A New Life

Chapter 3

Logan nursed the chilErikErik – until he had somewhat recovered. Erik had gained some weight and no longer looked like a living corpse, even though he was still very lean. His bruises and wounds had almost healed, his dark hair had begun to grow back, and he had started to feel like a human being again. Logan was very good to him, and he looked up to the older man, adoring him since the first morning he woke up in his arms.

Logan found out that Erik was Jewish, and that his entire family – all his relatives – had been destroyed in the death camps, leaving the child completely alone. He wasn’t sure how to tell Erik this. They still had communication problems, but they *could* understand each other. Logan tried to teach Erik English, and the boy was a quick learner. Although Erik was a silent child, who didn’t speak much.

Every night Erik slept in his saviour’s arms. Logan had offered to find him another place to sleep, but Erik wanted to stay where he felt safe. He often woke up crying in the middle of the night, dreaming of the horror he had suffered at Auschwitz. It was comforting to know Logan would be there, holding him in his strong arms whenever he was in the need of consolation.

Logan had known about it for more than two weeks, but he could not induce himself to tell Erik that his entire family was dead.

I have to tell him, he thought. He has the right to know. But it will probably break him. But it doesn’t matter, I have to tell him. As soon as possible.

“Come here, Erik,” Logan said one evening, five weeks after he had retrieved Erik from the barrack. The boy came immediately, and sat down on Logan’s lap when he reached the man.

k,” k,” Logan began, and put his arm protectively around Erik’s body. “There is something we have to talk about.”

“What, Logan?” Erik asked. He had learned to pronounce the name correctly now, but his German accent was certainly still there.

“Look, sweetheart… This is something I’ve found out about your family…”

Logan didn’t know how to say it in a tactful and eloquent way. Maybe it was impossible? He would hurt Erik no matter how he said it.

“Your family…your parents… They didn’t make it,” he said. “I’m so sorry, Erik. God, I wish I didn’t have to tell you this!”

Erik just stared at him for a moment, his large blue eyes expressing confusion, and then despair. “Mamma, and papa…dead?” he asked in a quivering voice.

“Yes, Erik, I’m afraid so. I didn’t know how to tell you this, but it’s true. I’m so sorry.”

Erik began to cry, and buried his face in Logan’s s, we, wetting it with heartbroken tears. Logan embraced the delicate child, trying to soothe him, but right now Erik was inconsolable.

What is going to happen to me now? Erik thought. Mom and dad are dead. Who will take care of me?

He was merely a boy, not even twelve, and he knew very little of the outside world, and what he knew scared him. His family was dead, and he had no one. No one except Logan, his hero and saviour. What would Logan do with him now?

That was when Logan decided to take Erik with him back to Canada. He loved this boy dearly, like his own son, and he could not abandon him now. No way. This child deserved to be loved, and Logan could give him that. He decided never to leave Erik.

“Erik, darling, could you listen to me now?” Logan asked gently and cupped Erik’s red-streaked face in his large hands. Erik was still sobbing and looked at Logan through his tears.

“Would you like to come to Canada with me?” he asked. “I promise I’ll take care of you.”

Erik nodded silently. “Can I stay you you forever?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Logan said, holding Erik against his chest. “Yeah, you can.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They travelled to Canada two weeks later. Erik marvelled at the foreign country, its beautiful nature, landscapes and grandness in general. This was the second largest country in the world, had he been taught in school. And then it was Logan’s country.

Logan brought Erik to his house, somewhat secluded outside a small town named Bailey Falls, where he had spent the past 50 years of his life. Logan was old, roughly 150 years – he didn’t even know exactly how old he was – but he looked to be about 35, and had done so since the beginning of the 19th Century. He knew this was somehow connected to his enhanced senses and rapid healing ability, but nothing more. Those who had known about it had looked upon him as a freak, but they were all dead now, and Logan always kept his powers secret. The society didn’t like freaks and he wasn’t going to let them know he was one. He hadn’t even told Erik.

“Will we live here?” Erik asked when he saw his new home for the first time.

“Yep,” Logan replied. “We sure will. I’ve lived here for quite some time. I hope you’ll like it.”

“It looks very…peaceful,” Erik said slowly. “And beautiful. I do believe I will like it.”

Logan carried their luggage inside the house, followed by Erik. Erik immediately knew he would love this house. With sorrow he thought of his old home in Germany, where he had spent the first 11 years of his life together with his parents. He would never see them or his house again. But he was with Logan, and that was enough to make him happy.

Logan offered to give Erik a room of his own, but Erik insisted on sleeping in Logan’s bed. Logan wasn’t really sure if it would be appropriate, but fuck, he couldn’t deny his little dark-haired angel anything, and besides he enjoyed holding the boy in his arms. So he gave in and let Erik have his way. Erik was his child now, and Logan was going to spoil him.

Not that Erik was any deman chi child. All he virtually asked for was a big comfortable armchair and a fascinating book to bury his nose in. Erik loved to read. He had always loved it. That way he could escape into other worlds and explore them without leaving the house. Besides reading in English helped him improve his English language. He could sit like that for hours sometimes, not speaking a word, simply reading. Erik was obviously very precocious, and Logan knew he would make a great scholar one day.

It was true that Erik had made an amazing recovery, but still he often woke up crying at nights, haunted by nightmares about his horrific past, seeking consolation in Logan’s sturdy arms.

When Erik turned twelve, three months after their arrival in Canada, Logan bought him a book. He watched as the boy expectantly unwrapped his present, and his happy cry when he pulled it out.

“A new book!” he exclaimed. “Oh, Logan, thank you so much!”

Erik’s childish enthusiasm made Logan laugh. “Do you like it?” he asked.

“Yes, very much,” Erik replied.

The book was named “The Hobbit” and was written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Not someone he knew of, but he was always willing to try new authors. And this book looked thrilling in deed.

“Thank you, Logan,” Erik said again and wound his arms around Logan’s neck. “So…how did you know it was my birthday?”

Logan looked hurt. “But of course I did! How could I forget? Today you’re twelve years old, Erik. In a year you’ll be a teenager.”

Erik laughed; a sound that always made Logan smile. “Logan, when is your birthday?” he asked.

The question took Logan aback. He didn’t know his date of birth – heck, he didn’t even know his exact year of birth – but he couldn’t tell Erik this. Desperately he tried to think of an answer.

“August 22,” he finally said.

“Okay,” Erik said. There was no particular reason why he had asked, and he didn’t notice how his question affected Logan. He was in a hurry to start reading his new gift.

“Now, go and read your book, I can see that’s what you wanna do!” Logan chuckled and ran his hand through Erik’s thick dark curls.

“Okay, I will,” Erik replied. “Don’t you want me to help you with the dinner then?”

“Nah, not today, angel. It’s your birthday, so you can just relax.”

“Thank you, Logan,” Erik said pressed a quick kiss to Logan’s cheek before he left the room to go exploring the world of this writer.

TBC