Van had decided not to tell anyone of his encounter with Varie yet. So he carried on with his daily routine, only with a slight change. Instead of heading straight home, he'd go visit her as often as three to four times a week. What was difficult was dodging the questions regarding his frequent absences at home. He'd tell his parents that he was just going off to play football with his friends, and they believed him. But it was hard convincing his older brother of the fact, so he'd taken to avoiding him. One day, as he was about to go visit his new friend again, he was stopped by Folken, his older brother.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I'm meeting the guys for football…" Van lied.

"Really now. That's strange. I met your friend the other day, he said you hardly ever came to play these days."

"Look, it's none of your business what I do in my free time. Why don't you just go flirt with your girlfriends like you usually do?" This time, Van knew he'd crossed the line, but he still glared up at his brother defiantly.

Eyes narrowed with anger, Folken said softly, "Like you said little brother, what I do in my own time is none of your business either, but you better not be doing something stupid that you'll end up regretting seeing as how you have a knack for such things. If Mom and Dad ever find out you've been lying you're going to be in so much trouble kid…don't push your luck."

"Just leave me the hell alone alright? Stay out of my life, you've no right to interfere," he yelled and grabbed his bike.

"Van, wait!"

It was too late. Folken stood there, watching his little brother's retreating form vanish in a cloud of dust. He sighed and went back inside, hoping Van would be alright.

Van bit back the rage as he pedalled furiously to Varie's house.

How dare he? He was never at home anyway, he hardly had the time to spare to even acknowledge his existence, and now he was telling him what to do? He had no right. He was just a selfish, arrogant prick. He had no right to make him miserable when he didn't even make him happy.

Tossing his cycle against the outside wall of the Surda residence, he strode inside, ringing the doorbell, putting all his frustration into the push of that button.

"It's open!" Varie called from inside.

Pushing the door opened, he went in, took his shoes off and would have flung them aside if he hadn't reminded himself of where he was.

Varie was sitting on a chair, books scattered about all around her, and one in her hand. She was looking at him with a concerned smile. Her presence alone was enough to calm him a little. Only sulking a little bit by now, he sauntered over to her and slumped in the chair opposite hers.

"I hate cauliflower," he declared.

"Of course you do. Even I wouldn't trust a vegetable that calls itself a flower."

Reluctantly, he smiled, "I'm sorry, I'm just in a bad mood. I had a fight with my brother."

"Oh?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"That! The whole eyebrow thing. I mean you don't even have to say anything, that eyebrow says it all!"

"Really? What does it say then?" she asked, obviously amused.

"Never mind. It's nothing. Why do brothers have to such a pain anyway?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm an only child," Varie humoured him, preparing herself for his rant.

"He's such a monumental pain! He's always bossing me around, telling me what to do. I wouldn't mind so much if he was actually around to justify his attitude. Whenever he's there, he's always lecturing me. It's been like this ever since he went off to college. He probably thinks he's too cool to hang out with his younger brother..." he went on in the same vein for a while, until all the pent up steam was released. Varie patiently listened to him, taking in every word.

When he was done, he sighed loudly and sunk deeper into his seat.

He looked so forlorn, she had the urge to pat his head and murmur sweet words of comfort. Knowing how a reaction like that would be received, she refrained. Instead, she handed him the book she was reading before he came in.

Glancing at the cover, he looked at the title – 'The Magic Brush'. He'd never heard of it before. He looked up at her, questioningly.

"It's one of my favourites. It's the story of a poor little boy who loves to paint. He goes to sleep one night, wishing he could afford a new paintbrush. When he wakes up the next morning, he finds a beautiful paintbrush by his pillow. Soon he discovers that whatever he paints with it comes to life, just like magic."

Van smiled, "And we both know how much we love magic…"

Nodding, Varie got up and went inside. She came out a few minutes later to find him still brooding. She kneeled next to his chair and put an album in his lap.

"What's this?"

"It's a picture album. Memories, as I like to call them. Of my parents, and myself when I was a child. See that? That's when I disobeyed my mother and climbed up the bookcase so I could reach for my pet kitten which was sleeping on it. I fell and sprained my ankle. My mother was terrified, but I didn't mind so much. It gave everyone the chance to fuss over me, plus I had an unlimited supply of chocolates from sympathisers," she said fondly.

They sat looking at the pictures for the next half hour as Varie entertained him with anecdotes of her childhood.

"Those were good times. After my mother died, well, it was hard on us both. My father took it especially hard. I was just seven, so I recovered soon, as is expected from one so young. But I don't think my father ever did. Still, we had some very good times together. And then he left too years later."

"You must really miss him," Van said softly.

She just smiled and took the album inside.

This time she returned to find him looking worried, and just a little sad.

"You still miss him don't you?" she asked quietly.

"Miss who?"

"Your brother. He's here, but you still miss him."

Van didn't say anything. He just stared at the spot in front of him.

A few minutes passed when he said finally, "Yes."

Saying nothing, Varie put a cup of jasmine tea in his hands and sat down, leaning forward.

"We used to be really close. He's older to me by around ten years, but we still did a lot together. I used to look up to him. Sometimes my father joked that I listened to him more than I did to my own parents. He was the best big brother anyone could have. Then he went away to college and I didn't see him so much anymore. Things just got bad from then on. He moved away, started working. He never had time for me anymore, even when he called, he'd hardly speak to me at all…"

"So you thought he didn't care for you as much anymore?" she asked kindly.

"I know I'm being immature about this. He's an adult, he has responsibilities, but I wish…I just wish I could talk to him. He has been trying to I guess, but I was always so mad and hurt that I'd ignore him. So I could just blame him and not have to face the fact that he had really left."

"But he never left you, Van. I know, it's hard. Especially when you depend on him so much. it's how I felt when father passed away. But you see, the longer you hold on to that grudge, the sooner you forget about why you really needed and loved him. Time's short, Van, don't waste it on regret."

Van bowed his head and was quiet for a while.

Then, "You're right. I guess I knew that too, I just didn't want to see it." Suddenly smiling, he looked up at his friend, "You always have a way of making things better…it makes me guilty, I never do anything for you…"

As a smile spread across her face, she said, "You've done more than you realise Van. Much more than you realise. Now shouldn't you go back and apologise to your brother?"

"What makes you think the argument was my fault?" he asked, a little offended.

Laughing, she said, "Because my dear, you all but admitted it yourself, such is the transparency of your nature!"

Miffed, he merely grunted.

"It's a good thing. Don't take offence. Now go, your brother's waiting, and I must rest. I don't have quite the energy as you."

Grinning, he got up, "Thank you Varie, for everything. I'll be back tomorrow…and I'll bring you a surprise too!"

Before she could respond, he was out the door and on his way home.

That night, after a lot of thinking, and several times of walking to his brother's room and back, he finally mustered up the courage to go talk to him. Surprisingly, Folken behaved like the incident that evening didn't even happen. So they sat together, for what seemed like hours, trying to make up for all those years they'd missed.

"So tell me, these football matches, is it a girl?" Folken teased.

Van blushed and punched his arm half-heartedly, "It's not like you think…"

"So it is a girl then!"

"She's not a girl, she's a woman."

Gasping in mock surprise, Folken said, "This is worse than I thought, when did my baby brother grow up so?"

"Shut up!" Van huffed, still blushing, "She's a friend, and she's over twenty-five."

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm serious. You know the Surda residence?"

"The one with the overgrown forest that you were obsessed with since you were a kid?"

"Yeah, she lives there. Her name's Varie. She's amazing. She's got this ethereal beauty about her. I don't know. She's really nice and kind, but she always seems so sad. She smiles a lot, but I've hardly ever seen it reach her eyes," he smiled as he continued, "Her eyes. They're like portals to another dimension. And you know what the best part is? She loves books too, and she believes in magic. Not the abracadabra silly stuff. You know what I mean though. You have to see her to believe her. I can't figure her out, but I want to make her happy. She shouldn't be so sad all the time. I want to put a real smile on her face. It's the least I can do. It's strange, I've only known her a short while but she means more to me than I would've ever expected…"

"Sounds to me like someone's in love," Folken grinned.

"It's not like that! I'm serious. I admit I used to have a little crush on her before, but I just…she's like an angel. An angel sentenced to life among mortals, away from her real home…"

"That's a pretty powerful statement."

Van sighed, "I know."

"Seems to me like she enjoys your company too if you've known each other that long. Don't worry about it too much kid, I'm sure she'll be alright, she has you to talk to doesn't she?" Smiling crookedly, he added, "I mean, women are suckers for the sweet, sensitive types."

This time, Van didn't punch his brother quite as gently, but he couldn't stop himself from chuckling about it.

Settling back against the bed, he relaxed. A comfortable silence settled upon them, as they sat looking out at the clear night sky, softly lit by a dull gold moon.