There, but Not Seen (short story)
There, but Not Seen was the second short story in the anthology Out of the Shadows, published by Arcbeatle Press.
Summary
On his way to P.R.O.B.E., Az passes by a park and sees the ghost of a boy near a fountain. He's seemingly the only one who can see him, so he approaches the boy and tris to learn his identity, though the boy does not remember it. Realising he's late for work, Az tries to leave, but the boy starts to cry, begging him to not leave him alone. Az promises to come back later, at lunch.
Arriving on P.R.O.B.E. HQ, Az tries to sneak towards his table, but is caught by Giles just before he's able to do so. His task for the day was delivered by Agamya: to catalogue P.R.O.B.E.'s old case-files. During his lunch break, Az returns to the park, and finds the kid once again on the fountain.
While talking with him, he discovers the boy's dad died during a bomb, which led Az to conclude they both died during the Blitz. Az then suggests that they choose a new name for the boy, since he doesn't remember his own. Eventually, they settle on "Haul".
Az keeps searching P.R.O.B.E.'s database, trying to find out more about Haul, to no avail. Although he displays his frustration, Haul says he's happy, because Az kept his promise to return, gave him a name and spent the afternoon with him, and that he could go to the Otherside now.
Looking up, Az notices Giles approaching him. Realising he never made it back to work, he starts to apologise, but Giles smiles and says it's ok. He then takes Giles to diner so that he can "tell [him] all about it".
Characters
Worldbuilding
- Az jokingly muses is he's supposed to become Wanda Maximoff.
- "Haul" is a Welsh name, which means "sun".
- Tasha makes cups of tea.
- Haul died in the London Blitz.
- Haul goes to the Otherside.
Story notes
to be added
Continuity
- Giles has recently offered Az a job at P.R.O.B.E.. (PROSE: Preternatural Days)
- Agamya says that PROBE needs to be brought into the 21st century and that means cataloguing all of the old case files. (WC: Stacey Facade)
External links
- Official There, but Not Seen page at Arcbeatle Press
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