See In Him

10

Not a lot happening in this chapter. Any suggestions for how this story might go? I have an idea or two, but after that...?

The sun was just as bright and hot, if not more, when they left the theatre and made the trek back to the car on aching muscles that had been sitting for far too long. Or, at least Micheal and Jesse were sore. Kennith was invigorated, excited. He loved the movie; it was exactly what he hoped for. Some parts spoke of ancient rulers, but the science and belief systems in Ancient Rome were one of the main topics. Kennith almost felt like dancing with joy. "Thank you, dad. I loved it," he said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together and shaking his half-empty bag of popcorn. Micheal chuckled. He was overjoyed to see his son smile again. Very few things ever had that kind of impact on Kennith. "I'm glad you liked it."

"What's wrong with him?" Jesse asked, leaning towards Micheal. Kennith heard and didn't reply. He wasn't going to let Jesse ruin his mood. Kennith was about to go read for hours and hours, feuling his fading excitement with books on Hypatia and Plutarch. He loved the way the names sounded in his mouth, their beliefs and their accomplishments that helped build every intellectual idea that humans have ever had. "He just watched—or listened to—a documentary on his favorite thing. I think it's called 'happiness'," Micheal replied. Kennith could hear the amusement in his voice. "I knew you liked old stuff, but I didn't know you were that much of a fan of ancient civilization." The trio arrived at the car. When Kennith put his hand on the door, it burnt him. It had been sitting in the sun for a very long time. He cringed at the thought of climbing inside.

Already sweating, Jesse buckled his seatbelt and started the car. Kennith's knee bounced. Micheal snacked on leftover popcorn. "It's not ancient civilization. I mean, it is, but I don't care who the king was or how many wars they started. I like the science of it."

"You mean... I thought they didn't even have scientists back then."

"They were philosophers. Like... like Boethius. He wrote one of my favorites, 'The Consolation of Philosophy'. He was Roman, lived under Theodoric."

"What's 'The Consolation of Philosophy'?"

"Don't ask that," Micheal warned. He was too late. Jesse had already opened his mouth.

——-

"But in philosophy, you can't just take emotion into account, you know? Like, you have to—to think of arguments against your theory, find proof in things that can never be proven. It's just..." Kennith thought for a moment. The front door closed. The house was cool. "It's just ideas floating around until you can connect one. Sometimes it can take thousands of years."

"How do you mean?" Jesse was genuinely intrigued. He had never held a conversation with Kennith. With each new sentence, he was shocked. His eyes were dull and blind, but Jesse was realizing that they hid a very bright light behind them. Never in a million years did he expect Kennith to have such a wide third eye. Not when the boy displayed a child's attitude at the same time, at least. "Well, a lot of philosophers were obsessed with water. Like Aristotle, who thought the earth floated in water, and Thales. He thought that everything was made of water. Today it sounds stupid, right?"

"Very," Jesse agreed. The pair removed their shoes with very little concentration; they both focused on the conversation instead. Finally, Kennith had someone new to listen to his theories and passions. Micheal passed them with a small smile and dropped his keys on the hooks suspended beside the door. "Well, back then, a lot of people believed that our planet really floated, that there was one superior element that everything was made of. In another thousand years, there are going to be people thinking our beliefs are insane. Our brains will be different, our planet, too. Everything we know now will be changed."