Hey, people! Guess what? Raimundo's here! yay! Poor boy was close to frost-bitten! But, you know, nothing I couldn't fix. He's getting settled right now with some chicken soup. Not the homemade kind, 'cos that stuff sucks, but the Cambel's. Yeah, you know, the good stuff! Made LOTS of it!

Dadles: How's the soup, Rai?

Raimundo: *slurp* Good. One question, though.

Dadles: Yeah? What is it?

Raimundo: Are you keeping me prisoner, like Hazzard did?

Dadles: Not really, but I do kinda own you right now. No ropes, but yeah.

Raimundo: *sigh* Okay then. More soup, please?

Dadles: Well, at least you know your manners. Sure. *dishes out more yummy soup*

Raimundo: *slurp* You know, this isn't a very funny skit. Not that I found Hazzard's antics funny or anything, but her fanbase did.

Dadles: I'm a little different. Sure, I'm funny, but I show humor a little differently sometimes. Besides, frostbite isn't something to laugh at. Now read my story while I run you a bath. *Leaves the room*

Raimundo: O.o~~~ *looks where Dadles left* Hmm... *picks up story and starts reading*

It's not funny, and I wasn't trying to be. But you might get a small, progressive story if y'all are good. So read and REVIEW! (O_)

Chapter 4

"Years ago, when I was younger, I married your grandfather, Thomas. Together, we had planned on raising a family on our estate. We only managed to have one son before a heart attack took Thomas away from me. We had planned on naming our son John, but on a whim, we named him Daniel instead. Daniel was a bright baby, able to grasp that his name was Daniel, at least. He'd look about whenever I said his name.

"On Daniel's first birthday, at the exact anniversary of his birth, his happy smile of innocence and bliss disappeared and he wailed and thrashed around in his highchair until I came to calm him. I was only cooing at him, trying to figure out why he was crying, saying 'What's wrong, what's wrong,'. At that point, he stopped wailing and whimpered at me with tears still streaming down his poor face and said, 'All of my memories have returned. Every trial, every error, my loss, my pain, everything I've done in my past lives, they've all returned! I can't grow up innocent and naïve like a child ignorant of the world. Nay! I'll never know that sweetness ever again, save the days before my first birthday in worlds that I'm born into. That is why I cry and wail so in this manner, because I mourn for my innocence!'

"It was the most astonishing thing! He explained his entire life and relayed all of his memories to me. That was the most extraordinary thing of all. He was a baby, but his mind was that of a man who lived for thousands of years. When he transferred his memories to me, I went through his life as him. Every life he's lived, every thought he's had, every emotion he's gone through, all his pain and all his happiness, I lived his life as if I was him. And the strangest thing is that what felt like thousands of years in my head was only just a few seconds in real life. I hope I never have to go through that again, because it left me feeling so sick, the feeling of going through so many years in a few seconds and the feeling of living the life of someone else and going through all their trials while still keeping my own consciousness in their memories.

"Throughout the years, he still acted like a child sometimes. I think that might've been because of the body he was in. He was extremely smart, though. He breezed right through school and took an interest in writing his adventures as 'fictional' stories. He went to college on scholarship and excelled. And while he was in college, he finally noticed the girl that he had gone to school with and had played with as a child. She was our neighbor and the two of them were the same age, physically at least. They played together in the same yard, went to same school, shared the same classes together, and received the same scholarship. That was the first time I noticed Fate's hand in Daniel's life.

"Daniel always told me that all of the Travelers were different from each other. The thing that separated Daniel from the other Travelers before him was the fact that he'd never fallen in love before. Never in his life did he ever marry or even kiss a girl. Of them all, he was the most virtuous one. As a result, he didn't have any children, no heirs. He didn't really want any. Said something about stopping this foolish Traveler business…" Grandma's voice trailed off. She looked like she was thinking about the past. I hadn't noticed Grandma's face as she was telling the story. I was too busy trying to imagine everything she was saying being the truth. I noticed it now, and I realized that maybe telling me these things hurt her. I mean, I know she loved him, and I kinda felt bad making her think that she had to tell me.

"Well, after he finally noticed her, he couldn't stop. All his memories of her recalled themselves to him and he remembered when they were kids and they used to play together. He once told me that she always made him forget who he was and made him think he was a kid again. She made him forget all the pain and reminded him of all his happiness, however rare it was. He never even realized that he was in love with her all that time until she confessed to him and he saw that he felt the same about her. It was a typical love story if I ever heard one. Daniel married his one and only true love and they had you. The first time he'd gotten married made for his third best of his memories, that first night they spent together made for the second best, and the first time he held you was at the very top of his list of best memories, that I can tell you for fact.

"After your 2nd birthday, he came to me and said that his time left in this world was short. Since you were his only child, you were his only heir. He told me that when his time was up, it would be your turn to take his place, so you needed to be prepared. He told me to look for specific signs, and to make sure you were happy and make you do everything you might want to do before you're not free anymore.

"He disappeared sometime after that. He never came home from work one night. Your mother, Harmony, was frantic. She couldn't stop pacing around. Eventually, I made her take a sleeping pill and go to bed. I was in your room rocking you in my arms, singing a lullaby. I saw a flash and something was glowing behind me. I turned around and Daniel was standing in front of me. He wasn't dressed like he usually was. His hair was blonder and brighter. His clothes were white and loose and he was barefoot. Everything kind of glowed and he had a wild look all around him, like he was an exotic animal. He was tanned more than he usually was and he was just so bright! He told me that that was his true form, the form of his soul. He said that his body was killed in an accident on his way home, and that he had to leave. I asked him where he was going and he just smiled kind of sadly. He kissed your forehead and said, 'I'm going to my last world. And her first. I have to prepare it for her, so she can go there someday, and start her new life.' I told him that I'd miss him and I'd help take care of your mother. And he told me to make sure Harmony didn't do anything stupid when she found out about the accident in the morning. We said our good-byes and then this giant, gaping hole appeared out of nowhere and levitated in the air. It was glowing blue and white and disappeared when Daniel stepped into it. I think even when you were a baby you realized what happened, that you'd never see him again, and you started crying and crying, you were sobbing and you said your first word while you cried. You screamed 'Daddy' over and over, calling for him and I cried with you, telling you that Daddy was gone. That was the 2nd saddest moment of my life, listening to you scream and cry for your daddy."

Briefly, I wondered what the most saddest moment in her life must have been if that was only her 2nd.

"In the morning, sure enough, a police officer came and told us the news. You were still calling 'daddy' in the morning, right when you woke up, reminding Harmony that Daniel never came home, and when the officer gave the news, she just slumped. She didn't care anymore that you learned your first word. She stopped caring. From then on, she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't hold you, she just stayed in bed. After a while, you stopped calling for your father and learned to call for your mother.

"A month passed, and then Harmony simply didn't wake up one morning. You sensed it before you woke up. I think it was 4 in the morning; you woke up right after she passed on and screamed louder than you did when your father disappeared. You were still sleeping in a crib at that age and I'm sure that if you weren't, you would've tried to run to your mother. As it is, when I woke up from your screaming and came to comfort you, you screamed , 'Mommy' over and over. It was so familiar from when you screamed for your father that I forgot about you completely and ran to Harmony's room to find her in her bed, dead. Listening to you scream and moan for your mother made for the ultimate saddest moment in my life."

Ah.

"After that, I raised you the way your father wanted me to. Now, I suspect Daniel is dead, because here you are. Your journey will start soon, and you will go to the world your father left you for." Grandma heaved a giant sigh and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief she had pulled out while she telling the story. I wiped away the tears that had snuck out and sniffed.

"Supposing this is all real, and I think I believe it, because you've never lied to me about anything before, but supposing it is real, what are you going to do when I'm gone?" I asked in a shaky voice. Grandma's never been alone since she met Grandpa Thomas, because she always had Dad, and Mom played in the yard when she and Dad were kids. Then when Dad got married to Mom, they always lived with Grandma in the huge mansion that's been passed down in my family for generations. When Dad died, Grandma had Mom and me, and when Mom died, Grandma still had me. What would happen to her if I died? How would she feel if she outlived ALL of her descendants? Our entire family line would die with me.

"Grandma, can you promise me something?"

"Sure, Angel."

"Promise me that if I do die, you won't live alone?" Grandma thought for a moment before she answered, "I promise. I'm sure that I can find Roger and see if he wants to come back to live with me. I'm sure he'd love to. And even if you don't die, I'll still try and get him here. You haven't seen him in 5 years."

"Good." I don't who Roger is, but if Grandma thinks he can be trusted, then I can trust him.

The door opened and my damn nurse came in.

"Ma'am, visiting hours are over. You need to leave now." Brooke's snooty mother said.

"God, I hate that woman…" Grandma muttered low enough that Brooke's mother couldn't hear, but I could. I laughed.

I watched her leave and she looked back one more time.

"Bye, Grandma. Love you." I called. She smiled.

"Bye, Angel. Love you, too. And good luck darling."

And I watched the door close. For some unknown reason, I actually believed Grandma's story. The sound of the door closing echoed with a sense of finality, and I shivered as the sinister feeling passed over me, as if it would be a very long time before I would see my grandma, or even my home, again.

Thanks for reading! Review please!

Raimundo: Hey, I'm not even in this yet!

Dadles: If you read all the previous stuff, you'd know that you aren't involved until later. Hope you're looking forward to it!

Raimundo: *looks up startled* Umm, how long have you been standing there?

Dadles: A while. It doesn't take long to run a bath. Actually, I figured you'd read my story first, so I waited a while before I started it. Now come on. You have JackBot grease all over you and a hot bath will definately help you warm up. *turns towards doorway again*

Raimundo: Wait!

Dadles: *stops. turns* What?

Raimundo: *rifles through pockets and pulls out picture* When you get in touch with Hazzard, give this to her. I'd really hate for her to kill me for not getting her "first-hand" phot of a penguin. You know how HARD that was?

Dadles: *smirks at photo* I can imagine. Seeing as there ARE NO PENGUINS at the North Pole.

Raimundo: SSSSSSHHHHHHHH! Don't tell Hazzard! *pleads*

Dadles: *blinks in surprise* Please don't beg. It ruins my image of you. *leads Raimundo to his bath*

See you next week!