Dents

[+Bonus Chapter] O Green World

The musty scent of mildew in the cottage was drowned out by the freshly brewed coffee in my hand. I stared into the black liquid as it spun circles around the rim of the mug. I found it hard to turn my gaze elsewhere for fear of what I might find.

Mom looked a lot older than she had when I'd left. Her auburn hair was tied lazily in a knotted bun that rested lopsided atop her head. Her once vivid eyes and youthful candor were replaced with a dull emptiness. She was a shadow of her former self. It distressed me greatly knowing that I was responsible for the trouble she suffered. 

I hadn't noticed that she was talking until she was already halfway through her sentence.

"Everyone thought it was hopeless, but I always knew. I always knew you were out there, someplace."

"I... I'm sorry," I uttered, unsure of how I could possibly respond.

It should have been obvious that everyone would assume I'd died. Seeing the crumpled poster on the floor with my face on it made everything feel surreal.

Missing, presumed dead.

Yet, there I stood. Alive and well.

Her lips were drawn. She patted dust that only she could see off of her ragged dress.

I dropped my head, biting at my bottom lip until it hurt. It was the only way I managed to contain the barrage of emotions within me. 

"I'm sorry," I repeated.

"Why do you apologize, mo stóirín?"

There was a soft clink of ceramic on the table. A bird chirped sweetly near the window.

"I'm so happy that you've come home. There is nothing to apologize for. You are here now."

"I am."

"Tell me, where have you been all this time?"

In that single moment, the culmination of all my fears set in to motion.

I burst into tears. I was incapable of giving an explanation. My stomach twisted into dozens of tightly wound knots. She stood from her seat across the table and made her way to me, resting a frail hand on the back of my neck. She said nothing. The gesture was enough to settle me after a while.

Once I calmed down, I told her everything. I explained how I had been on foreign soil for less than a year before being kidnapped and trafficked. I spared her the gruesome details of what I was forced to do. I recounted my escape, my crash landing at Plastic Beach, and everything that had happened since. She had an endless wave of questions. I did my best to answer them while leaving out the grittier parts.

Despite the horrors I lived in the past several years since my departure, I found myself constantly returning to the subject of 2D. It was as if the radiance of his presence was able to overshadow all of the hideousness I endured.

My eyes drifted outside the window to the wooded tree line where he stood. 

The responsibility of running the farm alone proved to be too much for my mother. She rehomed our sheep - all of them, except one. It was no surprise to me that it was the one I named and cared for. Her name was Daisy.

2D seemed to have taken quite a liking to her as well. He followed her around the farm like a lost duckling. Each time he reached his hand out to pet her, she huffed and walked away. Her utter disinterest did nothing to deter 2D's desire to touch her.

"I take it that man with you... That's 2D, then?"

"Yeah, that's him."

Mom sighed. It wasn't out of disappointment. It would be fair to assume that she was quite tired. She was likely feeling incredibly overwhelmed with my return in tandem with the story I'd brought with me.