Katherine awoke with a start, sitting upright, noticing it was dawn. Billy was nowhere to be seen. Panic rose up in her throat and she jumped to her feet searching frantically until she noticed a message left blinking on his laptop. With shaking hands, she picked it up and read slowly. Katherine, for reasons you will never understand, I have to leave. Don't worry about Tommy. I have a feeling he'll find you before too long. Someday we'll see each other again.
Kat looked up in confusion, her eyes sweeping her surroundings. What did this cryptic message mean? Why had Billy left? Her thoughts dissolved like a bubble bursting when a tall figure appeared at the horizon. Dressed in pelt robes that the old Falcon had worn, Tommy opened his arms for her. Running and stumbling, she fell into his grasp, sobbing happily. Tommy whispered against her hair,
"I have so much to tell you."
……
Over the peak, sitting alone with his fists balled, Billy watched them from afar. He felt the emptiness nearly swallow him up at the sight of the embracing couple. Why did it seem his destiny to be denied all happiness? Next to him, the old man appeared and said lowly,
"He might not have returned if you hadn't left. The spirits knew you desired her and wouldn't have let him leave our world until you claimed her. His destiny does not include her."
"But she wants him," Billy replied, grinding his fists into the ground, feeling the physical pain a relief compared to his heart. "I can't stand in the way of that. I never have and I never will."
"Mark my words, young man," the old man whispered before dissipating. "When the young Falcon must join his people and fulfill his duties, she will be alone and then she will know of your love."