The sun was high in the sky by the time Meg got back to the Tuck's. Tuck alone was waiting for her. "How did you find out?" he asked.

She looked at him, her eyes void of emotion. "I heard when Miles told Winnie."

"Come, I need to talk to you."

She followed obediently as he led her. To her dismay, he sat down at the edge of the falls. Her heart fell to her feet.

For awhile, they spoke of small things, all the while knowing the topic that lay ahead. Finally, they got to the thick of the conversation. "What we Tucks have, ya can't call it living. We, we just are. We're like rocks, stuck at the side of the stream."

Something was stirring within Meg. She wouldn't let herself sit at the side. She would fight. She would live. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you stuck? Even the biggest rocks are moved by a great force, or worn down until they can move. Why do you have to live like that? We, I mean, you're still human. You enjoy things, you have passions. All that living is is trying to be what you want. Doing what you enjoy. Live like you will die tomorrow, but dream like you'll live forever. Right?"

Tuck looked at her carefully. "Why are you fighting so hard? Is there something you want to say?"

She didn't want to. After Miles's reaction, she didn't want anyone to know, but something made her say, "I'm scared."

"Of death? Don't be. It's not living you should be afraid of."

She shook her head. The panic was leaving her now. Something was replacing it, something she couldn't name. "It's not death I'm afraid of."

"Then what is it?"

"It's what you would think, what would happen, if you knew."

"Knew what?"

Meg looked up at this man, Tuck. She knew so little about him, but she trusted him, just like she had trusted her father. "I don't have a choice to make. I drank before I knew."

"Oh, dear God help us. That's why you were arguing. Have you told anyone else that you drank it?"

"Just Miles." Suddenly, she was desperate. "Don't tell them, please. They don't need to know, not yet. I've got to leave soon anyway. Don't tell them yet."

He shook his head sadly. "I won't. I'm so sorry Meg. We should have protected it better. You know everything about it then."

"I fell over the waterfall."

"And you're alright?"

"I swallowed some water, but otherwise I'm fine."

Tuck stood up. "Come on. Mae should have breakfast ready. We can talk some more later."

Meg followed quietly, unsure of what her now eternal future would bring.