At this very moment, in the town of Couer d'Couers, young Ned was 9 years, 27 weeks, 6 days, and 3 minutes old.
His dog, Digby, was 3 years, 2 weeks, 6 days, 5 hours, and 9 minutes old.
And not a minute older.
This was the moment young Ned realized that he wasn't like the other children, nor was he like anyone else for that matter.
Young Ned could touch dead things and bring them back to life. This touch was a gift given to him, but not by anyone in particular. There was no box, no instructions, no manufactures warranty. It just was.
The terms of use weren't immediately clear, nor were they of immediate consern. Young Ned was in love.
Her name was Chuck. At this very moment she was eight years, 42 weeks, 3 hours, and 2 minutes old. Young Ned did not think of her as being born, or hatched, or conceived in any way. Chuck came ready made from the Play-Doh Fun Factory of life. In their imaginations young Ned and a girl named Chuck conquered the world.
Long after their playdate was over, young Ned remained under Chuck's spell. Until a blood vessel in his mother's brain burst, killing her instantly.
Young Ned's random gift that was came with a caveat or two. It was a gift that not only gave.
It took.
Young Ned discovered that he could only bring the dead back to life for one minute without consequence. Any longer and someone else had to die. In the grand universal scheme of things, young Ned had traded his mother's life for Chuck's father's. But there was one more thing about touching dead things that young Ned didn't know. And he learned it in the most unfortunate way. First touch,
life!
Second touch dead.
Again. Forever.
After a brief mourning period, young Ned's father would hustle him off to boarding school, never to be seen again.
Chuck would be fostered by aunts Lily and Vivian, a renowned synchronized swimming duo. They shared matching personality disorders and a love of fine cheese.
At their respective parents' funerals, dizzy with grief, curiosity, and hormones, young Ned and a girl named Chuck had their first - and only - kiss.
After his mother's death, Ned avoided social attachments, fearing what he'd do if someone else he loved died. And he became obsessed with pies.
It's 19 years, 34 weeks, 1 day, and 59 minutes later, heretofore known as now. Young Ned has become a piemaker.
And this is where he makes his pies.
Peaches never brown. The dead fruit in his hands becomes ripe with everlasting flavor.
As long as he only touches it once.
