It was a good thing no one was behind them, for Ib slammed on her brakes and put her car in park. She unbuckled, opened the door, got out, and slammed it shut. Half expecting her reaction, Garry unbuckled and got out as well. Ib paced up and down the street, clearly nearly in a panic, so Garry started toward her but she ordered him to stop.

"Ib-"

"What?! What would- WHY?!"

"It could help you."

"Help? I'm already a mess, Garry! Going there is only going to make it worse!"

Garry gently grabbed her shoulders and leaned down to her. "Ib, listen to me. You started having these nightmares when I came back, right? What if all you need is some closure? Perhaps going back will grant you that."

Ib looked into Garry's eyes and immediately and oddly felt a sense of serenity. He always had a good judgment on what to do, and whenever he spoke, there was candor in what he said. A lump rose in her throat; she did not want to go there. She had avoided that art museum for ten years. Garry gently placed his hand on her cheek, and this surprised her; however, she leaned into his hand, comforted by his touch.

"I'll be by your side, Ib. We'll do this together, just like we did ten years ago. Okay?"

She nodded, knowing that Garry meant what he said. She felt ridiculous; Mary was dead. Garry had burned her painting, which burned her also. Why was Ib so afraid to go back? Nothing like that could happen again. They got back in Ib's car and drove on. They rolled down their windows, the breeze warm and gentle and the sun's light beaming through. In time, they arrived at the museum and parked. For some time, they sat in silence; Garry smiled at Ib and got out, Ib soon following. Once inside, they looked around, not surprised to see that the art pieces had changed. They wondered if Guertena's painting was still there, but their question was answered when they heard visitors speaking of it. Garry glanced at Ib to see fear in her eyes. He reached down and slipped his hand into hers. They found the painting at the place it hung ten years ago and store before the painting, their eyes fixated on it, both with an odd feeling of sadness and terror. Garry noticed Ib was shaking. She had been so young at the time, so of course it would affect her more. He gently squeezed her hand to give her reassurance. They stood there for quite some time before Ib finally gave his hand a light squeeze, which signaled to him she was ready to leave. As they walked to her car, she could not help but smile. She felt as though a huge weight had been taken off her, and she was undeniably happy. She look at Garry to see that he appeared troubled.

"Garry?"

"Hmm?"

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Why?"

"You look upset."

Garry stopped walking, which made her stop as well. He smiled at her, but his eyes held sadness in them. Ib realized that while it gave her comfort, it tormented Garry to go back to the museum. He did not want to go, but he knew it would help her, so he mustered up the courage and went. She felt horrible but grateful nonetheless.

"Garry…" she sighed. "Thank you."

"No thanks is needed. I'm just glad it helped," he spoke kindly. "So, is there anywhere else you'd like to go?"

"Well, I am pretty hungry," Ib replied, slightly embarrassed.

"As am I. Let's get something to eat, and we'll go from there."

After they ate, they decided to go to the park and simply walk around. Conversation between them never stopped as they strolled around. For some odd reason, they started talking about past relationships. Ib had only dated three boys, the longest one lasting four months. Her first kiss was at her friend's birthday party with her longest-lasting relationship. It never went anywhere further than that. Garry admitted that his first kiss was when he was seventeen; derisorily, he tripped in the school hallway and a random girl just happened to be right in front of him, so they locked lips. Luckily, she had a crush on him, and after getting to know each other more, they began dating. That relationship lasted ten months. Ib could recall that one. She thought the girl was really nice. The next relationship he had was when he was twenty, and it lasted a year.

"Did you…" Ib stopped.

"Did I what?"

"Did you ever…?"

Garry understood what it was Ib was trying to ask but was too discomfited to. Instantly, he felt awkward, but he could never lie to her. "Yes," he honestly retorted, "with the one that lasted a year."

"Oh," was all Ib could say. What did she expect? "…Was it love?"

Garry exhaled a long, deep breath. "I thought it was, but it wasn't. We just got caught up in our needs, is all."

Ib felt ashamed for asking such personal questions, but Garry was completely open and honest with her. Honesty was his best trait, for it never faltered. They spent the rest of the day merely walking around and talking. To each other, they were just as interesting as they were when they first met. The hours quickly passed, and before they knew it, darkness had fallen and it was time for Ib to head home. She drove Garry back to his apartment, and before he got out of the car, he hesitated a moment. He then reached up and gently placed a lock of her hair behind her ear, smiled at her, and left. Ib felt her cheeks burn as she watched him enter his apartment and shut the door behind him. She waited a moment then returned home.

Summer came quickly, and college was over until the fall semester. Ib passed all of her finals and performed exceptionally well in her classes. As a reward, Garry promised her that he would take her anywhere she wanted to go as long as it was within reason that Saturday. She thought all week about where she wanted to go. Garry had bought a car so that he could get around without having to rely so much on Ib or her parents. When Saturday came, Ib had Garry drive them to the river, which was her favorite place in the world. In their younger days, her parents would bring Ib and Garry here, and this was where Garry and her father had taught her how to swim.

Ib noticed that Garry was looking more and more exhausted with each passing day. She was worried that their visit to the art exhibit had affected him, but he always hid his feelings with a smile and positivity. Although she wanted to ask, she knew he would deny it and tell her not to worry about him. As long as she had known him, he had been so selfless and concerned for her. And now, whenever she was around him, she felt something she had never before. There was hardly a moment where they were not smiling or laughing when they were together.

Garry got to know Ib's few friends. Nora Enders was Ib's closest friend other than Garry. She had a bubbly personality that always seemed to light up in her bright green eyes. She was slightly taller than Ib with long black hair. She had a big crush on Ib's other male friend, Allen Musgrove. Allen was shorter than Garry with blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a scar above his left eyebrow, but Nora paid no mind. Garry invited them all to come to the river with them on Saturday, and they agreed.

Saturday rolled around, and luckily the weather was perfect. They all met at the river, the girls with clothes over their swimming suits, the boys wearing t-shirts and their swimming trunks. Other people were there, but they did not mind at all; it was an open, public place, after all. They had brought a picnic lunch along and some drinks; the boys carried the food over while the girls laid the massive blanket down and set the towels to the side. The girls then stripped down to their bathing suits; Garry and Allen tried not to stare but found it was hard not to do. Garry and Allen then removed their t-shirts, and the girls turned away, hiding their blushing faces. They played rock-paper-scissors to see who went into the river first; Garry lost, so he had to go first. He jumped in and swam back up to the surface, his eyes wide.

"It's a little cold," he said, "but you'll get used to it."

When they all had entered the water, they swam around and played until they were hungry. They exited the water, ate lunch, and sat on the blanket until their food was digested. Nora then decided to go back swimming and invited Allen; Ib started to follow, but Garry stopped her and winked at her. She understood and told Nora and Allen to go on without them.

"Why? Don't you guys want to swim some more?" Nora asked.

"Well, yeah, but we're still really full," Garry replied.

"We'll swim later. We may walk around for a bit, just to let our food settle better. You guys have fun," Ib smiled.

"Suit yourselves," Allen shrugged. He and Nora ran to the river and jumped in. Garry and Ib winked at each other, hoping their tactic would work. They watched Allen and Nora for a bit, happy to see that they were swimming together and joking around. Then, to their relief, they saw Allen lean in and place a soft kiss on Nora's lips. Garry and Ib smiled at each other, elated to see their plan had worked. Allen had told Garry he had feelings for Nora but was too nervous to tell her while Nora had told them both she had feelings for Allen. To see them finally express their feelings for each other was a great thing. Garry and Ib agreed that they were going to let Allen and Nora have their moment by walking around the area. Garry stood up, and just as he held his hand out to Ib-

"Hey, watch out!" they heard a boy call out. Suddenly, a grounder baseball hit a bump on the ground and bounced up, only to hit Ib right under her right eye. She made a faint cry from the pain and covered her eye with her hands as Garry dropped down to his knees beside her, deeply concerned for her. He removed her hands to see a dark bruise already formed under her eye, and a small cut was there as well. The boy who had thrown the ball ran over and knelt down beside her as well. Allen and Nora had seen what happened and began to swim back to the shore to check on Ib.

"Oh, geez! I'm so, so, so sorry! Are you okay?"

"It was an accident. Don't worry," Ib winced, smiling at the boy.

"Here, let me take a look at it," the boy said as he reached for her.

"Get back!" Garry growled as he pushed the boy's arms away. At this, Garry, Ib, and the boy seemed shocked; however, Garry wasted no time. He helped Ib to her feet and began walking to his car. Nora and Allen started packing everything they had brought, despite Ib's protests that she was fine. The boy ran after Ib and Garry, obviously tormented by what he had done. He asked for Ib's name and phone number so that he could check on her, to which Ib gave it. After they had everything packed and into the car, they drove back to town and took Ib to the doctor just to make sure everything was all right. The bruise was very dark and the cut had managed to stop bleeding, but other than that she was fine, so the doctors told her to take Tylenol for the pain and sent her home. Nora and Allen left shortly after to go to the movies, but Garry stayed with Ib. Later that day, the boy called Ib to check on her, but she was asleep, so Garry talked to him.

"Hello?"

"Um, is this Ib's phone?"

"It is. You must be the boy from earlier today," Garry said.

"Er… yeah. Listen, I'm very, very sorry-"

"Don't worry about it," Garry gently told him. "I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. It was an accident."

"Is she okay?"

"She's got a nasty black eye and a cut, but she's fine. She's asleep right now," Garry replied. "Thank you for your concern and for calling to check up on her."

"It's the least I can do. My name is Roy, by the way."

"Garry," he introduced himself. "If you'd like, we can meet up and you can talk to Ib personally when she wakes up. She'll be glad to see you concerned."

"I'd like that," Roy said. "Let me know when she does, okay?"

When Ib woke up, it was around six o'clock. Garry told her that Roy had called to check on her and about their plans to meet up, to which she agreed to. She called Roy and told him to meet them at the local café around seven. She had a slight headache, so she dressed down in sweat pants and a t-shirt and tied her hair up in a ponytail; she did not wear any makeup due to the fact her eye was so messed up. Despite all this, to Garry she was still beautiful. He drove them to the café, where they met with Roy. Before, they had not gotten a good look at him, but he was actually a very attractive young man. He was twenty-one and in college to be a nurse. He was almost as tall as Garry and had piercing brown eyes and short black hair, thin lips but a vibrant smile. When he saw Ib's eye, he grew very upset, but Ib reassured him it was all right. They sat and talked for a while; it was revealed he went to Ib's community college as well and lived in the same apartment complex as Garry. He was a kind young man, and was deeply apologetic for what happened to Ib. They left the café and began to walk around the town; it was clear that they would become friends quickly. As they continued to walk, they drew closer to the art exhibit. They could see police cars there, and in front of the museum they could see the owner of the museum talking to the police, who had surrounded someone. When they neared the scene, what they saw made Ib and Garry stop dead in their tracks.

The person whom the cops surrounded…

Looked just like an adult Mary.