Game Boy

Epilogue

Kenneth stared down at the water. His stomach coiled and relaxed inside of his gut and he pressed a hand to the wall. The swirling blue water looked like it might be cold, even though Daniel said it should be warm. He took in a deep breath through his nose. His ears still waiting for the telltale click of oxygen.

I'm not in the hospital anymore, he reminded himself and shook it off. There was no mask. No click of oxygen pressed into his lungs.

He exhaled. There was only the air around him, and a world waiting to be explored. And a baptistry he still had to set foot in.

Daniel looked up at him from the water and held out a hand. "Careful, it's still slick on the way down," he said, his smile broad and warm. Kenneth reached out and took his hand, carefully taking it one step at a time down into the water. He peeked out into the empty auditorium.

"I want to go now, please, if that's okay?"

"You're sure, tomorrow is Sunday..."

"I don't care if people see, I just need to be baptized."

Daniel had offered him the chance to wait a day. Kenneth was glad he hadn't. He exhaled as the water rose from his ankles to his knees and up across the black jumper he was wearing to submerge his stomach and chest. It stopped there as he reached the bottom of the baptistry and crossed to Daniel. An arm wrapped around his shoulders and Kenneth still tried not to shiver.

He looked up into the youth minister's smiling face.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." Kennth inhaled and cupped his hand over his nose and mouth.

"Kenneth Dekker, I hereby baptize you in name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

The water rushed up underneath him. Daniel let him rest back and Kenneth felt water rush over his mouth, his face, his body submerged. Panic tried to grip him. He let it go. Seconds later he came back up, air rushing into his nose and mouth as he inhaled and dropped his hands. Water dripped off his face and shoulder, the jumper clinging to his body. He panted and looked up, smiling.

Daniel gently patted his back, his face cracking into a grin. "Welcome."

Tears spilled from Kenneth's eyes as he turned to the youth minister. He grinned, joy welling up through his chest and into his face. He didn't say a word, finding none could accurately display the emotion he felt. Amanda reached down, smiling. Kenneth reached up and took her hand, slowly mounting the steps out of the baptistry.

Amanda handed him a towel and squinted up her eyes slightly. "Welcome, Kenneth. We're so glad to have you."

"Thank you," he finally whispered breathlessly. "Thank you so much." He pulled the towel over his shoulders and Amanda helped him back to where he could change. Kenneth's hands fumbled over the clothing but he managed to get himself back into his jeans and shirt--ones that fit this time. He pulled on his shoes without socks and laid the sopping jumper in the laundry basket, rubbing the towel hastily over his curly brown hair. Peeking in the mirror, he peered at his healthier image. Cheeks filled back out to fit his round jaw and brown eyes there weren't sunken into purple sockets. He rubbed at his freckled face with the towel one more time before throwing it in the basket and just standing there, every fiber in his body trembling with the overwhelming joy. He peeked up some.

Thank you, Lord. Thank you for Byrd. Thank you for Daniel and Amanda. Thank you...for everything. He cupped his hands under his chin, inhaling the cool air around him.

Three weeks and he still wasn't used to the sensation, but it still reminded him he'd made it through. All the pain of the hospital was still there, vivid in his mind. The night he'd run away. The stares of his mother, but now, he looked back on it all. It hadn't been easy, but it had been worth it.