Nina arrived at Mr. Bennett's house and knocked on the door. Mr. Bennett answered with a worried expression on his face. Before she could say anything, the man asked, "Nina! Have you seen Melvin? He's gone!"

"He never came home after the fair?"

"He did, but he looked extremely upset. This morning, when I went to call him for breakfast, he wasn't in his room! I'm terribly worried about him!" Then, he tried to compose himself. "Where are my manners? Please, come in."

Nina walked into the house. Looking around, she noticed that the house hadn't changed much since her childhood. A portrait of Mr. Bennett, Melvin as a very young boy, and the late Mrs. Bennett was on a wall in the living room. This was the room that Mr. Bennett led Nina to and where they sat down.

"I don't understand! He's never done this before!" the middle-aged man exclaimed, anxiously.

"I don't know where he is, but I know what happened to him yesterday that probably has a lot to do with it," Nina told him.

"What? Any information will help."

Nina debated telling him the whole truth since he was already anxious and worried about his son, but he would have to know sometime. After all, he was practically family, and he'd see Snow Miser in his true form at the wedding. She inhaled, slowly. "Before I tell you, I need to tell you some other things, first. Please don't get up or say anything until I'm done."

And so, Nina told Mr. Bennett about Snow Miser, Heat Miser, and her own immortality. She also explained what Heat Miser had said to her only a short time ago.

When she was done, Mr. Bennett was quiet for a bit, taking all this in. It didn't take him long, and he spoke. "You know I will always care about you no matter what you are," he said. "Your father would have done the same thing, and he would have accepted your fiance, too, since he's so good to you." Then, he looked perplexed. "I thought Flora and I raised Melvin not to judge people so hastily. It's not like him to act like this. Maybe he just needs some time to process it."

Nina asked, "Do you mind if I go to Melvin's room? Maybe there's a clue as to where he could have gone."

"Go ahead, if you think it will help."

Nina went upstairs and entered Melvin's bedroom. It was tidy, and the bed was well-made. A desk was in the corner with a typewriter on it, and a stack of papers was set neatly near it. She looked through the papers and saw that they were just articles he was working on for the newspaper.

The only thing that was out-of-place in that immaculately clean room was a photograph that was laying halfway on the nightstand. Nina picked it up and looked at it. It was the picture she had taken of Heat Miser and Melvin.

Suddenly, a rush of emotions that weren't her own hit her like a tumultuous ocean wave. In her mind, she saw the moment again, only through a different perspective. She felt warmth and joy and pride and hope, rolled into one wonderful and fearful ball.

Was this how Melvin felt when he was at the fair? If it was, then why would he just discard all of these feelings like they were nothing? Why would he dismiss Heat Miser so easily?

Nina sat on the bed, holding the picture. The whole situation didn't make any sense.

At that moment, Nina looked out the window. Dark clouds rolled in, even though it was sunny just moments before. The young woman suddenly became very uneasy. Getting up, she put the picture in her pocket. Looking for Melvin would have to wait; she sensed something bad was happening.

Nina left the house and walked out of town. The farther away she got, the more dread she felt. She followed where her intuition led, and the sky got darker and darker.

She stopped a couple of miles away from Southtown. There, out in the middle of a field, stood a paper white figure who was slightly translucent. Nina's heart stopped. She knew who or what this being was, but she had hoped she wouldn't confront him anywhere near her hometown.

Nina had no time to go home and ask for help; she was alone. No matter what, she had to try to talk to him.

The woman approached the figure. "Shapeshifter." She kept her distance.

The being turned around. Seeing her, a look of surprise passed his face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. When he spoke, his lipless mouth moved. He had no other features. "You know of me."

His voice was deep and slow.

"Yes. I've been told about you," Nina said, trying to keep her voice steady. She didn't know what to expect, but she had to stay level-headed.

"And what have you been told?"

"That you spread misery to children, causing them to lose hope."

"I suppose you can see it that way."

"What other way is there to see it?"

"I bring them truth," the Shapeshifter replied. "While the people around them fill their heads with nonsense, I prepare them for what the world is REALLY like."

"But you're destroying them from the inside-out."

"I am helping them. Children deserve to be prepared for the cruelty of life. Don't you know anything about that? Wouldn't you have liked to have been prepared when you lost your father?"

"My father..."

"Yes. You had a loving father, and life RIPPED him away from you! You knew nothing of death or pain until he was gone."

"How do you know about my father?"

"I know much, Nina Alvar, and I have been sharing my knowledge with those who need it most."

Nina shook her head. "You're hurting them. Making children depressed doesn't prepare them for anything; it just robs them of their childhood. They need to be happy and carefree; they'll know of the troubles of life eventually."

"You're wrong!" The Shapeshifter became agitated. "I'm saving them! I provide a life raft in a sea of sorrow! They need my guidance so they don't suffer as I did!"

Nina suddenly realized that the Shapeshifter, while extremely misguided, thought that was he was doing was right, even noble. There was a chance she could reason with him.

"Not all of them will suffer," she told him. "And if they do, they'll have someone to help them through it. I had people help me through the years with my dad dying. I had my mom, my stepdad, my fiancee, and many friends who have become my family. If you'll let me, I'll be your friend. Whatever happened to you, you don't have to deal with it alone."

Nina cautiously took a step toward the Shapeshifter. He stepped back, his agitation turning into fear. His body wavered, and his paper-white form changed into that of a human's, then back again. Nina stepped back, gasping in horror.

"Melvin!"