The next few weeks had been hell for Molly. Jesse hadn't been around so she couldn't cry on his shoulder. Her mother had been bitten by a snake while taking all of the laundry off of the wire outside. And her father had been receiving threading letters from anonymous people but he had a feeling it was the competition from other businesses. "Molly, can you come here for a second." Molly turned down her radio and walked out to the office where he father was. He motioned her to him and sat her down on his lap. "Molly honey.you know that your mother hasn't been doing well the past few days.and um." Molly looked deep into her father's glossy eyes. ".She died last hour. They have tried to save her all week and the medicine wasn't meant for the kind of snake that bit her." Molly gave her father a big hug around the neck. She sniffed in and felt her nose burn a little. "I'm getting tired." Molly said quietly, wiping her eyes and walking slowly back to her room. Molly's father picked up an envelope that he hadn't opened yet and ripped the seal off. He looked inside and then dropped the whole thing. A black powder fell out onto the desk. Molly began to cry into her pillow all night, unaware of her fathers' problem. Jesse stood out side of the window looking in. His head was all that was exposed in the window. He adjusted the flowers in his hand for Molly and tapped on the window, smiling. When he saw Molly crying, his smile faded. He knocked harder on the window and then tried to push the window open. Molly looked up from the pillow and jumped up and ran to Jesse. He was half way into the room when Molly had him in a very tight hug. "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" she repeated. She let go of Jesse, who was slipping out of the window. He touched back down onto the ground and looked into Molly's watery eyes. He couldn't help but to kiss her that second. They broke ways and he crawled up into the house and handed Molly the flowers. "My mom died Jesse. I don't want to die. You don't understand, she was my best friend and now she's." "Living in the havens like she was an angel that never left your side." Jesse whispered into Molly's ears. She looked up at his bright blue eyes. "That was beautiful." She breathed. Just then, Molly clung onto Jesse's middle. He stroked her head and hugged back. This is what Molly liked most, the comfort of being protected. That's how she always felt with Jesse. "I'll be back in a second." Molly said quietly and rushed out of the room. "Dad.dad.daddy, guess who's here?" she came to find her father, face down on his desk. "Jesse! Come here quick!" Molly called behind her. Jesse dropped the TV remote (he was carelessly pushing all of the buttons, seeing what they do) and rushed in. "What the hell happened?" he screamed. Molly shook her head and lifted her fathers' head. Jesse's eyes widened. "Bob Grint.Oh, my Molly, I didn't think you knew him!" Molly went into discussion on what her father had said before, about going to school together. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe him.Jesse, I'm ready to go now." He looked at her with a smile. "Are you sure?" Molly nodded her head and passed him as she went to her room. Her eye's started to water as she packed all of her things back into her bag. This time, minus the candy. How could a girl think of eating now? Jesse was still staring at his old friend. He had only gone to school once in the whole time he was "immortal." Molly's father was his only true friend, besides Winnie, of course. "Molly." Jesse whispered walking into her room. She was in a corner sobbing quietly. Jesse frowned and walked over to her. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. Molly started to cry in his chest. Jesse was fighting back tears from seeing Molly so upset. "Shh, I know.can I tell you something before we leave?" Jesse asked as Molly sobbed into Jesse's middle. She nodded and laid the side of her head on him and listened. "You see Molly, I knew your great-grandmother and your Dad because.well, because I can live forever, Molly. I can't die! And really, no one I've met understands what it's like to live forever. Miles and Ma and Pa don't understand either. They just don't. I tried to get Winnie to drink the water, but my stupid dad talked her out of it. 'Don't be afraid of death Winnie' he says, 'It's like a wheel of life' he says" Molly looked up at him. "You want me to drink the water? So I can be with you.forever?" Jesse laughed softly. "Well, yeah. But you make it sound like I'm making you, and I don't want that." Molly thought for a minute, and then spoke again, "But I won't see my parents again.not ever." Jesse stroked her head. "They will always be with you, Molly. In your heart. And in your heart, they will never die." Molly was amazed with how Jesse could think of an answer for everything so fast. "Jesse, I think you're a really nice person. And I couldn't think of anyone I would rather want to spend the rest of my life with." Molly smiled, wiping her eyes. Which was true. She had no friends at all, or even family to call her own. Jesse pulled Molly closer as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.



The next morning, the police and paramedics were at the house when Molly woke up. She was in her own bed; covered up with the flowers Jesse had given her at her side. "It was a dream, it was all a dream." She thought to her self. There was a knock at her door. "Yes, come in" a man with a biochemical suit came and handed the half awake Molly a facemask. "Here out this on." He said through his mask. There was a lot of commotion from the other room. Molly shook her head. "But why, I was here all night! Nothing has happened to me yet!" Molly got up and walked into the office where her dad was the night before.

"See? I don't feel a thing." The medics looked at her funny when she entered without a mask. Molly looked around and thought of what Jesse had said before. "Oh, no!" she screamed running out of the room and out of the house. She was trying to find Jesse in the woods. But she was unsuccessful. "Jesse!" she called running out to a road and seeing the man she had saw the day she had first met Jesse on a horse down the road. "Sir, Miles sir?" she called. His horse stopped and turned around. He narrowed his eyes and got down from the horse. "How do you know me?" he asked suspiciously, walking closer. "I know Jesse, do you know where he is?" she panted. Miles turned back around and started to walk towards his horse again. "No! Wait! Sir, you don't understand. I drank the water! I need his help!" "What do you know about the water? Why would you go and do a thing like that?" she just crossed her arms and turned the other way. Miles got back on his horse and started to ride the way Molly was going. He got side by side her and picked her up and sat her on the back. "What do you know about the spring?" Miles asked after a mile of silence. "Well, my family had been worried that I wasn't growing any older and they hated me." She wanted to think of any lie she could think of, so he wouldn't drop her off the horse in mid-run. "And I suppose Jesse coxed you into it?" Molly's eyes grew big, "No! Oh, no I um, got thirsty while playing in the woods and I." "You just had to drink out of that one spring didn't you?" Miles shot back. Molly looked to the side of her, "Well, how was I suppose to know? Huh? You think I would want to live forever?" "Yes." Molly thought to her self. She smiled at the thought of Jesse and her last night. When Miles stopped at a canal, Molly leapt off before Miles could help her down. He wasn't expecting her to be very outdoorsy. (She was wearing a dress though). Molly jumped down of a couple of rocks, soon seeing Jesse swimming in the canal with a girl from her school. Molly stopped and her eyes started to water. "Jesse?" Molly shouted running into the water. He turned around to see a watery eyed Molly coming right at him. When Molly got to him, she just stared right into his eyes and then smacked his face. "I decided to drink the water for you? You.you.Ah!" Molly screamed splashing out of the water running to Miles. "I'm going home! Jesse is a no good trader!" Miles looked down at molly with a smile. "What are you talking about? You're jealous of Angela? Why?" Miles laughed. Molly's ears were turning red at the sight of Miles laughing. "Yes, I am angry at Angela and you can just take a really good guess why I am angry." Molly said jumping up and down pointing at the girl in the canal. Jesse was half way out of the water. "That's a girl we found just a few weeks ago that drank the water too. She's like a sister to Jesse.we thought she would have told you." Molly looked at Miles and then to Jesse, who was making his way up to them. One side of his face was all red while the other a light brown. She started to cry when she ran up to Jesse and rapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry.I didn't know.I." "I didn't think you wouldn't trust me.how could you think like that?" Molly pulled away a little and rubbed her hand on his red cheek. "Well, look what I had to see! Angela goes to my school. I didn't know she drank the water too. I didn't think you would think I would be with anyone but you, you're the only one for me Molly." Jesse's blue eyes had gotten to Molly. She pressed her lips on his and smiled.

When Molly got to the little house that Jesse and Miles lived in, she felt right at home. "Wow, it's great." Molly breathed