Chapter Text
Prolong,
What is a person if not their memories?
Seth was visiting his parents for dinner from collage, so long away from them had made him homesick. His dorm was alright and his roommates were nice.
He was almost through with all his classes, it was weird to think about how close he was to being done. Four years had gone by faster than he'd expected, and he almost had his masters degree in biology.
Sure, he had a lot of student debt, but once he got a good job as a biologist, Seth was sure he could pay them off eventually. He was planning on researching and studying plants and insects in the unexplored forests.
He pulled his old beat up car into the gravel driveway of his childhood home, putting the gear into park and turning off the engine, switching out his sunglasses he wore to keep the sun out of his eyes while driving to his normal round-rimmed ones.
When Seth got out, he was greeted by his mother standing out on the porch while the evening sky began to set in. She had brown hair that matched his, and blue eyes.
He walked across the grass of the front yard and greeted her with a warm hug, feeling nostalgic after being away from home for so long.
He remembered so many times as a kid with his friends, running around the neighborhood, playing games in the yard, getting into trouble they weren't supposed to.
It wasn't long before his mom dragged him inside, telling him all about what he'd missed. The squirrel that kept digging up the garden seeds, how the stray cat would chase it away.
He was surprised by two of his friends, who he hadn't seen in a while, standing with his dad in the kitchen. Several brightly wrapped boxes were on the counter, shoot had he forgotten someone's birthday. His mom laughed at the confused look on his face.
"Those are for you, you silly goose," She said teasingly. "Since you're going to be traveling around so much while you get settled into a job out of collage, we thought we'd get you birthday gifts in advance."
Seth spent the evening with his parents and friends. He ate dinner, chicken noodle soup, before the gifts were practically shoved into his arms.
His mother gave him a soft cyan scarf and a journal book with a leather cover, for all his "research information" as she said. He got a watch from his dad, along with the dad joke that came with it.
One friend gave him a pocket knife, and the other gave him a compass with all their first initials carved into the back of it, their trio always together.
Seth felt emotional about all the meaningful gifts, especially since he didn't expect them, putting everything in his pockets but the scarf, which he wore around his neck despite the fact it was the middle of summer, they continued with the fun.
Once the sun set, his friends went home and his parents sent him off. Seth started his car, driving off onto the road. The sky was growing dark and he watched the last few beams of sunlight disappear under the horizon.
Halfway back to the campus, the check engine light came up, and Seth had to pull over on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. He popped the hood and got out of his car to go see what was wrong.
He only just got around to the front of his car before he tripped over something he couldn't see on the ground, getting his foot caught and falling down. He braced for impact as he expected to biff it and land on his face.
He never felt himself hit the ground because he blacked out before he could feel the contact, or rather, the lack of ground under him as he kept falling.