“I lost my sword in all the chaos,” Ruby said.
Jia reached inside one of the pockets of her vest and found a small chisel. She handed it to Matt, along with her little hammer. He took them. “Do you want to come?”
She shook her head. “No, it should just be you three.” She smiled, but it was a sad smile. Matt had this feeling he knew what her sadness was about, but he wasn’t ready to hear it. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Matt climbed on the top of Blossom, and the three of them carved their names into the mast. Matt was sure to use his signature M with the lines crossing each other, forming an X at the center. When they finished, he was filled with that familiar feeling of déjà vu. Everything was coming full circle now. This was the end, but also the beginning.
“It feels like lifetimes ago, doesn’t it?” Ruby said. “When we first boarded the Vermillion.”
“Yeah,” Corey said. “Do you really think it’s all over? Is Captain Vincent really gone?”
“He won’t bother us again,” Matt said. He felt certain of that, though he wasn’t certain of anything else. What would the future bring them? What parts of their past would come back to haunt or delight them?
The adults finally made it to the top of the city, and they were all gathering, getting ready to head home, when Matt heard a very strange sound coming from somewhere behind him.
“What’s that sound?” Ruby asked.
They all stopped and listened.
“It sounds like crying,” Corey said. “Like a baby.”
Matt, Corey, and Ruby all looked at each other, clearly wondering the same thing. They searched for the source of the crying. It buzzed in Matt’s ears and seemed to echo like it was inside a cave.
They came to the huge boulder with the star chart carved into it. It had been cracked in half during the battle, and between it was a wriggling, squalling bundle.
Mrs. Hudson gasped and covered her mouth.
Matt felt himself go a little fuzzy.
“It’s Matt, isn’t it?” Corey said.
Corey was right. This baby was him. But how did he get there? He looked around. There was no one else here.
Mrs. Hudson knelt down and scooped up the crying infant in her arms. She cuddled and cooed to the baby, and then she started to sing the lullaby. The baby instantly stopped crying, and even Matt felt soothed.
“Aw, he knows his mama,” Uncle Chuck said.
“But . . . how?” Matt asked. How did he get here?
“You must have pulled yourself out of your own time tapestry, somehow,” Ruby said. “During the time storm.”
“So . . . basically he orphaned himself?” Corey asked.
“I . . . I didn’t mean to,” Matt said.
“Or maybe you did,” Corey said. “Maybe even as a baby you knew where you belonged. Right here with us.”
He had orphaned himself? But why? Was he supposed to put himself back? Was that even possible? Matt felt his mind whirling, trying to think of all the answers, all the possibilities. Maybe this was the only way to fix things. Maybe this was the sacrifice that needed to be made. Himself. His own timeline.
Mr. Hudson knelt down next to his wife, smiling at baby Mateo, who was now sleeping.
“Aw,” Jia said quietly. “You were a cute baby, Matt.”
“I wish we could keep him with us,” Ruby said.
“As much as I’d love that,” Mrs. Hudson said, “I think it might cause a few problems.”
“Plus, he poops his pants now,” Corey said. “Love you, bro, but I don’t want to change your diapers.”
“I don’t want you to either,” Matt said.
“We’d better get him to his parents, shouldn’t we?” Mr. Hudson said.
Mrs. Hudson pulled the baby tighter to her chest. She looked at her husband like he’d just suggested they abandon the baby to a pack of wolves.
“I meant us!” he said. “We should get him to the adoption agency, so they can, you know, give us a call?”
“Oh,” Belamie said, relaxing a little. “Right.” But she still looked reluctant, as though she wished she really could keep him with her now.
“Make sure they tell you the baby’s name is Mateo!” Ruby said.
“Yeah,” Corey added. “We wouldn’t want you naming him something else, like Marius or whatever.”
“Well, I think that’s up to your brother, isn’t it?” Mr. Hudson said. “What’s it going to be, kiddo?” he said, looking at Matt.
He didn’t hesitate for a second. “I’m Mateo,” he said. And that felt truer than it ever had. He was Mateo. Mateo Hudson. And this was his family. He didn’t need to have all the answers. He didn’t need to know where or when he had come from. No one really knows that anyway. They just know when they’ve found home. They know who their family is. And Matt had found his. This was how it was always meant to be.
They all gathered inside of Blossom. Mrs. Hudson cradled baby Mateo gently in her arms. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Just as Matt was about to get inside of Blossom, he realized Jia wasn’t there. He turned around. She was still by the cracked boulder, staring at the star chart.
Matt went to her. “Jia? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing . . . I . . . I just . . .”
Ruby stepped up beside Jia. “You need to go home,” she said. “To China?”
Jia cast her eyes down at her feet. Matt felt his heart fall into his stomach. He’d known this was coming, probably for longer than he wanted to admit, but that didn’t make it any less painful. “Why?” he asked.
Jia looked up at him. “Because it’s home, and . . . and I think my father needs me.”
No. Matt wanted to tell her to forget China. Forget her father. She could live with them. They needed her more. He needed her. But then he realized he wasn’t thinking about what Jia needed. He was being selfish. He wanted to keep her to himself, not realizing that she had her own family and home, and it was time for her to go back.
Mrs.
