Pieces of Us: Living in Parallel

Chapter 3 - Patton

Patton loves friends and animals, who's surprised that he gains the magic to help him with his favourite part of life?

Patton Chiastek was constantly surrounded by kind people, the type of people that would give the clothes off their back for someone in need. His parents were a doctor and a vet, so he was never without affection. Patton loved two things in life – people and animals.

His extreme love for people was extended in elementary school. It was third grade, academics were getting tougher and recess was getting shorter, but at least there were new faces to see! There were three new students from Mexico and one of them was also in third grade. Patton wanted to be the new kid's first best friend. The boy, Nico, was sat with the teachers. A few flashcards were in front of him saying words like 'pencil', 'chair' and 'worksheet'. "Hi! I'm Patton, do you want to play?"

Nico looked up and gave Patton a confused expression, his mouth slightly agape. The teacher interrupted before the boy could speak. "Patton, remember Nico doesn't speak English too well. How about you help him with his cards?" Patton sat on the bench next to Nico, ready to be the best teacher ever so he could be the best friend ever. The teacher continued her grown-up talk with the other teachers.

"¿Cuál es la diferencia entre 'worksheet' y 'paper'?" Nico mumbled, staring down at the worksheet but not moving his hands from his lap. And sure, eight-year-old Patton heard gibberish. He had only just learnt colours in Spanish. But Patton's brain – his brain heard 'what is the difference between worksheet and paper?'. He didn't know how to respond in Spanish though.

"Uh... A worksheet has questions on it from the teacher, but a paper doesn't." Nico looked at the two flashcards saying 'paper' and 'worksheet' while Patton was speaking, but once he began speaking Nico's eyes widened – and his mouth opened wide. He shouted in glee as soon as Patton finished speaking.

"¿HABLO ESPAÑOL?" Patton knew he was speaking English, but the look of excitement Nico gave made Patton wish he could speak Spanish. "¡Me estabas hablando en español y me dijiste que una 'worksheet' eran preguntas y un 'paper' no! ¡Tú hablas español!" Again, Patton's brain managed to decode the sounds he was hearing. Nico was saying that Patton had just answered the question in Spanish.

The teacher turned to the excited Nico and spoke gently. "I can only hear Patton speaking English, Nico. Maybe you can teach him a few Spanish words?" Nico looked confused again and turned to Patton, desperately searching for an answer, and Patton softly whispered in English – yet could be understood.

"I think I'm magic."

With his hidden ability to understand any language, Patton made many multilingual friends and decided to study foreign languages in college. By nineteen he could speak Spanish fluently and was conversational in many languages from German to Japanese. He felt more connected to strangers than anyone else did, but unfortunately there was one language he couldn't understand. The language of animals.

During the long college summers Patton worked at his mom's veterinary clinic, giving his mom some company, and acting as a translator for any animal's owner that needed things translated. One of his favourite moments to translate was puppy ultrasounds. "There are four puppies in there – can you see the heart?" Patton spoke gently to an older Farsi woman, while stroking the long golden hair of a Labrador. His mom was managing the machine – she knew not to ask why everyone but the person Patton was speaking to heard English whenever Patton was translating. The only answer Patton ever gave was magic, and no adult actually believed in magic.

"I'm thirsty." A quiet voice came to Patton's ears during a silence. He looked around to try and find who that voice belonged to before more information came. "I've been thirsty a lot lately. And my eyesight is blurry, and I need the potty more often..."

"Can you hear something?" Patton chirped, causing both women in the room with him to look at him and then each other. "Did someone say something?"

Patton's mom just laughed and apologised to the other woman in the limited Farsi Patton taught her. "Patton-cake, the only sound I can hear is the dog grumbling. I swear you're going crazy with all the languages you know." Patton nodded and looked down at the dog again. The dog that was panting and looked more tired and unfocused than other dogs that came into the surgery. Thirstiness, tiredness, frequent urination, blurred vision - those symptoms meant...

"Have you checked for gestational diabetes mom?"

After a few tests, apparently the dog did have gestational diabetes that was caught relatively early. Once the symptoms disappeared the dog came back to the surgery and thanked Patton both in slobbery dog kisses and a verbal thank you. So, Patton concluded he could understand animals too. He couldn't speak to them – but they could speak to him. He had the magic power of communication.

After his undergraduate degree Patton chose to go to grad school to learn more languages. It meant he had to move away from family and friends but he was ready for a new change. He searched for any available apartments and found a man called 'Roman Nightingale' who apparently had three spare bedrooms. A perfect way to meet new friends!

Patton Chiastek: Hey! Are there any spaces left in this apartment?

*Roman Nightingale added you to a group chat*

Roman Nightingale: Hello. We have one room left here – any questions?

Patton Chiastek: Actually yeah! Is the apartment close to the university at all? I'll be studying there this September!

Logan Mallett: Indeed it is. The 348 goes straight from our block to campus, I'll be working there this fall.

Patton Chiastek: Cool! We can be bus-buddies!

*Virgil Dunninger gave a thumbs-up in the chat*