DAY BY DAY

"Jen?...JEN."

The voice sounded sluggish and barely recognizable to the young Gelfling's ears. When Jen turned to see where it was coming from, he saw the familiar, yet oddly distorted landscape of the valley where he was raised. Everything was exactly the way he remembered it, right down to the little forest clearing where he always sat and played his pipe. There was nothing he enjoyed more than that, especially after a swim in the pond. He loved it there, and he would always be grateful to the Mystics for taking him into their home, and therefore rescuing him from the same fate as his family and the rest of the Gelfling race.

And then he saw him: his Master, the wisest of the Mystics. It seemed like only yesterday, he was on his deathbed, and delivering his final message to Jen. "Before the three suns meet, you must find the shard, the Crystal shard," he had said. And now, here he was, looking nary a day older than when the Mystics first found him.

"Hello, Master," Jen said. For a split-second, it didn't occur to him to ask what he was doing back in the valley, or how his Master could be here. He was just glad to see the one being in the world who was like a father to him. "It's been a long time."

"Indeed it has," his Master agreed. "And I fear it shall be even longer. I have come to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Jen repeated, a slight touch of alarm in his voice. The landscape that surrounded them slowly began to darken, and that's when Jen figured it out: he was sleeping. Asleep in the Podling Village home that he and Kira shared, and dreaming of his Master and his childhood home.

"But—I thought you already had," a confused Jen went on. "I mean..."

A hint of a smile crossed the Master's wrinkled face. "Yes," he answered. "But I still watched over you as you were on your quest. I made certain that you healed the Crystal, and I cannot be more proud of you."

"Thank you," Jen said softly. He was pretty proud of himself, too.

Then the Master's smile faded. "Nevertheless," he continued, "I have little choice in the matter. I can no longer postpone my journey to what lies ahead."

Jen lowered his head and sighed. "So this really is goodbye," he murmured. Deep down, he knew this conversation was bound to take place, but he still wasn't fully prepared for it.

"Yes, it is," the Master confirmed. "It is a part of life to leave behind the ones you love, but that does not mean you will never see them again. As long as you keep the memories alive, they are never really gone."

"I remember when you first taught me that," Jen recalled. "We were talking about my real parents, and you said remembering them keeps them alive. You've taught me so much."

"And you have done well," the Master said. "You have shown great courage and perseverance before, during, and since the Great Conjunction." Then, looking Jen dead in the eye, he added, "But you must always remain on your guard. The Skekses have been vanquished, but there is still the potential for evil in the world. Never forget that."

"I won't," Jen promised.

As the valley continued to darken, the Master's face softened, and again he smiled. "And now, farewell," he said gently. "We may meet again in another life, but not again in this one."

A memory struck Jen like a thunderbolt: those were his Master's last dying words before he took his final breath and vanished into oblivion. "Master?" he cried frantically. "Master, wait!"

But he was already gone. It was at that moment that he realized he was finally on his own.

The valley then started to tremble, and finally, everything went black—and that's when Jen woke up.

For a minute or so, he lay there in bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the wind blowing outside. He shivered, despite the warm temperature in the room. After all, this was one of the homes that had to be rebuilt after the Garthim soldiers had crashed the party the Podlings were throwing. Kira had told him that nobody blamed him for what happened that night, but it was a feeling he was never able to shake, even to this day.

Jen sat up and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately, and it was really getting on his nerves. Why wouldn't these feelings just stop already?

He looked over to his left, and there, lying peacefully beside him, sound asleep, and without a care in the world, was Kira.

Kira.

Even in the dark, her features were unmistakable. Her fair, rosy complexion seemed to glow as bright as the moonlight. Her whitish-blond hair cascaded down either side of her face, over her shoulders, and down across her breasts. Her wings were folded back and tucked under her naked body like two gray wisps of chiffon. And a relaxed, content smile was painted on her full pouty lips.

You're so beautiful, Kira, Jen thought. I never believed there was anything good in life until I met you.

He placed his right palm over her round, protruding stomach, which twitched suddenly. He could feel the presence of the twins that she carried within her, and he couldn't wait to see them. But as happy as he was, he couldn't help feeling sad as well. It was a sadness he was all too familiar with. First his Gelfling family had been murdered; then Kira had sacrificed her own life to save Jen's, although she'd been resurrected after the Crystal had been healed; and now, even his Master's spirit had gone away.

For the third time in his young life, he'd been abandoned.

Sighing, he slid out of bed and pulled on his reddish-black tunic, which Kira had given him on their wedding night. After fixing himself a drink from their kitchenette, he softly opened the door—being careful not to wake Fizzgig, who was snoring at the foot of the bed—and made his way out to the balcony.

It was a gorgeous starlit night with a full moon, and the wind made standing out there a little chilly, but Jen wasn't bothered by it, even though he only had on the tunic and nothing else. The drink he had was nice and hot, and the stone mug he held in his hands warmed him right up. He leaned against the chest-high railing and looked out across the village. It wasn't completely rebuilt yet, but the Podlings were nothing if not persistent. The one word that was never in their vocabulary was quit.

But despite everything that had happened in the last few years, Jen had to admit that the view from the balcony was spectacular.

He'd just taken another sip of his drink when he heard a door open ten feet behind him and to the right. He glanced over his shoulder, and who should happen to come out of the room beside his but Aughra.

"Jen," she greeted him. She was always a great friend, and she looked pretty much the same as she always had, despite the fact that her matted, tangled hair was now white, and a touch of arthritis had caused her to move more slowly and carefully than she did when they first met. But her wise and maternal demeanor, albeit sometimes abrasive, remained intact.

"Hello, Aughra," Jen answered as she joined him at the railing. "How are you tonight?"

"Still getting around," she said. "You?"

"Okay, I guess. Just getting some fresh air."

Aughra leaned against the railing. "Having trouble sleeping again, I see," she observed.

Jen set his drink down beside him. There was no fooling Aughra, and he knew it. Even in her old age, nothing got by her.

"Yes," he admitted. "I was so sure everything would be back to normal once I put the shard back into the Crystal. I never realized how much more there was to it. Pretty stupid way to think, huh?"

"I wouldn't say that. Things happened. Lots of things happened, things you didn't expect."

Jen brought the mug to his lips to hide his smile. "I can't argue with you there," he said. Then, turning his attention back to the village below, he added quietly, "Mostly, I'm just missing my Master tonight."

Aughra put a comforting hand on Jen's arm. "Aughra knows," she said. "Aughra always knows."

For the second time, Jen smiled in spite of himself. If there was one thing he could always expect to hear her say, that was it.

"It's normal to miss him," she continued. "By missing him, you still remember him."

"True," Jen agreed. "I just wish it wasn't so hard to deal with."

"In time, it gets easier," Aughra told him, then instinctively changed the subject. "How are Kira and the babies?"

Jen took another sip of his drink and turned around. "Fine, for the most part," he said. "She doesn't have morning sickness quite so bad anymore, but she still gets tired from carrying them around everywhere she goes."

"I'm sure they're anxious for the big day."

"I'll say," Jen chuckled. "We all are."

"The dawn of a new Gelfling race," Aughra commented. Then she noticed the mug in Jen's hand. "Good?"

Jen looked down at it. "Actually, yes," he answered. "Ydra (pronounced EE-dra) introduced it to me the night before our wedding. You know, Kira's mother."

Aughra nodded.

"I'd never even heard of it, mind you, but it's still quite good. She says it's called apple cider."

Aughra thought for a minute. "I'll have to try it sometime," she said.

"I think you'd like it."

"So, you're sure all is okay?" Aughra asked as she backed away from the railing.

"I'm fine, Aughra," Jen assured her. "I guess I'm still trying to process everything that's been happening these days."

"There is no hurry," Aughra said. "Things fall into place when they must."

"I suppose."

"Well, if you're sure you're all right, I'll be heading back to bed."

"Okay," Jen nodded. "Thanks for the talk, Aughra. And goodnight."

"Goodnight, Jen," Aughra whispered. And she shuffled back to her room.

Jen watched her door close and turned back around. He always enjoyed the talks he and Kira had with Aughra. If anything, she always managed to help them put things into perspective.

"Things fall into place when they must," she had said.

Jen knew that she knew what she was talking about, but it still seemed like an uphill climb with no one to help you get there. Between the lack of sleep he was getting, the fact that he would soon be a father, and helping the Podlings rebuild their homes, which limited the time he got to spend with Kira, he felt like he was carrying the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. He was glad he wasn't in danger anymore, and he loved Kira more than life itself, but part of him wished he could just enjoy his life, look forward to starting his own family, and not feel obligated to take care of so many people all the time.

Stop that, he firmly chastised himself. There are some things in life that have to be done. And besides, nobody said it would be easy, so what good is it to complain about it?

Finishing the last of his cider, which was now starting to feel lukewarm, Jen sat against the wall with another sigh. He wasn't the type who ignored his responsibilities, and he wasn't about to now. Kira needed him, as did the Podlings, and his unborn twins. But even so, another cold, hard fact was still gnawing at him: there was no magic wand that could be waved around to make everything all better.

Not even for a Gelfling.