Ceremony of Innocence

EPILOGUE

The moment that one thing ends

Is the same time that one begins

And return as we must,

We are ashes to dust, amen.

When the days of my youth have all faded

And the memories are all that remain

Let that old September wind

Take me back to where I've been…

It's not goodbye, it's hello.

Sara Kochansky was playing Shogi in the Honors longue of the University of Houston with her friends, considering that this year, 2010 being brand new and all, perhaps she should form up a Shogi club for the college. There wasn't one yet to her knowledge. Her green eyes began floating off into space, until the snap of her friend's fingers grabbed her attention.

"Hey, space girl," said her friend, Jonathan Newkirk, "You with us, luv?"

Sara blinked. "Huh?"

Her English friend pointed at the wedged, wooden pieces on the board. "It's your turn, sensei."

"Oh!" The Jewish girl quickly studied the positions of her pieces and shifted her gold general to a checking position. "Checkmate," she told Jon with a broad, cheeky smile as the Londoner gave an outraged cry, arousing laughter from the other students surrounding them.

"Blimey!" Jon fumed, "Even when she's all zoned out like that, she always gets me, every bloody time!"

Sara stood up from the board and grabbed her hefty backpack. "Well, I'd better get going, y'all," she explained, "I've got to catch the bus and make it over to my grandma's before she kills me." And it was very likely that she might. Few girls nowadays were lucky enough to have a grandmother like Rivke Kochansky. Strong and intelligent, she was going on ninety and still had complete possession of her faculties. The only time Sara worried was when she was driving the short way from the Park and Ride to her grandmother's house, because Rivke had a tendency to drive a little crazy.

"Right," Jon snorted good-naturedly, "You're just runnin' cause you know I'm gonna demand a rematch!"

"Bye, guys!" Sara waved as she laughed at Jon's retort, "I'll see ya this evening on Facebook, alright? And Jon, Tia, don't forget, we're studying for that test tomorrow!"

The athletic, dark-skinned girl gave her a thumbs up. "With ya, babe!"

"Y'all have fun!"

With that, Sara extended the handle of her backpack and rolled it up to the entrance of the main building, looking forward to seeing her fellow Cougs again tomorrow.