Lost Atoms

Chapter 14

Asher sits across the wooden table from me cradling the mug of hot cocoa Navani purchased him. He adds two packages of sugar to it even though the Bighorn baristas make it sweet by default. Hands clasped around the steam as if worried it will escape, he guides it to his nose for a deep inhale, savouring the aroma. I catch a fleeting glimpse of an expression of profound peace, but an instant later his heavy hazel eyes leave me wondering if I'd completely imagined it.

I brush my fingers through my drenched hair and wait for him to speak. He slurps the cocoa.

"Wow," he says.

Navani clears her throat. "Asher, I think you should tell Zenith the stuff you told me."

He nods and looks from his mug to my face. "I already told you the basics at the skatepark, but I live in a dome city called New Niagara, and I'm friends with the Zenith, Navani, and Cail from my... reality."

I nod, already knowing this. I came here to be convinced.

Asher continues, explaining to me about dome cities, the Between, and the new town he found while scavenging with his friends.

"Do you believe me now?" he asks, after several minutes.

I sigh. "Look. Your story? It'd make a good film, sure. There's strong detail in what you've told me." He looks down, not meeting my eye. "But I mean, put yourself in my shoes... I'm not saying you're some sort of murderer or something—"

"But the thought has crossed your mind?" Asher says smirking, as he raises his head once again. I catch a glimpse of a golden chain tucked into his clothes. "I know it doesn't make sense. I'm trying to figure it all out too."

"Maybe he'll have an easier time believing if you explain things like you did for me," Navani says. "Tell him about the Zenith you know."

My eyes flick back to his face. Real or not real, this could be interesting.

"Okay," Asher says looking back at his mug. "Well, the Zenith I know, he's wise. That's for sure. And he's not afraid to show he's soft-hearted. Always knows the right thing to say when I need him. And when he's not with us, he's usually with his brother, Ezra..."

My breath catches. A reminder that, hypothetically at least, he could be alive, somewhere. "What's he like?"

Asher looks back up. "Ezra? He's kind, but not as open as Zen. Kind of a mystery, to be honest. He's really loyal to his brother though... done a lot for all of us actually. But since it's just the two of them at home—"

"Just the two of us—them, I mean? What happened to their parents?"

"Zenith doesn't like talking about it, but, you know, his parents died young. He was only six when the first one died. The other lived until he was fourteen. It breaks my heart, but it's kinda normal in my timeline, unfortunately. If you can avoid cancer and other illnesses, putting food on the table is still a struggle, even for the single-child families, which most of us are. So, since Zenith and Ezra were adopted together, it would have made it even harder for their moms. I guess eventually they just got really sick and... yeah." Asher's voice shakes as he says the last sentence. He takes a big gulp of his drink. "Since it's just Zen and Ezra, I think they rely on each other a lot."

I try hard to imagine the scenario Asher is describing. Parents gone, but Ezra still alive. How would things have been different? It's incomprehensible.

"I'm not saying I believe you, but how did you get here?" I ask.

"I was running from zoners—"