Daniel's face filled with joy, his sorrow for Luciana gone for the moment. "But how is that possible? She's so old! Lucinda has to be, what? Twenty-four? Older?" Daniel questioned excitedly, his head pounding. "When does it happen? How soon? How do we do it?"

"Sloooooowww down, Daniel," Arriane said, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I'm afraid I really can't tell you much about the future. It could kind of ruin everything."

Daniel nodded, defeated. "I know. I just-I can't believe this. We have a daughter!" Penny blushed, feeling awkward and uncomfortable, yet filled with anxiety. "But, how does she know about this? Did we tell her about everything? I mean, why aren't Luce and I showing her the past?"

Arriane debated whether she could answer these questions. Technically, the answers didn't reveal much about Daniel's future. Her sympathy for Daniel made the decision for her and she answered. Only she tweaked the story a bit, "Well, it's very confusing. But Luce had her when she was younger. It was an . . . accident. That lifetime is much like this one; you guys could touch and kiss. But Luce still died. Penny, miraculously, stayed alive. " Penny looked at her, confused, but finally understood: Arriane couldn't tell Daniel the truth. It would only make him anticipate her final lifetime, and it would ruin everything. But Penny had to agree the lie was perfect, and could almost pass for the truth. Penny stepped forward and smiled down at her father, who was still submerged in the water. It was kind of incredible that she was talking to her seventeen year old father in 1884. "And you didn't want to show her the past because it's still too painful. I, of course, volunteered!"

"But if she's seventeen now, that means the next Luce has already come around?" Daniel asked. He wondered whether his daughter met another version of Luce. Whether she wondered why her father never aged. Whether she knew about who he was from the start, or if she just now learned.

Arriane hadn't thought this aspect through yet, but easily made it fit into the story. "Yes, that's true. You're now with that Luce, and Penny knows all about it. But she doesn't talk to her. We're afraid that might mess things up further."

"And she's mortal?"

"Nephilim. Since Luce is still technically mortal while she's cursed." Arriane raised her eyebrows, a silent question, and Daniel nodded. She turned on her heels and walked away, back towards Shelby. They deserved some time alone.

Daniel tilted his head upwards and studied Penny. Her long, black, curling her. Her slightly red lips. Her gray and violet eyes, just like his. Her thin body, her long arms, her tiny nose. Penny smiled down at him, kind of dizzily. It was weird seeing her father like this, so angelic, so young and different. So utterly wrecked by the tragedy of his curse. "Hi," she whispered, biting her lips.

"Hi," Daniel grinned, reaching out his fingers. "Do you like to swim?"

"Yeah," Penny answered, slipping out of her shoes. "You––in the future, I guess––um, take me swimming all the time." Both her parents usually take her swimming, but she quickly adjusted to make her words fit Arriane's cover story.

"I do?" Daniel asked, extending his hand for Penny. She slowly slid her feet into the cool water, gliding in carefully.

"Yeah. Every weekend. Except, um, not anymore since Lucinda is around again. You spend your time with her now." Penny hoped that was what Daniel would do. She's not really sure if Daniel takes all his time with Lucinda in each life, or if he keeps his distance to prolong her days.

"I'm sorry." Penny was now standing in the river, facing Daniel. She shivered from the cold, but loved the feel of the water nonetheless.

"It's okay. I understand," Penny nodded, although she didn't. She would never, no matter how many lifetimes Arriane showed her, understand what her parents went through. "You want to spend as much time with her before she goes."

"Yes." Daniel wandered in a slow circle in the river. Penny did the same, getting a feel for the current. "Is it strange?"

"Is what strange?"

"Having me as a dad. I mean, I'm an angel. I don't age. Your mother just keeps . . . reincarnating. And now you've traveled back in time to meet a different version of myself. Isn't it all a bit weird?" Daniel asked, swimming around.

"Yeah," Penny asked, tears forming in her eyes. Even though what Daniel was describing was nothing like her real life, the thought of it all made her want to cry. The enormity of this situation was finally weighing down on her, and she felt like she could break at any moment. "But it's more hard than strange. It's hard to watch you go through all that pain." Penny finally let the tears escape, the past day too much to take. She burst into a fit of whimpering sobs and Daniel slowly moved towards her.

Hesitantly, Daniel eased his arms around her as she wept. Penny was used to the way it felt when he hugged her, but for Daniel it was completely new. He let his arms slowly encircle her, wrapped them gently around her shoulders. Penny did the same, holding onto her father's waist and crying into his warm chest. If Daniel didn't think too hard, it was like holding Lucinda.

"Can you tell me something?" she whispered. Daniel nodded. "Why did you keep searching? Why didn't you just give up?"

Daniel pulled away slightly and looked into Penny's lavender eyes. "When you love someone, there's no limit. It doesn't matter if I have to go on for millenia, waiting for Lucinda. I'll always do it because I love her. And I want her to love me, too. I know she does, somewhere deep inside of her. She remembers what it felt like that first time. But in each lifetime, we rarely get that far. And until I do––until she can love me back––I won't stop searching." Penny pulled him back into her embrace, smiling and crying at the same time. Her heart hammered in her chest. She didn't know what to say anymore. "You should go," Daniel said suddenly.

"What?"

"I mean, you should get back. To the present. I'm sure that Daniel needs you more than I do right now," he half-laughed.

"Oh . . . yeah." Penny pulled back and pushed herself out of the river, ringing her skirt out. She turned away and walked towards the trees, where she could just make out Arriane and Shelby's silhouettes. "Thank you," Penny gasped, turning around slightly.

"For what?"

"For showing me how strong love is. And how far you're willing to go for it." Penny sniffed then wiped her eyes. Daniel just shrugged.

"It's what I want to do."