EPISODE SIXTEEN

"Uhh…that is…" Katie said nervously, swallowing. This woman had heard her yell. And she obviously was another crazy person, like Nina. Why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut? Carl had told me to be careful…this woman looks tough…maybe she'll beat me up or something!

"Hey, you work for Carl? Nina told me about you."

So she knows Nina…it figures…

"I…um…well, what I said…I didn't mean it…I mean, I've just had a really bad day, and…" Katie tried not to show her fear as she stumbled over her words in attempt to explain.

"Your name's Katie, right?"

Katie relaxed slightly. Maybe this woman wasn't upset with her. "Y-yeah. Katie."

The woman seemed to narrow her eyes a little. "I'm Eve. Well, I'll see you around. Stop by the Moonlight Café sometime." And with that, the woman walked slowly away, never looking back.

Katie tried to calm down completely as she watched her. I really thought I was going to die…

She turned away from Eve's retreating figure and ran back towards Calloway Café.

---

The stacks of books piling up around Dia had yielded few results, but she'd finally found something of interest: a mysterious old storybook stuck with dull books about fishing and farming.

"'Once upon a time,'" she read aloud, keeping her voice low. "'The Harvest Goddess lived at the Harvest Goddess Spring with her loyal Harvest Sprites.'"

She glanced at the picture of the happy looking Harvest Goddess, surrounded by short little men with pointed hats, and then turned the page.

"'The Spring thrived on the happiness of the small village near the Spring. For the people of the village and the Harvest Goddess, life was perfect. The people of the village always had big harvests and delicious crops, and lived in harmony with the Harvest Goddess.'"

"'But one day, the people of the village decided that they wanted a little more than what they already had. They became selfish.'"

"'They asked the Harvest Goddess to give them more. This saddened the Harvest Goddess greatly.'"

Dia shivered a little at the image of a weeping Harvest Goddess on the page.

"'She told the people that once they learned to love and appreciate life, she would return. But until that day, she and her Harvest Sprites would vanish from the Spring.'"

"'The Spring's beauty soon faded as the flowers began to wilt and disappear, and the water of the Spring turned cloudy. But the people of the village would not abandon their selfish ways.'"

"'Because of their greed, the village, the people, and the Spring eventually perished, leaving nothing but ashes behind.'"

Dia turned the page, but it was blank. She suddenly felt sick. What kind of storybook was this? Wasn't there supposed to be a happy ending?

She coughed, rubbing her head as she closed the book. Maybe she could spend the night there at the Library, there was no way she could make it back to the Sanatorium…

And then suddenly the door banged open, causing the three girls at the front to all gasp at the same time. Dia struggled to get to her feet, curious as to who had just barged in.

---

Katie burst into the Calloway Café, but found it empty, except a small slip of paper lying on the counter. She snatched the paper up and read Carl's neat handwriting.

Katie-

If you're reading this, I'm out looking for you right now, but I'll be back. STAY AT THE CAFÉ. I'll find you.

-Carl

She sighed a little. How practical of him, she thought, almost smiling. But she was still kind of mad at him. She walked to the back of the café towards her own bedroom, but something blue caught her eye. It was lying in front of the closed door that led to Carl's bedroom.

Tilting her head to one side and still holding the note, she stepped closer and knelt down to inspect the item, gasping as she realized what it was.

---

"Err…who's he?"

"He's cute…"

"Lyla! I thought you were with Louis," Nina said incredulously, staring at Lyla who flushed before looking at the young man who'd just flung open the door of the Library.

"Is she here?" he asked, ignoring what they said. "I'm looking for a girl with short, black hair, and she's---"

All three girls raised a hand at the same time, pointing to the back of the Library.

---

'Once upon a time, the Harvest Goddess lived at the Harvest Goddess Spring with her loyal Harvest Sprites.'

'The Spring and the Harvest Goddess thrived on the happiness of the small village near the Spring. For the people of the village and the Harvest Goddess, life was perfect. The people of the village always had big harvests and delicious crops, and lived in harmony with the Harvest Goddess.'

The story had sent chills down Dia's spine, and it kept replaying over and over in her head as she made her way to the front of the Library, hearing the three girls talking with someone.

'But one day, the people of the village decided that they wanted a little more than what they already had. They became selfish.'

She was almost there, but she stopped to lean on a shelf as she caught her breath, coughing as she did so.

'They asked the Harvest Goddess to give them more. This saddened the Harvest Goddess greatly.'

"Dia?" She looked up and saw Kurt.

'She told the people that once they learned to love and appreciate life, she would return. But until that day, she and her Harvest Sprites would vanish from the Spring.'

"What…?" He was moving towards her now.

'The Spring's beauty soon faded as the flowers began to wilt and disappear, and the water of the Spring turned cloudy. But the people of the village would not abandon their selfish ways.'

She tried to back away. This wasn't supposed to happen. If he found out about her condition…

But he was wrapping his arms around her now, bringing her close. "I was so worried…"

'Because of their greed, the village, the people, and the Spring eventually perished, leaving nothing but ashes behind…'

"No!" she said loudly, pushing him away. "I can't do this!" Kurt looked at her, confused. "Doctor Alex said…that…I can't…do…" Her voice cracked as the tears began to fall.

Please, don't look at me, she begged him silently.

He was moving towards her again. "I…hate you!" she cried out.

This is for the best.

Kurt looked surprised and hurt, but suddenly she was in his arms again, not sure if she'd been the one to pull him close this time. Everything was just a blur.

"I hate you," she sobbed into his chest.

I hate the way that…

…you still love me.

Even when I'm becoming a monster.

---