The Post Sunday Experiment | COMPLETED 2020

Prologue

The pitter-patter of the water droplets hammered on the car roof as the two of them drove away from their life and home. The rolling country hills of Cazenovia, New York were soaked with that blanket of water for as far as the eye could see.

Even though rain occurred often here, sixteen-year-old Ody Winter swore he had never set eyes on a storm quite like this one before. It was almost as if the heavens had opened their gates and dumped the earth with all the water they held inside.

Ody hid behind the glass of the car window as he watched the tires splash water and mud up from the dirt path and onto the compact car, giving it the appearance of a new lick of muddy paint.

As he watched the raindrops race to the right on the window of the passenger side, Ody Winter did his best not to cry. He was a man like his father, and, like his father, he would not cry no matter what happened.

Staring at the gray hills covered with trees, Ody did all he could to distract his mind from what was happening to his life.

"Ody, darling, it will all work out," Mae, his mother, did her best to sound cheerful in her mechanical way of speaking. "Try not to worry. You will find a new life in the city, perhaps even a better one!" Mae forced a smile as she turned a corner onto the main, paved road.

Despite her continuous attempts to pull her son's heart from the floor and return it back to its proper place of happiness, she never quite found a way with her words. After all, words were not what Ody wanted. He wanted his family back.

"Listen, Ody, things between your father and I just were simply not working out and have not been working out for years. You have got to believe me that it was all for the best in the long run," she spoke again. Yet, he did not believe one word of it. How could this be for the best if it hurt him so damn badly?

The sun was setting now and through the thick, gray clouds Ody could just make out its colorful rays over the breathtaking hills of Cazenovia.

The street lights flickered on as they approached the freeway. Though Ody had lived around other people his whole life, he still hated to see so many cars on the road at once.

They all slid through the slush of the evening rain, like ants swarming an ant hill. Not one of them looked up from the road or showed any sign of emotions on their faces. They seemed dead-inside as always, going through every motion on their drive back to their unbroken families, having no idea how lucky they were to still have a home.

"Now, in the city, things are going to be a little different, Ody," Mae said, struggling to take his thoughts away from his parent's divorce. "We will have to get an apartment downtown somewhere. I have been shopping online and I think I know where we will stay. Until then, we are going to stay with a friend of mine."

She paused to see if her son would even turn his eyes away from the glass, but when he did not, she continued. "You will have to go to a public school because my job as a newspaper editor will run all day and I can no longer homeschool you. This will be a great opportunity for you! Trust me. You can make some good friends."

She smiled, sounding as if she were talking to herself more than the boy who had not uttered a word since he had said goodbye to his sister and father back home.

"Ody... honey," she sighed, reaching over and rubbing his arm. "It will all be okay, hon. You will see your father this summer. When you do, you can tell him all about Manhattan. Trust me, Ody, just trust me on this. Please?"

Yet no matter how much she pleaded with her son to respond, he continued to remain as silent as a whisper. With her heart in her stomach as the needles of fear pricked at her, Mae put both hands on the steering wheel again and glued her eyes to the soaked road.

She too was going to miss Devlin and Penny, Ody's father and younger sister, yet the divorce was what they all needed. She and Devlin had simply not been on the same page since he took that new job a few years back. Whatever had been between them before, disappeared years ago. No matter how hard they fought to stay together for Penny and Ody's sake, they simply couldn't.

It is better this way, she told herself over and over again, hoping the words would sink in. Deep down Mae wished it didn't have to come to this.

Looking back at Ody once more, she sighed at the poor boy. He loved his father dearly and had spent every moment of Devlin's spare time playing games and telling stories. The two of them were so close that one might have confused them for brothers instead of father and son.

However, when Devlin and Mae split, Devlin had insisted that Mae take Ody with her to the city due to the opportunities in Manhattan. Ody had a bright mind and a love for learning, Devlin could see that. So, despite how much the boy protested the change, Mae knew this decision was for the best.

As the water from all around them fell from the sky and splashed the windows, Mae repeated those words to herself in a tone like a robotic whisper that Ody couldn't have made out, "It is for the best. It is for the best."