The weather was foggy; dark clouds fell over the town like smoke escaping a chimney. The streets were hardly visible in the dense fog. Harvey Scott stood patiently at the large window of his hall as he watched the people who struggled to adjust to the sudden drop in temperature. The cold chilled their bones and he observed as a mother clutched her little child to protect him from the icy shivers.
Harvey was waiting for his son-in-law. He had waited eight years for this moment and the day was finally here. His son was returning but the worrisome look portrayed by Harvey's face made it seem like he was unsure of whether the man would return.
Had he killed him?
He had gone to visit his daughter in the morning but then returned leaving James Dawson behind. Harvey had later on visited once again with some groceries only to find that James was gone and Eliza was sitting alone in the hall. She had been sick for an entire month and Harvey was getting worried as he watched her call for her husband. He even regretted his decision of sending the boy back. However, he didn't want to think about what might have happened if the boy hadn't gone.
Suddenly, wisps of smoke passed by Harvey's eyes and he stilled. He turned around, very slowly, almost fearing the result he was going to see. He saw smoke covering every inch of his room and he couldn't see any signal thing except it but then, bit by bit, the smoke cleared and Harvey saw the boy.
William was on the floor, the steady rise and fall of his chest made him appear to be in a calm and peaceful sleep. Harvey sighed in relief as he put a hand on his chest, saying a silent prayer to God. He stepped towards William and seconds later, the boy opened his eyes. Harvey stopped midway and watched the various emotions cross William's face as he took note of his surroundings.
William got up, his eyes hovering over every corner of the room until they came to rest on Harvey. They looked at each other for some time before a grin claimed William's lips.
"Aye, Aye, professor!" he said, getting up to stand.
He wore a white shirt and grey trousers. Unlike the last time, this time his clothes were intact. William himself appeared to be perfectly fine too, proving Harvey's theory correct.
"I knew it!" Harvey exclaimed proudly.
William raised an eyebrow and gave him a questioning glance.
"What happened?" he asked.
"The time machine. You broke it, son. That's the reason why your travel to the past was unstable. Remember? You had woken up in a forest, your clothes were torn and you were sick but now, you're fine because the device that sent you was not broken. See boy? My theory was correct! Ah!"
William stared at him, blankly. "I will never understand you, Dad, will I?" he remarked and that earned him a laugh from Harvey.
"You need a much larger brain for that, boy!" Harvey said and William smirked.
"Such a proud man you are. As much as I would have loved to have a conversation about your misdeeds, I have to beg your pardon for I am in desperate need to see my wife. Is she here?"
Harvey stopped smiling and his face turned serious.
"She is back at your house. The media is creating problems for her and even though I asked her to come and stay with me, she didn't want the media to follow."
"You left her alone? She is pregnant for God's sake!" William exclaimed and before Harvey could justify his actions, William was rushing out of the door.
"Wait, son!" Harvey called out. "It's cold outside!"
He shouted after his daughter's husband but the boy was gone and the front door was slammed shut. Harvey cursed himself and sat down on the couch.
It had been a long journey but now things were finally returning to normal. He sighed and thought how pitiful his life had been until William had showed up. His son-in-law meant a lot to Harvey and the thought excited him that he had not one but two children to call his own because William Ray was Harvey's creation. 'The man from the future' was Harvey's work and he was the father of him.
William was Harvey's son and he smiled at that thought.
In the end, all was well.
***
The cold was chilling and William regretted not listening to Harvey. He had started running the moment he got out of the house and that kept him warm. He found a few people stopping in their tracks to look at him and he knew why.
He had been gone for long and he didn't even want to think what trouble that might have caused Eliza. He prayed that Eliza was safe.
He was happy. He was so happy to be back home that he wanted to shout to the entire world and let them know about the reason behind his excitement. He took lefts and rights and not before long, he was at his house. He stopped with a halt at the sight outside.
There was a crowd at his porch and they were chattering amongst themselves. There were the media who lay waiting with their huge equipment and William gulped at the sight. With slow steps, he began to move towards the house. He was used to the media but at that moment, they made him anxious. He dragged slow steps towards his house and suddenly, a man shouted.
"Look! It's William Ray!"
"Shit!" William cursed and began to run once again to escape the flow of people that were trying to catch up to him.
A few reporters rushed to him with their microphones and cameras asking him all the bullshit questions of this world.
"Mr Ray, where have you been all these days?"
"Mr Ray, are you leaving your wife?"
"Mr Ray, are you having an extra-marital affair? Is that why you disappeared?"
"Mr Ray, where are you coming from now?"
The questions went on and William tried hard to maintain his calm and not shout at them. He had to call Duncan as soon as he was inside the safety of the four walls of his house.
William pushed his way past the media and reached his two-storey house. The people kept on chattering and annoying him as William knocked at the door. The door opened and Eliza stood behind, staring at him in awe.
His heart skipped at the sight of his beloved wife after so long. She was wearing a blue dress with a pink cardigan. She looked so pale and sick but her eyes shone and William knew that he was the reason.
They had no idea how long they had been staring when suddenly, someone bumped into William from behind making him almost fall on his porch and he turned around, agitated.
Charlie was standing there. William looked behind Charlie and noticed that the media had gone far away and were now stopped by the cops who had attended the scene. After some time, he saw another car stop and Duncan Jones rushed to him.
"Where have you been, William?" Charlie asked.
"Where have you been, sir?" Duncan asked too. He was a young man of twenty-five with a lean face and round glasses that rested on his nose. He looked at William with anxious eyes behind the glasses.
William smiled at his friends but instead of replying to their questions, his focus went to Eliza.
"Get the media out of here and don't disturb me," he said to Duncan and Charlie taking both of them by surprise.
"But, sir, you need to take care of this chaos first!" Duncan suggested but William cut him off.
"I will be here with my wife and I don't want anyone to disturb us or our baby," he said sternly and Eliza smiled as he stepped inside the house and the chaos, along with Charlie and Duncan's voice, stopped when William closed the door and clicked it shut.
"You're safe!" Eliza said and she came forward to cup his face.
He held her hand and brought her palms to his lips to kiss them, closing his eyes and feeling her soft skin touch his lips.
Her touch made him feel alive.
"You didn't give up," he whispered to her, opening his eyes and staring deep into hers.
Her smile warmed his heart and he didn't let go of her hands as he kissed each of her fingers.
"I promised," she said and he pulled her closer to touch her forehead to his.
"What did I do to deserve you, Eliza?" he breathed and a tear escaped his eyes, falling on the tip of her nose. "My little witch."
"I love you," Eliza whispered. "There's no-one in this world I would rather be a little witch for."
William gave a low chuckle as more tears fell from his eyes. He felt Eliza kiss him on the cheeks, drinking his tears in. She touched the locket that she had once hung around his neck and looked at him.
"I love you more," he said and saw her smiling.
"There's no way," she laughed.
His happiness was crossing boundaries and he wondered if it was possible to die from that. His heart pounded in his chest and he was overwhelmed with emotions. He looked down when Eliza took his hand and laid it on her belly. He smiled as he felt the small bump and gave a soft laugh.
"It's our baby!" he exclaimed and Eliza nodded, with tears in her eyes and a giant smile on her lips.
"It's our baby!" She giggled.
And then, he kissed her. He kissed her as he had never kissed her before. Like she was new to his life. His kiss was filled with happiness and hope. Eliza returned his kisses with all her passion and love poured from every touch of her lips.
"Are you still proud of me, Love?" he asked, between kisses.
"Always," she answered.
He was overflowing with beatitude and having Eliza in his arms made him feel like the king of this world. She was his. His wife, his forever, and she loved him. Her love was the greatest treasure of his world and it made him feel safe. Her love was his home.
William Ray was back home.