Elliot

Nine

That night, I woke up gasping for air.

It was just a dream. I thought. Just a dream.

I tried going back to sleep. But I couldn't. I reached out for my phone instead. It was one in the morning.

The air was chill. Night sky was calm. Seems like everything was doing just fine. I felt my feet cold. Not very cold. But, cold.

I played games on my phone. Yet I still couldn't sleep. So I went downstairs.

There was light on the living room. Then it flashes. Then it stayed. I walked to see what or where is it coming from. "Dad?" I said.

He looked at me. "Elliot. Why are you still awake?"

"No, I just woke up. Why are you still awake?"

"Sorry. Was the TV loud?"

"No. You didn't answer my question, Dad."

"I couldn't sleep, son."

I went to the couch and sat a few inches from him. "I could say the same." Then we were silent. The television was also silent. I could only here mumbles from it. But the subtitle was on.

"Are you rewatching Interstellar again?" I said.

"Mm-hmm."

"You've watched that twenty times already."

"Twenty-two," he corrected and smiled. I shook my head. We stayed there for minutes just watching a guy struggling in his spaceship while roaming around the universe.

I wonder what it feels like to be out in the universe. Is it scary? It must be scary.

"Dad."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

My dad didn't respond right away. Then he spoke. "Of course."

I looked at my knuckles. They weren't bruised. But the image of Tobias' bruised knuckles displayed on my head. I shook the thought away.

"How did you know that you liked mom?"

It felt what like a lump on my throat after saying the last word. Dad was watching the movie, but I know his mind wasn't focused on it.

"When I felt like I have discovered all of the treasures of the world," he said. "I met her at a park. She was playing with kids. She looked like the happiest woman on earth and I felt every ounce of blood pumping through my body. There, I saw her and I thought to myself that this woman will be the love of my life. And I was right. She was the love of my life. I realized that I didn't need to look at the hidden secrets of the world anymore because she was there. She completed my journey of finding the treasures of the world. Because I figured that we, us, me and your mother, are the treasure of the world itself."

I felt a tear rolling down on my cheeks. I couldn't imagine how happy they must have felt for each other. When Mom and Dad both found each other, it must have felt good to be able to experience that moment.

"That was beautiful." I wiped my tear.

Dad chuckled. "Just like your mother."

"Just like my mother."

We were silent. I didn't know what was happening on the movie anymore. I completely forgot that it was still playing.

"May I know why did you ask, Elliot?"

"What?"

"I mean, why did you suddenly ask about how I met your mother? Is there someone that you feel the same way too?"