Joy lies on the hammock Justin created on our porch. She’s turned it permanent so it won’t disappear when Justin awakes.
Madelyn has woken up and disappeared. Charlie tries to keep Joy happy and distracted from her pain by talking to her. I sit on one of the chairs in the porch.
Then we all stop what we’re doing as we hear Master Mind walk down the ramp.
“Little Pirate,” he says. “I apologize from the depths of my paper heart.”
“Master Mind,” Joy reaches out to touch his hand. “What happened? I was so worried!”
Justin comes out of the house to stand near Joy. He wants to know what happened, too. It’s Joys safety, after all.
“Logic dictates that you should not be concerned for me, rather that you should be furious. I am furious and I do not know what to do.”
“Master Mind, what happened to you?” Joy squeezes his metal hand. “You’ve seen blood before. You killed many people without a problem.”
“It is the heart you have given me, Little Pirate. Ever since I have left the Pirate’s dream with you for the first time more than a year ago, it has begun to release emotions into me that I do not know and often do not understand.”
“Good emotions or bad emotions?” Justin chimes in.
“My love for the Little Pirate. My fear for her life. My panic at her blood. Emotions that work against my evil side. These emotions come out of your paper heart and make me weak and less effective. But I dare not tear my paper heart out.”
“No, don’t do that,” Joy tells him softly. “You’ll become evil.”
“I will never tear out my heart, as much as I wish it, for it saves your life. But I do not wish to become a less effective protector.”
Joy caresses his metal hand. “You’re just fine the way you are. Does your heart like it when I go like this?”
“I do not care one way or the other.”
“Maybe you will in the future. I like it!”
And Master Mind stands there while Joy, in the hammock, holds his hand and caresses it.
Justin appears overwhelmed. He puts his hand to his heart, and I swear there’s a teardrop in his eyes. But he disappears and I’ll never know.
—Told by Grampa Walt