Disclaimer: You know the deal. I own nothing, Elizabeth George Speare own everything. It's very sad, I know.

A/N: It has now been over a month since my last update. Have you missed me? I'm actually writing parts of this chapter about halfway to the end of my vacation in this beautiful country. Instead of telling y'all where I was, I will give a clue in 5 of my responses. It's a game now, you see? (I'll explain the rules at the end of the chapter.) I love games – all kinds of games. If you guess right, I'll figure our a prize. Now onto my clue-filled responses. You probably won't have to look hard – I never claimed to be subtle. But, you never know, I may try to be sneaky. (Hope everyone had a good summer!)

Thanks to my original reviewers: MIDNIGHT-PIXIE, Latinachikita, Sapphire Sprite, Taima1, TheChickenWhoCrossedTheRoad, YellinYee, Bac210, Nicnak, Jessica, and Sailor Attitude.

A/N: Hope everyone had a great summer and now…

Chapter 13: Saying Hello

Nearly two weeks after the trio left Wethersfield, the old boat bumped into the port of Saybrook. It had been a hard journey. The ancient ship had a particularly difficult time with the rough waters and had been tossed about quite a bit. Mercy's seasickness, in addition to her morning sickness, had forced her to stay in her room for most of the voyage. Kit had no such problems and spent her time watching the dark sea. She loved the water in all its many moods and it fascinated her to no end.

John held Mercy's hand and guided her by the elbow as he helped her off the ship. She was still very unsteady on dry land. Kit followed closely behind them. She walked slowly and looked around, remembering the last time she had been here. Here, in Saybrook. Nothing much had changed. The same gray box houses line the roads, the same smothering mist covered everything. Looking around, Kit felt a depression settle down on her in this forlorn place, where she did not even have enough family to make life bearable.

All of a sudden, the sun broke through the clouds and a golden light dispersed the dreadful mist. Kit was fairly amazed. The town had been transfigured. True, those houses were still gray, still boxy, but they no longer seemed as abandoned. In the distance, she saw the wheat crop, a rich golden color, swaying with the light breeze. There were flowers everywhere and vegetable waiting to be harvested, still green and leafy.

Kit had never seen Saybrook this way. She felt that in a town which could look like this, life could not be too bad – at least, not much worse than life at Wethersfield.

Kit was standing in the middle of a, if not exactly sparkling, at least respectable and presentable company room. The last minister, a kind and generous man, had donated his own house to the church of Saybrook and it was to this home that the three from Wethersfield had gone. However, the last minister, despite his many virtues, had his share of faults just like everybody else. He had not been a very good housekeeper and when the trio arrived a week ago, they had found most of the house covered in a layer of dust at least two inches thick. At least, it felt that way to Kit, who had been cleaning since within an hour of first entering the house. She began with the kitchen, moved on to the bedrooms, then the other rooms, and finished with the large company room. Mercy and John had helped at times, but they were busy greeting visiting neighbors and becoming acquainted with the congregation.

Kit met comparatively few people at church the previous Sunday. She was introduced to all the town's selectmen and their families. For the most part, they had all seemed rather dull and placid, with the exception of a few whose eyes sparkled with life and thought despite their best Sunday dress and behavior. Of the townsfolk, she knew few. However, there had been a surprise that day. While waiting for John and Mercy outside the church doors, she had felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Turning, she saw the smiling face of Mistress Eaton.

Shocked and overjoyed, Kit had grabbed the older woman's hands and exclaimed loudly. "Oh, how glad I am that you are here!"

Laughing, Mistress Eaton put her arm around Kit and led her away from the church door. "Kit, you have not changed a bit since I left you to return to the Dolphin two years ago."

The mention of that oft-thought-of ship brought back memories of a certain former sailor. Kit stopped smiling, but the mother of that particular person kept chattering on so infectiously that Kit had to laugh along with her.

Kit soon found herself walking towards an old tree, under which stood a woman with as many folds and lines on her face as the tree. She was a tiny woman with white hair tumbling over her forehead. Her bright blue eyes were deep and looked youthful despite her evident years. Kit could not stop looking at these familiar eyes in an unfamiliar face.

"Kit, this is my mother-in-law, Anne Eaton. She lives with me when I'm home during the summer. Mother, this is Kit," introduced Mistress Eaton.

The tiny woman smiled and held out a thin had. "It's very nice to meet you, dear," she said in a singing voice. "Of course, I've been wanting to meet you for so long. I've heard so much about you and only good things – from a very reliable, trustworthy source," she added, her eyes twinkling.

Kit stared. Could she mean…? No, surely not. Kit tried to recollect herself and managed to stammer out, "I'm sure what you heard about me cannot all be true."

"Did you jump into the river to get a child's doll? Did you teach in a dame school? Did you jump into the river again to help an old woman?" demanded this old woman with considerable force and authority. When Kit, still in shock, mutely nodded, she smiled as if to say, "Well, then."

Mistress Eaton began to talk again and Kit felt herself begin to relax. They talked of old news and memories. Kit's nerves began to settle down. Mercy and John joined them soon after. After the introductions were made, Mistress Eaton and her mother-in-law complimented John on his excellent sermon and spoke to Mercy of their own experiences as new mothers.

Kit had almost returned to her old self by the time they were preparing to leave when Nat's grandmother spoke again.

"You three must come to supper at our house on Wednesday evening. I will cook. I make an excellent beef stew," she said.

Mercy smiled gratefully. "Thank you very much, Mistress Eaton, but we already have plans for Wednesday. Maybe another time in the future."

The tiny woman waved her hand around, as if fighting off all useless information. "First, please do not call me Mistress Eaton if you can help it. My name is Anne. That other one makes me feel old. Second, if you cannot come Wednesday, come Thursday. I insist."

Mercy looked at John and smiled. "Well, if you insist, we have to come, don't we?"

Nat's grandmother smiled, satisfied. "Good. And I want all of you to come. My source is staying with me right now and would want to see you, especially, I'm sure," she added to Kit.

Kit made a faint attempt at a smile as she walked away with John and Mercy. All her anxiety came flooding back. Would she have to see him again? She did not know if she or her pride could handle it.

Kit's mind came back to the present. She was once again standing in her newly cleaned Company room. The Cuthbert family was coming in a few hours. It was Wednesday afternoon.

It was now late in the afternoon the following day. Thursday had arrived too quickly. John, Mercy, and Kit were preparing to leave to go to the supper. Kit was still nervous, but anxious as well to get the dreaded meeting over with. She was the first one out the door.

The walk to the Eatons' home, though nearby, took a while because of Mercy's leg. Kit was silent the whole way. Mercy and John chatted merrily, not noticing. When they arrived, John helped his wife in, while Kit followed slightly behind. They were led into the company room, where, sitting in a chair by the fireplace, was…

"Hannah!" Kit exclaimed. She ran around John and Mercy to hug the old smiling woman. "Hannah!" How are you? I can't believe I forgot you were here!"

The old woman was laughing. "Yes, I've been here for about a year, dear child. Ever since Nat brought me. Let me look at thee. Thou has not changed, Kit," proclaimed Hannah.

Kit smiled a bit. "Everyone keeps telling me that. I don't know why – I think I've changed a great deal."

Hannah heard the sorrowful note in her voice and took a closer look at the girl – only to find she was a girl no longer. Kit had become a young woman since she had last seen her. There was something in her eyes, maybe it was wisdom or sadness, maturity or understanding, or maybe a combination of all these things. She was not exactly the same. Hannah took Kit's hand and held it to show that she understood and agreed.

Dinner went well and, as Hannah was the only "source" present, Kit thoroughly enjoyed herself. She remembered now that she had told her friend about her plunge into the river and had often talked over her problems as a school teacher. Hannah had even been there when Kit had taken her second dive into the icy waters. Of course, it was rather obvious now.

Since her "discovery," or, more accurately, her misunderstanding, Kit had returned to her usual self. She laughed and talked. When the elder Mistress Eaton invited her to join in a walk with Hannah and herself, she readily assented.

During their little walk, Kit found Anne, as she once again insisted on being called straight away, to possess an unexpected sense of humor. She found her first impression of Nat's grandmother to be wrong because she found herself liking this little lady with those piercing blue eyes immensely.

The perfect reunion, however, was not to be. One incident marred the evening stroll. As they were returning to the Eaton home, Hannah turned to Kit and said with a smile, "Let us go in now, Kit. Thomas should be back soon," before heading into the little house as if there was nothing amiss with her words.

Kit hung back and looked at Anne, worried. Anne had the same anxious look on her lined face as Kit had on her smooth one. "She's been doing things like that since she arrived, but it has become more often lately," Anne whispered. "I'm worried, Kit, but I don't know how to help."

Kit bit her lip. Truth be told, she did not know what to do either. But she desperately wanted to help her old friend. "I don't think we can really do anything besides make sure she does not hurt herself and try to help her through these moments," she answered helplessly.

Anne nodded and went in. Kit followed shortly after. She was not happy with her response. It did nothing to help Hannah, but she was at a loss. She hoped she could come up with something to steady the old woman's wandering mind.

When Kit returned to the sitting room, Hannah was back in her chair by the fireplace and John was helping Mercy up.

Mercy smiled at Kit before telling Mistress Eaton and Anne, "Thank you for everything. It was so nice to meet you all. Dinner was delicious, but we must go now."

"Oh, of course," said Anne. "It was our pleasure. Thank you for coming. I am sorry to have kept you so late. You all must come back and see us all again."

Mistress Eaton nodded and said her goodbyes.

Kit, meanwhile, was saying farewell to Hannah. She kissed the old woman's weathered cheek. "I'll see you again soon, okay, Hannah?"

She nodded and gave Kit's hand a tight squeeze. "'Twas good to see thee again, Kit. Be well."

Kit, John, and Mercy left after one last wave to the three women. Kit followed behind again, lost in her thoughts, as the others progressed to their nearby home slowly. It had been wonderful to meet Anne and to see Mistress Eaton and Hannah again. But Hannah's state had upset her. She had seemed so tired. Hannah was an old woman and, if her mind was wandering more frequently now, perhaps she was reaching the end of her life.

Kit hurriedly pushed that thought away. She did not want the words "Hannah" and "death" to ever be put in the same sentence, the same paragraph even. Rather than continuing with such unpleasant topics, Kit's mind switched to one she could enjoy and laugh over.

At least there are a few people here who will not be completely shocked by my behavior this time, thought Kit with a nostalgic smile and a somewhat mischievous glint in her dark eyes.

A/N: More time has passed in my story! Well, I haven't actually written any other chapters (my vacation was far too busy), but I did a lot of thinking and have a basic outline. But I need your thoughts and ideas to help me along. It will make updating much faster, and trust me, you're going to want that. I am entering my senior year of high school and will be busy filling out college applications and then experiencing full-blown senioritis, which I have been suffering from in increasing seriousness since 8th grade at least. I will be very stressed out. So you must try to speed the process along. That being said, PLEASE REVIEW!

Rules to Play: No purchase necessary (hehe, that was fun). One guess per reviewer. For your guess to count, you must: (1) have a name on the review (something I can use if I want to incorporate it into the story); (2) review this chapter; and (3) include a comment about this story – thoughts, ideas, anything. Your guess must be in before I update. If you guess right, but do not review, it will not be counted. Game ends whenever I update. I hope you all win! And I cannot wait to see your guesses!

Poll: Just a quick question. Do you guys think I should change my penname? Stella Maynard comes from the Anne of Green Gables series. She is like me in many ways (though I have Phil's indecisiveness in full) and her first name is remarkably similar to my real first name and nearly identical to my nickname (I never told you guys my real name, did I? If you can guess that, you are a genius. I'll give you hints. It's incredibly rare to hear anyone say it correctly. It's not your typical American name. The only time I found it belonging to anyone else (spelled the same way) was in a French book of martyrs. This girl was murdered by her father when she was a teen for her beliefs. Cheery, huh?) So choose from below:

stella maynard

c'est la vie – the name I use when I don't want to sign in

other – please provide a choice

A/N: Okay, I'm actually done now. I'm sure you can tell I'm a rather chatty person. One last thing before I go – PLEASE REVIEW!

Thanks to: ffgirlmoonie (yes, you probably already read this. I am not reconstructing it, but this site removed it do to improper grammar or something, so I had to repost and now I'm trying desperately to get my numbers of reviews back up to what it was before. I've not been succeeding.), Sarralyn Numairsri (you wouldn't really throw tomatoes at me, would you? I pout at you. And I can't tell you what happens because then there's no surprise, see? So please don't hate me, the story is coming to an end, so all questions will be answered soon hopefully), and Singing Person (thanks for all the encouragement, it means a lot!).

Author's Note: Hi, I'm alive! I don't know how long it's been since I've updated, but it feels like a long time. I hope you all have had a wonderful time since I last posted. I got a 95 on my economics midterm! So I'm happy, but I've already taken this class (I just didn't get the AP credit) so I know most of it. Plus I have another midterm in a few weeks and I haven't been paying any attention in class. I've been doing calculus and Italian instead. Whoops. On a side note, I don't know if you guys know what this is, but I'm addicted to facebook, which is seriously making homework so much harder to do. But anyway, this is the last already-seen chapter. Next time I update, new material! Please update. Before my story was deleted, I was up to over 90 reviews by this point. So please review to make me happy! Have a good day!