Chapter 13: And He Returned Home

Soundtrack: Final Fantasy 8 - 'Fisherman's Revelation' by Bladiator and Tepid

He was flying. Towards what, he didn't know, but he was warm, and that was all that mattered. As the bright whiteness started to get to Abner, colors suddenly burst into view on all sides; the sky was a clear and pleasant azure; for the first time in weeks there were green trees; and to top it all off, he could see the metallic glint of what surely had to be cars in the road below. Before he could stop taking in these welcome sights and wondering how on earth he was supposed to survive such a fall, Abner noticed that he was slowly floating downwards, and decided not to worry about where he was being taken, instead feeling very much so like Charlie Bucket in the Wonkavator, noting that the only thing that could have made this situation even better was to have Gene Wilder with his spiffy top hat and purple coat with him on this magical descent back to a civilization he had been a part of.
After a few minutes of more pleasant downward floating, Abner found his feet making contact with the veranda of the apartment where he and his mother lived. Barely able to contain his excitement at seeing her again, he quickly slide the door open and ran into the apartment, expecting her to be waiting there for him in her favorite seat on the shabby couch. Looking around, however, he could see that she wasn't there, and proceeded to do a quick check of every room. Considering the size of the apartment, this did not take long. Realizing she simply wasn't there at all, Abner ran out into the hallway, down the steps and out into the street, not entirely sure of where he was going, only knowing that he was going somewhere.
Running along street after street, Abner was only vaguely taking in the familiar sights and people; some greeted him with shock or glee, but Abner just ignored them and kept running, farther and farther along a path that he did not know the outcome to.
Stopping, finally unable to run any farther and grabbing at the stitch in his chest, Abner looked around. Then, his heart skipping a beat, he saw his mother's car heading his way. Knowing full well what he was about to do was the epitome of silly, he ran into the middle of the street, waving his arms above his head, signaling to his mother. She came to a screeching halt, jumping out of the car to run towards him.
Behind him, Abner could hear the sounds of a great deal of cars honking at him, but as his mother hugged him like she hadn't seen him in years, he found them easy to ignore. She held him for minutes, and he held her back, not caring about anything else in the world but the warmth he felt on both the inside and the out. Finally, she slowly pulled apart from Abner, looking him up and down with the widest eyes he'd ever seen on her.
"Ab...how, where have you...that was a ridiculously dangerous thing to do!" she finally managed to get out.
Abner couldn't help but smile.
"Mom, sometimes there just comes a time for throwing caution to the wind."