1

lurking

Harrison lay on his bed facing the ceiling, tossing a ball up and catching it just above his head. Even after the draining events of the day, he could not bring himself to fall asleep. It was well past midnight, and he didn't feel an ounce of tiredness.

He nearly grew bored to the point of losing his sanity, and set off to wander the corridors of the large Institute. He passed grand doors and candelabras branching from high walls, embellished with damask Victorian wallpaper and old picture frames beholding old paintings of nature landscapes and ancestral photographs. Harrison had mostly been fond of the modesty of his home. Of the intricate woodcarvings upon each threshold and baseboard, and the scarlet carpet and fancy curtains and antique sofas. His home was unique compared to those he interacted with outside of it. Many did not know much about where or how he lived, they could only dream of what great things he possessed.

Harrison happened upon one of the large conference rooms in a dimly lit hallway, light flooding in from behind the cracks of a door only slightly pushed closed. He could hear a woman's voice he could all but immediately recognize as his mother's. He didn't dare open the door and reveal himself sneaking around at so late an hour. Though he inclined his head to hear what she was saying, and whom she was talking to.

"I don't get it." There was silence after her voice. Harrison came to the realization that she was on the telephone. "You don't understand how badly I wish to talk to him. He's so... closed off."

Harrison wondered who she could be talking to so late, and who the subject of conversation was. He always considered his mother a woman of secrets and mischief, but for the most part Harrison knew better and kept out of her whereabouts. But this time in particular he was curious. He listened more intently, searching for clues of who it could be.

"He's so independent. I don't pay much attention to him, I'll admit, not as much as I should-- I've got so much on my hands-- but he's always off doing his own things, never spending time with his own family." She sounded distraught. Harrison could picture her eyebrows pulled together in concern, biting the inside of her cheek the way she always did when she was discussing a hard topic. There was no doubt in his mind that who she was talking about was, in fact, himself.

He stifled a laugh. Why would his mother be talking about his son at such an irrelevant hour? Was this some sort of counseling meeting? He couldn't deny that what she said about him was true. He'd always grown up taking care of his siblings and himself. He learned to be cautious about who to trust and who not. It wasn't exactly his fault he relied on himself to do everything, and tended to distance himself from others.

Except for Maia. Maia, his-- no, not his girlfriend. That title always seemed too subtle, it was not strong enough for the way he felt about her. Just hearing her name sent splinters of joy through him, her voice rang in his ears and stayed in his heart like a good memory you keep with you until you die. Yes, they had only known each other for a short time, but that did not stop him from feeling the way he felt. He found it hard to believe anyone could feel such compassion and love for someone the way he did for Maia.

Maia was the only one he felt he could open up to, and he had. He found it the simplest thing telling her anything she asked about him, it was like reciting the alphabet, whereas with other people he felt so small and unworthy telling others about his life and feelings. Being vulnerable around Maia felt natural and good. She didn't judge him. She didn't judge anyone. She was the only one who seemed to show any concern for him. So, naturally, he was taken by surprise when he heard his mother speaking about him this way. He continued listening.

"No, not quite. He's got this girlfriend. Spends almost every hour of every waking minute with this girl." A brief pause. "Yes. It's quite unsettling. They follow each other's every movement, he stares at her like, like- he'd jump in front of a damn train for her! And frankly, I'm concerned he just might." She gave a small sigh. 

Harrison agreed that this, too, was true. Anything Maia wanted or needed, he'd go a mile for her. Since he met her, he felt his primal reason for existing was to keep her safe and happy. There was no other way to see it.

His mother said a few words, more on the topic of Maia and his apparent erratic behavior, and ended with, "I'll see what I can do... Okay... I appreciate your help. We'll talk again, bye." Harrison was so befuddled by what he'd just overheard that he almost forgot to move out of the way as light footsteps made for an exit. He slipped out of sight into the darkness of an adjourning hallway. He listened, hoping desperately his mother would walk in the other direction-- he couldn't imagine the horror if his mother found out he was eavesdropping.

Footsteps slowly faded away into silence. Harrison was holding his breath and let out a hard breath of relief. Just as he made for his bedroom a figure turned around the corner at the same moment, and his heart stopped cold.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I just needed to-"

But the figure that he'd run into was Maia.