A Mystery
After Mr. Stark leaves, I make my way back to my room. As soon as I open the door, my eyes find the case on the floor. I lean down to pick it up, holding its weight in my hands. How old is this thing? I wonder how long my dad had it.
“Peter?” May asks from the door. I jump, and turn my head.
“Um…hi?”
She looks at me curiously, then at the case in my hands. Her hand goes to her mouth.
“So you found it,” she says softly, dropping her hand.
I nod. “Yeah.”
She walks in and kneels down beside me. “That was your father’s. Richard’s.”
“Mm-hm. I know.”
She sighs and puts a hand on it. “I almost forgot I had that thing. It’s been down there since…well, since he and your mother…”
“Oh.”
She takes a deep breath through her nose. “Yeah.”
“Hey May?” I say.
She looks up.
“I don’t really um… remember much. About them. Can you tell me?”
A smile crosses her face. “Of course.” She crosses her legs and puts her hands on her knees. “Well…Richard and Mary were always busy. They were scientists. I like to think you got your interest in science from them. They were biologists. Geneticists, to be specific. They were the most hardworking people I knew. I never knew much about what they were doing, though. They never told me. Said it was top-secret government stuff.”
“Government?”
“Mm-hm. They worked for Oscorp, and you know Oscorp is close with the government.”
“What were they like?”
Her eyes soften, and she says, “Kind. I think that the biggest one. They wanted to help people, like you. They were diligent with their work, and loyal, especially with family. Richard was…dignified. Always wearing his glasses.” She chuckled. “He was a practical man, but a dreamer nonetheless. He wanted to make the world better, especially after you were born. Mary was the most empathetic person I ever met. She was sincere, and so smart. She never let Richard’s accomplishments overshadow hers. Together they were…unstoppable.” May leans back onto her hands, a soft smile on her face. “I miss them.”
My eyes water, and my voice breaks as I say, “Me too.”
“Oh, Pete.” She wraps her arms around me. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I wish they were here.”
“Yeah.” I close my eyes and lean into her. I let myself wonder what it would be like if my mother was here, hugging me. What would that feel like? Would she be as warm as May? What would she smell like? Did she have a perfume?
“Hey May?” I ask into her shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“What do you remember about the night they left?”
She separates from me and sighs. “Not much, I’m afraid. They came over to our place, dropped you off, and then disappeared.”
“Oh.” I bow my head.
“It’s all in the past now, I suppose. I wish I could tell you where they went, but I don’t know. I—”
“Wait, you don’t know where they were going?”
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t.”
“Oh…okay.”
She hugs me again and says, “Well, you can look through the case if you want, okay? I’m going to be in the kitchen cleaning up.” She rises and walks out the door.
I stare at the case, then set it down on the floor. The buckle takes no time at all to flip open, and in a moment I’ve dumped out the contents of the case onto the floor.
It’s not much, and I’m kind of disappointed. There’s a pair of glasses, some papers, paperclips, pencils and pens, so standard office supplies. Something flutters out of the case as I shake it though, and I take it between two fingers. It’s a photograph, clipped from a newspaper. It’s a picture of two men, one with light blonde hair, and another with dark hair and glasses who looks strangely familiar. With a jolt, I realize that’s my dad. Richard Parker. They’re smiling in front of a blackboard covered with notes and diagrams. The caption reads:
Dr. Curtis Connors (left) and Dr. Richard Parker (right) of Oscorp, standing before their ground-breaking research on cross-species genetics.
The last three words send a chill down my spine. Cross-species genetics. I remember those words. But from where?
Wait, on that trip to Oscorp, isn’t that what they said they were working on? Trying to put traits from one species into another? But wait…
That’s what happened to me.
The picture drops from my hand. Still, something doesn’t make sense. May’s words from earlier are still in my mind. She said she didn’t know what happened to him and my mother. Could this picture be a clue? Maybe this Curtis Connors knows something. And maybe cross-species genetics has something to do with my parents’ deaths.
Okay, that’s probably jumping to conclusions. Their research probably has nothing to do with it. But maybe Dr. Connors can at least tell me where they were going the night they disappeared.
I rise to my feet, accidentally stepping on a paper from the briefcase. “Shit,” I mutter, reaching down for it. With curiosity, I realize it’s are shining, glossy like a photograph. When I turn it over, that’s exactly what it is.
Three people smile up at me, sitting around a table covered in research. It’s my father, another man, and a woman. That woman must be my mother, Mary. Her eyes and mine are the same. I gulp and stare at the strange man. He looks familiar, and I think I’ve seen him in a paper. He’s not Curtis Connors, I think he’s more famous than that.
Norman Osborn. The name comes to my mind, and I nod to myself. That’s who this man is. He’s been in the newspaper before, usually accompanied by articles about government weapons. That’s right. He sells to the government. Usually discoveries he’s made. I bite my bottom lip. So, he knew my parents too.
Now I have a problem. Who do I go see first? Dr. Curtis Connors, or Norman Osborn? They both knew my parents. One of them must be able to tell me what happened. Because there’s a feeling I can’t shake about all this, that something is very wrong.
With resolve, I walk over to a wall of my bedroom covered in posters, and begin taking them down. After laying them all on my bed, I stick the photographs of my parents up there with a thumbtack. May’s probably gonna get mad at me for sticking it directly in the wall, but that’s okay. I lean down, and pick up my father’s glasses. I pop the lenses out and put them on, gritting my teeth in determination. There’s a mystery to be solved here. Something happened to my parents, and I’m going to find out what.