This chapter has a few more of the interesting things about Bend in it, heh, though it's still got a story to it. It's not merely a description of setting. I could talk all day about Bend, since I miss it, so I have to be careful to not turn this story into a mere description of Bend, Heh. Hope you like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. Heck, I'm not even sure if I'm that creative. I'm not good at making up my own characters. Okay, well, Katie in "My Body, Your Soul" was an original character (hey, originally, she was. I didn't always plan on having her be Al's reincarnation), so I guess that I can sort of make up my own characters, but I'm not nearly as good at it as Arakawa. Maybe someday…

Edward was eating breakfast the next morning back at Chris's house while Chris was bustling about, getting ready for work. Christ finally ran up to Edward, huffing and puffing, obviously in a hurry.

"I'm sorry that I won't be able to keep you company today, Edward," she said.

Edward waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I'm big enough to take care of myself."

Chris chuckled. "I know, but I still feel bad about leaving you here all alone."

"I wouldn't worry too much," said Edward, "I'll probably spend today exploring this town."

"That's a good idea," said Chris. "I have a bicycle in the garage if you want to use that to get around, since we don't have a bus system." Edward didn't actually know what a bus system was, but he didn't bother to ask, since she already said they didn't have it.

"There's an extra key under the doormat," said Chris, reaching into her purse, "And here's a little spending money. Spend it wisely; I can't afford to give it to you too often." She handed him a crisp, new, fifty-dollar bill.

She rushed around nervously for a few more moments, trying to get her life organized before she went to work.

"Edward," called Chris, "I just remembered this; don't ride your bike on the sidewalks downtown. They don't like that. Just walk your bike there."

"Gotcha," said Edward.

"Oh, and Edward," she said again, "If you run into one of those circular intersections, that's called a 'roundabout'. Be careful going through those. The cars don't stop."

"I'll be careful," said Edward patiently.

"Oh, and another thing, Edward," she said, "If for some reason, you're out after dark, don't ride the bike unless you get a light on it. You could get pulled over by a cop otherwise."

"Okay, I'll take note of that," said Edward.

"Oh, and another thing, Edward…"

Edward put up his hand. "I'll be FINE. Your world is different, but not THAT different from mine. I'll figure things out. I'll be alright, just relax."

Chris smiled. "I just want to make sure that you stay safe."

"Thanks, I do appreciate it," said Edward, "But you're going to be late for work if you keep talking to me."

"Oh, that right! Sorry, I gotta run. Have a nice day, Ed. Bye!" She quickly grabbed her things and frantically ran out the door. Edward shook his head. Chris was a crazy girl, alright.

After Ed had finished eating, he went into the garage and dug out the bike. Normally, he would have just walked, but this town had a lot of empty space for being a town of only 60,000 people. In just the little bit of traveling he'd done in the car, he'd noticed how spread apart things seemed to be in this town.

He quickly double-checked everything to make sure it was in working order, and then he set out. Being such a hot, dry, summer day, he decided against wearing his jacket, since that would just be an extra layer. In the desert, even thin layers count. His black clothes were a little bothersome, but he didn't really have much choice.

The street that Chris lived on, Newport Avenue, was a four-lane road plus a turning lane that occasionally appeared. This made it one of the main streets in town. Edward had figured out from his travels in the car that if he could find a four lane road, he could find his way around. There weren't that many in Bend. He could also figure out where he was by judging the position of Pilot Butte, since that little cinder cone could be seen from most places in Bend.

The breeze felt good against his face as he was riding. There was just nothing quite like a warm desert breeze. He was tempted to close his eyes and enjoy the feeling, but he knew better than to do that. Besides, he could see one of those "roundabouts" up ahead.

Instead of having the intersecting streets cross each other, all the streets would connect to a circular stretch of pavement, and people would simply drive around the circle until they reached their desired street. Because of the efficiency of this design, one didn't usually need to stop before entering the intersection. Of course, it could be dangerous for cyclists or pedestrians that weren't on their guard.

When Edward reached the roundabout, he stopped and looked to make sure that no one was coming, then stepped down hard on the pedal and raced to the other side. He didn't want to be stuck in that roundabout any longer than he had to.

After riding down Newport Avenue for some time, he came to a section of town that had cobblestone sidewalks. Edward chuckled. This sure was a backwards town to have cobblestone sidewalks alongside paved streets. He hadn't been in this world for very long, but he knew that it was supposed to be the other way around.

He spotted some letters painted onto the end of one of the sidewalks which was the only part of the sidewalk made out of concrete which read, "No skating. Walk your bike." This must be downtown, thought Edward. He hopped off the bike and walked it over the cobblestone sidewalk.

This was an interesting side of town, as there were all sorts of little shops and restaurants placed along both sides of the street. The atmosphere here was very festive and pleasant. He would have to spend a little more time here later. Right now, thought, he was looking for clues. He needed to find something, anything, that might be a clue as to how to get home.

After walking for some time, he finally reached normal sidewalks, though they still said to walk your bike, so he did. He wanted to see what else was around.

A building that had more window than wall in its construction came into his view, and it was just ahead of him. He would check that building out. It couldn't hurt.

When he finally reached the building, he saw that it was the Deschutes County Library. "A library, huh?" mused Edward to himself, "I wonder why the libraries in this time and place carry." He parked his bike and walked over to the front door.

It was a bit surprising to him when the large glass doors sled open by themselves, but he didn't freak out about it. An electric eye wasn't beyond his comprehension, being a scientist himself.

He soon figured out that the adult non-fiction section was on the second story of the building, so he began to walk up the stairs. He stopped for a moment at the landing where the stairs turned to admire the window they had positioned there. One couldn't actually see through it, since it was a glass sculpture. It had the representation of currents carved into it. Whether they were supposed to be wind or water currents, Ed didn't know, but it was a beautiful sculpture, nonetheless. He then turned and continued climbing the stairs.

He soon reached the top of the stairs, and proceeded to browse through the aisles of books. The aisles were labeled, so that helped a lot, especially since he hadn't a clue as to how to use a computer.

The section on Philosophy caught his eye. Things like alchemy and magic would probably be thrust into that section, since they hadn't really developed them in this world. He stepped into the aisle and browsed the books.

Indeed, there were books on alchemy, but they didn't actually hold any real value to him, being just books of philosophy. The magic books weren't much use to him either. Strange that, he thought, I know that magic can be done in this world.

He heard a chuckle come from somewhere near him. He glanced over to see a girl looking at him. She had a book around Tarot reading in her hands.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Edward Elric?" she asked.

He smiled. No, he wasn't going to tell her who he was. It would take too much explanation.

"I suppose I do," said he, "But I dress this way because I want to, not because of how anyone else dresses."

She chuckled. "That's good, but it's funny that your style just happens to coincide with his."

Edward smirked. She had no idea.

She extended her hand. "My name's Pam, and what might yours be?"

Edward chuckled and took her hand, "My name's Edward, believe it or not."

"Oh my goodness, that's hilarious!" She laughed right there in the library. Oh well, it wasn't the quietest library anyway.

"So, may I ask what you're looking for?" asked the girl.

Edward shrugged. "I don't know, exactly. I was kind of hoping to find a good reference on magic, but they don't appear to have one here."

She nodded understandingly. "Good reference books on metaphysical subjects are hard to find." She looked down at her book. "Would you like a tarot reading? I need the practice, so it would be free." She smiled.

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not? I've got a little time to kill."

"Why don't we head over to the park then? It's quieter over there."

Edward agreed, so Pam checked out her book, Edward grabbed his bike, and the two walked to the park, which was just outside of the downtown area with the cobblestone sidewalks.

They found a picnic table and sat down at it, facing each other. Thankfully, there was very little wind today, so the cards wouldn't be blown around.

"Now," said Pam, "Do you know how Tarot works?"

"Not exactly," said Ed.

"Basically, it helps one to connect to their psychic senses. The images on the cards are simply a key to unlock those senses."

"Interesting," said Edward, "I wonder what they'll say about me?"

"Well, here," said Pam, shoving the deck of cards to him, "Shuffle the cards and we'll soon find out."

Edward shuffled the cards until he felt comfortable with them. Then Pam told him to cut the deck into three stacks and to them reassemble the deck by putting the stacks back together in a different order.

"Okay, I'll take over now," said Pam. She took the deck and pulled the cards off the top of the deck, and placed them in a pattern on the table, ten cards altogether, keeping the cards facedown.

She set the rest of the deck down. "This is really weird," she said, "I'm already feeling something from the cards, yet I haven't even turned them over yet."

"What are you feeling?" asked Edward.

"I don't know," she said, "This has never happened before. It's almost like the cards really want to speak, like there's something different about you."

Edward chuckled. "Now I'm dying to know what they have to say."

Pam turned over the first card, which was the eight of cups. "You're on some sort of journey," said she, "And it involves leaving everything behind to see something even more important."

Edward nodded. "That's true." She turned over the second card, which was the two of swords.

"You're having difficulty figuring out what to do right now, and that's keeping you from finding what you're seeking." Edward nodded again. This girl was amazing!

She turned over the next card, which was the two of cups. "The two of cups in this position would seem to say that your goal is to be reunited with someone you love," said Pam. Edward gasped. How could she figure this much out?

She turned over the next card, the three of swords. She sighed. "So, you're suffering from a broken heart. I'm guessing that it's probably the separation from your loved one that's causing it." Edward nodded again.

Pam turned over the next card, which was The Hermit. "The impression I'm getting from this card is that you've recently been searching for answer to some deep question." Edward again confirmed this. Pam obviously didn't need confirmation that she was correct in order to do the reading, but he liked to encourage her. She was remarkably accurate!

The next card was The Tower. "You're going to have something completely unexpected happen soon," said Pam, "I'm getting the impression that it could work either for or against you, depending on what you make of it."

Pam flipped over the next card, which was the Prince of cups. She didn't say anything, and just stared at the card. Edward started to panic. "Is it that bad? What does it say?"

Pam chuckled. "No, the Prince of cups isn't a bad card. I'm just a little confused. It landed in the position that tells specifically about you, and the images I'm getting just don't seem to make any sense."

"Just say what you're seeing," said Edward, "I won't make fun of you, even if it's way off. You're still learning, so it's okay if you're not always right."

Pam breathed out and then said, "I'm getting images of you as…as Edward Elric."

Edward gasped. "How did you get that just from looking at this card?"

"I don't know," shrugged Pam, "But, like you said, I can be wrong sometimes, since I'm still learning."

Edward shook his head. "You're not wrong. You're right on target." Pam gave him a quizzical look, which Edward responded to by saying, "Never mind, I'll explain it after the reading, since I don't want you to lose your connection."

She nodded, and then turned over the next card, which was the seven of wands. "Someone close to you…no, two people close to you, are fighting just as hard to be reunited with you as you are to be with them."

"So that explains those two painful experiences…" muttered Edward.

"Excuse me?" said Pam.

"Oh…nothing," said Edward, snapping back to reality.

She flipped over the next card. It was the ten of cups. "You're obviously hoping that whatever you're going through will have a happy ending, though I didn't need the cards to tell me that, I could've just guessed." She chuckled.

"And now, for the final conclusion," said Pam as she flipped over the last card. Edward gasped. It was the Death card.

"Am I going to die?" asked Edward.

"No!" said Pam, "That's not what this card means at all. It's about change. It's about letting go of one thing, and starting something new. It means that you're about to begin a new phase in life."

"Is that good or bad?" asked Edward.

"The Death card can go either way, but I'm getting the same impression with this card as I did with The Tower. The results could be either positive or negative, depending on what you make of it. With the two Major Arcana cards denoting change in future positions, I'd say that a dramatic change in your life is imminent."

Edward sighed. "Change is what I want, but I want the right kind of change."

"It's up to you whether the change in your life is for good or bad," said Pam, "So try to make it work in your favor."

Edward chuckled. "Are you sure you're not charging me for this? I can't believe how accurate you are."

Pam smiled. "No, of course I'm not charging you for this. I'm just practicing on you. I still don't think I was that accurate though. What about that card in the you position that said you were Edward Elric? You said you'd explain that."

"Indeed, I did," said Ed. He pulled of the glove on his right hand, and drew up his sleeve, exposing the auto-mail. "Do you understand now?"

Pam didn't reply, and just stared. Edward Elric didn't really exist, did he? Was this boy really Edward Elric? How did he get here?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know if I was confusing about any of the details. Please review!