End on Extinct

Chapter Six

ASHYR

Joy!

The most brilliant, reassuring happiness. Fulfillment. Purpose!

For the first time in Ashyr's entire existence, he felt it. Clear undiluted purpose!

Moments earlier, Ashyr had focused on his physical pain, preparing his mind for what he would share with Folsom. Only to have it all disappear while images emerged.

It began like a watercolor of visual senses, unclear, but present, sounds and smells also carrying this haze. Until the colors sharpened. The smell of a baked vanilla cake, strawberry glaze, and the scent of honeysuckle lifted Ashyr's senses. A sound of a child giggling, Folsom tossing him in the air, Haizley whispering some inaudible word in his ear.

Clark's birthday. Haizley smiling. Her gentle touch. Ashyr feeling the sensations on his skin, the lingering longing around the feel of her hand against his forearm within Folsom's memory.

The couple looking at each other, a sense of such safety, such clear unity between them. Something Ashyr wished he'd felt with his wife Rochelle.

More music. Singing. Happy Birthday. Clark beaming. A pride of a three-year-old. Little baby Rex asleep nearby on a blanket.

Simplicity.

Warm simplicity.

Almost instantaneously, Ashyr had moved from despair to hope. Living within this memory stirred something bigger inside him. And right then, within Folsom's recollections, Ashyr clearly knew what he needed to do.

It all made sense. This type of happiness, this fullness of joy, the abundance of feeling so alive inside. Folsom needed a team. And, Brody could build this. With Ashyr's vision, they together could build a future from this magic.

The pinnacle came through the hug.

A hug clear to the heart, from Clark. And within Folsom's memory, Ashyr was responsible for the joy that beamed across his son's face over the gift of this little green trike.

A son.

The moment Ashyr had wanted to experience. The miracle. Ashyr's brain worked quickly to embrace it.

If he couldn't have a biological son, surely, this was still the window for him to play father. He could provide doors of opportunities through this invention. Better than bikes, and toys, and prizes. He'd help father this invention so others could feel this joy.

A revolution was at the door. A chance to alter the world. And Ashyr Harmon would, for sure, find a way to be a part of all this!