15: Young Forever - Part 2

Isaac's parents were sitting in the drawing room, speaking and laughing. They had returned from somewhere or other and had tea and sandwiches brought to them. It was after dinner time, but it seemed like they had not had time for a full meal when out, since they were likely busy with something. But no matter.

Isaac glared at them from behind the table. But they did not notice him at first. He walked up menacingly to speak. “How... old am I?”

The parents looked shocked, like they didn't expect such a question. And weren't sure how to answer it in a blowoff way. They looked at each other nervously. “W-what do you mean?”

He walked up and dropped his birth certificate and some of the more recent doctors office papers on the table. “Some of these visits are decades apart from eachother! Why am I... how is this possible? Am I even Isaac? Whose papers are these?”

His parents looked at each other, still nervous, and then started forcing a smile. “W-what? Of course you are Isaac. That's normal. What is wrong with that?”

He was getting frustrated. In the past, he might not have scrutinized this even had he found it. But he had heard kids in his school mention age before and realized that this wasn't at all a reasonable age for middle school. He knew that kids were supposed to be similar ages to others they went to school with, so he wondered why this had never came up.

His mind was racing. Did the guards in the house make sure that other kids who visited never talked about age? How would they? Did they do this by talking to the parents before they even came over. Does that mean... were a lot of his friends not even ones he authentically found? Were they just people his parents paid to have sent over so that he would not be alone? Was anything in his life real?

He slammed his fist down on the table. “Don't lie to me! I know this isn't normal. At this age, I should be an adult! Why am I still a child?”

They looked at him, trying to placate him. “We were just doing what was best for you. It is for your own good.”

He could scarcely believe what he was hearing. “My... my own good? What is... that's crazy!”

They leaned back, making now a more unhinged appearance as they spoke, with their mask of agreeableness dropping, and showing beneath it a terrifying expression he had before now never seen. “Don't speak to us that way. The world is full of corruption. It is better for you to stay innocent.”

He felt uneasy at how their demeanor changed. Backing down now slightly, but still pleading out the message he wanted to convey. “But I've... I've waited so long to grow up. Are you trying to take all of that away?”

They furrowed their brows at him in a way that felt very intimidating, scaring him even more intently than the first time. “We are your parents! It is our decision how to raise you, no one else's. You exist to be as we want you. We know what's best for you, and we won't tolerate any disobedience or disrespect. You belong to us, and you will do as we say.”

They turned to speak to each other, temporarily ignoring him. "It is happening again. These breakdowns are getting to be a rather large nuisance."

"We will have to take him to get him fixed again. Hopefully it sticks this time."

Isaac was on the verge of tears, and being upset was making him hyperventilate, which led to him coughing. His sickness was getting worse. Realizing that this was unlikely to go anywhere, and now intensely afraid, he backed off and then ran away crying to his room, slamming the door. They started after him to chastise him more and acted like they were going to come into his room. But he propped his door closed to bar entry, worried now about actual physical harm. They stood there yelling through the door for awhile, but he tuned them out and tried to ignore their shouting. Eventually, their voices got quieter, and he assumed they had given up and ambled away. They were never good at keeping focus on him once they got bored.

He wasn't sure he could trust anyone anymore. He knew he was being lied to, but he had no idea how to figure out any more about why. He sat at his desk, crying for awhile, now in intense fear over the future. But eventually, this subsided to a whimper. He had no clue how much time had passed in the interval. Maybe minutes. Maybe hours. He wondered if the problem was just with him. That he was just ungrateful for everything that had been done for him. And that he should just brush aside what he felt. But after all, he had no way to determine this. He was just a child. And in that position, you are lost when it is your own adults who you feel you cannot trust.

Gradually, he began to look out the window. It was beginning to rain lightly now as night descended over the world. The sound of rain always made him feel more peaceful. But at the moment, he wasn't sure how well it was working. He closed his eyes to say a prayer to Sakras for guidance.

But as he opened them again, he was suddenly shocked. Because he could see that outside now, down in the courtyard was the same shadowy hooded figure from before. The figure was looking up at the house. Whoever it was, they knew where he lived! They weren't initially looking at him, just the house in general. But as he put his head to the glass, suddenly their head turned in his direction. He shot back from the window. He was nervous now, wondering why they were here. And feeling trapped between two unknown dangers.

He looked back out, wondering if he should tell his parents, despite everything. But he could see that the figure was already engaging with the guards, and so a warning was likely already raised. Although his parents were slightly wealthy, the house was only a small mansion. And so there were not very many guards. And as an extent of this, he was worried the guards could be injured from the altercation, it being a surprise attack, and him not knowing whether the figure was by itself.

He saw the first two guards run up. But the figure moved quickly, tripping one of them and grabbing the other one to inject them with something. At this point, the other two pulled weapons, but the figure ducked behind a wall, pulling and shooting the one on the ground with something.

The other two guards hesitated and made their way around slowly. But the figure was already gone from the side when they arrived there. And as they looked confused, it jumped out at them from the shadows on the other side. The figure moved like it was almost inhuman, with reflexes the guards could not keep up with even together. Shots rang out. The guards tried to shoot, but it dodged their attempts to shoot at it and injected the remaining two both with something that made them collapse.

It hit Isaac now. All the guards were now down. He panicked, realizing that there was now nothing to protect the house from the solitary intruder. He hoped the intruder was only there for money, and would leave him and his family alone. But he couldn't be sure. He felt frozen in fear. But he had no choice. Despite now no longer trusting his parents, he needed to go tell them what was happening, in case they didn't already know. He knew from fiction that people would often call police in these moments, but he did not know how. Leaving him with few options.

He rushed out into the hallway, shouting for them, and into their rooms. But he didn't find them there. He was now even more worried. He ran back. The interloper might already be in the house. And he had no way to know the relative locations of either the invader or his parents. Could he be sure his parents were even there? He thought about it for a moment. But he didn't want to back down from bravery now. He cautiously made his way forward, stopping to hide and peek around various corners.

Eventually, he saw unnatural shapes lying on the ground. And as he slowly snuck closer, he realized that they were his parents. He was worried, thinking they might be dead. So temporarily forgetting the intruder, he rushed forward to check. But as he checked to make sure they were okay, he saw that they didn't seem to be dead. And they didn't look particularly injured, although he could not be sure. They seemed like they had been given something to knock them out. So for now, at least they were safe, provided that this was all the intruder intended to do to them. He reflected on the fact that he still felt attached to them, even after realizing they were hurting him.

But he looked up suddenly from hearing a noise in the next room. The intruder must be in there! He cautiously crept to the door to look in. Inside of it, he could see the figure now, sitting in the dark moonlight, legs crossed on a chair, as if waiting for him. He could have tried to run. But he did not feel he would get far, seeing how quickly they handled trained guards. While he had done some martial arts himself, he would be no match for a trained adult twice his size. Much less one that just incapacitated four guards.

But he realized something then. He found he did not even want to run. His curiosity at all the mysteries that surrounded him had grown too strong. He felt that the intruder knew something about him and his family. And come what may, he wanted to try to get answers from them. Because he knew now that no one else intended to be honest with him.

Not even trying to hide or arm himself, he walked slowly into the room, prepared to run back if they made any sudden movements. The figure's face was in shadow. So he could sense nothing from their expressions. But they did not seem to be tensed, or waiting to jump at him. So he believed he would at least have a chance for a conversation.

But he wasn't sure how to even begin such a conversation. He was shy at the best of times. He found himself standing silently there, just looking at the figure. And the figure sat there silently as well, looking back. It was a strange moment. Like a moment of intimacy through an alien situation you had no context for.

But he couldn't stand there silent forever. Even if you did not want to speak, he knew you often had to force it. He spoke up. “You were... at my birthday party, watching me from the shadows.”

The figure did not respond. He thought about it for a moment, and then went on. “You must have been watching me for awhile.

“...

“You must know that I'm sick. Did you... are you the one who caused my sickness?”

There was more he wanted to ask. But this was the core of it. He opted to wait for a response before going on.

“No.”

The voice was altered and had a metallic sheen, so he could not tell much about the one speaking from it.

But he thought about their short response. He had no reason to trust them to be truthful. But at this point, he wasn't sure if he could trust anyone. And there were more things he wanted to ask about. “I have felt... confused for awhile. Like there are things I don't understand. I don't know why there's things I struggle to remember. I don't even know how old I am. I don't know why I am so confused. And this feeling has been growing over time. No one will answer me. No one will help me.”

He stopped himself suddenly. He realized that this was not really a question. And that he would need to turn it into one. “Do you... know anything about that?”

The figure leaned back. He could see that they were about to start talking more now. “I didn't. Not before recently. But that is why I am here. I saw that you were in trouble, and I came to offer you a choice.”

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Isaac was confused by this. Did he need to be rescued? And by who? He looked at the figure's back, which had a blade on it. He noticed that, despite having one, they had not drawn it in the courtyard. And so, while they could have killed, they had chosen not to. “You have a weapon. You look like you are with some type of organization. Are you... here on a mission?”

The figure looked back at the blade that was over their shoulder, and then back at him. “Its true. For the last few years, I have been working with an organization for a particular goal. But I'm not on a mission today. No one sent me here. And no one else knows I am here. It is... just me.”

He looked around quizzically. “But why are you here? For me?”

The figure rested on the chair, looking forward coldly with its lack of a face. Slowly, they reached up to pull back their hood. As they did, he could see from the long hair that flowed out that it was a young woman. Adult, but fairly young. Of course, he was not one to judge. He was aware that he didn't quite understand how age worked. This being of course, the crux of his current problems.

She looked up and spoke to him. “There was something I needed to follow up on.”

He thought about this. Her words did not clarify anything for him. But he felt like he was realizing something else. Something that was difficult to place.

She spoke again. “Don't worry about the guards or your parents. I only put them to sleep. They will be fine when they wake up.”

It's true that the fact that she didn't hurt the guards on the way in made her seem more trustworthy. But that was hardly enough on its own. But now that he could hear her voice clearly, it felt like one he had heard before, long ago.

He looked at the ground, thinking for awhile. And then back up. “You seem... familiar.” He thought for a moment. He made a face like he was straining to remember. "You... remind me of someone.”

He looked at her for a moment and then closed his eyes to think. “She was... at my birthday. Many years ago. She said she had no friends. That she was alone and needed company. I showed her around for a week before I had to leave. And she thanked me. She said that it meant a lot.”

The young woman leaned back and smiled faintly, looking at the floor with unfocused eyes. “I've never forgotten it. Thank you. At the time, I really needed a friend.”

He thought about it further and then looked up at her, confused. “That was... you?”

He mulled it over. Her age didn't seem to make any sense. But he could feel that she was very familiar. And it is true that she did look like an older version of the girl from back then. “You are... a lot taller now. We were the same age. Why do you look like a grownup? Did you... age extra fast?”

Her expression turned more negative. But he could see that it was not at him. “Well... there is no easy way to tell you this. So I guess I will just jump into it. Forgive me if I am too straightforward. But it is... not me who was aging strangely. It was you. I aged normally. Arguably even slower than normal. In fact, you are actually older than I am. By quite a few years.

“You have been being artificially kept from aging by your parents. They have been using a dangerously large amount of age suppressants on you. And likely erasing some of your memories as well. These have been taking their toll. This is also the source of your sickness. And if it isn't stopped, you will likely end up dying from it soon.

“People can use technology to affect the rate their body ages. But it isn't meant to be used for more than a small amount. But you have been kept at the same age for over two decades. This started taking its toll on you over time. If it wasn't stopped, it would only have gotten worse. And you likely would not live much longer.

“I won't bother you with the details of how I know this. But I tracked you down a few weeks ago. And I spent some of the time since then digging up this information. What they are doing isn't strictly speaking legal. So they go to doctors who will keep it underground.”

Isaac listened to this. At first, he couldn't process what he was hearing. Him, aging oddly? But it had always felt normal to him. Or had it? It used to, but he wasn't sure anymore. “But that can't be true. I...”

He thought about it. He wasn't sure he had a reason to trust her. At another time, he likely wouldn't have. But he could tell that nothing she was saying seemed that odd to him anymore, after what he had discovered today. And he felt shock pulse through him from what he heard as it began to set in. At first, he wasn't sure if he could believe it. He was about to protest. But instead, he went silent. And he thought back over his life. All the things in it that didn't add up. Why his parents were always ambiguous about his age. Why he couldn't stay in one place for long. He began to feel overwhelmed as so many thoughts rushed into his head at once.

He felt a burst of rage at them. It couldn't have been anyone else. His parents were always the ones taking him for these injections and appointments. And they didn't even deny it after all. If this was true, then they were the ones hurting him. But could he really think of them that way? They had always been so positive toward him. Or at least, they had in the past. Recently, they had begun to get more aggressive, as his questioning had raised more about the discrepancies he had noticed.

He held his head, shaking. Many thoughts and feelings were rushing into it at once. Anger at what happened to him. Sadness for the situation he found himself in. He realized he should maybe feel gratitude now for having been finally told what was going on. But it was hard to feel anything positive in the moment.

He thought about other kids aging past him without him and leaving him behind. How in order to keep his age secret, this was likely why him and his parents would have had to move around so that no one could see that it never changed. Which is also likely why he was never given a particularly good reason for needing to do so. He strained to remember just how many years had passed in his life, and began to realize that he could easily tell that it didn't add up when placed under scrutiny. And that this knowledge was, after all, only confirming his suspicions.

He began to feel hate towards his parents. He was realizing now why they were getting more suspicious over time. Answering less questions. Making up more lies. All just to keep him from ever becoming a teenager. Much less an adult.

But ultimately, he slumped down, no longer willing to protest. Too worn out to feel strongly any longer. “But why? Why would they do this to me? I always loved them. I always cared about them.”

The woman looked at him with sympathetic eyes. “It's hard to say. But I could hazard a guess.

“There are a lot of people who can't handle the idea of their children growing up. Many will try to keep them acting young by preventing them from interacting with the world. Because they can't handle the feelings of their children growing apart from them. And they prefer the image of them as pure and innocent. They don't want to think of them getting into a relationship and their affection shifting from their parents towards someone else.

“But... in this case, your parents took it even further. It looks like it became an obsession for them. And they wanted not only to keep you acting young but for you to physically stay young forever. Even though the human body isn't designed for this. Doing so can't indefinitely prolong your lifespan. It will strain it, and could even lead to you dying early. Your parents might even know this and be okay with that. Because of their odd priorities.”

Isaac looked down sadly, thinking of the doctors' notes he had seen, which he now understood were talking about this, and realizing that he was going to have to see his parents in a new light. He was still a little hesitant to accept what he was hearing. But he figured that it was likely to validate itself in time. He thought about the fact that, over time, it started seeming like he was mentally older than the people he played with. But he just chalked it up to him being a good learner.

And it hit him now what it means to lose something for good. That this was time he could never get back. His entire life having a large chunk of adulthood potentially just sliced out of it entirely. “I spent so long fantasizing about growing up. What I could do. Who I would be. But they took all of that away from me.

“I had so many friends I wish I could have kept. But I just accepted that I couldn't. That I had to move around and leave them behind. I often wondered what they were doing after we moved. Assuming that they were still my age. But I suppose that most of them are adults now.”

He hung his head and began crying faintly, rubbing his eyes. “They all moved on without me. And here I am, still a child.”

The woman walked over to him, crouched down, and put her hand on his head. “Not all. I am here. And I am here for you. You were there for me in my darkest times. And I am here now to repay the favor.”

She stayed there, comforting him for a moment while he sobbed. But after a time, she got up and walked over to the window to look out of it. The moonlight reflected off of her eyes, making them glow like sharp points. “Let me tell you something. Something I have never told anyone else.”

She paused a bit to think before going on. “When I was young, around the age you met me, I was suicidal. Every day, I fantasized about what it would be like to fade away. To not have to continue on in the life I found myself. Eventually I even went on to try to kill myself for real.

“I didn't think I had anything to live for or to look forward to because of the way I was raised. I couldn't even connect to other people because I didn't really understand empathy. It was just a word to me; I couldn't really feel it.

“But...”

She looked back at him. “I always looked up to you. From what I saw of you, you were always empathetic and caring. Resilient to the things that could drag you down. You were all the things I wished I could be but which I couldn't find in myself. Although we did not know each other for long, I always valued the time we spent together. And I believe that it helped me learn what it was like to care about other people. To want to be strong for them.

“You might feel like you had everything stripped from you. In a way, it is true. They took time from you that you can never get back. For a time, you may hate them. Maybe forever. But... this is not the end. You can't change the past, but that doesn't mean the future is decided. Falling happens to everyone. But your life is defined not by how you fall, but by how you fight to rise up again.”

She knelt one leg back down on the floor. “I looked up to you then. And... if you believe in yourself... you could become someone that people look up to again.”

She shook her head. “I won't force you to come with me. If you want, you can stay here and live out the rest of whatever life they offer you. But if you want to be free, if you want to see where else life can take you... then I will be there to help you when you take your first stumbling steps.”

He was still sniffling and rubbing his eyes. But he looked up and smiled slightly back at her. “I always wanted to be someone who people who had problems could rely on. Do you really believe I still could? After everything?”

She held out a hand to him. “I always believed in you, Isaac. I always will.”

He looked up. And after wiping away his tears, he took her hand and climbed to his feet.

They started walking out of the room. But he stopped and looked up at her. “Do you... still want to be friends?”

She looked back down and smiled. “I've always wanted to be friends.”

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My name is Isaac. Today is my birthday. I want to make sure everyone has a good time. I know I plan to. I am shy, so I don't really like being the center of attention. But I can make an exception for birthdays.

I have to move around often on account of my parents. It is unfortunate, but it is life, I suppose. Aside from this, I don't have much to complain about. But I know that others do. I want to be able to help them. When I grow up, I want to be someone who helps a lot of people! I don't really know what I mean by that. Not yet. But I have time to find out.

Looking around, I can see that people look like they are having fun. All but one person, that is. Out on the corner of the balcony, there is a girl standing there quietly, looking like she is crying and trying to hide it. I know her from school. I invited her here because I saw her sitting by herself yesterday and felt like she could use a friend. But I don't remember her name.

I walked over to speak with her. She looked shy as well. “Hello. What is your name?”

She looked quietly at me, like she wasn't used to being spoken to, and was embarrassed to be seen crying. She responded while rubbing her eyes. "Hi, I'm Xiu... I'm... I'm Mei.”

“Are you okay, Mei? You look sad.”

She hesitated before speaking but seemed to be relieved that she wasn't being judged. “Sorry. For crying at your birthday, I mean. I'm not used to being around people I don't know. I've never had any friends my own age.”

I was dismayed at hearing this. It is always a sad thing when you have to move on from friends you know. Even if you do find new ones. But I had never heard of someone who had no friends before. I had never even considered such a thing.

I looked down sadly at hearing this. I felt like my world was expanded and that I learned something new in that moment. Something I wasn't sure I wanted to know. But no matter! Maybe this means she could understand my situation better then. Because I understand that not everyone has to move. And so most people can keep the same friends longer than I.

I stood next to her and looked off the balcony. “Its okay. I am shy myself because I never get to know people for very long and always have to meet new people. I am going to have to move again soon. So sorry, we won't be able to spend much time together.”

I turned around to wag my finger at her. “But you can be my guest of honor for today.”

She looked a little embarrassed. Like she wasn't sure she wanted to be the center of attention. But that's okay. I will make sure she doesn't have to talk to more people than she is okay with. I don't know what she is feeling. But I know that I can help.

She looked back at me and smiled weakly. “Thank you. I saw you at school. I always thought you seemed nice. And that it would have been nice to be friends. But I don't really talk to anyone. So I didn't think I could.”

I looked down, sadly. I thought about how I would be moving soon, so I couldn't be long-term friends with her. But I still had a couple days. So I wanted to see if I could make her happy before then. I would try to spend every day with her.

I looked off in the distance, thinking of all the friends I had left behind. Would I ever see them again? When I was a grownup?

I looked back at her and smiled. “I might not have much time. But maybe we will meet again. In another life.”

She smiled back, stronger now. “I would like that.”

We sat in silence for awhile. Sometimes, there is nothing that needs to be said. It was a bittersweet moment. But who can say what the future holds?

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Isaac piloted the helicopter low over the resort. In the years since Mei had rescued him, he had started to look a little older. But while his mind was faster to catch up in some ways (at least academic ones) on account of him having lived so long already, his body had not done so quite so quickly. And so, to avoid concerns over standing out in a facility such as the midnight sun, he had opted to take on a role for this mission where he would not enter the building directly, instead being a weapons dropoff and sniper backup. But this was not a large deal. Since for this mission, most of them were just functioning as a distraction to give her a chance to get deeper inside to the more protected areas.

He had not been working with the techno-gnostics for very long. Despite his nominal age, they had concerns over his initial demeanor due to him being held back. But he had already known so much due to his years of study that he quickly gained the required knowledge, and so had visibly the appearance of being a young prodigy, even though the truth was rather stranger.

Understanding now the position of importance that Mei held for the Great Work, he felt a sense of pride, knowing that there was a time when she looked up to him. She had surpassed him since then, on account of everything. But that was no matter. For now, he had a chance to look up to her as well. And he felt lucky that he had a chance to work with her, seeing her like the older sister that he never had – the type of family that would care for him for real, unlike that he had left behind.

He picked up the headset. “Mei, where are you at?”