Kaleidoscope (26 page)
Epilogue
We
’
ll see it together
…
As the breath left Lewis
’
s mouth, the cool, gentle breeze lifted it towards the sky. He could see the sparkle of stars reflecting in Hannah
’
s eyes as she gazed up and wondered which sparkle she was staring at. But of course, he already knew that the sparkle which captivated her wasn
’
t a star at all - it was a comet.
I can
’
t miss it, I can
’
t
…
They separated their gloved hands after a while and Lewis suddenly felt the cold air surround him.
"It's freezing," he said, turning to Hannah.
Her nose was red and her lips were beginning to turn a pale blue. "You're right," she said. "Let's go back inside the tent."
They hurried over and opened the zip. As they stepped inside, they saw Ben stir and shuffle in his sleeping bag, but he didn't wake. Lewis turned and closed the zip behind him then got into his own sleeping bag, not daring to take off his coat. He watched as Hannah did the same, pulling the draw string on the bag tight around her shoulders and sealing in the warmth. As they shuffled around and got into a comfortable position, the tent frame moved and the small torch, hanging from a hook above their heads, swayed gently before gradually coming to rest.
"Have you seen my book?" Hannah whispered, suddenly sitting up and squinting through the dimming light of the failing torch.
Lewis turned his head and saw it lying beside his pillow. "Here it is."
He picked up Hannah's book, scanning the cover. He was unable to read all the words but attempted to anyway.
"Exploring the Universe by Sebian Kes... Kel..."
"Sebastian Kelser," Hannah corrected with a smile as she loosened her sleeping bag and lifted the book from Lewis
’
s hand.
Lewis lay back on his pillow while Hannah flicked through the pages for a few moments. Then the torchlight dimmed a little more so she closed the book and lay down. Lewis glanced over to Ben who was still fast asleep and noticed a small object resting next to his pillow. It was an object that Lewis was already familiar with - Ben was rarely seen without it.
"He loves that thing," Hannah said.
Lewis looked at her and realised that she was staring at the kaleidoscope as well.
They both lay in silence for a long time, the lumbering breeze outside occasionally knocking into the fabric of the tent and forcing the familiar low, flapping noise. The torch finally gave up and the last photon of light left its bulb. The tent was in almost total darkness; only the moon outside managed to penetrate the dark blue fabric. Lewis could hear Hannah breathing and realised it wasn't the slow, drawn out breath that accompanied sleep - she was still awake.
"I wonder..." she suddenly whispered and Lewis turned to look at her silhouette on the other side of the tent.
”
...I wonder if we'll ever find something to love as much as Ben loves that toy?"
Lewis didn't say anything and, after a few more minutes, they were both drifting away into sleep. As his eyes closed and his breathing slowed, Lewis
’
s thoughts meandered back and forth between Ben
’
s toy and Hannah
’
s question. He half pictured himself looking through the kaleidoscope and imagined the colours and shapes intertwining and distorting from one manifestation into another. The light would sparkle through the different shades, illuminating, but also obscuring with its brightness. And the shapes would change - they would all change
–
he remembered that especially.
Then Lewis thought fleetingly about Hannah's question. Although his young mind didn't yet know the answer, and it wouldn't for many years, he felt that he didn't need to worry too much.
He finally floated away on a blanket of sleep as he realised something that would leave him as swiftly as his dreams upon waking the following morning. He thought of Hannah's smiling face, and knew that he had already found his kaleidoscope.