SEEKERS

24 | To Those We Lost

Replicas.

He stood in front of a replica.

Or was this real?

This man had his blond hair swept lazily to one side, with his soft amber and hazel mixed eyes. The same. He hadn't changed in the slightest. He looked as if nothing from that night ever happened. His build and facial features matching his son's.

"Rider is that you or are my eyes playing tricks on me again." The man asked, his voice gruff and benevolent.

"Dad." He repeated taking slow cautious steps to him, the two reached for eachother enveloping themselves in a warm hug.

Rider couldn't believe it.

He could feel him, he was real. His dad was real.

Davis then pulled away from his foster son.

"I can't believe you're actually here." He smiled before it faltered. "That means you're..." He trailed off.

Rider blinked at his dad, he made a quick glance to himself. The feeling-should he call it that-hadn't quite sunk in yet. He was dead.

It was peculiar all of a sudden. He thought it through very thoroughly. He was dead and a Seeker. So then why wasn't he in the Hall Of Seekers with his actual family or was this the Hall Of Seekers?

He spotted the look on his foster father's face.

"I don't quite know." He looks around. "What is this place?"

"I'm not sure anyone in here knows but I reckon it's a safe place. I've seen people meeting someone close to them, after that they sort of vanish. I haven't seen anyone until you"-he put his hands on the sides his son's arms-"I can't tell you how much I missed you."

Rider maintained a small smile which then filtered off by the memories, he had soon come to realise that he could never be truly happy without a memory ruining the moment. This memory made his eyes burn.

"I never got to say goodbye to you." Rider sighed deeply.

He remembered that night, clear as crystal, it was a pain he couldn't forgive himself for. He'd been out in the school library when it happened. Davis had stepped out of the house to get some things at the store, he waved goodbye to his two children without one. Heidi had been stuck at the office at the time and it had been raining heavily. When she returned was when she got the call. His car had crashed, he died instantly. Everyday after that death he felt he was walking on thumbtacks all the time. Hayden had even told him that his father might've even known he was going to leave them that night because he told them how he loved them. That's where it hurt the most. He told them. Not him.

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't home that night." He sniffs, sobbing quite a bit. His chest had begun to ache. "I couldn't say goodbye."

"It's okay son." Davis pulled him closer for another hug, rubbing his back. Just like Hayden always did when he broke down because of the death.

When they broke from the hug Davis offered a sad smile to engage his son but Rider constantly kept wiping away his dampened eyes to no avail.

"It's been hard without you, the nightmares got worse and I feel like I drifted apart from everyone."

"I know how you feel, loss is never easy to handle but you should always keep in mind that I want what's best for you guys, I always will, and I wouldn't want you stuck on my passing. Alright?-Rider nodded-"Now tell me how's Hayden and Naomi?"