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Title: END OF THE ROAD (part 1)
Genre: Tragedy
Rating: T
Characters: Garet, Tyrell, Mia
Summary: Garet's wife is killed mysteriously while on an errand. Garet himself ends up a broken man and Tyrell ends up having to fend for himself while his father fails to deal with grief. The other Warriors of Vale do their best to support the family, but what is there to do aside from well-wishing and good intentions?
Origin: A request by JamesK716, seeing as how we have little to no backstory on Garet and Tyrell. Their tragic history is just begging to be fleshed out.
Time period: Before Dark Dawn
Swing. Chop. The crack in the wood opened just a little wider.
Tyrell wiped the sweat from his brow and yawned. Chopping firewood was boring, boring work, and the sun was really beginning to beat down on him. He pulled the hatchet out, raised it again and brought it down once more. The block of wood finally split in half.
He put the axe down and carried the wood over to the pile next to his house. In his opinion, the pile was already more than big enough. They could live off of this for a while – why keep building up the stockpile? Tyrell's arms were tired already.
Nevertheless, he retrieved another good-sized log and placed it on the chopping block. The twelve-year-old raised the axe and groaned at the futility of it all. The to-do pile never seemed to get any smaller. He started to bring the hatchet down again.
"Tyrell! Hey!"
The voice distracted Tyrell for a moment, causing him to miss slightly and, instead of cutting the log neatly in half, removing just a sliver from the end before the hatchet embedded itself in the chopping block.
Tyrell left the hatchet where it was and cursed under his breath. "Karis! Can you maybe NOT do that when I'm cutting wood?" he shouted. "I could've chopped my leg off, and then you would've gotten in big trouble for it!"
Tyrell's friends, Karis and Matthew, stood several feet away. Karis stood up straight, her arms folded over her chest and her cheeks puffed in frustration. She stood a few inches taller than Matthew, who simply grinned silently.
"It's not my fault you can't aim worth anything, you dolt!" Karis cried back. "And anyway, how was I supposed to get your attention? Tap you on the shoulder? Then you might've hit ME!"
Tyrell smiled. "Well, that would've been your fault too, Miss Growth Spurt! That'll teach you to stand behind people swinging axes!" He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "So how are you guys doing?"
Matthew gave a quick thumbs-up and Karis shrugged.
"We were going to go exploring in the woods," she said. "and we were wondering if you wanted to come along."
Tyrell couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something odd about how Karis was acting. Something about her mood – anticipation? Happiness, but also a bit of fear? - threw him off. He sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, guys, my dad wants me to finish chopping all this stupid firewood," he said. "I hope you have a fun time without me, though."
"You can't come?" Karis asked. She bit her thumb in thought, and after a moment, gave a hint of a smile. "Well, I guess Matthew and I will just have to have fun on our own, won't we?"
Tyrell sighed. She seemed much happier than she should've been that he wasn't coming. Did they not want him around, or...? No, Matthew seemed genuinely disappointed. What was up with Karis, then?
She smiled and gave Tyrell a quick wave goodbye. "I'm sorry you're stuck at home doing chores! Maybe tomorrow we can do something fun." She grabbed Matthew's hand and began to pull him away. "C'mon, let's get going-"
Matthew opened his mouth as if to object, but before he could speak, another voice came from the direction of the house.
"Oh, hello, Matthew, Karis. Are you coming by to visit Tyrell?"
Tyrell turned toward the voice and smiled broadly.
"Hi, Mom," he said. "Yeah, they were coming to ask if I could go play with them, but Dad wants me to finish this job." He tried to hide his disappointment, but apparently didn't do a very good job of it.
Tyrell's mother laughed. "Oh, don't worry about it. We've got more than enough firewood already." She rolled her eyes. "And it's not as if you have to be the one to do it... I can't figure out why your father works you so hard sometimes. Just run along, I'll tell your dad that you deserved a break."
Tyrell beamed in disbelief. "Really? Aww, thanks, Mom!" He ran over and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back, wearing as warm a smile as anyone had ever seen.
Karis frowned lightly and let go of Matthew's hand. "Well, alright," she said. "We're going now, if you're ready. Unless you wanted to have lunch first, or anything...?"
Tyrell shook his head. What, was she trying to get rid of him for some reason? "I don't think there's anything else to do, is there, Mom?"
His mother shook her head, her short, red hair swaying gently as she looked down at her son. "Nope," she said. "Go ahead, run along, just be back before dinner, alright? I love you, Tyrell! Have fun, be safe."
Tyrell folded his arms rebelliously. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he said. He didn't want to look like a mama's boy in front of his friends. He waved goodbye, and then the three of them hurried off on their afternoon adventure.
His mother watched them until they were out of sight, and then she returned inside.
"So, what are we doing?" Tyrell asked when they were on their way. "Just wandering? We've done that a billion times before, what makes this time different?"
Matthew shrugged, and Karis didn't respond. She was staring very intently at Matthew.
Tyrell leaned in front of her gaze. "Hello? Did you hear me?" he asked.
Karis blinked. "Oh! Geez, sorry, I guess I... uh, right. We were going to practice some psynergy. Matthew's mom told him he could borrow her Catch Beads, so we were going to take turns playing with those."
Matthew stopped and smacked himself on the head. He gave the other two an apologetic smile.
"...You forgot the beads, didn't you?" Tyrell asked. When Matthew nodded, he continued. "Oh well, we can just stop at your house on the way, right? It won't be too long."
They hurried over to Matthew's house and he went inside. As the door closed, Tyrell sauntered up to Karis, who was still watching the door Matthew had gone through.
"So, what's going on?" Tyrell asked. "You certainly didn't seem too happy to hear I'd be coming along. Did I make you mad or something?"
Karis shook her head. "No, no!" she said. "Why would you think that? No, I'm happy to hear... I mean, we have fun when we play together, right? The three of us?"
"Yeah, sure, but..." Tyrell began, but he paused. She didn't seem to be paying much attention to him. Her gaze was still locked on Matthew's house.
He watched where she was watching, and for just a split second, Matthew was visible through a window. Karis seemed to lighten up considerably.
Tyrell grinned mischeviously. "Oooohhhhh," he said. "I see what this is all about."
Karis blushed. "What? What are you talking about, this isn't about anything-"
"Matthew and Karis, sitting in a tree! K-I-Oww!"
Tyrell rubbed his nose where Karis had hit him. He laughed, though. "No need to get so mad! Just because I discovered your secret crush doesn't mean you have to hit me!"
Karis blushed harder and looked away. "No, I don't... I don't have a crush! That would be silly, Matthew's my friend! I don't LIKE like him, nothing like that!"
Tyrell leaned in. "Oh, it's okay!" he said. "I understand. You just don't want me around because you don't like me, it has nothing to do with the fact that you wanted a quiet romantic getaway with your bo- OWW!"
He jumped back a little, out of range of Karis's fists. He rubbed his nose, the target of her second onslaught, and noted with some dissatisfaction that it had started to bleed a little. "You'd better stop hitting me," he said, "or else Matthew's gonna want to know why you got so mad at me!"
Karis folded her arms and pouted. "Please don't tell..." she begged. "I'm so embarrassed! I maybe like him just a tiny bit, but don't let him find out!"
Tyrell laughed, still cradling his face. "Alright, fine, I won't tell him," he honked, having squeezed both his nostrils shut to stop blood flow. "But you've been so obvious about it, I'd be amazed if he hadn't figured it out already."
Karis's whole face turned beet-red. "You think...?" she asked quietly. "I... oh, I hope he doesn't, what would he think of me?"
Tyrell shrugged and grinned. "Maybe you should ask him- HEY!" As Karis raised her fist threateningly again, Tyrell jumped back defensively. "I was being serious! Ask him sometime! You never know, maybe he'd like you back!"
A glimmer of hope appeared in Karis's eyes. "R-really?" she asked. "I don't know, maybe... maybe I'll ask him sometime..."
Suddenly, the door opened. Karis cleared her throat and smoothed her dress. Then she folded her hands carefully in front of her. "Hi, Matthew!" she said, just a little too quickly.
Tyrell checked his fingers. The bleeding had stopped. He gave a cursory wipe with the back of his hand, and then wiped that on his pants.
Matthew raised his hand triumphantly, and the Catch Beads glinted in the bright sunlight.
"Oh, great!" Tyrell said. "Today's gonna be a lot of fun. Assuming you still want me around, of course. There's still a big pile of firewood I can cut at home."
Karis shook her head. "Oh, no! Of course, you should definitely come along! I mean, it's not like I'd want to just be alone with Matthew... that'd be silly..." She coughed and blushed again. "N-not that I don't want to be around you, Matthew! Just, I mean... oh, let's just go."
The three of them set off, Tyrell walking behind the two others and snickering quietly to himself, both at Karis's obvious obsession and at Matthew's complete ignorance.
"So, Matthew... this is a new dress that I just got," Karis said. "What do you think of it?"
Matthew looked at her, top to bottom, and shrugged.
As Karis puffed up her cheeks in frustration again, it was all Tyrell could do to keep himself from bursting out laughing.
A knock came at Garet's door.
"Coming, coming!" he said as he hurried over to open it. "I've got it, don't worry."
He opened it and smiled at the two figures standing before him. "Ivan! Claire! Nice of you to drop by. How's it going?"
Ivan shrugged. "Oh, it's going fine," he said. "The soarwing's giving me trouble, as usual, but aside from that, not much." He looked at his wife, standing tall next to him. "Are we a little early?" he asked.
Garet stared blankly. "...Early?" he asked.
Ivan's wife, Claire, cleared her throat politely. "You had asked us if we wanted to come over for an afternoon get-together. Remember?"
Garet blushed and scratched his head. "Aww, geez, I completely forgot about that! Sorry... well, the good thing is, nothing's going on right now, so, uh, come on in, I guess?" He opened the door further and let the pair in as he called for his wife. "Hey, Mona? Uh... I'm not sure if I remembered to tell you, but-"
"But Ivan and Claire are coming over this afternoon." Mona glided down the stairs gracefully, all smiles. "Yes, I remember. How are you two doing? Don't worry, you aren't interrupting anything. I remembered, even if my darling husband would forget his head if it wasn't screwed on," she teased.
Claire smiled. "It's good to see you, Mona dear. And oh, I know the feeling! Ivan here sometimes forgets to come to bed, what with all the tinkering he does in his workshop..."
"Is that so?" Garet said with a laugh. "Still puzzling over that Roc's Feather, I suppose? Have you gotten it to work yet?"
Ivan blushed. "Well... no, not really. But I've got a really good feeling about it this time! I have an idea that I'm sure will work, just you wait."
"How many times have I heard that in the five years since we found it?" Garet asked idly.
Mona laughed. "Well, I was just going to make some snacks. Claire, would you like to come with me for a bit?"
The taller woman nodded. Claire had naturally green hair falling around her shoulders, and she stood about a head taller than Ivan, a fact which irked her husband considerably, and that Garet never ceased to tease him about.
As Claire began to move toward the kitchen, Garet stopped her. "Uh... would you like me to take your coat? Or... your sword, maybe?"
Claire glanced at the rapier hanging from her hip, and then smiled impishly at Garet. "Thank you, but no," she said. "I may not be in the military anymore, but I still believe that an officer who leaves home without her sword is improperly dressed!"
Garet shrugged and Ivan sighed. When the two men were alone in the room, Ivan whispered, "She just loves to lord it over me, you know? The fact that she could probably take me in a fight."
Garet laughed and slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Oh, don't worry, it's no big deal. Most people could. Anyway, did you hear about that plague over in Morgal? Terrible, terrible thing..."
"So, why did you really want me to come in here?" Claire asked.
Mona looked at her sadly. "Well, it's nothing big. I just... how do I put this..."
Claire tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled passively. "It's never anything big, girl. But that's okay. I'm all ears. You can be honest with me, right?"
"...Okay," Mona said. She took a deep breath. "I think Garet's being a little tough on Tyrell, forcing him to do too many chores around the house. I mean, he's only twelve! Shouldn't he be enjoying his childhood a little more thoroughly?"
Claire shrugged. "I dunno. What do you think?"
Mona paused and twiddled her fingers. "I... I'm not sure! That's why I'm asking you. Am I just being overprotective? He needs to grow up, but his father sends him outside to work for several hours a day..."
"I think you're asking the wrong woman," Claire said with a sly grin. "I taught my daughter how to do most of the household chores years ago, and even though I still do a lot of them, I feel it's important to teach her discipline, and that doesn't even include all of the time I spend trying to teach her some combat training."
"But I don't think this is even necessary! He spends all his time chopping firewood, and we've got more than enough as it is." Mona sighed. "It's a pointless chore."
Claire shrugged again. "Maybe Garet's got a good reason? I dunno, you should ask him, not me."
"But-"
"Look, dear," Claire said, walking toward the other woman. "I know he's kind of intimidating, kind of headstrong, but he loves you with all his heart. And heaven knows he relies on you to make intelligent decisions for him. Just talk to him. I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out."
Mona smiled. "...Thanks. I guess I'm just a little shy. And I want what's best for the whole family. I don't want to start any confrontations, but I don't feel like Tyrell needs to be pushed so hard this early in his life."
Claire relaxed, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Don't worry about confrontations. You're stronger than you think, and he knows you've got a good head on your shoulders, too. Once Ivan and I leave, I say you should just talk to him. Bring it up gently. You'll have him eating out of your hand."
"Thanks," Mona said sincerely. "You've been a big help. I don't know about eating out of my hand, but... I think we can compromise, the two of us."
Claire grinned. "It's no problem! We have to stick together, you know? The two of us bagged Warriors of Vale! How many women can say that?" She held up three fingers. "You, me, and Jenna, that's who! And Jenna's a Warrior herself! They're a tough lot to handle, but I believe in you, Mona! You've got this."
Mona laughed and blushed. "Thanks. Now, I really should prepare those snacks. Feel like helping?"
With a nod, the other woman hurried over. "Of course. Garet and Ivan are going to be wondering what's taking so long."
Another knock came at the door. Garet stood up and stretched. "...I didn't forget anybody else, did I?" he asked rhetorically.
Ivan shook his head. "Not that I know of. Wonder who it is?"
The two of them went to the door. Waving cheerfully on the porch was the mailman, a pouch over his shoulder and a letter in his hand.
"Oh, Sir Garet! Sir Ivan! How fortuitous, this'll save me a trip. I have a delivery notification for each of you. Or rather, for your wives." He handed Garet the card in his hand, and then retrieved a second from his pouch to give to Ivan. "They have packages waiting at Patcher's Place. I'll be going over later on with my cart if they need transportation."
Garet and Ivan looked at each other, and then back at the mailman. "Packages? My wife didn't tell me about any package."
The mailman shrugged. "Not my business!" he said quickly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have several more houses to get to. I'll be leaving in an hour if anyone wants to hitch a ride. It's a long distance, but it's a service I offer free of charge!"
Ivan raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I haven't heard that before."
"It's a new service!" the man said. "Messages delivered! Good day!" And he spun 180 degrees and walked off of the porch.
"Odd one," Garet said as he closed the door.
"Who's an odd one?"
Garet looked up and saw Mona and Claire returning from the kitchen, each holding a tray of finger foods. "Was someone at the door?" Mona continued. "What did they want?"
Ivan held up his letter. "The two of you apparently have packages waiting for you at Patcher's Place," he said. "The mailman was just acting a little odd. Maybe he's just having an off day."
Garet cleared his throat. "Anyway, if you want, I'll head down and pick up your package for you. Apparently the mailman's offering a free taxi service as well, but this way we don't have to meet his schedule."
Mona blushed. "Oh, no! Don't worry about it. I'll pick it up. I think I know what it is."
Claire stared at the letter in Ivan's hand awkwardly. "That so?" she said. "Because I didn't order anything at all. Oh well, mail's mail. I'll go too, we can go together."
She went into the living room and put her tray down. She sat on the couch, and Ivan followed her. The two began to talk amongst themselves.
Garet stopped Mona before she could follow. "Are you sure you don't want me to go in your place?" Garet whispered.
But his wife shook her head. "Well... you see, I think it's an anniversary present I ordered for you. It's a little early, but... I guess I just want to make sure I can wrap it before you see it."
Garet's eyebrows raised. "An anniversary gift? You had one ordered?"
She nodded.
"...Was it expensive?" Garet asked hesitantly.
"It was worth every penny," Mona replied cryptically. "Oh, uh... speaking of which..."
She stood on the tips of her toes and leaned in toward Garet. "I'm worried that you're being a little rough on Tyrell," she whispered in his ear. "I mean... he's only twelve. Are you sure you aren't working him too hard?"
Garet took a step back and put a hand on his chin. He hadn't really thought about it. After all, when he had been twelve... no, wait, that was when he was fourteen. And he had decided to do it himself.
"I guess I wasn't thinking," Garet said. "I mean, there's a good reason for the extra firewood. I was going to try teaching him some higher-level psynergy tonight, and chopping all that wood was good exercise anyway."
"Even so," Mona said in a concerned voice, "do you think maybe you should take it a little easier on him? He's just a kid, after all."
Garet nodded. "Gotcha. Sorry about that. I'll tell him to take the day off tomorrow."
"I... might've told him to take the day off today already," she replied. "His friends came over and they were doing something exciting. I was hoping you wouldn't mind."
Garet shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm fine with it. I'll talk to him when he gets back. For now, I think we shouldn't leave Ivan and his wife waiting much longer, should we?"
Mona blushed. "Oh! Right." She hurried into the living room, Garet just a few steps behind her. The get-together would have to be cut short so the girls could leave for Patcher's Place, but there would always be another day.
"Okay, my turn, my turn!" Karis shouted as Tyrell tossed the apple they had been practicing with back up to Matthew.
Matthew was sitting high in a tree, where they had rigged a simple device to hold the apple steady in midair. It was sort of a cut-down basket hanging from a rope. Matthew was positioned so he could easily reach over and put the fruit into its holster without injuring himself.
Karis took the Catch Beads from Tyrell. "You had like, 5 turns in a row!" she said. "It's only fair that I get 5 turns, too."
Tyrell laughed. "What about poor Matthew? Don't you care about him at all?"
Karis glared at Tyrell, but folded her hands sheepishly. "Well... I guess if Matthew wants a turn next, he can go too..."
Matthew shook his head from his perch, and waved to indicate that Karis should just hurry and take her turn already.
Karis smiled, embarrassed. "Alright, uh... here I go!" she said.
She raised a hand in the apple's direction and focused her psynergy through the beads. She felt, rather than saw, an ethereal hand fly out in the apple's direction.
It fell just a little short, grabbing at air before returning to her.
"Having trouble?" Tyrell asked. "Maybe you should get Matthew to lower the basket a little."
Karis growled. "I'm fine! Thank you!" she shouted before trying again.
Again, the hand flew short.
What was she doing wrong? She was just as talented with psynergy as the other boys. Maybe she just wasn't in a very good position. Yeah, that was it – Tyrell had been WAY closer. It was just really hard to grab things from that far away.
"I'm gonna get closer," Karis announced. She took several wide steps forward and then unleashed the strongest Catch she could muster.
This time, she was too close, and the hand flew through the basket to clutch at empty air behind it... but the force of its passing shook it to the point that the apple fell out of its holster. The fruit fell to the ground and burst on a hard rock.
Karis frowned. "...I'm sorry, guys," she said. "I screwed up. Here, let me help get that basket down."
She hurried over to the tree where Matthew was sitting, even as he began to shimmy his way over to the branch the basket was hanging from. She clambered up as quickly as she could, hoping to do something useful to make up for ruining their game.
On her way up, she happened to look at Matthew.
He was watching her, smiling.
She felt a rush of hopeful happiness welling up within her heart. She smiled back.
And then she missed her next handhold and fell crashing to the ground. She landed awkwardly on one leg and a loud crack resonated throughout the forest.
There was a strange moment of peace before her leg exploded into agony and she began to cry.
Tyrell hurried over and Matthew jumped from his branch, landing dextrously on the forest floor next to her.
"Are you alright?" Tyrell asked. Matthew's face held serious concern.
Karis sniffled. "My... my leg!" she cried. "I think it's broken."
Tyrell looked down, and after a moment, he recoiled in horror. "Yep! Yep, that's definitely a broken angle," he said. "We'd better get you home. Here, give me the beads. Matthew, you should probably carry her."
As Karis handed over the beads, Matthew looked at Tyrell in askance.
The red-haired boy shrugged. "I... I don't know, my arms are tired from all that woodcutting! I'll probably drop her. She'll be safer in your arms. You can handle her, right?"
Matthew rolled his eyes and scooped up Karis, carefully avoiding her leg. When he was sure she was secure, he started off toward Kalay, motioning with his head for Tyrell to follow.
Karis wrapped her arms around Matthew's neck for support. She let her head nestle into his chest. The ride was a little bumpy, and her leg was still screaming at her in pain, but she did her best to stop crying. After all, she thought as she relaxed in his grip, this helped make it all better.
She craned her leg around Matthew's arm to look at Tyrell. The goofball was flashing her an idiotic thumbs-up.
Karis rolled her eyes, but she still managed to mouth the words "Thank you" before the position became too painful to maintain. She rested her head back against Matthew's chest and let the sound of his heartbeat take her mind off of her broken leg.
With the mailman sitting impatiently in his cart, Claire waiting in the back seat, Mona hugged her husband goodbye.
"I'll be back soon," she said. "Don't wait up."
Garet nodded. "Ah, before you go..." he began, before dipping into a pouch at his waist, "I have a little gift for you. I mean, it's your anniversary present, but... I couldn't wait, you know? I want to see how it looks on you."
He drew out a beautiful golden necklace, a small red ruby set in the front.
"The gem matches your hair perfectly," he said. "That's good. I was a little worried when I bought it-"
Mona gasped. "Garet, it's... it's beautiful! It's wonderful, thank you so much!" She took the necklace and looked at it more closely. "But wait, if it's an anniversary gift..."
Garet grinned. "Oh, what difference does a week make? Put it on, I want to see how it looks before you go."
She opened it and clasped it around her neck. With a quick adjustment to make sure the ruby was centered properly, she struck a simple pose. "What do you think?" she asked.
"Worth every penny," Garet said with a smile.
Mona began to climb aboard the cart, but stopped. "Wait... every penny? Garet, was this expensive? We can't afford to keep getting each other expensive gifts-"
"Getting each other expensive gifts? Why, did you get me something pricey, too?" Garet rubbed his head anxiously. "You didn't need to! I appreciate it, but I'm a simple man, with simple tastes! I don't want to put us in the poorhouse..."
The mailman cleared his throat loudly.
Mona giggled. "Don't worry. Thank you, Garet. It's beautiful. I'll never take it off."
"Don't mention it-" Garet began, but he was interrupted by the sound of rapid footsteps behind him.
He turned to see Ivan sprinting toward the cart, his blonde hair wild and unkempt. "Karis broke her leg!" he said, out of breath. "She fell out of a tree. Matthew and Tyrell just brought her back."
Claire stood from her seat. "What? Is she okay?" she asked.
Ivan nodded. "She'll be fine, but she's in a lot of pain. She needs attention."
Claire paused hesitantly. She looked at the receipt in her hand, the ticket she'd be using to retrieve whatever package had come for her.
"Don't worry," Mona said, "Go see to your daughter. Give me your ticket and I'll bring both of our packages back."
Claire threw her arms around the other woman. "Thank you so much, dear. I appreciate it. I owe you a favor." She vaulted the edge of the cart and handed Garet's wife the ticket in her hand.
Ivan and Claire then hurried off in the direction of their house.
Garet watched them go. "Uh... I might go see if I can help, too," he said. "Are you sure you're okay with going alone?"
Mona nodded. "I'll be fine. Go take care of Karis. Oh, and don't forget to talk to Tyrell, right?"
"Of course," Garet said. "You won't be lonely on your own?"
"It could always be worse," Mona said with a shrug.
Garet smiled and kissed his wife goodbye. "I'll see you when you get back, then," he said.
She gave a gentle wave, and then the mailman snapped his reins and the horses at the head of the cart started off.
As he headed toward Ivan's house, he found himself wondering what his wife had gotten him. He didn't have anything that he was really hoping to get, and the fact that she had seemed to hint at a higher-priced item worried him slightly. But he was certainly glad to have given her his own gift before she left. Sure, it flew in the face of tradition to give an anniversary present before the anniversary itself, but who cared? Not Garet, that was certain.
He loved his wife very much. She deserved everything he had to offer her. He couldn't bear to wait until she returned home again.
He had no way of knowing that just a few minutes ago had been the last time he would ever see her alive.
