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Seth's mother had been urging him to accept the contract ever since Mr. fortune offered it.  His dad was a little more skeptical and had been having some people look into Mr. Fortune and his claim to be able to cure Seth's cancer in exchange for his paranormal powers.  It had been sometime since the family sat down with Mr. Fortune, and dad called Seth into his Den to talk with him away from mom and her fiery temperment.

"I have to say, I was a bit skeptical about this whole thing until my people got back to me.  Fortune seems to be able to do exactly what he says.  There was a girl who had been an aspiring singer, with the power of flight.  She was injured and lost her voice.  Fortune came to her with a recording contract, her dream.  All she had to do was give up her powers and her voice would be restored."  He sets a photo down on the desk, Seth recognizes her as one of the popular South American pop stars his mother is always reading about in the tabloids.

"There are other cases, all pretty much the same.  the only conclusion is that we can take the contract at face value.  You give up your powers and he'll make sure you're a star.  I'm not going to tell you what to do here.  This is your life, it's a decision you'll have to make.  I'll support you, whichever way you want to go with it.  I also understand why you didn't tell us about your powers, it's a big thing and it's not something they talk about in sex ed class.  Now that I know though, I want you to know that If you decide not to accept the offer Fortune is making, there is still avenues we can explore for treatment."

Seth switched over to German to converse with his father. His mother spoke very little German, and he knew he could converse with his father in relative privacy.

Everyone spoke Spanish in the family. And they conducted just as much family business in Spanish as in English, But German conversations were strictly father and son affairs.

 This was sure to piss off his mother. And it did.

["Fajah"(His pet name for his dad since they saw Austin Powers 3) I know what my refusal of this offer must seem like to you and especially to mama, but this strikes me as completely and utterly wrong.]

[I know son. And you have to do what you think is right. But we hear you at night. Whining in pain. We've taken you to the doctor when you couldn't bear to lay down it hurt so much. We don't want to see you in pain. We don't want you to die before your time.]

The pointed words took him aback. He swallowed and responded as only he could.

[What does it mean "my time". Thats a little Jesus-centric for you dad. Maybe mom. But not you. Whose to say what my time is? What if my time is when cancer takes me. We never talk like this, and i know the circumstances are different, but I have a gift and a curse, and if we're going to start talking like that, it never ends well for those that forsake their gifts for personal benefit.

This whole thing feels like some kind of Faustian deal]

[Well, son. You have a decision to make. We won't make it for you.]

[I know I've already taken a lot of time. But I need a little more. A couple of days. I have a lot of thinking to do] Seth got up and hugged his father. They didn't hug often. But this seemed like the time

His mother who had been silently fuming simply said "Well?"

{Mama, I love you. But I need more time.} And he hugged her too. Very hard. At first she just was hugged, but the feirceness of the embrace surprised her, (surprised Seth too) and then they were hugging each other for a long time. He kissed his mother on the cheek and went upstairs to bed.