When It's Time to Move On

Door 3 - Chapter 29 - All Those Years Ago

Harris found himself standing outside his apartment, feeling his resentment for the doctor. She had neglected his blood test on the assumption that they would turn fine like the several other tests he'd had over the years, but it still didn't give her any right to do so. As to what possessed her to play god and handpick who she wanted to treat or not was flabbergasting.

The apartment had one distinct aspect about it as he entered. It looked as if someone lived there. The sunlight beaming in reflected a house well-lived in, and displayed traces of a person that enjoyed his time there. Harris felt himself calm a little on the sight of his comfortable possessions. It had been some time since he'd been at home. The bedroom could not have looked more inviting. His eyes closed as soon as he laid his head down.

The room was encapsulated in darkness when he came to. For a moment he thought he'd seen a flash of light streak across his closed eyelids but it seemed as if that may have been a dream. Now that he'd woken up, sleep eluded him.

A sudden throb to the side of his stomach came to his attention. He readjusted himself to get more comfortable when he felt it again. Harris sat up, memories coming back to him. He shook his head to reorganize his thoughts. Perhaps he was thinking too much over the whole Dr. Roslin business. 

Figuring he was up anyway, he decided to make the most of it. The fridge was stocked with supplies and he was thankful he'd been mindful enough to purchase all the items. Loading up with what he felt like having, he switched on the TV with plans of having a midnight snack with something good to watch.

Things seemed well on course for a good night as Harris enjoyed his meal and his favorite movie. The film was halfway through when the cable cut off. Exasperated, his attempts at making it work reaped no results and he searched for alternate modes of entertainment such as sifting through his CD collection. He picked out one with no title, curious to see which film it was.

"Look into the camera." A woman's voice called out, he jerked his head upwards so fast a crick manifested. But Harris didn't care, his attention firmly on the image on the screen.

The face of a laughing child – two to three years old at most – beamed back at him. The boy thrashed about playfully in the arms of someone who held up a squishy toy above him. The boy's attempts to grab it was foiled by the person holding him, but only because it seemed to amuse the child further.

Harris stared back into the enormous, innocent eyes of his younger self. Those eyes so ecstatic with the gleam of new life, the wide laugh that no doubt used up so much of the breath contained in those tiny lungs; he could almost remember it. 

The voice he had heard belonged to his mother, who was not in the frame, but her voice ran through all these years straight into his heart even now. He could almost feel her near him as he heard her speak, the tenderness found only in a mother's voice.

"Mommy loves you." She spoke, as the child in the video wiggled in happiness. Harris found himself enamored by it, he had almost forgotten what life with family had been like. Now having caught him by surprise, letting go of that feeling was particularly difficult to do.

"Look at how fast he is." His mother remarked proudly as the child successfully grabbed the toy."

"He'll be the greatest athlete. We'll be parents to the next sensation in twenty years' time." The person holding his younger self finally spoke.

The camera moved upward as his face was revealed. A handsome man with dark curly hair, and a regal beard, features gruff akin to someone who was assertive in personality. His shoulders were broad and the hands that held the boy were clearly relaxed in their grip. Harris's father looked straight into the screen.