Chapter 3

The quiet taps at Gale's door meant one thing. Something had happened. Gale felt as though someone were covering his ears and amplifying every noise at the same time. The pain that spread across his head with every heartbeat was making it difficult to maintain his vision, and his depth perception was completely absent. The distance between him and his door could have been miles for all he could tell. His connection with Hikari had been something that had become second nature, her heartbeat matched his own, her breathing as normal as his, but this pain was new.

"Wizard, Wizard! Help! Hikari's hurt!" Finn's tiny voice carried through the door and Gale used the wall to prop himself up as he forced himself towards the door.

Something had happened to his wife. Were the children in danger?

He extended an arm and used a brief moment of concentration to force the door open with magic. Finn flew in and up in his face seconds later.

"Wizard, you have to hurry! She's in trouble! She won't wake up! Evelynn is scared and I don't know what to do!"

Gale tried to focus on Finn, but the sprite was moving too erratically and it was causing his dizziness to worsen. "Finn, please stop moving... What happened to Hikari?"

His legs finally gave out and he landed roughly on one knee; however, the pain from before still overshadowed the pain from the fall. His connection to Hikari was useful in many situations, but this had to be an oversight on the Gods' part.

"These three guys showed up and one of them had some weird green, glowy thingy, and he held it up to Hikari and now she won't wake up! The Goddess is with her and Evelynn now, but we don't know what to do!" Finn's small, shrill voice was piercing to Gale's currently heightened senses, and each word cut him.

The feeling of dread had been accurate and he cursed himself for leaving his family. What good were his years of experience if he didn't implement what he'd learned?

"Hold on." Gale struggled to move back to his desk and finally resigned to needing the little sprite's help. "Please open the middle drawer... Take out the small, green pouch."

Finn quickly did as he was told and lifted the heavy-looking, but surprisingly light, bag up and back to the Wizard.

"Open it... and pour it in my hand." Gale shakily extended his hand out and tried to steady it enough in anticipation for Finn's doubtless clumsiness.

Again, Finn followed the order, and soon a small stream of what look like colored sand landed in the Wizard's hand. Moments later Gale grabbed Finn's pencil thin arm roughly and muttered a few foreign words before casting the mixture to the ground. There was a slight pressure, and the two appeared outside of the house Hikari and Gale now shared.

The short trip took its toll on Gale, but his wife and children were in danger. He didn't have time for weakness.

"Wow, that was amazing, how did you—"

"Finn. The door," the Wizard hissed, still unable to stand.

"Oh! Right!"

As Finn turned the knob that was almost as big as he was, Gale realized he couldn't let his daughter see him like this. The hand that was holding onto his thigh flashed a vivid blue, and before the door opened he was standing again. The pain was still present, but he was using magic to propel his movements. They may have looked unnatural to the some, but to the untrained eye, it was virtually undetectable.

"Papa!" Evelynn practically flew to him and locked her tiny arms around one of his legs.

Finn swooped down to hug her from behind. "Evelynn! I told you I'd be right back! See? Now Wizard can fix her!"

Gale bit the inside of his cheek, and mentally swore at the sprite. Finn didn't need to make promises like that to Evelynn, and now Gale worried even more for her if he wasn't able to instantly correct whatever had happened.

He quickly lifted his daughter up and into an embrace, hoping that she hadn't heard Finn. "Evelynn, I'm here. Calm down."

"Papa, I was so scared! Mama won't wake up!" His daughter's face was flushed and wet with tears. He'd never seen her so distraught, and his heart ached at the sight.

He moved her head to lay against his shoulder and stroked her hair soothingly. "I'm going to take a look... Try to calm down for me."

It seemed like an impossible request, and he was a mess as well, he was just better at hiding it. The Goddess looked over at the pair, standing next to who Gale could safely assume was his wife. As he moved closer he could see Hikari's deathly pale form, chest barely rising and falling. He could feel her heartbeat with his, and it was weak and quiet. He recognized the deep sleep she was under, and knew immediately what that entailed. The magic that been used was forbidden, and originally thought to be Lost magic.

"Finn, go get Orion. Bring him here quickly." He didn't care how Finn brought his son home, but he couldn't leave the house, and Gale could sense that Orion wasn't in any danger. The original feeling of dread was gone, now replaced with regret.

Finn nodded and flew back out the door, clearly fine with reuniting the scattered family.

Gale knelt down to set his daughter on the ground. "Evelynn, go to your room, please."

Her fingers dug painfully into his back and arm as she pulled her legs up to avoid the ground. "No! You'll leave too!"

She was still so young, she didn't understand that her father would still be there even if she didn't have him in her line-of-sight, and as much as it troubled Gale, he had to speak with the Goddess privately.

"I'll be right here. Nothing will happen to me. I just need to speak with the Goddess for a moment," he tried to reassure her, gently kissing the top of her head as he instead walked with her into her room.

Gale knew he needed to move quickly, but Evelynn also needed her father. Hikari was usually the one who tended to the children's more... emotional outbursts, but now he was the only one left.

He pushed the thought aside, placing his fatherly duties before anything else. "Evelynn, I'm going to see why Mama isn't feeling well." He sat down on her bed and snuck a hand up and over her forehead. "Just take a small nap for me."

He knew it was morbid. Putting his daughter to sleep right after she was in hysterics over her mother not waking up, but this was the only way he could calm her down quickly. Evelynn's bright eyes looked up pleadingly for a mere moment before they drifted shut, her breathing slowing and evening out.

"You know what this means," the Goddess' voice came from the doorway of the children's room.

"Yes. This won't have an easy solution." Gale laid his daughter onto the bed and covered her.

They both walked back into the main room of the house and Gale finally got to stand next to his wife.

"Do you have any idea who might have wanted to get to you through Hikari?" the Goddess inquired.

Gale had considered it the moment he felt the crippling pain earlier, but he'd been careful to never make enemies during his many years. He had avoided many situations that might have benefited him on the chance that he would attract undesirable attention.

"I can't rule it out, but no one comes to mind." He was sitting on the edge of the bed, carefully examining Hikari before he would touch her. Something was off.

"You can't make any physical contact. There's a spell preventing us from doing so." The Goddess extended Her hand to Hikari's shin and flinched as a spark shot up at Her. "Magical beings seem to be unable to physically help her. Bringing her into this house was excruciatingly painful."

Gale gritted his teeth, not minding if he was hurt, but not knowing if he would be inflicting the same pain on Hikari if he did so. The connection they shared was far too muddled with pain to know if it was from Hikari, or just his lack of protecting her.

"There was this." She reached over to grab a stone off the night stand and placed it in Gale's hand. "It was on her body when I arrived. Apparently three men were present, but only one used magic. No names were mentioned, and their clothing also masked any features Evelynn or Finn might have seen. I apologize that I don't have more answers."

He was helpless, and he knew it. Lost magic was something that he'd read about, and had rarely witnessed. Lost magic was forbidden on the grounds that it was too powerful to control, and even his own magic of connecting with people's minds had been contested over the centuries. He'd been made to keep silent by his Master until he could control it. His Master had never censored himself when he explained that Gale could easily be killed if anyone ever found out about the extent of his magic.

The deep sleep Hikari had been placed in could have been several different types that Gale knew of, or a infinite number more that he did not. Luckily, the Goddess had his answer.

"I've seen this once before, and it's a very dangerous spell. More powerful than most other sleeping spells. I'd more accurately categorize it as a curse, and a layered one at that." The Goddess pointed to the symbol burned into the center of the stone.

"This seems familiar," Gale remarked, trying to sort through the numerous symbols he'd researched during his life.

"It should, it's from the region where you trained with your former Master."

Gale turned to Her, knowing She knew more than She was letting on.

"Your former Master created this, along with numerous other types of Lost magic."

Her answer stunned Gale, how could She have possibly known such an important detail about his Master that he did not? Why would he have created something so horrible? What other spells had he crafted?

She could sense Gale's apprehension. "Fear not, he did not bring this into existence to harm, but as a way to safely seal away demons and other beasts until a magic user with attributes more suited to the monsters' weaknesses could be located. Essentially, he kept them close to death so they were harmless, but he was unable to defeat them himself. Most of the now Lost magic he produced was meant to only benefit mankind."

Gale couldn't believe what he was hearing. How did She possibly know this much, and clearly more still, than he did?

"You were aware your former Master went into isolation, but the reason for this was hid from you for a reason, I presume. The same magic he hoped to use to save humans was used in the many wars to destroy them. So, the Gods intervened and sealed away the knowledge of these spells. We could not, however, overlook how the magic had benefited many for so long, and therefore we did not follow the normal procedure of taking his life. He was exiled as punishment for his transgression, but we did not forbid him from practicing his magic."

"Why are you telling me this now? The Gods aren't permitted to offer this kind of information." Gale's anger flared. How many years had he known the Goddess?

The Goddess' motherly smile finally returned, clearly not bothered by his harsh tone. "Because you are my dear friend, and the debt we owe Hikari is too great. I can overlook a few rules."

Gale didn't know how to handle this new and alarming information, but he also didn't have the luxury of locking himself away to think about what it meant. Rescuing Hikari mattered now.

"How do I save her?"

"You find the caster, but I'm uncertain of how one goes about actually lifting the spell. Simply killing the original Mage might not be enough, and could possibly seal Hikari's current state. However, it's highly unlikely that the user is going to easily remove the spell. The deep sleep isn't the main concern, the most pressing issue is how the spell was ultimately abused. It was used by Wizards and Witches who were hired by countries who opposed one another. They would use the spell on a military or political leader and extract information from them. In this more modern era that could be even more damaging with the progression of technology. So, it's likely Hikari knows something, and they feel like whatever the information is, it warrants placing this curse on her." Her voice was serious once more, but Gale knew that if what She said was true, then they were after one thing.

"My name."

She nodded. "That's what I fear, but it won't be so easy to obtain it. Our past choices might have been reckless with the limitations we placed on magic users, but we did make finding critical information, such as that, very difficult to obtain using these kinds of methods. They must have still thought this would be a more favorable option over torture."

The 'past choices' She referred to were the different rules the Gods set in place that magical beings were forced to follow, specifically those who were more human. Controlling a Witch or Wizard with their own name was the most commonly used one, and was a fail-safe that proved to be effective, but also dangerous.

"Why would they need it? I'm hardly known in the magic community, not that much of one remains."

The Goddess shook Her head. "You are, as usual, too modest. You're not as well known as you could be should you actually use your talent, but your presence is known to many. They must have assumed that, because you are now joined with Hikari, you would have given her your name."

Gale clenched his fists and resisted slamming them against the table next to him. He'd never considered that someone would seek him out in this manner. Why would someone with access to this kind of magic need to control him? Clearly their skill surpassed his own, so why try to use him? Were other magic users being targeted? Was the Witch aware of this?

"What matters now is that we find the person or persons responsible and heal Hikari. The Harvest God and I will protect your family and the village, but the party who used the spell need not be near Hikari to access her mind. It's extremely likely that they're already doing just that. We know their presence now, and they won't be able to deceive Us twice."

"We need Jin," Gale remarked, still taking Hikari's condition in account. "Humans can't survive this without medical intervention. She'll need to be monitored in the clinic."

The thought of leaving his family behind was crushing him, but he knew that no one else could be trusted with bringing Hikari back.

"Of course. As soon as your other little one returns we'll leave for town," She agreed, but Gale wasn't listening if She spoke after that.

How could he have been so careless, and arrogant? There was always a chance that Hikari and the children would be in danger simply by association with him, but he never really thought something like this would happen. Even when Hikari had said his name, they were both careful to make sure even the children weren't in ear shot; however, this didn't mean she still wouldn't be a target. Up until today, no one had ever come to town that posed any real threat. He'd chased off other Wizards and Witches that intended to take advantage of the villagers' ignorance, but they were weak and easily intimidated. They were hardly clever enough to get in touch with someone as powerful as the man responsible.

Man. He had that single physical characteristic to go off of.

"Dad!?"

The door swung open and Orion ran in the room, breathless and panicking. His eyes grew wide as he saw the nearly lifeless form of his mother in bed. Finn silently ducked behind the Goddess.

"Mom!" Orion pushed between Gale and the bed to reach for his mother.

Gale quickly pulled Orion away from her, fearing that his son would be harmed by the spell.

"Dad, put me down! What's wrong with Mom?!" Orion kicked and fought frantically to try to free himself from his father's grasp.

The Goddess gingerly laid a hand on Gale's shoulder. "The little one should be fine to touch her. Evelynn was spared from any ill effects earlier. I suspect it's because Hikari being their mother makes them at least half human."

Gale released Orion shortly afterwards and stood back as he watched his son begin crying over his mother. He shook her arm and called her name, but there was, of course, no response. Seeing Evelynn had been difficult, but Orion was older and that seemed to make it that much harder.

"Orion, please be careful with you mother." Gale didn't want to interrupt his son's understandable panic, and knew that he needed to work through the emotions before he'd listen to what would have to be done.

"What happened!? Who did this!?" Orion whipped around to glare at his father and the Goddess, his limbs starting to glow.

Gale frowned and laid a hand on his son's head, quelling the magic that Orion was struggling to control.

"I'm not certain, but I will find out."

Orion didn't look at his father. His eyes were pointed at the floor, and his hands balled into fists. Gale imagined that if he had more strength, the tightness would have broken the skin.

"That's... that's not good enough! Where were you!? You said you would protect us!"

Gale removed his hand and let it fall to his side. He might have appeared cold and emotionless at that moment, but he felt as though he'd completely failed his family. Logic told him that Orion was lashing out in anger and confusion, but the words still cut him.

But as a father, he wasn't allowed to let his children see his weakness, so instead he knelt down to Orion's level and pulled the boy close to him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there, Orion. But I'm going to fix this."

He began shaking in Gale's arms, his tears finally able to break past the fury.

"Dad... is she... gonna... die?"

And he was a scared child once again.

Gale clutched his son closer and shook his head.

"I won't allow that to happen."

Orion stood there and cried for a time, Gale never moving despite the agony his connection with Hikari was still causing him. He had to protect his family as best he could now, even if it meant trusting them with the God and Goddess while he searched for Hikari's assailants.

Once Orion calmed down enough, he pulled back from his father and rubbed his swollen eyes. "What are you going to do?"

Gale hesitated. How could he tell his son he had to leave?

"... You've got to go find them, don't you?" Orion was as astute as ever, sparing Gale a moment to explain what was about to happen.

"I'll only be gone for a short time. The only way to lift this is to find the one responsible." It felt strange to be so frank with his son, but Orion was the type that coped more easily with an explanation. Still, he censored most of what should be kept from any child.

His son nodded, pausing for a moment before finally hugging his father again. Gale wasn't sure if his children found it difficult to be affectionate with him, and Orion tended to even brush Hikari away when she tried to kiss or hug him, so Gale enjoyed this rare moment.

"Promise," Orion's tiny voice escaped the embrace.

Gale pulled back and stared at him. "Promise?"

"Promise me you'll save her." He stood firmly in front of his father.

Gale knew the danger of promising something to someone at such an impressionable age, and even more so since this was his own child and the person it concerned was Orion's mother.

"Never fear, little one. Your father is the only one who can save her." The Goddess knelt down to Orion and brushed a tear from his cheek. "Have faith in him."

Orion looked only partially convinced, but nodded. "Okay... I will."

Gale was thankful for Her intervention, but this didn't change the fact that he needed to be certain of himself. How many years had it been since he'd needed to go into any kind of battle?

"We'll need to get Hikari to Jin's now... Leave this trip to me." The Goddess raised Her arm and in a flash of warm light, the group was teleported into Gale's old home.

Evelynn was now tucked into Gale's bed alongside Hikari, and Orion was already looking around, completely perplexed by what had just happened.

"I'll get the doctor. I'll only be a moment," Gale explained.

The Goddess nodded and went to check on the pair sleeping in a bed that hadn't held a visitor in many years.

He dreaded opening the door, but Hikari's health was deteriorating by the minute. The animosity the doctor and Wizard felt for one another would have to wait.

The elderly woman that usually minded the desk was ever-present. "Oh, Wizard! What brings you here today? Van seemed upset earlier—"

"Miss Irene, I apologize, but I need to speak with the doctor immediately," Gale interjected, trying to be mindful of his manners, but finding it difficult.

"What's happened?" Jin's voice echoed from the adjacent room, but he promptly joined the two in the entrance. Anissa, who had no doubt heard the commotion, stood at the other door with Van, but nudged the child to go into the separate room and closed the door afterwards.

This was going to be a difficult conversation. "Hikari isn't well. She's been put into a very deep sleep—one the Goddess and I can't wake her from." There was no time to edit his words for Irene and Anissa's sake.

Jin's face twisted for only a moment before he resumed his professional role. "Where is she?" His voice appeared steady, but it was laced with unmistakable terror. The context behind 'why' was unimportant. Gale wondered for the briefest of moments how Jin's feelings for another woman must have impacted Anissa. Jin's love for his son was infallible, but his love for Hikari had hardly diminished over the years.

"She's in my old residence, but she'll need to be moved to a bed in the clinic," the Wizard explained, motioning to the back room's private space.

"Very well. Bring her here," Jin instructed, beginning to hastily gather the needed supplies.

Anissa nodded to Irene and went to retrieve Van before exiting the clinic. It gave Gale a moment to find an excuse for the older woman to follow suit. "Do you mind assisting Miss Anissa for a moment while I speak with the doctor?" These last few minutes were probably the most the woman had ever heard Gale speak.

"Please, Grandmother. It'll only be a minute. After this we'll need to prep Hikari for—"

Jin trailed off into more clinical descriptions and the Wizard found it incredibly difficult to keep up with his words. The pain in his limbs and the absence of Hikari's mind was overwhelming him. No physical agony had ever been this unbearably intense in all his years.

"Wizard. What's happened?" Jin interrupted his thoughts, and he noticed they were alone.

"I'm unclear on many of the details. I went to the house and the Goddess was there with Evelynn. According to Her, three men came to our home and Hikari was placed under a spell by at least one of them. They never gave an explanation as to how or why they did it, but I will have to leave to locate them and reverse the spell," Gale explained, trying to keep his body steady. The magic that had been absorbing the effects of the pain was dulling.

The doctor nodded and walked towards a cabinet filled with medicine and promptly unlocked it. "Are you able to take pain medicine?"

"No, they have no effect, but thank you," the Wizard politely declined, alarmed that Jin had noticed and offered to help.

"I figured as much. I suppose the secrecy of the Goddess won't remain a secret for much longer. Regardless, we should get Hikari prepared for monitoring," Jin stated, grabbing a nearby clipboard and flying through several sections of paperwork.

The next part shook Gale to his core. It was wicked of the God's to make him even have to ask.

"Jin, I'm unable to touch her. You'll have to be the one to carry her." The words burned like acid as they spread over his tongue.

Gale wasn't sure how he might have dealt with an offhand comment in that moment, but the other man simply headed for the exit without a word.

Thankfully, Evelynn was still mostly asleep, Orion was considerably calmer and the Goddess did Her best to aid Jin with Hikari. Immediately after Hikari was settled, the heavenly being promised Her support once more and dissipated to recover at the Spring.

"Orion and Evelynn may stay with us," Anissa graciously proposed. Gale was thankful for her insight.

"Thank you. That will be exceedingly helpful." Gale was holding Evelynn again, gently bouncing her as she began to stir from her slumber.

Orion sat on the stool next to his mother, eyes completed focused on her still body. He didn't protest or demonstrate any clear opinion on who he'd be staying with, but the Wizard had anticipated Orion's priorities. Jin remained quiet as he connected a few more wires to Hikari, and Gale wished to turn away as the doctor placed three different IVs in his wife's arms. Orion never even blinked.

Evelynn tried to rub sleep from her eyes, but began to settle for just resting against her father's shoulder. "Papa... Is Mama awake?"

The wielder held her close. "No, not yet. I'll be trying to wake her soon."

"Mmm," Evelynn acknowledged, still too tired to move.

Gale kissed the top of her head and let her doze off again while he tried to formulate a plan. It was a terrible one so far, but he had no other options.

"I'll watch them while you prepare, Wizard," Anissa offered, holding her arms out to take Evelynn.

He reluctantly handed his daughter to the doctor's wife and nodded. "Thank you, I'll return shortly."

There was no other option. He had to seek her help.

He stood outside the insufferable Witch's house and knocked three times in quick succession.

"Witch, open the door. We need to speak," he said, raising his voice only slightly.

Inside the home he could hear an untold number of items breaking or falling. She was going to be in a brilliant mood.

"NO. GO AWAY, I'M BUSY!"

Gale grit his teeth, the throbbing mess of pain and Hikari's current state swirling around in his mind was draining him, and the Witch's behavior was wearing his already thin patience down to a simple thread.

"This is a matter of life and death, Witch. Open the door, now," he ordered, and Gale could feel his chest begin to burn with fury. The tension on the thread was reaching a critical level.

"IDIOT! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"This is very important and—"

"I SAID GO AWAY STUPI—"

He placed his palm flat against the door and released a concentrated burst of energy. It was strong enough to blast the door off its hinges, but not enough to cause structural damage. An infuriated Witch was revealed.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

"We need to talk immediately about—"

"I DON'T CARE, I SAID NO!"

His hands balled into fists and he tried to calm his still growing rage. Gale's aura was seething danger and the wind in the room kicked up enough to begin to scatter papers.

"Witch, listen to—"

"NO, NO, NO! GET OUT! I SAID GET—"

And at that moment, the thread finally snapped.

"Vivi! Be quiet and listen to me."

A jolt visibly shot through the Witch and she stood rigid, jaw completely clenched shut.

He didn't have time to defend his actions. "Hikari has been attacked. I don't know who is behind it, but they've placed her in a deep sleep that the Goddess and I are unable to lift. I have to pursue the culprits, and they appear to be from the same region as our Master. I need your help," he summarized the situation and raised a hand to release the hold he briefly had over her.

Her eyes turned to slits. "How dare you use my name," she hissed. "How dare you control me and then ask me to willingly help you."

The Wizard knew it was unforgivable, but time was limited and he needed to track the wielder as quickly as possible.

"Witch, I know that you and I do not cooperate very well together, but I need your assistance to save her."

Vivi bared her teeth at him, trying to reign in a spell that her anger was unconsciously initiating. "I have no interest in doing anything for you or anyone else. Leave."

Gale was not the least bit intimidated by her attempts to frighten him. "You can despise me, but I know you care for Hikari and the children. Hikari will... Hikari will die if nothing is done."

"I don't care. I warned you. I warned you not to get involved with the humans. Our MASTER warned you. This is because you couldn't control the human part of you—or at least the part that wants to be human. Don't drag me into the mess you created for yourself," she snapped, the atmosphere becoming more oppressive with every word they exchanged.

"Stop. This isn't about being wrong or right. This human you speak so indifferently of—she's the closest person in your life. You mean to tell me you'd be fine shouldering the burden of her death?" Gale released another diminutive dose of energy to easily overwhelm her aura. He knew the Witch was aware of who was the most capable in the room.

"I didn't put her in danger. You did."

"I accept what I've done, but I am asking you to help me save my wife and your friend."

Gale couldn't be certain if it was because she felt terror, or because she was simply bored, but the light dimmed and disappeared completely. Her energy stabilized and she crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one side. "You are completely insane, you know that?"

"Whatever names or insults you'd like to use—feel free. I just need you to help."

The was a long moment between the age-old rivals.

Ultimately, Vivi grinned. "Fine. On one condition."

"I won't tell you my name."

She rolled her eyes in response. "I don't care about that. I just want you to owe me a huge favor. We'll talk about it later, after we save her."

Gale felt anxious with her vagueness, but he could negotiate at a more appropriate time. "Agreed."

"Then get packed, idiot. The Edge of the World is more than a day's walk," she stated, suddenly very amused.

He didn't like the way she was behaving in respect to the grave situation they were facing, but she had always been more like a typical magic user. The Wizard was able to be more empathetic towards humans because of the type of magic he possessed, even if he was still restricted. Vivi didn't have the capacity to relate to how Gale or his children felt, but he couldn't fault her. If he didn't have the ability to enter a person's mind and experience their memories, dreams and wants, he may have very well turned out to be just like her and most of the others like them.

"Very well, I'll meet you at the harbor in an hour."

It was a simple list of things he needed to bring, and it took him mere minutes to collect the dozen or so articles. However, he still had to ensure that the children were consoled and taken care of... He also wanted to see his wife privately before he left. She may not have been able to hear him, but Gale knew that for his own mental health, he needed to speak with her.

A small pouch in his hand expanded out more and more as he organized the few items he'd decided on, including one he planned to give to Orion, but as he went to head for the clinic, he stopped. The Wizard turned towards his desk, eyes fixated on the top, left drawer. He had taken his Master's journal, but he hadn't taken those. He crossed the room with trepidation, logic telling him it was inadvisable. Regardless, he was opening the drawer before he even realized it. There, in the corner, sat a worn, emerald colored bag; it could easily fit in the palm of his hand and contained several crystals that came in varied shapes and sizes. As much as hope told him he would quickly solve this mystery, the realist in him spoke of months or longer. He decided to take along the crystals for significant moments of weakness.

He rose and started for the doorway again. Now he would have to face his children and tell them that they'd not only be without a mother, but a father as well.