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badly_knittedTitle: Troubled Thoughts
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Jonathan Willaway, Varian.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 498: Remember at
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drabble_zone.Setting: After the series.
Summary: Jonathan and Varian share their concerns.
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Fantastic Journey, or the characters. They belong to their creators.
A/N: Quadruple drabble.
Willaway wasn’t aware he was frowning as he sat on a bench, watching the locals bustling around, going about their business, until Varian joined him, leaning back and stretching his long legs out.
“You look worried, Jonathan. Is something bothering you?”
“What?” Willaway turned to his friend, surprised. “No, I was just… thinking.” It sounded lame, but it was the truth.
Varian chuckled. “That much was evident.” The tall man sat forward, resting his forearms on his thighs, fixing Willaway with an intent look that might have made him uncomfortable a few months ago, but now just made him feel… seen, accepted, cared about. “If it wouldn’t be impolite, might I ask what’s on your mind?”
“You could not be impolite if you tried,” Willaway said, smiling. Varian’s manners were always impeccable. “It’s nothing really, I was thinking about… Well, my world, earth of the nineteen-sixties, and you know, I’ve seen so much since I’ve been on this island that I… can’t quite remember what it was like. I was trying to picture my apartment, the building I lived in, the lab I worked in, even the faces of my friends, and… it all seems so vague, almost unreal.”
“I know what you mean. Everything here is so immediate; with each zone we face different terrain, different civilisations, every few days we find ourselves in a completely different environment, and after so many they’re starting to blur together. There’s so much sensory input every day that our minds simply can’t keep track of it all, and older memories get pushed into the background to make room for what our minds consider more important information.”
“It’s a bit disconcerting,” Willaway admitted.
“Yes, it is. I find myself trying to recall what I used to do when I wasn’t working, and I have no idea how I occupied myself. I get the disturbing impression that I may have been rather lazy.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Nevertheless…” Varian smiled faintly. “When we return to our own times, we won’t be the same people we once were. Whether we like it or not, our experiences on this island are changing us in ways we can’t even begin to quantify. I worry sometimes that my father won’t recognise me. I’m not even sure I still recognise myself.”
Willaway gave an awkward shrug. “I only hope my experiences are changing me for the better.”
The End
“You look worried, Jonathan. Is something bothering you?”
“What?” Willaway turned to his friend, surprised. “No, I was just… thinking.” It sounded lame, but it was the truth.
Varian chuckled. “That much was evident.” The tall man sat forward, resting his forearms on his thighs, fixing Willaway with an intent look that might have made him uncomfortable a few months ago, but now just made him feel… seen, accepted, cared about. “If it wouldn’t be impolite, might I ask what’s on your mind?”
“You could not be impolite if you tried,” Willaway said, smiling. Varian’s manners were always impeccable. “It’s nothing really, I was thinking about… Well, my world, earth of the nineteen-sixties, and you know, I’ve seen so much since I’ve been on this island that I… can’t quite remember what it was like. I was trying to picture my apartment, the building I lived in, the lab I worked in, even the faces of my friends, and… it all seems so vague, almost unreal.”
“I know what you mean. Everything here is so immediate; with each zone we face different terrain, different civilisations, every few days we find ourselves in a completely different environment, and after so many they’re starting to blur together. There’s so much sensory input every day that our minds simply can’t keep track of it all, and older memories get pushed into the background to make room for what our minds consider more important information.”
“It’s a bit disconcerting,” Willaway admitted.
“Yes, it is. I find myself trying to recall what I used to do when I wasn’t working, and I have no idea how I occupied myself. I get the disturbing impression that I may have been rather lazy.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Nevertheless…” Varian smiled faintly. “When we return to our own times, we won’t be the same people we once were. Whether we like it or not, our experiences on this island are changing us in ways we can’t even begin to quantify. I worry sometimes that my father won’t recognise me. I’m not even sure I still recognise myself.”
Willaway gave an awkward shrug. “I only hope my experiences are changing me for the better.”
The End
