Tetrology Of The Sea - Book 1: From The Sea 🪼✔

Three

Joshua took Aylin and Shana to their school, taking Aylin to his kindergarten class and Shana to the pre-K/daycare that the school provided. After they were situated, Ruth called the children's father and told him what she had done. He thanked her profusely and apologized like he always did when he forgot they were there. Ruth, as usual, was a lot nicer than she wanted to be but knew eventually she would have to set the man straight about his life.
As they drove to the clinic, Ruth looked at the little boy in the backseat as he looked at all the passing buildings in deep fascination.
"So you're saying you found him on the edge of the beach?" Josh asked.
"Yes. He was just laying there."
"And you said he had a tail?"
"I could have sworn that he had one for a brief moment. I'm still not sure if it's because the alcohol is catching up with me or what, but I swear that's what I saw."
"What exactly are you wanting me to do with him then?"
"Check his insides and see if there is a clue to what I might have seen or why he was even there in the first place. He acts like he's never seen anything before and doesn't talk a lot except to say one word or two word sentences..."
"You're talking about doing something like an MRI or something on him? We'd have to go to the hospital for that, Ruth."
"I don't care where we go. I just want answers before things get complicated."
Josh sighed but made the detour to the hospital.
"You'd better be glad that I work here on the weekends or we wouldn't have any access to it at all." He mumbled.
Ruth smiled as the little boy gasped loud in the back.
"Mommy! Mommy!"
"What?"
"Ah..." he said, pointing out the window.
Ruth looked out and saw that he was looking at the sky where there was a small flock of pelicans.
"Those are pelicans."
"Pel-cans... BIRD!" he yelled.
"Yes, those are birds." She looked at Josh. "See?"
He smirked. "I think it's cute that he likes you that much."
"It's annoying for now."
"Because you're getting attached already?" he said as he smiled at her.
Ruth made a face at him but she had to admit that the little boy was cute as he could be.
They finally pulled into the hospital parking lot and all got out. Ruth opened the back door and the little boy walked out.
"Now hold my hand and be quiet." She said to him and he nodded, grabbing her hand immediately.
The three of them walked in and took the elevator to the floor where they could go the MRI room. Of course there were some MRI centers around but Ruth didn't trust anyone else to work on the boy. Especially with her speculations.
They finally got to the MRI room and Josh went to start the machine and begin measurements and things for the boy. Ruth knelt down and smiled.
"You're going to have to go in that place over there okay? I'll be right out here with Josh but we need to see something."
The little boy turned his head.
"Gone?"
"No, we'll be right here. But you have lay still, okay?"
"Okay."
"It's ready."
Ruth pushed the little boy toward Joshua and he walked him to the MRI machine. He lifted him up and laid him in the tube and talked with him a little. Once he was good, he walked back and turned the microphone on.
"Stay still for me, kid."
He pushed the tube toward the scanner and they watched him in the camera as he looked around the enclosed space. He turned the scanner on and turned to Ruth.
"What do you expect to find?"
"Just some proof that I'm not crazy... Anything abnormal or something. If not, we can always just throw him into a pool or whatever and see if he changes."
"That probably would have been less expensive." Josh said with a frown.
"Well, I'll pay for it."
"Ruth-"
"Well, if you're going to get up in arms about it, I'll pay for it."
"That's not what I meant... This will let us know if we need to watch for anything anyway and I'll do some blood samples later at the clinic if you want me to."
Ruth nodded and watched him on the camera.
"He's a sweet kid though, yeah?"
"Seems like it. If there is anything strange about him, will you tell him?"
"I want Travis to be happy and I want him to know that he doesn't have to hide anything from me. It would be best to tell him so he knows and if anything else happens, he will trust me to tell me."
"Aw, Ruth, you've named him?"
"Huh?"
"You just called him Travis. Ruth, once you name something or someone you become attached to it."
"Well I didn't mean to."
"Doesn't matter. What if he belongs to another family? What are you going to do then? Are you going to fight them?"
"You're reading too much into it."
"See? You're already denying things and defending him. You have to prepare yourself that he belongs to somebody. When it is proven that he belongs to no one, then you can give him your undivided love. Until then, you must keep yourself at a distance."
Ruth crossed her arms and turned away.
"Mommy? Mommy?" Travis said from inside the field. "Mommy, where?"
Ruth turned on the microphone.
"I'm right here, Travis."
"'kay!"
Ruth looked at Josh with a look that dared him to say anything.

Josh took the MRI results with him to the clinic and drew some blood so that he could send it off. He put in a special order for the blood to be scanned for any matching results and a DNA match just in case. He looked over the MRI scans and his eyes furrowed at some things but he didn't say anything to Ruth yet.
Travis was watching the fish in the tank and Ruth was waiting for Josh to say something.
"Well? Stop making faces and tell me something."
Josh looked up, seeming actually startled and cleared his throat.
"Well, there are definitely some strange things about him but until we get the blood results back, we can't tell for sure. But, I think you might want to see this."
Ruth got up and he pointed to the part where Travis' stomach was showing. There was a strange looking pooch there with some strange things in it.
"What the heck is that?"
"I don't know... It's a separate layer of... something. I don't think it's fat, though it looks like fat. If your theory is true, then it might actually be the pouch that a male seahorse has for carrying children."
Ruth and Josh looked at each other and then looked at Travis as he put his hand on the tank. All of the sudden every fish went to his hand and he giggled.
"Hi." He told them and they all twirled in a circle at the same time.
Ruth and Josh looked at each other again and Josh looked at the MRI.
"I think that water theory is a good thing to do. I'd go home and see if you're right. When the blood results come in I'll let you know what was said, alright?"
Ruth nodded and walked back out to Travis.
She watched him for a moment as he played with the fish in the tank.
"Travis?"
He turned and smiled, pointing. "Look, Mommy, they dance."
He turned to the tank and moved his mouth a little and then moving his finger. The fish suddenly did a theatrical performance in the tank and with the last twirl, they immediately went back to being regular fish. Travis turned to her and giggled.
"See?"
"That's very impressive... Travis, do you know where you came from?"
He turned his head and nodded. "Water."
"You were born in the water?"
He shrugged and she held out her hand to him.
"Let's go try something out for me, okay?"
"Okay!"
He happily went with her as she caught a bus back to her house.
When they got home, she took him to the bathroom and turned the water on.
"When this gets full, I want you to sit in it for a long time. I want to see if your legs turn into a tail..."
"Why?"
"We need to know something." And find out if I'm not crazy.
Travis nodded a little, looking a little skeptical of the water. The tub filled up and Ruth helped Travis strip his clothes and get into the bath. He sat in it and Ruth left the room for a little bit.
About ten minutes later, she walked back into the bathroom but didn't find Travis anywhere. She looked around but he was nowhere. She looked in the bathtub and yelped a little as Travis waved to her from under the water, his legs gone and replaced by the tail of a seahorse.