Chapter 6: Learning

Ferral’s eyes shot open. He was floating in an ocean. He was looking up at the sky, but didn’t know how he got there. Only a few minutes ago, he was sleeping on Ms. Clare’s couch. As he floated aimlessly, there was a pressure on the boy’s chest. It was painful, but not visible; however, Ferral could tell something was there. He ended up bumping his head on something, and when he looked up…it was Dr. Amber. “M-Mother?” He said, but there was no response. She didn’t even acknowledge Ferral was there. Just stared off into the distance. A vacant expression on her face. He tried to move his arms to tap her, but they wouldn’t move. He tried to say something again, but before he could, his body was pulled into the ocean. The weight on his chest grew heavier and heavier as it sank Ferral deeper and deeper into the dark depths. He tried to shout, but only bubbles would come out. Faster and faster he kept sinking…further and further! Sinking until becoming surrounded by a black abyss. But…mother, Ferral thought…

*I’ve got to see her again! I have to tell her I’m sorry, and that I want to be with her. Please. PLEASE! Don’t take her away from me! PLEASE!!*

Ferral finally hit solid ground, and his body jolted hard. He shot up, sweating and breathing heavily. He looked around to see, remembering he was back in Ms.Clare’s home. It was dark, so that meant it was still night. Ferral threw his head back on the pillow, stared at the ceiling. He couldn’t wrap his mind around what had just happened. Couldn’t even remember how such a thing could come about in the first place. But his chest hurt. It was the same pain he felt whenever thinking about Dr. Amber. Was he thinking about her? Ferral tried to forget about it and go back to sleep, but couldn’t.

Ms. Clare’s alarm went off at its usual time of five o’clock in the morning. She groaned, flipping over to shut it off. She got up, went to the bathroom to wash her face, and headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. As she walked into the living room, Ms. Clare noticed Ferral still sleeping on the couch. She smiled. It was good to see him getting his sleep. Unsure when he’d wake up didn’t, she tried to be as quiet as possible. That way, he’ll get as much sleep as possible. Adding to her daily routine of making breakfast, she decided to place sticky notes on things Ferral can do while she is at work, as well as things he’ll have for lunch. She placed the notes on the TV remote, the bathroom door, the fridge, the trash can, and some microwavable frozen dinners. The notes were written with the simplest of sentences, so as not to make it too hard for him to understand. For breakfast, she decided to make some scrambled eggs and pancakes. She made enough for about five people…chances are he could eat for four. It was about six-thirty, breakfast was finished, and she placed all the notes for him. Finally, she went to get dressed for work.

Ferral’s eyes had a hard time opening. But once they did, he sat up, scratching his head. It looked like he was actually able to go back to sleep, and yet, still felt tired. The air smelled good, so he got up to find the scent. Curious, following the scent until reaching the kitchen. He found two plates of what looked like food. One had more food on it than the other, but before he could investigate further, there was another scent. It smelled like Dr. Amber! He quickly whipped around and ran in the direction of the scent, leading to a door which Ferral burst open. He saw Ms. Clare standing in a room, doing something to her eyes. She jumped back, “Oh!” She exclaimed. She gave a deep sigh, “Don’t scare me like that.” Pressing her hand against her chest, trying to catch her breath. “I am sorry,” Ferral apologized, “It smells like Mother in here.” She looked at Ferral, confused, and sniffed the air. “Oh, what you’re probably smelling is my perfume bottle. It’s got a pretty strong scent, even if you put a little.” She told him. “Purr-fuum? What is that?” The curious boy asked. She picked up a small lavender colored bottle. “This is perfume,” She handed it to Ferral, “A person sprays it on, and it makes them smell good.”

Ms. Clare took off the top of the bottle and pressed down, making a mist come out and hit Ferral’s shirt. He looked down, grabbing it to smell the same scent that she and Amber had. It was now on his shirt. “OHHHHH!” He inhales it more, remembering his mother. “You can have it if you want,” She offered, “I’m not a huge fan of the strength of that one, but if you like it, it’s all yours.” Ferral looked down at the bottle, then back at her. “Thank you.” He said. She smiled, “You’re welcome. Just try not to waste it all, okay?” She told him jokingly, and he nodded.

“So, did you have breakfast yet?” Ms. Calre asked. Ferral shook his head, “No, what is that?” She checked herself in the mirror before answering. “It’s on those two plates in the kitchen. You get the one that has more on it.” Ferral nodded, heading back to the kitchen and looking at those two plates that were sitting on the dining table. She said the one with more was his, so Ferral picked up the plate and looked at the food that was on it. There were these six flat brown discs all stacked on top of one another, and this large clump of yellow stuff. He picked up one of the brown discs and bit into it. The outside was crispy while the inside was soft. It was amazing! Ferral shoved the rest of it into his mouth. After finishing the pancake, he eyed the yellow stuff…eggs. He scraped some of it into his mouth; it was soft and salty. Even better! Ms. Clare came walking over, her eyes widened when she caught Ferral shoveling the eggs into his mouth. He looked at her, swallowing what he had in his mouth before speaking. “This food is amazing! What was it?” She stared at him for a second, still speechless at the way he ate. “They’re eggs and pancakes.” She replied.

She walked over to her cabinets, “You really like, huh?” She chuckled, grabbing a bottle of syrup. Ferral nodded, “Yeah, it is sooooo good.” Ms. Clare rummaged through her utensil drawer and grabbed a fork. “I’m glad you like it,” She said, bringing him the syrup and fork. “But here, try this on the pancakes, and this is to help you eat.” She handed him the fork, then opened the syrup bottle and poured some of it onto the pancake stack. “That pointy thing is called a fork; it’ll keep your hands clean.” Ferral looked down at his right hand, which had the remnant of the eggs on it. He used the fork and stabbed into the syrup-covered pancake, lifting it up and shoving the whole thing into his mouth. His eyes lit up after tasting the sweet flavor of the syrup. “OH WOW!!!! It is even better!!” Ms. Clare laughed, placing the bottle on the kitchen table. She picked up her plate, grabbing another fork for herself.

“Well, you can put more on them if you want. Just don’t put too much.” She started heading to the front door. “I left you instructions on what you can do on these little yellow notes. They’re those yellow squares scattered around the apartment.” Just before she opened the door, Ms. Clare quickly turned around. “Please don’t try to go outside, I’ll be back soon.” Ferral tilted his head, confused. “Where are you going?” He asked. “I have a job, I work as a lawyer. You know, similar to how your Mother worked as a scientist.” “So, you are going to leave me here?” She nodded, “Only for a while. I’ll be back soon, I promise.” Ferral wasn’t too fond that she had to leave, but he was used to it. Dr. Amber often left him alone, too. He nodded, “Okay, bye.” Ferral waved. Ms. Clare smiled and waved back, “Bye, Ferral. Be good, okay.” She opened the door and headed out. Leaving Ferral alone…just like he always was.

After Ms. Clare left, Ferral wandered around her home, searching for all the notes she had left him. He easily found one that was placed on the TV remote in the living room. It read: THIS IS THE REMOTE. POINT IT AT THE LARGE BLACK SQUARE AND PRESS THE BIG RED BUTTON. Ferral looked around, instantly spotting the TV on the wall. He carefully pressed the big red button, the TV screen turning on with people talking on it. He jumped back, startled for a moment before moving closer to the screen. He gazed at it in awe, though eventually his eyes started hurting from being so close. He moved back and looked at what the rest of the note said. USE THE “CH.” BUTTONS TO CHANGE CHANNEL. He searched for the buttons, and when he found them, Ferral pressed the one on the right. The screen changed, showing new people. Ferral stood there, completely amazed. He went and sat down on the couch, flipping through various channels. News, sports, Ferral kept changing the channel until eventually stopping on one. It was showing animals.

He watched, fascinated. He never saw any real animals, only in picture books that Dr. Amber showed him. He put the remote down and watched intently. A person was talking while animals were being shown; he had a weird-sounding voice. His hair was blonde, and he wore brown clothes. He was full of energy. Ferral liked this guy. He talked about what the animal was, where they were…just so many facts! Ferral was completely glued to this channel; he didn’t want to look away. After a while, Ferral started to get hungry again. So, he got up and walked over to the kitchen to see if there were any notes. He did find one on the freezer door. It read: OPEN FREEZER. GRAB A FROZEN DINNER. He opened it and found another note on top of a tray that reminded him of the ones they gave out at the Organization. He grabbed it; this one read: POKE HOLES WITH FORK ON PLASTIC. PLACE IN MICROWAVE FOR 2 MINUTES. PELL OFF PLASTIC ONCE READY. He already knew what a fork was. He headed over to the table where his empty plate was and grabbed the fork. The note said to poke holes in it, so Ferral jabbed at the top of the tray, and four small holes were at the top.

He poked more until seeing another note. It was how to use the microwave. After learning how to use that, Ferral grabbed the tray from the microwave…it was super hot! He grabbed the fork again, ripping off the plastic, and started eating the food that was on the tray. It was delicious! He walked back to the living room and sat back on the couch to watch the animals. But after only a few minutes, grew hungry again. He went back to grab another tray, and as it was in the microwave, he got an idea. What if he heated all the trays and brought them over to the coffee table? That way, he wouldn’t have to go back and forth. Ferral liked this idea, so he took all the trays out, poked holes in each one, and microwaved them one at a time. Afterward, he took the stack of ten trays and gently placed them all on the table. Now, he could eat while not having to leave the couch. He could watch the animals without hassle.

It was a little past eight at night when Ms. Clare came home. She unlocked the door, preparing herself to be pounced on by Ferral. She slowly opened the door, but to her surprise, nothing happened. She could hear the TV, so Ms. Clare quietly walked inside, then peered her head to see Ferral watching it. He was entranced, not even knowing she was there. She looked over into the kitchen, seeing all of the food trays jammed into the trash can. She chuckled, “This kid can really eat, huh?” She whispered to herself. But, was glad he had something to take his mind off yesterday.