I was almost afraid to continue this story because of the rather...passionate reactions readers have had to Isaac's predicament. I'm thrilled that I'm getting emotional responses from people, but I ask that you kindly refrain from violence (especially against me) if anything in this upsets you. It's astonishing how attached we get to these characters...

*Superstitions*

"Kyle," Dora asked a few days later. "Have you noticed anything different about our son?"

"You mean how he's seemed so happy these past few days?"

"Precisely. Do you know what's gotten into him?"

"I saw him playing with George and Ida's son Garet and Jenna and Felix--Simon and Helen's kids. My guess is he's made friends."

Dora lit up. "Oh at last! And their parents are OK with this?"

Kyle shook his head. "I don't think they know. The four of them have been using that secluded spot near the woods for their playground. I think they're aware of Isaac's…reputation and are trying to keep their friendship with him a secret."

"Well, it's a start," Dora sighed. "At least Isaac seems happy. He's needed some playmates for so long."



Near the edge of town, sheltered by trees and the rocky face of Mt. Aleph, Isaac reveled in the company of his new friends. He had mock sword battles using sticks with Felix and Garet, and the four of them played various other games like tag relentlessly. Sometimes they even dared to explore the small cave leading into the mountain. He'd never been so happy, and the hours always seemed to slip by too fast. But each new day brought the promise of more fun.

"This is the best spot," Jenna said as she picked more early wild flowers. She was trying to weave them into a wreath, a task made quite difficult by her unsteady five year-old hands. What she'd accomplished looked rather mangled, but she placed it around her rag doll and smiled at how pretty she thought it was.

"For a demon, you're pretty good at stick fights," Garet teased. Isaac smiled. The word somehow didn't sting when any of them said it.

"Don't pick on him, Garet," said Felix. He was sitting atop the large rock trying to study his books. He was just enough older to have begun his more formal schooling. That was also why they were undisturbed by adults during the day, since he was responsible and trustworthy enough to keep his sister and younger companions out of trouble. They respected his authority too because he was older. "Ah, stupid math lessons! I hate these!"

Isaac peeked over his shoulder and looked at the equation: nine plus six. He reached down and traced the shape of a number on the page.

"Fifteen?" Felix asked. "How would you know the answer? You're too young to do math!" Flustered, he counted on his fingers and came to the same answer. "Hey...you're right! How'd you know that?"

Isaac shrugged. He wasn't really sure how he knew—he just did.

"That's amazing!" Jenna exclaimed, going over to see for herself. "You're smarter than my brother!"

"No he's not," Felix scowled. "He's just lucky, that's all."

"Maybe mutes are just naturally extra smart," said Garet. "You know, since he can't talk he's supposed to be good at other things."

"Garet, stop picking on him," Felix warned again.

"Yeah," said Jenna. "How would you feel if you couldn't talk like a normal person? It must be really hard."

"Is it, Isaac?" Garet asked. "I can't imagine what it must be like to not be able to talk."

"That's because you never shut your big mouth," Jenna retorted. She looked to Isaac. "But what is it like, Isaac?"

Sensing that their questions were sincere and not a form of teasing, Isaac thought a moment. There was really only one way to show them what it was like but he'd never dared do it to anyone, not even his parents. Would it scare them? Would they still want to be his friends? He knew he shouldn't, but he so desperately wanted someone to understand what it was like to be cut off from the rest of the world the way he was. Maybe they would if he showed them. So he approached Jenna and Garet and took one of each of their hands, bringing them to his chest, and held them in a penetrating gaze.

"What?" Garet asked, slightly uneasy from the blue-eyed stare. "What are you doing?"

"Isaac?" Jenna questioned nervously.

He squeezed their hands a little more tightly and his own hands glowed with a golden light. Total silence held for several moments as Garet and Jenna began to feel something burrowing into them. It was a frightening, painful sense of isolation, so encompassing that it could squash anything it touched. It felt like a knife repeatedly stabbing them from the inside. Jenna's eyes started to water and Garet tried to pull free. Seeing this, Isaac released them and backed away. Felix jumped down from the rock.

"Jenna?" he asked his sister in concern. "Are you OK?"

"Y-yeah," she stuttered, scrubbing at her eyes. She squeezed her doll tightly to help erase the uneasiness she felt.

"That was scary," said Garet, still a bit spooked. He looked over at Isaac, who was now sitting in the grass a short distance away trying to make himself as small as possible.

"What was that?" Felix asked. "It almost looked like he was hurting you."

"It did hurt," said Jenna. "It hurt a lot right here." She touched her chest over her heart. "I've never felt anything like that."

"Maybe he is a demon," said Felix softly.

Garet shook his head. "No, no. It hurt and it was kinda scary, but it didn't seem very evil to me. Don't you think so, Jenna?"

"Yeah," she said. "It didn't feel wrong. It felt...sad."

"Sad?" Felix questioned. The three of them went over to Isaac. "Why are you sad, Isaac? Did we do something wrong?"

He shook his head vigorously. How could he explain? He pointed back towards the village somewhat reluctantly. They'd never believe him. He wanted to disappear. He never should have done that to Garet and Jenna—never ever.

"Vale?" Garet asked. "You mean Vale's what made that hurt feeling in you?"

Isaac nodded slowly, keeping his head down. The others looked amongst themselves in confusion. This didn't make sense to them since Vale was a good place filled with nice people in their eyes. How could such a place make their friend so sad?

"Don't be sad, Isaac," Jenna finally said. She offered him her battered flower wreath as a consolation. "Come on—let's play another game. That'll make you happy again."

These simple words startled Isaac a great deal. He'd shown something truly awful and painful to Garet and Jenna and yet they still wanted to play with him! Suddenly he couldn't help but feel happier inside, even though the rest of Vale continued to scorn him and treat him like an abomination. He had real friends that cared about him! Somehow that made everything a whole lot better.

************

"I'm going to catch that squirrel if it's the last thing I do!" Garet declared, staring up at the pudgy gray rodent sitting on the branch above.

"Give it up, Garet," said Felix. "It's not going to come down with you standing there yelling at it."

Planting time had passed and the spring days grew warmer and longer, though nighttime could still be chilly. The leaves on the trees had returned and the apple blossoms were in full bloom, making the air smell extra sweet. The forest animals were making more appearances too, and Garet liked to torment them in his own way. Trouble was that he could never get close enough to any of them. He picked up a rock and chucked it up at the squirrel, missing it by a mile.

"Come down here and fight like a man!" he called up to it.

Isaac smiled and joined his friend in staring up at the creature. It had a huge fluffy tail and round black eyes. It expertly scurried up and down the tree, chattering and twitching its tail. Upon meeting Isaac's stare, it hustled down the trunk of the tree and leaped onto his shoulder.

"Hey!" Garet protested. "How come they always come for you?"

Isaac shrugged, petting the squirrel. It climbed on top of his head to get a better look around. He'd always been good with animals, even wild ones like this squirrel. Somehow they all sensed something within him that humans, particularly grown humans, had a hard time perceiving.

"Can I see it, Isaac?" Jenna asked. He nodded and plucked the animal off of his head and handed it to her. "It's so cute!" She giggled as it climbed up to her shoulder and brushed its tail against her cheek.

"Oh sure, you give it to Jenna," Garet complained.

"That's because he knows you won't be nice to it, right Isaac?"

Isaac shrugged and smiled mischievously. "Don't smirk like that," said Garet in an irritated tone. "I wish you could talk just so you could laugh to my face like everyone else does. It's too hard to guess what you're thinking."

"Maybe he doesn't want you to guess at all," Felix suggested.

Something rustled in the shrubs just then, scaring the squirrel away, and one of the older boys from town entered the clearing. Isaac recognized him as one of the bullies that had pushed him into the mud over two weeks ago. "Well what do we have here?" he asked snidely. "What are you shrimps doing out here? And with the mute boy!"

"This is our place!" Felix declared, standing in front of the others. "Get lost!"

"What are you doing with the demon?" the bully demanded, pointing at them accusingly. "I'm going to tell everyone you're working with him to destroy the village! Admit it!"

"No you can't!" Jenna cried. "Our parents will find out and then we won't be allowed to play here anymore!"

"You're in with him!" the boy insisted. "I'm telling and you can't stop me!" He started running away, calling out an alert. Felix and Garet ran after him to try and stop him, leaving Jenna and Isaac alone in the clearing. Isaac was petrified, visibly trembling. He knew what would happen as soon as the villagers found out. They'd take his companions away from him and he'd never be allowed to see them again. Jenna sensed his apprehension and took his hand to offer some reassurance.

"We're not going to let them split us up," she said firmly. "We're your friends, Isaac, and not even our moms and dads can change that."

He appreciated her words, but he knew none of the grown-ups would allow them to play together. He'd be all alone again. Jenna started to pull him along to go hide in the cave when Garet and Felix returned, looking totally defeated.

"We couldn't stop him," Felix said. "I saw Mom and Dad heading this way."

"My parents too," Garet added. "And Grandpa and the Great Healer. They don't look happy."

Isaac started to leave in the hope of avoiding what he knew wouldn't be a pleasant scene, but the group of adults had arrived. Repulsed at seeing him anywhere near his children, Jenna's father Simon kicked dirt at him and started loudly cursing at him.

"Get away from them, you rotten little beast!" he shouted, kicking a small stone this time. It hit Isaac just above his right eye and he fell over from the unexpected blow, a little blood trickling down his forehead. He scrambled further away to evade any further projectiles and looked up at the adults innocently. They looked back at him in complete disgust, their eyes filled with irrational fear and a very cold hatred.

"Daddy, stop!" Jenna protested. She tried to go to Isaac but her mother Helen held her back.

"That creature didn't hurt you, did he?" she demanded in a worried, nearly frantic voice. "Jenna, Felix what were you doing out here with him?!"

"Garet, how many times have we told you to stay away from him?" Ida implored to her son, her tone much the same.

"Leave him alone!" Garet said. "He's our friend!"

"He is not your friend, Garet!" George told him firmly. "He's a devil! He could've hurt you—or worse!"

"That's not true!" Jenna, Felix and Garet cried together.

"He's done something to them!" said Simon. "Just like he tainted my horse—now he's after my children! What do you intend to do about this, Mayor? This can't continue!"

"Please, my good citizens, calm down," the Mayor said steadily. "I will see to this matter. Your children will be safe from him, I promise."

"I want action, Mayor!" Simon demanded. "Keep that, that…thing away from my kids! If I ever catch him near Felix or Jenna again, I swear that I'll—"

"Simon, please," the Mayor interrupted. "That's not the way to go about resolving this situation."

"Why did you allow Kyle and Dora keep him in the first place?" Helen asked. "I knew something like this would happen! I just knew it!"

The Great Healer lifted a hand. "That's enough!" his booming voice echoed. It silenced the crowd instantly. "I will not have mass hysteria in this village."

"Thank you, Great Healer," said the Mayor. He cleared his throat and spoke like a lawmaker in total control of the situation. "Take your children home and we will see to this matter right away."

"Grandpa, no!" Garet said, tugging at his robe. "Please don't hurt Isaac! He's not a demon, he's—"

"That's enough, Garet," Ida interrupted. "Let your grandfather do his job. Come along now."

The adults left, Jenna, Garet and Felix being dragged away like possessions. The three of them stole one last glance back at their friend before disappearing from sight. Isaac stared after them and felt a sharp pain piercing his chest. He'd never be allowed to see them again, and now the rest of the villagers hated him more than ever. The hatred hurt so much. He just wanted it stop, for all of it to go away. It had to go away. On the verge of tears, he stood up and headed towards the one place he knew was still safe to go to; the only people he knew wouldn't ever hurt him. Home, to his mother and father.

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^^; I have the sinking feeling that those emotional responses I mentioned are going to go into overdrive right about now...