It all becomes clear
The truth will appear
Forever a debt for you and me

-Kamelot, Sacrimony

Movement 25: The Smallest of Miracles

"Surprised to see me?" the mysterious girl teased, rocking playfully back on her feet.

Stephen stood for a moment in shock, equally hopeful that his sister was somehow standing before him as he was skeptical that she was just another of the phantom's tricks. Through his stiff expression, he muttered, "Is it really you?"

"Aww, you don't recognize your own sis?" the robed woman teased while placing her hands on her hips for dramatic effect.

"I'm serious," the older Strange gravely plead, "If you are not Donna, stop this cruel charade."

"I know you're worried. It's okay if you don't believe me," Donna assured the man with a gentle smile. "But I'm happy to see you! I've been waiting for this day for a long time, you know."

"And why is that?" Stephen cautiously inquired, minding the distance between his alleged sister and the twins if the apparition appeared at all ungenuine.

As if the answer should have been obvious, the young woman remarked, "Well, it's the day I get to see you again, silly!"

And before Stephen had the chance to say much else, Donna rushed to her brother and enthusiastically threw her arms around him. With a tight squeeze, she buried her face in the doctor's tunic and admitted with a bittersweet whisper, "I missed you."

Perhaps the former surgeon tapped into misplaced intuition or unconsciously turned a blind eye to the potential pitfalls of his next actions, but something about her embrace dismantled his concern and assured him that this individual was his dearly departed sibling. Vivid waves of sweet memories flooded his senses as the elder Strange returned his sister's gesture and held her tightly to himself as if letting go would cause her to disappear once again. The baffled brother wondered aloud, "How?"

"Does it matter?" Donna responded rhetorically before declaring, "I'm here now. And there's something I've been wanting to tell you."

Pulling away from their reunited moment, the sorcerer met Donna's bright-eyed gaze to intently listen to her next words. He followed her lead as she pressed up on her tiptoes to quietly speak into her brother's ear as if they were playing an innocent game of telephone. "Do you remember?"

… Do you remember? …

… Do you remember? …

… Do you remember? …

Her words triggered sudden drowsiness in Stephen, seizing his consciousness and drawing it back to the depths of his mind. The overpowering feeling of falling into himself consumed him briefly before he came to in much the same way one is startled awake by a dream of tripping or stepping off a cliff.

Once again, the former surgeon found himself standing near the edge of that dreaded lake on his parent's Nebraskan property. However, this time around the atmosphere presented itself in a drastically different manner. The trees were friendly shades of green and stood proudly against the warm summer sky, while sunlight cast a glittering effect over the otherwise sleepy water, bringing the sorcerer back to better days.

Glancing down at his hands and then his feet, Stephen found that he had reverted to childhood; just about the age he would have been on that fateful day. Donna, also taking the appearance of her younger self, sat peacefully on the shore nearby, staring longingly towards the lake.

Without looking back at her brother, she assured him, "The twins are safe and so are you. Come, sit with me, Stephen."

The elder sibling watched as the girl pat the ground next to her, indicating that he should join her by the water's edge. A large weight sat heavily on his heart as he begrudgingly made his way over, all the while questioning why Donna would bring the two of them back to the scene of the crime. Jaw clenched from the stress; Stephen sat by his sister in silence.

"Do you remember kayaking with dad?" Donna queried with a nostalgic visage.

"I do," the boyish presenting man furrowed his eyebrows in response as he solemnly scanned the surface of the water.

"And do you remember how I would always get so mad because I wanted to go out paddling on my own, but mom said I wasn't old enough? I always had to go with you or Victor," the enigmatic sibling giggled at the thought.

Stephen sighed, finding it difficult to release the repressed memories of his past where he was once happy and surrounded by love. It was easier to live in a state of grief than to recall more pleasant times only for grief to follow all the same. For so long he just wanted to forget this place, but lately, it seemed that fate wouldn't let him off the hook so quickly.

Donna paused a moment to see if her brother would respond, but when she was met with silence she professed, "You know, this is my favorite place in the entire world. I know I didn't get a chance to go many other places, but even if I did, I don't think anything could change my mind."

"You drowned," Stephen countered as he looked over at his sister in surprise, subconsciously grounding the conversation in his perception of reality.

"That's true, but before then I was having so much fun," the girl glanced over at her brother with a sincere smile. "I've been watching over you since that day. I know my death has been hard on you, but I promise you that I am okay. I will always treasure our precious memories, and I hope that one day, you can do the same."

The older Strange remained silent, internally wrestling with the possibility of closure.

"If nothing else, please don't blame yourself, Stephen. We were children, what could you have done?" Donna begged and latched onto her brother's hands, in her best attempt to comfort him.

"I knew we shouldn't have gone out on the ice," the sorcerer insisted.

"Stop," Donna insisted, squeezing his hands tightly, "That kind of thinking is self-destructive and isn't doing either of us any good."

"I just," Stephen tenaciously admitted with a hitch in his voice, "I just wish it was me. I've always wished you were the one who survived."

"Well, I'm glad you lived," the younger sibling asserted, "You have gone on to do so much good with your life, whether it was in the hospital or with the Avengers. I don't think I would have done the same in your shoes. The world needs Doctor Strange."

"Well, I need Donna Strange," the former surgeon deflected with a sweet response. It was a bad habit of his, especially when niceties were paid in his regard. This was true even throughout his college years where he regularly fed his overinflated ego – the pain was only masked by his superiority complex in lieu of the light humor he tapped into today. The fact stood that all of those supposed "good deeds" were nothing more than necessary penance to make up for the sins of his past, and nothing more.

"I'm right here!" Donna reminded her brother and lightly poked at his chest where his heart would be, "All of us are – mom and dad, too. We aren't going anywhere, so long as you keep us with you."

"Thank you, Donna."

Stephen felt his eyes sting as he wrapped his arm around his little sister's shoulders and pulled her into a half hug. The younger of the two leaned against her sibling's side and the two of them enjoyed a few moments of silence in each other's presence.

… Stephen?! ...

… Oh, shit - Stephen are you okay? ...

… Oh sweetheart, no, don't say that word …

Like a fish interpreting sounds from behind the glass of its aquarium, Wanda's voice echoed against the walls of Stephen's mind. Her concern called him from his stupor and released his consciousness back into his external body, where he stirred on the forest floor. Eyes prying open, his gaze was met with the concerned faces of the Maximoff family hovering over him.

"Thank god, are you alright?" Wanda worriedly queried, reaching down to offer the doctor assistance back to his feet.

Strange graciously took Wanda's hand and climbed back to a standing position, careful not to pull her down to his level or cause her to lose balance. "I'm fine, thank you."

"You gave us quite the scare," the redhead admitted, "The boys told me a strange girl caused you to faint and then vanished."

Dusting himself off, the sorcerer couldn't help but chuckle at the children's recollection. "No, nothing like that. I'll – explain later."

"What's this?" the young mother curiously questioned, stepping closer to Stephen to examine his facial features.

The sudden change in their proximity seized Stephen's senses, and his heart became lodged in his throat as the tips of Wanda's fingers grazed his skin. The witch had reached forward to pluck a carmine feather from him that had been neatly tucked behind his ear; much like an artist's pencil or the flower accessory of his subject against a serene landscape.

"The feather!" Tommy exclaimed and ran over to his mom to investigate the last of the necessary ingredients for Agatha's potion. Billy followed suit soon after, leaving Wanda a bit confused by their excitement. She hadn't been briefed on what the elements were, just that the boys were out gathering them.

Feeling a bit dumbstruck as he observed the twins excitedly exhibiting the rest of their collection for their mother, Stephen couldn't help but wonder if Agatha had known he'd run into his sister all along. She must have, assuming the feather was a gift from Donna or a prize to be won for facing his past trauma.

Donna…

As the group made their way back to the house after a successful mission, Strange caught a glimpse of a worn-down sign peeking out from vines and overgrown foliage. He was just able to make out the words etched on its surface: "The Witch's Road".

"I can't go back to yesterday, because I was a different person then." – Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland

The rest of their night in New Salem went smoothly as, according to their host, the group's ritual and potion crafting efforts were successful. The process had been fairly simple: Agatha mixed the elixir while everyone else recited ancient enchantments around the cauldron to enhance its effects.

While the pearlescent rock, speckled mushroom, and vibrant feather were key ingredients in the potion's recipe, Wanda was surprised to learn that the moonlight was the most crucial component of them all. Supposedly, it imbued the liquid with cleansing properties that encouraged renewal and progress.

Once completed, the younger witch was instructed to thank Gaea for providing her protection and guidance by offering wine to the goddess at the altar. Afterward, Agatha returned them to their reality and bid the group goodnight. Well – most of the group, Wong decided to stay back and enjoy another glass or two of mead.

Back at the Sanctum, Stephen and Wanda carried the sleepy boys to bed as they had fallen asleep at their aunt-figure's house while their mother was making her offer. Funnily enough, Strange had also nodded off for a moment as the three boys rested against a tree towards the end of the night. When the amber-haired witch found them, a fond snapshot of the moment was created and stowed away in her memory for years to come. How endearing the sorcerer had been through all her family's recent plights, she couldn't help but appreciate his kindness. Prior to this charade, Wanda had always found Stephen a bit arrogant, but it was nice to know that behind his rigid façade was a gentle soul.

"I don't know if they've ever been up this late," Wanda whispered as she quietly closed the door of the twins' room after the adults carefully tucked them into their respective beds.

"It was a long night," Stephen added with an equally hushed voice so as not to wake the children from their slumber. Although, they could likely sleep through anything as exhausted as they were.

"Thank you for taking care of them today. I'm sorry that Agatha kind of threw them on you. If I had known-," Wanda began her apology, but the sorcerer insisted.

"It's completely fine. They're good kids and I'm happy to help."

A quiet moment fell between the two, but the silence was far from empty. Perhaps it was the eventfulness of the night that had drawn the two desolate souls together, but regardless each experienced a painful urge to move in closer. And then, like a magnet drawn to iron, Wanda found herself on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against Stephen's.

Infernal adrenaline coursed through his veins as the sorcerer kissed his amber-haired angel back, causing his stomach to churn in anxious exhilaration. How long had it been since he had experienced an emotion quite like this?

The brief gesture felt like it had lasted eons as the pair gently pulled away from each other, Wanda lowering herself back to her feet. She bashfully and exhaustedly smiled up at the doctor to bid him goodnight.

"Sleep well, Stephen."

Strange watched as the angel turned and made her way towards her own living quarters, wondering if that actually happened or if he was currently dreaming. Either way, what bliss.

"Goodnight."