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Mercury knows they shouldn’t be up this late, but they can’t help themselves. It’s currently 10:30 pm, much later than the bedtime their parents assigned the 7-year-old, and Mercury is standing behind the doorframe from the hallway to the kitchen. The syrupy moonlight peaks through the heavy curtains of Mercury’s third home, casting the scene in surreal tranquility only available during sleepless nights. Mercury knows they shouldn’t be here, but they can’t bring themselves to turn away from their parent’s conversation.
“Jupiter, I love you and Merc dearly; I don’t want to do this again, but you know I have to,”
“I know, dear, I know. The last thing I want to do is tie you down-”
“You could never tie me down, please don’t think that”
“Yes, yes…Yet, still, I wish it wasn’t so sudden, this time”
The kitchen is quiet for a moment. The two are sitting at the small table. Jupiter is hunched over himself and Scheherazade places one of her hands over her husband’s. Mercury wonders how much they could poke their head from behind their hiding spot before their mom or dad sees.
Scheherazade speaks again with a cracking voice, “Me too, love. But Zarqa’s letter was so urgent and I’ve been worried sick about how the tensions have been festering, and I can’t allow myself to stay on the sidelines. I have a responsibility, I could never forgive myself”.
Jupiter sighs, not out of frustration or resentment, but out of world-weariness. Mercury now understands the deep lines of his face more.
He meets his wife’s eyes and attempts a smile at her. “I’ll help you pack”.
The conversation seems to be over, but Mercury still stands there. Not even the guard tower that stands near this town’s outskirts and has survived the rise and collapse of thousands of years can compare to the watch of a child witnessing their parent’s vulnerabilities for the first time.
There’s rustling, and minutes later the two are back in the kitchen, Scheherazade with a duffel bag thrown over her shoulder.
“I’ll be back before you’re next article gets published”, she attempts to joke.
Jupiter manages a quick, quiet laugh and replies, “I hope that’s not your timeframe because otherwise, you’ll be back next year”.
The air now carries a heaviness to it; the wind in the Mason household is always fresh, turbulent, and alive. Scheherazade always has a lightness to her, an unstoppable force of forward momentum and breath that has blessed her long life with resilience and hope. But here, in this dark kitchen, the air is stagnant, stale, empty. It is filled with unsaid words of devotion, with half-completed photo albums, with the last lingering note of a song. Scheherazade opens the large window, causing the night air to enter their now-haunted house. She looks back at her husband, whispers something Mercury can’t hear, and smiles. Then she steps out the window and tells the wind where to take her.
(They could never know for certain, but Mercury swore that before she left, sy saw their mom turn to smile at them).
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Mercury can’t believe this is really happening. Skies hands can't stop shaking and their hair looks like they're skydiving from an airship. The letter is in their hands, it was delivered this morning, and as they read over the text again Mercury’s awe turns to giddinesses.
“Congratulations, student, on your acceptance to Strixhaven School of Mages!”
Mercury rushes downstairs as fast as possible, “Mom, Dad! I got in!”
There's a beat as their parents process the information, but suddenly Mercury’s enveloped in the tightest hug from their mom.
“Oh my goodness! I’m so,so proud of you sweetie, and of course, I had no doubts you could do it but still! This is absolutely wonderful and so exciting, oh congratulations Merc!”
Mercury laughs at their mom’s enthusiasm and sy can't get rid of the smile on their face as they hug her back.
Jupiter’s quieter than his wife but they all know he feels the exact same amount of pride and excitement.
“I’m so proud of you Mercury, Strixhaven is going to be just amazing.”
The joy in the room is palpable. Mercury can't believe this new chapter of their life will begin so soon, and the unknown future brings with it equal parts worry and anticipation.
A realization dawns on them, and they pull back from the hug a bit.
“So, it said that I’d move out and leave for the campus in about 3 months,”.
Scheherazada’s face falls.
“Right, move out,”.
The family all knows it's not the prospect of moving that worries her.
Of course, Mercury can’t know the depth of their mom’s emotions, hell, they don't even know the full stories of why she left so frequently. But they see themself in her enough to know they have the same loneliness, in their own distorted way.
Mercury grieves for unspent time, too. They miss weekends at the market, breakfasts during cold mornings, visits from barely-know extended family members, late night conversations about how to move forward from an argument that in the grand scheme truly didn't matter.
Of all the things Mercury's had to leave behind, they wish they knew how to hold onto this one the most.
But they don't know, and maybe sy never will. They look up to meet their mom’s eyes, noticing that they've gotten teary.
“I’ll remember to visit you,” Mercury manages to say.