"Of course. Why would it be good news?" Oliver snorted, rising from his bed. Tossing the apple core into his trash bin, he turned to face the window and glare at the darkening skies. Lila grew quiet. He felt her shift through his hair, reminding him that she still had news to give. "What is it, however dreadful it may be?"

"I'll start off with something that is not so bad! Your mother is still around. Like, she is awake and alive as us."

Oliver's breath hitched, but before he let himself to get excited at his mother's wellbeing, he clamped his mouth shut. "What is the catch?"

"She is very far, far away in this isolated place from everyone else with all these other scary people."

"Prison? Aren't there are visiting rights-"

"No, there aren't. I snooped around, and anyone under eighteen are not allowed near the premises."

"What?" Oliver croaked. "No...since when?"

"Since they built the place? Sorry, Ollie, but that is not all." He kept quiet, sickened, as Lila continued, "Marionette is separated from the others. I think whoever locked her up found out she was...different from the rest."

"Why?" Oliver sneered, voice laced with malice, "Because my mother is a smiler?"

"Yeah, but that's only part of it!"

The boy winced from his friend's bluntness. "What is the other part?"

Lila collected her words in a moment of hesitation. "I stayed with her for a few nights. She leaves this world when she goes to sleep. The imprisoners tried awakening her, but Marionette must have frightened them with her internal chanting and thrashing."

"They think it is some kind of spasm, but she is really...?" Oliver ended on a questioning tone.

"Her spirit is my realm. I seen her here and there. It is her escape."

Oliver closed his eyes, releasing the breath he was holding. Tears snuck through his lashes, and ran down his cheeks.

"Oliver? Are you-"

A shaky sob interrupted her. She launched off his head when his shoulders shook, to hover before his face cupped in his hands. A tiny hand reached out and pressed against his knuckle. Oliver peeked between his fingers, and offered a hand for her to stand on. "That is fantastic news, Lila."

"Is it? It's the same place where your father died. Are you so eager to come back?"

"For my mum, yes!" Oliver wiped his dampened cheek with his free hand. "She has been frequenting the spot ever since?"

"Oh, around and about. She asked about you, too, but I did not give anything away!" The fairy grinned. "So you better get your butt in there, and go pay your mom a visit!"

"Yes, yes, of course!" Oliver whisked around, and Lila jumped from his palm. She hovered closely as he ripped his pajamas from the dresser, unable to button them in their proper holes. He leaped into his bed, knocking his foot on the wooden frame. The boy hissed from the pain, and escaped beneath his sheets.

Lila tugged on some of the loose creases, tucking them underneath Oliver before settling on his lumpy pillow. "I'm coming with!"

"Nothing would make me happier," Oliver nuzzled his face against the soft material, making last adjustments for comfort. "Well, besides finding my Mum again."

"I know that!" The fairy giggled, and plopped next to his head. "Sweet dreams, Oliver!"

The horror of his father's demise was squashed by the hope of seeing his mother again. The journey was much easier than last time, as he had a basic idea with experience of what to do. Oliver took a breath, his existence filling with a drifty sensation, and opened his eyes. Lila was there, flying from the ground to his hair. He sniggled at her light tugging. "Where to?"

"I last saw Marionette by the giant toadstools in the middle of that forest. Wait!" She yanked on a few clumps of the boy's hair when he set out for the trees. "It is really dark in there without the lights. They don't go in there because they don't like the spooky stuff among the trees."

"Spooky stuff? Lovely. I am not letting creepy crawlies get in the way of me and my mother." Oliver crossed his arms, and put a hand to his chin like the stance would bring a good idea. "If only I had some chalk in this Realm...I would be able to draw a summoning circle."

"Some of the flowers have dyes you could try using! I'll go get you some!" Lila said, zipping away. Oliver smiled after her departure, and went a little way in his own direction, nudging stones and turning rocks over with his feet, in case they were not what they seemed to be. He glanced toward the tree by the cliff side, not curious enough to investigate if the dark splatters were still on the grass. The fairy returned, weighted by several stems with purple bulbs on the ends.

Oliver held out his hands. "Allow me to carry those." His friend gave him a look of relief as he knelt in front of a flat boulder. He double checked if it was not a man eating stone. He squeezed the bulb of the first flower, and dragged it across the rough surface, making an entire circle until he needed a new flower. "I am going to summon a torch now."

"Ooh, to scare off all the spookies away from us when we go into the creepy, dark, and creepy forest?"

"Yes, I am. You said creepy twice."

Lila snickered. "I know!"

The boy stood, wiping some of the dirt and pollen from his hands. He held out a hand, and began chanting, substituting the ancient word 'apple,' used in his previous summoning spell, to 'fire,' since he did not know how to say 'flashlight' in the old language.

"Um, Oliver? I don't think you'll get what-" Lila gasped when the circle ignited in bright blue flames. Oliver was stunned, too, but a smile stretched across his freckled face as he lowered himself to his knees. He held an open hand out to the fire, making it dance to its master's touch.

"It was not what I intended," Oliver announced, rising to his feet with the collective flame waving in his hand, "but it will help just as well."

"Does...does it hurt? Is it hot?" Lila hovered closer with her hands out, not waiting for an answer. "It's not!"

"Let's make haste. I see no reason to hang out." Oliver's steps did not slow to be cautious as he bustled onward, tripping and catching any loose plants or pebbles. The fairy tightened her grip on his hair, her own tan locks billowing from the speed.

"Oliver? Are you okay?"

"Just peachy!" The boy's voice jumped as he tripped over a jagged stone. "I rather get through this...dark...scary...potentially full of monsters forest!" A growl rose from the shadows at the disturbance. The fire leaped as Oliver let out a shriek, and he pelted forward. The rough ground stabbed at his bare feet, since he did not go to bed with shoes, but his being was too busy buzzing with fear to notice. The fairy shot from his head as he phased through a tree that he should have collided with under calmer circumstances.

Lila cried out for him, zipping after his noisy tracks so she would not get left behind in the dark forest. "Oliver! Oliver, calm down!"

Oliver did not calm down, focused on the break of light through the twisting trunks. The fire he held blew out with a high wail from its wielder. Another tree rushed by, and the teen's foot caught on its root sticking out of the ashy soil. He tumbled to the ground, yelling, and launched away from the trees.

Enveloped in brighter surroundings, Oliver curled against the grass, squeezing his eyes shut to focus on not losing the dream completely. Lila flew out of the forest, catching up to his fallen body with a hand over her mouth. A second set of feet landed in the grass, and the teen tensed when a pair of hands rested on his shoulders.

"Oliver."

His eyes snapped opened, yet he remained in his protective ball, contemplating the gentle tones. When they called a second time, Oliver slowly pushed himself to his knees. The teal eyes staring back at his were slightly sunken in, and the auburn locks that used to touch the ground when sitting were now struggling to reach the other's shoulders while splayed at the ends. Despite the concave in her face from the subtle neglect, the boy immediately knew who it was. His vision blurred as his lower lip trembled, and he reached out to snake his arms around her body.

Delicate fingers tangled in Oliver's hair, pulling him closer. "Why are you crying, dear?"

Oliver sobbed, muffled from the fabric of the woman's ugly jumpsuit against his face. "I was scared."

"You do not have to be afraid anymore." The arms around his body constricted. "My son."

"Mum." Oliver could not suppress the bubbling sobs escaping his chest. His fingers dug in the dark blue fabric of the strange outfit she was wearing, never wanting to let her go again. The scents and touches of happier times embraced him, teasing the boy in their superficial ways. For the moment, he let his pride to crumble to dust, and hold onto his beloved mother, gasping for air and reassurance.

"Oliver," Marionette shifted to press an endearing kiss to the side of his forehead. They pulled away enough to look at one another's alike faces, and a twisty sensation knotted where Oliver's stomach would be when he saw that her eyes were also dappled with tears. "You managed to come to the Realm of Spirits all on your own!"

The boy's cheeks warmed with the praise. "I was not completely alone." He twisted to hold out an open hand. Lila landed on his palm, performing a quick bow.

"Hello, Lila," Marionette cooed. "It is lovely to see you again."

"Likewise!" The fairy chirped, but her kind smile faltered as she gave Oliver a worried look.

Oliver cleared the thickness from his throat, not able to keep a broad smile from his dampened face. "How are you, Mum? You all right?"

Marionette took her son's cheeks into her hands, using her sleeve to wipe the tears streaming down his chin. "Do not worry about me when you are more of importance, dear."

"Mum," Oliver's nose crinkled, "you are important. To me, at least."

"And me!" Lila put in.

"Then that is all that matters." Marionette coaxed her child into another embrace. "As long as you keep smiling..."

Oliver's eyes opened when the body holding him loosened its clutch. "Mum?" He gasped in alarm as her shape shuddered, and faded. He wailed and grabbed at her dissipating form, snagging at air. His hands drooped from reaching out to nothingness, and pondered for a moment if his mother was really there at all. He sniffled, wiping a new onslaught of tears away before his face was plagued once again with ugly splotches. Lila buzzed nearby, anxious from the negative emotions wafting in the air. "We should return to my world as soon as possible." The teen's steady voice startled her revolution around his head. "I have work in the morning."

As Oliver laid in the grass, closing his eyes to the weight of his friend resting on his forehead, he bit back a self inflicting insult when realization dawned on him. He had been caught up falling for the glimpse of happiness of seeing his mother again, he forgot to tell her of his father's death. He forgot to tell her she would be imprisoned forever, since the man would not return from his 'disappearance.'

A gray ceiling greeted Oliver when he awoke with a loud inhale through his mouth, returning to the outer reaches of his conscious mind. He shifted in the covers, getting a feel for solidarity before sitting up in his bed. A familiar buzzing rose from his pillow, and Lila hovered into view, looking at him with a usual smile. "Are you going to work now?"

The boy nodded. "I would not want to worry Bella by being uncharacteristically late." His mind was exhausted with thinking, but his body was ready to go as he passed through the dreary process of getting dressed for the day and silently arguing with his tie. "I should get a bowtie. Bowties would not treat me like this."

Oliver hurried out of his room, since he had places to go, and people to see. He fumbled with his lock, and as soon as the latch clicked, he twisted around to continue, but bumped into a solid body. "Oh, pardon me!" Lila snorted distastefully from the sudden whiplash, and shimmied back to her usual perch upon his head.

The other occupant revealed to be his neighbor, on his way back to his room. "Hmph, Oliver."

Some greeting. His neighbor's stare made him feel like a buffoon for smiling so broadly, so Oliver lessened to a calmer grin. "How are you doing? Is your stomach feeling well today?"

His company curled his lip, perhaps angry, perhaps in disbelief. "Why do you always have to ask me that?"

"I am genuinely curious. Is that not allowed?"

"You...well, I..." His neighbor looked away to glare out the window at the end of the hall. "Fine, I guess. I still have my breakfast. Is that good enough for you?"

"Plenty, thank you," Oliver shot back just as bitterly, even though he was not truly angry. "I will be off, then."

"Yeah, yeah..." His neighbor trailed off as if lost in thought. Oliver let him be, and continued down the hallway all the while Lila giggled from their exchange upon his head. There was a sudden holler, "Oliver, wait!"

Oliver skittered to a halt, and his eyebrows lifted in pleasant surprise. He slowly turned around, trying to downplay his silly grin. "Yes, what is it?"

"You...you seem like an all right, guy, okay, Oliver?"

"Do I? Why, I'm glad to hear it!"

"I'm not done talking yet," his neighbor scowled, and the baker shut right up. "You seem all right, so I might just allow you in on our little operations."

Oliver perked up, and took a few steps closer to the other teen. "Little operations?"

"Yeah, that's what we like to call them." A hint of a snarky grin played with his neighbor's face. "Sounds cooler that way. So, yeah, anyway, we're all growing men around these parts, right?" He continued even without confirmation, "We need lots to eat, but unfortunately, as swell and charitable it is for Miss Warden to lay out some food for us, don't you feel like it's just not enough?"

"I do not eat that much in the first place, to be honest with you. I always thought she gave us enough."

His neighbor ran his eyes down Oliver, and lightly snorted. "I can tell! I could mistake you for a skeleton, or one of those model girls if I saw you at a distance! But hey, I'm just looking out for you, yeah?"

Oliver's eyes widened as he nonchalantly wrapped his arms around his stomach. "You...you are?"

"Yeah, 'cause I was hoping that you might be interested in taking a run with us. I have a feeling that you could be of great use to us, and we could be great use to you. You know, that whole 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine' kind of thing?"

"O-oh? What were you planning?" Oliver felt a heavy weight sink into his tummy, like he should have not asked.

However, he never saw his neighbor looked so pleased with him, and Oliver swore he saw teeth with that smile. "Nothing too hard for you, Oliver. Some...acquaintances of mine and I were going to get a little extra to fill our tummies. What'd you say? You in?"

Oliver wondered why the other teen had to word it mysteriously. All he had to say was, "Hey, let's go get something to eat," and the baker boy was more than happy to oblige. Either way, someone wanted his personal company, he would be stupid to pass that up. "Of course! Anytime soon? I am afraid I am headed to work at the moment."

"Eh, after your work, sometime in the evening. Dusk is the perfect time to go on the prowl."

"All right!" Oliver's legs bounced, much more elated that moment than he had been when he gotten out of bed. "I look forward to it."

His neighbor turned toward his room with a narrowed look. "So do I, Oliver."

Once the front gate clamped shut behind Oliver, and he was more than willing to run, but only if it was to escape the steady drizzle that grayed the late morning skies. After carrying out his (un)usual life practices, it was uplifting to have slight weight clutching onto his hair, telling him he was not alone. During Lila's absence, he had realized he did not nearly have enough friends. His boss, and those girls he gossips around with are improvements from before, but the thought of being with someone closer crept into his head more and more often. So, he was a bit more than happy when his neighbor offered to take him out on a group outing. He thought the other boy strongly disliked him!

Oliver asked aloud, "I have had my heads in the clouds for too long, don't you think?"

"Is that why you are so quiet?"

He giggled, reaching for the bakery's front door. A passerby gave him a double take, topped with a distasteful scowl. "I suppose so." He pattered to the counter, glancing around the quiet building. "Bella?" After a moment of listening to silence, Oliver skittered around the counter and peeked into the kitchen. "Bella!" He sang, and his smile flipped to a scowl when there was no reply.

When he opened the basement door, a sea of blackness greeted him. Both of them shuddered from the creeping cold, and the low hisses of coal tars becoming aware of their disturbance. Oliver slammed the door rather loudly, and hurried away from it. He called for Anabella several more times, going around the counter, and gave the staircase a thoughtful look. He knew the steps led to Anabella's private apartment, so he had no reason to go upstairs. His boss was almost always around the bakery during work hours, or in the basement.

Oliver waited at the bottom, tugging on his shirt cuffs. Lila stirred on his head, making noises of deep thought. A loud clattering made him jump, disturbing her perch. The boy set a hesitant foot on the first step. "Anabella?"

"Is that you, Oliver?" A croak bounced down the stairs, "Come up, young man. I made more tea than I intended."

The teen shrugged, and hurried up the steps, eager at the prospect of tea. The stairs turned to a landing branching out to a vintage kitchen to the left, and a cozy living room to the right. A small hall promised more rooms between the dining area and lounge, but Oliver entered the black and white tiled kitchen for his promised tea. His boss poured the dark liquid into two cups, steaming soft clouds from a small island counter. She glanced up for a quick moment, and her sagging cheeks lifted with a smile.

"Would you like a sweetener?"

"Do you have sugar and honey?" Oliver returned the grin when she smiled and turned to excavate a cabinet above the stove. Her hands shuffled amongst the spice bottles, shaking enough to knock one over, that which prompted others to jump out after it. Both jerked in surprise as the containers bounced off the oven, dropping to the floor. "Let me help!" Oliver's voice crackled, and he bustled around the island counter to pick up the fallen (yet unspilled) spice tins.

Anabella bent forward, and he thought she was going to get them, since she was closer, but he skittered to a halt, shoes squawking on the tiled floors when her hand clamped on the edge of the counter. The elder gasped, but the sound was as if she was struggling for air.

"Bella!" Oliver leaned toward her in comfort, giving her back light pats. Lila exclaimed in panic as well, but neither of them knew what to do. "It will be all right." The boy's face contorted as Anabella erupted in a fit of wet coughs, holding a fist to her mouth. He tried not to flinch at the sickly sounds as she jerked away, still trembling, and turned for the sink. His boss turned on the water, and ran her hands under the current.

The fairy exclaimed, "Something is wrong with her!" as if it were not obvious.

Oliver crept over, still bristling with wide eyes. A stream of red was quickly washed away; he could have imagined it from the lights reflecting off of the silver bracelets around her wrists. He clamped his mouth close with an audible click of his teeth when he felt it gape open, as if to catch flies. The boy looked away as Anabella pushed herself from the counter, shuffling to the cups of tea. She snatched one as if in a hurry, despite her hands shaking so much. By the time she drained her mug, her quaking had subsided to a more calmer tremble.

Anabella sighed, quietly setting down her cup. She lifted her eyebrows, expecting Oliver to say something, but he opted to keep quiet, distracting himself with his own tea. She was old; it was no surprise that she was not versatile and healthy. "We should get started now. Take your tea with you."

"All right, I am right behind you."

Lila was more eager to be suspicious. "That was blood. I saw blood!"

Oliver swished his free hand at the fairy to silence her.

Once downstairs, he glanced to the reservation book, and noted, "We have yet to get orders for the day."

His boss shuffled pass the counter, bobbing her head in acknowledgement. "It will be an opportune time to go downstairs."

With a last swig, Oliver deposited his mug in the bakery's sink, and hurried after the elder. He tried to not let his heart leap out of his mouth from anticipation. If it was not exciting, he would not want his hopes to be crushed as much from disappointment, or worse, horror. Lila whined, more concerned than he was at the chill drifting from the basement. He grimaced as she tugged on his hair, prompting him to swat at a coal tar that floated too close. They hovered to Bella, as if bored of Oliver.

He silently followed her to a metal door bolted to the opposite wall. The basement was surprisingly empty, save for a few desolate shelves in the corner and a metal table with wheels in the middle of the room. Oliver's eyes were glued to the dulled surface, hoping those were rust stains near the bolts, and not anything else. Anabella produced a key ring from her pale cardigan, and inserted a thick key into its proper slot. "Come, Oliver, if you wish to continue."