Adam and Mona waved to his parents as they boarded the coastal boat for the trip back to Little Valley. George and Isabella were there as well to say farewell to their new friends. Eli’s surgery had brought favourable results, in fact Dr. Templeton was calling it his most successful case. Adam’s dad, had remained in hospital for two more days after the doctor had first removed the bandages, and than spent another week with the Foxs, who insisted that Eli not make the trip home until his eye had healed. Even so, he still wore a patch over that eye while outside. Later that day at the Foxs house, Adam was unusually quiet. He thought of the events that had lead up to both him and his parents being taken under the wing of a family, they had not known existed just two short years earlier. For a moment he felt a kinship with the great pessimistic philosopher, Schopenhauer, who once while sitting dejectedly on a park bench, was taken for a tramp by a police officer, who demanded, “who are you and what are you doing here“? To which the philosopher replied, “ I would to God I knew”. The mood soon passed however as he remembered that Mark was being released from hospital tomorrow, and of his farewell visit to the hospital tonight. He had a surprise for Mark too, a copy of Gulliver’s Travels, for the boy had taken a great interest in reading, after Adam had introduced him to the Classics.

Mark was in an excitable mood that night as might be expected of a thirteen year boy who was finally returning home, after what must have felt to him, like an eternity in hospital surrounded only by adults. No longer confined to his bed, Mark and Adam spent most of evening in the recreation room, reserved for patients who had recovered enough to entertain visitors away from the ward itself. As Adam expected, his friend was delighted with the book he had bought him and couldn’t wait to get started reading it. Although Mark was infatuated with Adam, having never met anyone quite like him before, he could not have realized the full extent that the young man’s influence would have on his future. At the moment he knew only that Adam was his hero and that he would miss their time together. They had however exchanged addresses and would keep in touch by letter. Nine o’ clock came and it was time to leave. The two hugged and Mark had tears in his eyes as he watched his friend walk through the door and disappear into the night.