Chapter 9

A New Connection

The soft crackling sounds began once again in the Visitor’s head. He was gently waking his young companion when the noise intruded on his thoughts accompanied by a bright light flooding across his vision. MacArthur heard the wordless thoughts more clearly this time. Embedded in the message was his name.        "You hear me now, Adam MacArthur. Answer, please." The silent speech filling his consciousness was muted but insistent.        "Yes, are you another Visitor like me?" he asked.        MacArthur detected amusement in the response, "Like you? No. There are no others like you. No one ever succeeded in leaving Colony without permission before you did. No one ever returned to earth second time... until now."        The Visitor wanted to consider what he heard but he was vaguely aware of Joshua vocalizing and becoming restless in their crowded hideaway.        "I must go. Please contact me later," he sent his hurried reply, then added, "unless you can tell me, now, how I’m to help this boy."        "There is no boy in your plan," the message returned quickly and with certainty.        The Visitor abruptly terminated the connection, relieved that his skills from the Colony worked equally well in this novel situation.        Emerging from Joshua’s makeshift refuge under the bushes, the Visitor straightened his cramped legs and pulled the sleepy child after him. The pair proceeded in the cover of trees and shrubbery until they reached the street. Joshua, who had calmly followed along, was still wearing his nylon and rubber water shoes. MacArthur hesitated on the curb remembering his shoes and socks left sitting on the dock. A trek back through the park was more risk than he cared to take. He could only hope that the activity of a busy convenience market would be cover enough from any watchful eyes.        Sally Crane picked up the receiver on the first ring. Her single-word greeting told all there was to know about a mother's anxiety, fear and hope. She had been keeping her vigil by the phone with a neighbor for company. Her husband was still out searching for Joshua with friends. The police, she supposed, had their own slow, careful procedure. At least they had the report on file.        "Am I speaking with Mrs. Crane?" the Visitor began.        "Yes," she replied, gripping the phone and meeting her neighbor's expectant gaze.        "I found a child in the park this evening. His bracelet says his name is Joshua and - "        "Thank God!" Sally shouted, "Where are you?"        MacArthur carefully relayed the address of the market. The only response was quiet crying on the other end of the line. "Your son is fine," he attempted to console her. "We'll wait right here until you arrive. Mrs. Crane?"        At last another voice announced, "Hi, I'm Pat, Sally's neighbor. Could you tell me, again, where you are? Sally is... Wait; she'd like to speak with Joshua. Can you put him on?"        Joshua listened briefly, echoing "Hi," very softly. He immediately pushed the phone away, aggravated at having the receiver held to his ear. With only minutes to wait, Adam sat with Joshua on the pavement, his back against the market’s block wall, between an ice machine and the telephones. They shared a bottle of water until Joshua again fell asleep, his head on Adam MacAthur’s lap.        Sally was trying to hold a quiet conversation with her husband. They had the den to themselves. Joshua was asleep in his bed. Neighbors and friends had at last departed. Avoiding an argument now would bring closure to an extremely traumatic day. Only the issue of their houseguest, Adam MacArthur, remained.        "I understood when you wanted that recreation therapist to live-in," Douglas Crane reminded his wife. "And I didn’t object to the six long weeks of therapeutic community with the new-agers. Sally, I know you’d do anything for Joshua, but taking in a stranger off the street just isn’t wise."        "But Doug, you should have seen him with Joshua. Our son has hardly ever looked so cooperative, so... settled. And Adam did rescue Joshua, jumping into the water like that, not to mention finding him in the first place. What would you have done?" Sally asked, her voice rising. "Say thanks and good-bye and leave the man standing in his bare feet on the sidewalk?"        "I’m not saying you should have just left him there, ok?" Doug pleaded. "We owe him more than we could ever repay. I’m simply saying it’d be more sensible to get him a hotel room. He hasn’t really told us much about himself. Who knows... At least, we should make the police aware that he’s actually the one who found Joshua and let them check him out."        Giving in to fatigue, Sally relented, "Alright, Doug. Our guest is probably sleeping by now. But in the morning, I’ll see how we can help him get situated."