a connection with something else I had been seeking answers about.”
He waited for Adam to understand, and then his eyes lit up, and Tommy knew that he had gotten it.
“Love, right?” He said quietly. Tommy nodded. “They told you about love?”
“I was so happy to finally find people who knew what the word meant, but they wouldn’t tell me. I asked them what it was, and it was the strangest thing. They told me that I already knew.”
Adam’s face was full of confusion.
“Yeah, I made that face too. They could see that I didn’t understand, so they helped me out a little. They told me that love is the deepest form of caring and adoration that exists - well, used to exist - and that once you are in love with someone you would do anything to make them happy and to make sure that they are okay. You feel about this person nothing that you have ever felt before, and you want to be with them every second of every day…”
He paused to try to read the expression on Adam’s face, but it was unreadable so he continued, knowing the last part would make him understand.
“They said I wouldn’t be there, waiting to come back to life, unless I had love. That’s the way you’re born again, Adam. You give your life to the person you love.”
Adam’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly in shock.
“Tommy Ratliff, are you trying to say… are you trying to tell me that you love me?”
Tommy nodded, tears in his eyes. He was never one to cry, but this was overwhelming. The two sat in silence for a moment before Adam spoke again.
“Tommy, I- I think I love you too. I know if it had been you that they were about to kill I would have done the same thing. And while you were gone… I felt lifeless. I felt like I had no more reason to live. Before I met you I was fine with being on my own, but after you had befriended me I couldn’t handle being here without you.”
Tommy scooted closer to Adam and sat as close as he could, leaning his head on the taller boy’s chest.
“So this is love, huh?” Adam said, stroking Tommy’s hair.
“Yeah. This is love. I love you, and you love me.” Tommy picked up Adam’s free hand and laced his fingers with his own.
“What did you do that for?” Adam asked, looking down at their hands.
“Doesn’t it feel right? It’s something those people showed me. Something that they said people do when they’re in love. They also… well, they also do this.”
With that, Tommy sat up straight and put his other hand on the back of Adam’s neck, pulling him in closer, slowly, until their lips met. Their eyes closed, and Adam tilted his head a bit, instinctively knowing what to do. The kiss was soft and chaste, and new to both. Neither wanted to pull away, both loving the taste and feel of the other’s lips on their own.
When they finally broke away and opened their eyes, the whole world was in color. They looked at each other, eyes widened in shock, neither one of them quite believing what was going on.
“You… we…” Tommy tried to speak.
“Shh,” Adam said, placing a long finger to the smaller boy’s lips. “Don’t try to explain it, don’t discuss it. Just take it all in and enjoy it. Trying to explain it will only ruin it. We both know what happened and we both know why.”
Tommy resumed his position snuggled up against Adam’s chest.
“I love you, Adam.” He murmured against his chest, soft enough where Adam would just barely hear it.
“I love you too, Tommy.”
“Come on,” he said, standing up with a sudden sparkle in his eyes and tugging on Adam’s hand, pulling him towards the bedroom. “Let me show you what else they told me people who are in love do.”
End.