The Aftermath

The next few weeks went by in a haze for Resa. She couldn't seem to pick herself up and get on with her life after Mo had gone away. Every time the thought to get out of her bed crossed her mind, she would see Mo's face, his smile, his laugh, and then she would bury her face under the covers again.

The people of the city hadn't wanted to admit the strange things which had taken place there. But they did acknowledge that Capricorn's men, Dustfinger, and everyone else had indeed saved the city and so they'd all been given one of the homes for rent to have free of charge for as long as they wanted to stay. Capricorn and his men were staying in the house with them since Capricorn seemed unable to decide what he wanted to do next. He certainly didn't appear to be in any hurry to return to his village. Meggie had phoned Elinor and barely got a word out when the older woman insisted that she come stay with them. So Elinor had been taking care of Meggie the last three weeks and had often gone in to check on Resa as well. Elinor was the only one Resa was willing to see and so Meggie felt even worse. She felt like she'd lost her mother and her father. Dustfinger tried to entertain her with his tricks of fire and for awhile it worked. But then Meggie always found her mind drifting back to her mother, which then led her to think of Mo and she would start crying. Cockerell and Flatnose would try to cheer her up when she cried by trying to teach her how to shoot with the new rifles they had acquired. Meggie liked that because it helped her to concentrate on something besides the day when she'd lost Mo.

After the first month went by, her mother finally got out of bed. She put on a smile in front of them all and seemed to be her usual happy self but they all knew better. Though Resa would smile, the grief and deep sorrow she was feeling never left her eyes. Sometimes when she thought no one was watching, she would stare into space with tears threatening to emerge. But as soon as the tears began to form, they would disappear and she would be smiling again. There was something else Resa started to do after that first month as well.

Every afternoon at three o'clock, Resa would go down to the beach and stand on the edge of the pier. She would stand there and whistle until her throat grew sore and then she would sit staring out at the water until the sun went down and the day faded into night. It wasn't until the second week that Meggie realized she went there at the same time her father had disappeared. When she discovered this, she told Elinor while the others were in earshot and Elinor just sighed that sad little sigh she now always seemed to have ever since Mo had gone.

"Of all my relatives, I just had to lose my favorite." Elinor muttered to herself as she always did.

Sophie and Travis often came to visit them since they lived in the city. They would play with Meggie since she didn't know anyone even close to her age that lived there. But most of the time they weren't there so Meggie would sit around, ironically usually in the same room as Capricorn and his men, bored out of her mind. Even though her mother was up and about for most of the morning and afternoon, Meggie found herself avoiding Resa. Meggie didn't want to see her mother's sad gazes or her false smiles and her mother usually stayed in the kitchen with Elinor so that left either her bedroom or the living room where Capricorn and his men typically were. Since she definitely didn't want the others to think she was crying in her room or anything, Meggie chose to spend her days with Capricorn and his men.

Capricorn's men were actually fairly good storytellers and sometimes they would entertain her with a tale or two about their home world. They told her of the Wayless Woods and of the Laughing Prince. Dustfinger would often sit and listen to their stories and sometimes he had a good one to tell her too. It was after Cockerell finished telling her one of his tales that Capricorn spoke directly to Meggie. He didn't often do that so she was very surprised.

"You seem to love stories. Why is it then, you never read any books?"

The question was earnest and she could see no harm in telling them exactly why she never read them.

"I'm never going to touch another book again." Meggie told him, avoiding his gaze.

"Good heavens child! What do you mean, not another book? You love to read."

Elinor had apparently been standing in the doorway of the room listening to everything. She stepped into the room now with her hands placed firmly on her hips as she demanded to know why Meggie didn't want her books anymore. Meggie stood, folding her arms tightly across her chest as she answered.

"Because books have brought us nothing but trouble. They took my mother from me when I was three, they took my gift away so I could stop Baralei, and they were the cause of what killed..."

Meggie let her voice trail off. She couldn't bear to say Mo's name in the same sentence as killed. It had been a month and a half and she realized that she still wasn't even close to being okay with Mo being gone. She wanted him back so badly. Elinor seemed unaffected by her words. In fact, her expression towards Meggie grew quite stern.

"Meggie, I'm sorry about your father but you can't possibly blame books for everything bad that has happened to you. As for losing your gift, you should be happy. Now you're free to read out loud without worrying about anything going in or out of it." Elinor told her quite seriously.

But Meggie was final in her decision. "I won't read anymore because he can't read anymore. Mo can't do anything ever again!"

With that said, Meggie turned on her heel, stomped past Elinor, and went straight to her room. Behind her she could hear Elinor sigh to herself.

The next two weeks went by with Meggie and Elinor pretending as if they had never fought. Resa still continued her trips out to the pier but her visits to the ocean grew shorter each day. During those two weeks Resa only went out for an hour or two each afternoon, returning right around dinnertime. One of those times when Resa returned in time to join them for dinner, Meggie's curiosity got the better of her.

"Resa, why do you go down to the pier everyday? And why do you whistle?" Meggie asked her mother.

The crowded table grew silent, even Capricorn was looking at Resa, waiting for her answer. Resa placed her fork gently onto her plate and met Meggie's gaze.

"I suppose I should have known you would ask me one of these days."

Resa's eyes grew distant, as if she were picturing something in her mind. At first Meggie thought her mother wasn't going to tell her, that she was going to get sad and excuse herself like she sometimes did. But instead Resa's eyes filled with happiness at some memory she was remembering and she told her story with that look in her eye.

"When your father and I were still dating, we went to this fancy party. The place was so crowded and I was hopelessly worried that we would get separated because of the sheer magnitude of people there. I almost changed my mind about going in once we were there, but Mo..he told me not to worry. If we were separated, all I had to do was whistle and he would find me. Mo always did love the ocean. He loved the sheer vastness of the water and how little people really knew about it. So I go there and I whistle over and over..hoping that he will find me..."

After her story, Resa excused herself and went to her room. She didn't come out the rest of the night. The following afternoon, Sophie and Travis surprised them with a visit right after they got out of school. They came in the front door, greeting everyone and then Sophie searched around.

"It's a beautiful day out! What's everyone doing in here? Come on, we're all going to the beach today!"

She jumped up and down, as if emphasizing how great the beach was. After much poking and prodding from Sophie, Meggie agreed but only to go for a walk. Sophie accepted her terms and badgered Elinor to tag along until Elinor finally threw up her hands.

"All right, all right, but I don't see the marvel of walking on a bunch of gritty pieces of sand."

With Meggie and Elinor now going, Sophie turned on Capricorn and his men, and Dustfinger.

"Come on boys! You need to get out of this dark house and into the glorious sun!" She exclaimed.

When none of them budged, her eyes narrowed and she looked at them sternly.

"I said move! Look how pale you all are, the sun will do you good."

Dustfinger stood and shook his head. "No thank you Sophie. Maybe another time."

But standing up had been a grave error for him because suddenly he found himself being propelled out of the house by Sophie's pushy hands.

"If I have to go then you're coming too." Dustfinger growled and snatched hold of Basta's arm, causing both of them to be shoved out into the bright afternoon.

After posting Travis at the door to make sure none of them came back in, she turned to Capricorn and the rest of his men, her expression one of crazed determination.

Meggie had no idea how she'd done it, but soon all of them were walking onto the beach, Capricorn and his men included. When she asked Cockerell how she'd gotten him and the others to come, he pointed at Sophie and whispered.

"You do not, tell that girl, no." He said it as if Sophie were some terrifying creature and Meggie laughed.

Cockerell seemed surprised. "I believe that may be the first time I've heard you laugh, Meggie."

Meggie was taken aback by this comment. She hadn't really thought about it, but he was right. She hadn't laughed even once after Mo went away. That was two months ago..she realized all over again.

The beach wasn't too crowded and so Sophie had no trouble as she marched them all straight over to the water's edge. That was when she noticed Resa. Meggie had forgotten her mother was out on the pier. She hadn't realized it was that time of the day.

"Resa!" Sophie shouted and waved to her, excitedly.

Resa, who had been whistling, stopped and shifted her head in their direction. She turned to look out over the water one last time before walking back along the pier and onto the beach. She came over to them but stopped abruptly several yards from where they stood and stared at a spot behind their group. Following her gaze, the group soon shared her amazement.

Elanora was standing across the beach, watching them. At first Meggie thought she was alive and couldn't understand how that was possible. But then she saw the looks other visitors of the beach were giving her. They noticed her at a glance and then rubbed their eyes and looked again, unable to believe what they were seeing. Elanora's body was partially see-through and it was then Meggie realized she was also wearing the clothes she'd died in. Elanora was dead and yet she was here. She made no move to come any closer and she only looked at Resa.

"I convinced them to let me come see you, Resa." Elanora said, speaking at last. "I made them see how much Mo had sacrificed so that this world could be saved. How he let his own life be lost so that everything could be as it was meant to be. And I have a message from him."

Resa stared wide-eyed at Elanora, her eyes filling with tears. "What? What did he say?" She asked, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Mo wanted you to know, he heard your whistle."

A loud sob escaped Resa's lips and the tears fell down her cheeks. She lowered her head to wipe the wetness from her face and when she looked up again, Elanora was gone.

"Where is she?" Resa asked, desperately searching the beach for the blonde girl.

"What's that?!" A random girl on the beach shouted in surprise.

The guy with her seemed just as stunned. "I don't know! I've never seen anything like that before!"

It wasn't hard to find what the entire beach was beginning to notice and stare at. A huge beam of green light had shot into the ocean and as it did, a circle of the water started to churn and bubble. People that were in the water began to panic and swim to shore, running onto the beach as quickly as they could. The light was just off the shore from where Meggie and the others were gathered and their eyes were glued to the spot. Then, as if it had never happened, the green light vanished and the water stopped churning. The water regained its calm surface and gradually, the gathered bunch of confused onlookers went back to what they had been doing. No one had any idea what had just happened and no one did dare to go back in the water. For some reason, Meggie and the others continued to stare out at the water. Since no one else had gone back into the ocean, it was very easy to notice when suddenly a person emerged from under the surface. The person was close enough to the beach for Meggie and the others to recognize who it was. It was her father. It was Mo.

Mo was dressed in what he had disappeared in, his blue jeans and black dress shirt. He had appeared deep in the ocean and had reached the surface feeling very disoriented. He shifted his head around as he tread water in place, searching to see where he was. That was when he noticed the beach. He started to swim towards it and when he reached a point where he could stand up, he did so and took another look around him.

"Mo!" A woman's voice shouted.

No, not any woman's voice. Mo knew that voice..Resa. He turned his eyes towards the source of her voice and he saw them. Resa, Meggie, Elinor, Dustfinger, Sophie and Travis, even Capricorn and his men. They were all there on the beach staring out over the water at him. He grinned and started wading through the water, towards the beach. Clearly Resa couldn't wait that long though. She ran into the ocean and made her way to him as quickly as she could. Finally the two made it to each other and Resa threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him down. He laughed and embraced her warmly as she joyfully held him close. More splashing sounds and soon Meggie was there. Still holding Resa with one arm, he pulled Meggie to him with the other and she hugged him tightly. Eventually the family made their way to the beach and Meggie was tugging on his arm, urging him to tell her how he'd been able to come back to them. Resa held onto Mo's other arm fiercely. As though she were afraid that if she ever let him go, he might never come back. Mo knew he certainly owed them an explanation so he told them what he knew.

"Elanora said she owed me for saving the world and she was going to convince them, and don't ask me who them is because I have no idea." Mo told them. "Anyways, Elanora told me that she convinced them to recreate me. When I asked her how she could have possibly talked them into doing such a thing, all she said was that being a dead demi-god has those kinds of perks."

Mo gazed around at everyone again and his eyes finally came to rest on Resa and Meggie. He was home.