EPISODE ELEVEN

Katie quickly pushed her thoughts away as she walked back into the kitchen to find Carl with the bowl back out of the cabinet, looking at the shelf thoughtfully. When he saw her, he looked over at her and said, "What do you think?"

"What?" Katie asked blankly, turning a little red for no apparent reason.

"The bowls," he said, not noticing her face. "What do you think? How should I position them?"

"Oh. Well. Um." She wasn't sure what to say, because frankly she didn't think it mattered much. "Why don't you just put it on the shelf?"

"Hm…I thought of that…" he said, looking back at the shelf. He set it on the shelf gingerly and looked at it before beaming brightly.

Katie's mouth twitched a little before she burst out laughing, Carl looking at her with a bewildered expression. She tried to straighten herself, covering her mouth as her shoulders shook a little in attempt to muffle her laughter. "Ah…haha…I…sorry, it's just that…heehee…" She took a deep breath in, grinning at Carl.

"So, what's next?"

---

Dia had insisted on standing; she knew that she would only fall asleep if she lay back down. She was now leaning heavily on her bed, panting a little. Alex and Gina stood by, looking like they'd jump to help her at a moment's notice, but she ignored them. Jamie was lying in her bed, her back to everyone.

"Martha, I…I've been needing to see…see…you," she said, trying to speak. Everything just seemed so difficult lately.

"What is it, dear?" Martha asked in her usual cheery tone, although she too looked worried. "I've heard that you've been sick."

"Yes, but…I have to ask you…something…" Suddenly Dia felt very childish, like she'd been making such a big deal out of her dream for nothing. She'd probably only had it because she was sick. But Jamie had dreams, too, right? Somehow Dia knew that she did.

Martha waited patiently for Dia to continue. "Do you know…a woman…with long black hair, and…and green eyes?"

And then it clicked. Black hair. Green eyes. Just like Dia.

---

There was a bit of an awkward moment for the three girls as they stood in the Library in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was a little tense. Nina was surprised at how accepting Maria was, and that she hadn't got upset. She'd even agreed with her.

"Nina, what's happening?" Lyla said finally, breaking the silence. "I mean, I know you don't know, but what do you think?"

"I…" Nina started, but stopped. She really didn't know, and that scared her. "…You've heard that that girl Dia is sick, right? They say it's really bad, but it's only been two days since she first got it."

"There's a connection with her and the Harvest Goddess, you mean?"

"Yeah. And you know something else? That creepy freaky girl, Jamie? She wasn't there at her farm this morning."

"Whoa," Maria said, raising her eyebrows, and Lyla looked shocked. Everyone in town knew that Jamie's farm was her life, and that she almost never left it unless it was necessary.

"I know," Nina said, suddenly shivering a little. "I wonder what happened to her."

---

Carl had Katie organize the tables while he watched her, constantly changing his mind about the positions. Katie had just shoved the table over a full foot and a half when Carl said, "No, move it back."

Katie sighed, giggling a little and earning another confused look from her manager. "Carl, make up your mind, please," she said, trying to sound weary.

Carl smiled sheepishly. "Just leave it there, then. Let's move on now."

A few tables later, both of them were laughing. It was a little strange to Katie. She'd never heard Carl laugh like that before…

But what about Joe? She felt her stomach squirm at the thought of him, not sure whether she liked the feeling. It's probably because I'm going crazy because I can't be there with him, Katie thought. So I think I like Carl, but I really don't.

"Right," she murmured, and Carl's laughter died away.

"What?"

"Nothing."

---

Martha pondered this as more sweat formed on Dia's forehead. What could this possibly mean? That she was dreaming of herself?

"Ah…that reminds me of your mother," Martha said, chuckling pleasantly. "She had the prettiest long hair."

Dia felt that burning sensation again; the hatred that she'd felt for the woman in her dream now directed at her mother. Oh, how she hated Mother. She was selfish, dumping Dia into the Sanatorium, because, as Gina had told her, she'd said she just couldn't take care of her anymore.

Dia's fists clenched, her mind reeling. But why would she dream of Mother? And what did she have to do with Harvest Goddess? And Dia was sick because of her dream…yes, it all made sense now. It was all Mother's fault.

"Hate," she said, her voice low. But where did the Harvest Goddess come in? It was probably just an afterthought that came from her sickness and fever. And yet, that didn't seem right.

Martha heard her, and her face softened. "Why do you ask me that, Dia? Is something wrong?"

Dia sighed a little, moving over to the edge of her bed and sitting down. "I…I…need to tell you about…this dream I've been having."

---

Carl had given Katie a break and so she was back in her room, spread out across her bed.

She thought of Carl, and Joe, and Gwen, and strangely Ronald. She missed Ronald. He was like a father to her, and always had given her free Sandwiches when she stopped by the Supermarket. Of course, nothing beat Wallace's cakes, but Ronald definitely made the best Sandwiches. And Yogurt.

She sighed, rolling over on her side. Now she was in bad mood. Thinking of Gwen and Joe didn't help, but neither did thinking of the past, with the happy times in Sugar Valley with her grandfather and Ronald.

---

Dia had finished her explanation. She'd somehow ended up lying against her pillows, eyelids drooping.

Martha seemed a little surprised at the dream, raising her eyebrows when Dia had mentioned the infant in the woman's arms, and the Harvest Goddess. But now she was smiling a little, and Dia coughed a little.

"Martha? Do you know what my dream means?" she asked, wanting to know before she fell back asleep.

"Shhh," she heard Martha said, a cool hand pressed to her forehead. "We'll talk when you wake up.

And with that, Dia dropped off to sleep, knowing that she was doomed to have the same dream again.

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