1 Prologue

- Over 19 Years Earlier -

They say that there is no such thing as perfection. Or that perfection can't exist without imperfection. What do you think?

Can you imagine what kind of day and what kind of circumstances need to be met for a God to be born from the Earth? A perfect being would have to be created from the finest and purest; untouched soil that is housing the most beautiful and nutritious berries. On the perfect day, with a bright sun that would last a whole perfect hour. What constitutes perfection? Does it, perhaps, pertain to the standards of the owner of the skill? How else can I explain that on that perfect day, with no eyes to view and no hands to ruin, a God was born of the most exquisite berries that were growing from the most natural soil on the Earth?

Why would a God need to be born from that soil on that day? What purpose would the Earth have to create a being that encapsulates the beauty of Earth?

These are the questions that Duke Torres was plagued with after he found that baby in the woods. What a wild imagination he must have been granted with.

Walking down his normal path, getting the exercise he only realized he liked at the ripe age of 55; what a sight it must have been. A strange bush that had never been seen by any living thing, set in the center of a forest that cleared the land around it. A beautiful sight. The green grass that surrounded everything, (except the berry bush set directly in the center,) was so bright and full of life. A baby inside the biggest berry had opened the huge berry delicately and must have seemed like a hallucination to Duke. The baby's big hazel eyes went from the brightest green on the outside of his pupils to a perfectly light brown shade. The little baby seemed helpless and how can any human being resist the urge to help a less fortunate being? Walking cautiously, Duke scanned the area to make sure that this baby wasn't bait for a trap that he was too old to deal with. The baby stayed sitting in the berry like it was a swaddle wrap, meant to stop his movements and make him fall asleep. The calm baby stared at the man in curiosity and tried moving his arms under the wrap. Unintentionally and without any particular purpose or control, as an infant does.

Comfortable with the calmness and innocence of the baby in the berry, Duke attempted to open the berry more to free it, and when a small coo came from the boy, he staggered back, a bit startled and jumpy. He shook his head at his own disappointment. This new and unprepared situation left him on guard. After being a soldier, new things weren't exactly trained in soldiers to be taken lightly.

As he is able to finally and carefully tear the berry open to reach the kid, he finds that the inside of that berry was completely dry. He stopped his movement and slightly moved his fingers against the flesh of the berry. It seemed like it was dying already. How long would that have to take for berries like this?

"Now, just how long have you been out here, little guy?" he wondered aloud. He knew the child wouldn't answer but years away from much interaction made him a little desperate. Especially in this situation, he needed any sense that he wasn't alone.

Taking one last look around for any human or animal, Duke pulled the child out of it's home in the dry berry and held it up by his head, carefully. His other hand held the butt of the kid and Duke watched his face. As a newborn, he couldn't control his senses. 'Right?' Duke thought. But the baby boy in his arms kept all his limbs still as he watched the face of the man holding him. 'There is no way this kid is having one cohesive thought,' he tried reassuring himself. But the child seemed to be studying the man.

Unclear with what he was seeing, he stopped looking at the baby, and held it close to his chest. He looked across the small grassy field and took a few steps backward, taking one last look at the seemingly randomly placed bush of berries that housed this baby. Concluding that he was alone, he walked back through the forest where he came and walked down the path that led him back to his cabin of comfort.

Duke took no time today to look at the scenery and distract himself with the smells of the trees. He walked straight home. A million thoughts racing through his mind. Through all of those thoughts, the ones that he kept revisiting, to take serious consideration... 'Am I going to keep this kid? Can I afford to keep him? Am I equipt to raise a child on my own?'

When he finally got home, he ran to his dresser that sat at the foot of his bed. He took out a plain green shirt and set the baby down on the bed. He went to leave the room and run for the closet of towels he kept, but in the doorway, he was plagued by a voice he couldn't bear to disobey. 'Don't leave the babe on the bed! They'll fall and hurt their head!" Duke took a deep breath and walked back to the bed and picked the baby up, leaving the shirt he grabbed earlier on the spot where the infant was. He held the infant to his chest and took a moment to cradle it against him. Then he walked with a fast pace to the cabinet above the sink and grabbed the first brown towel he saw.

As he walked back, his heart and mind were calm, and he felt confident he could come up with a decision about the baby. He wasn't sure yet, though.

He walked to his room and carefully laid the baby on the bed. He looked back into his mesmerizing eyes and wondered how calm this kid was and why. He lifted the baby's bottom and placed the brown towel underneath to start the process of making a diaper. As he started, he heard the voice creep back. 'You still don't remember! You place it under, like a diamond. Then you put the baby's feet down and you bring the two other sides across. Yeah, that's good. Now take the bottom part and tuck it under the sides. Voila! Done.' Duke followed the directions and instinctively smiled.

He smiled at his handiwork. He had perfected the art. 'Well, then... we should sign you up for the diaper making Olympics! You're sure to win.' The sarcastic voice was somehow calming and he looked at the baby. He had a few bright red strands in the dozen of tiny black hairs. He wondered what their hair would be like when they get older. But if he gave it up, he would probably never get to know, huh? Trying to delay the decision a little longer, he slowly grabbed the shirt he had before. Only now, he noticed there were grass stains from the time he was looking for a different path to walk, and decided to roll down a hill.

"Huh..." Duke remarked, "I thought I washed these out..." To make sure he didn't just forget to wash it, he brought the light green shirt to his nose to smell sweat and grass residue. Immediately he pulled the shirt back away from him. Not washed. He shrugged and continued to start dressing the child in the clearly oversized shirt.

"Listen, kid. You don't get this tough bod through doing nothing," he joked as he pulled the baby's arms through the comparingly huge arm holes. He took a second to look at his strong arms. "For 55, I look super good," he laughed as he finished with dressing the baby. He laid the baby back down and climbed into it as well. He picked up the baby, laying him in his lap, as he readjusted to sit facing his pillows. He quickly made a set-up to place the baby to sit against.

When he sat the baby against the sturdy and secure makeshift chair, he refused to look the baby in the eyes.

And then he sad and stared at the perfectly still boy. The boy stared quietly at Duke, not moving a muscle.

And then, Duke thought about it. "What the hell is wrong with you, kid?" he chuckled. He crossed his arms and laughed, avoiding eye contact for a moment.

When he looked back up, he saw the baby looking down at his hands.

Duke's eyes grew wide with confusion and he thought, for a moment, that this infant had any kind of control over his mind and limbs.

"Oh, what the fuck?" He croaked, backing up on the bed. The bed moved enough to move the boy and he began to fall forward because of his huge head weighing him down. "Oh shi-" Duke lunged forward and grabbed the baby to hold his head back up. He then grabbed him close and cradled him. Closer and closer, he held the baby.

"Sorry, kid. That was almost a bad situation for the both of us." He sighed in relief, still rocking the baby back and forth. When Duke felt his heart had calmed down, he removed the baby from his chest and placed it in front of him, cradling his head and holding his back so they faced each other. The baby started cooing quietly and his hands finally moved for reach. The baby grabbed the sides of Duke's face and stared into his dark chocolate eyes that seemed sad. Duke knew of the sadness he held in his eyes and his heart.

As Duke felt his eyes begin to fill his eyes and threaten to fall, he shook his head, as if to shake off those bad feelings away. He gave a knowing look to the infant he was holding across him.

"I guess this is it, kid. Well... we gotta find a name... Sebastian. First advice for life, kid: Don't look at all the options, just the first one that's good." He laughed at the cruel irony of it all. Leaving the other interactions of humans to live alone in the forest, only to find someone and take them in. This is it. This was the solution and the permanent decision. Their eyes met in understanding.

The baby then began to try and grab his head again, when Duke let him, a great gust of wind threw open the window above his head.

"Oh crap!" He laughed as his vision was obstructed by the wind directly blowing in his eyes, he moved the baby to be held against his chest with one hand so he could reach over and close the window, but the wind began to flow even more to the point where Duke concerned it was a tornado. He gave up trying to close the window and held the babe close, trying to protect his head.

Then it stopped.

Cautiously waiting a few more moments to assure himself it was over.

"Jesus, what was that? A Dust devil?" He shook his head and closed the window. 'Great, now it's cold.' He shivered and laid the child on the bed while he returned to the clothing box at the foot of his bed. He turned from the baby, taking off his white t-shirt.

Then air started spinning around the room, slowly at first but quickly gaining speed. Scattered trash and clothes that previously hung around the room were flying in circles around the room. Duke turned to the baby.

He saw the baby swinging his arms. And all the wind seemed to be following his movements, but bigger. He stared in amazement. He stayed still. Unsure of what to do or exactly what he was seeing. 'Well, I think you're crazy', The voice crept back again. After more than a few minutes, he crept closer and closer to the baby. Seemingly out of his sight.

When he got close enough, he pushed through the air quickly and grabbed Sebastian, holding him in a hug. Duke made sure to support his baby's head. The air immediately stopped. Everything fell and Sebastian fell asleep.

"What the- oh no..." He said as his eyes widened in surprise and realization that this was going to be harder than he thought.

"Am I ready for you, kid?"

'Of course you are.' The voice sounded so soft and just like Duke remembered. He closed his eyes and remembered the few memories of his wife that had plagued him today. The time when they got a fake doll to practice having a baby, when Duke left it on their bed. "Don't leave the babe on the bed! They'll fall and hurt their head!" he heard her complain. He laughed and walked goofily to the bed. She gave him a sly look. Her dark blue eyes pierced into his mind forever.

And the 30th time she had to show him how to put on a diaper, even though he remembered it. He just didn't want to do it. But that time, she just made him do it. "You still don't remember! You place it under, like a diamond. Then you put the baby's feet down and you bring the two other sides across. Yeah, that's good. Now take the bottom part and tuck it under the sides. Voila! Done." He remembered how he rolled his eyes in frustration, but she was just happy. Her soft hands went to hold his face and he could feel her small lips kiss his cheek. Her small, wide nose touching his cheek as she planted a kiss.

When he finally started doing it on his own, he boasted to his wife. "Look! See! I'm probably better than you now." He smirked at her and stuck his tongue out. She gave a surprised and slightly insulted note. Then came the sarcasm. "Oh really? Well, then... we should sign you up for the diaper making Olympics! You're sure to win, 'hunny.'" She mocked and walked away. Her large stature made him smile. "Big man for a big woman!" She used to joke. He loved it. He loved all of her.

Duke opened his eyes and removed the baby a little bit from his chest. He noticed that compared to his white scarred and tough skin, Sebastian had a darker, more tanned look.

Duke smiled. Charlotte would have loved him.

"That's why I can't let you go, Sebastian." And he fell asleep, beside his bedside, holding Sebastian.