Chapter 39: The Howl
Waking up the next morning, Luffy found that the town was just as full of fear this morning as it had been last night. They had managed to calm down enough for Luffy to fall asleep last night, but now they were just as - if not more - terrified than they had been after the howl.
Realizing he would be getting no more sleep if the town was so worked up, Luffy stumbled out of his hammock, shaking his hands to try and release some of the jittery emotion. He tried blocking it out, but with so many people nearby feeling the same emotion so strongly it was near impossible to do.
Taking deep breaths, Luffy made his way out of the men's room and out onto the deck of the Going Merry. Most of the crew were still asleep, but Nami, Robin, and Sanji were up and in the kitchen. Instead of heading there to join them, however, Luffy went straight to the figurehead and sat down. The cloud of terror was suffocating and it was hard to think straight when every other thought that popped into his head was something that just perpetuated the fear.
'Haru was nearby. What if he's coming after you? What if he's on this island too? Is that why everyone is so scared on the island? Because Harus there and he's stealing kids and taking them to facilities and poking people with needles and-'
Shaking his head roughly, Luffy grabs at his hair and takes a few more deep breaths, realizing now that he'd been near hyperventilating. He still feels on edge, anxiety creeping through him and making his stomach churn, but he knows it's not his fear he's feeling. He knows it's the fear of the town and he himself is not actually the one who is terrified right now. The disconnect helps him regain his bearings a little and he relaxes the grip in his hair, looking up and eyeing the town.
People are starting to come out of their homes now, filling the streets with their nervous energy as they move silently through the streets. Some whisper to each other as they pass by, but no one raises their voice higher than that as they go about their morning.
It's such a sharp contrast to the jubilant, lively town of yesterday that Luffy wonders for a second if they had actually traveled to a different island in the middle of the night.
"Luffy?" Luffy starts in surprise at the voice behind him and turns to find Chopper watching him in concern. Sanji, Nami, and Robin are still in the kitchen from what he can tell, but now Zoro, Chopper, and Usopp are out as well. The swordsman and sniper are on the main deck, but Luffy can feel a similar concern coming from them as well.
Turning his attention back to Chopper, Luffy blinks, continuing to take deep breaths.
"The town's scared." He says in lieu of an explanation. This surprises the doctor and he glances towards the island, taking in the difference in the townspeople before turning back to Luffy.
"And it's influencing you?" Chopper asks, concern melting away to calm that Luffy can just barely feel under the flood of fear.
"Mm. They're not in danger - it's not that kind of fear - but they're all really scared." Luffy explains, his hands twitching where they rest in his lap. Noticing this, he clenches them into fists and tries breathing deeply again.
"Okay. Is there anything we can do to help?" Luffy thinks for a second, but he doesn't think there is. With the entire town feeling the exact same emotion - and feeling a lot of it - any calm coming from his crew would be drowned out. Still, the little bit that he can feel coming from Chopper does help ground him slightly to something other than the towns' emotions, even if it doesn't actually calm him down.
"Just stay calm," Luffy says shortly, looking back to the town and biting his tongue, trying to release the tension building in his limbs. All it does though is hurt.
"I can do that. Do you want me to tell the others too?" Chopper asks next. Instead of answering verbally, Luffy only nods and Chopper leaves, going straight toward Zoro and Usopp. Ignoring the sound of voices talking behind him, Luffy sinks back down into the cloud of negative emotions, trying to push them as far away from him as possible.
It was an exercise in futility however as it changed nothing. At least behind him, the worry was turning to calm instead. Or, well, in Zoro's case, it was. Usopp was trying but he didn't really know what he was doing and felt more confused than calm, but even that was a nice reprieve from the fear.
When Chopper was done telling the rest of the crew what was happening he made his way back over to Luffy, still projecting as much calm as possible to the rubber teen.
"Do you want to go to town today?" He asks almost hesitantly, not sure what the best way to help would be. If they could get the townspeople to calm down that would be best, but how would they even go about doing that?
Instead of answering, Luffy gets off of the figurehead, noticing now that the rest of the crew has joined Zoro and Usopp on the main deck. Clenching and unclenching his hands a few more times, Luffy walks over to them, glancing every so often towards the town in preoccupation.
"Luffy?" Usopp asks nervously, still battling to feel calm and failing miserably with the other mix of emotions filling him.
"Hm?" Luffy asks, swiveling his head back to the crew rather than the island, mindful to continue breathing deeply.
"Are you- It's just- I mean, well, Chopper said-"
"Are we going to the town now?" Zoro asks, interrupting Usopp's stumbling words. Blinking, Luffy takes in the burst of calm radiating from Zoro, distracting him just enough to forget about all of the fear for a moment before being overwhelmed with it once more. Still, it was nice to have had the break, however brief it may have been.
"Mm. They're scared." Luffy said, looking back to the town yet again.
"That's what Chopper was saying. Do you know why?" Nami questions. She's worried too, just like Usopp, but she's doing a better job of hiding it than the sniper. She's worried, but she's a lot calmer than she is worried and her emotions combined with the calm coming from everyone else is like the one bright white cloud in the middle of a raging thunderstorm.
"No. They're not in danger, I don't think. It's not that kind of fear. It's like... when someone's scared of the dark. They're scared, but nothing's really happening." Luffy tried explaining. He notices that at some point his hand had started shaking and so he clenches it tightly, trying to stop it.
"Well then, let's get going and figure out what the problem is all of a sudden," Sanji said in determination, a lit cigarette between his lips that's trailing smoke into the air.
"Yeah! Maybe it'll be something we can help with!" Chopper says optimistically, smiling at Luffy happily.
"Yeah, let's go," Luffy answers, notably less enthusiastic and mind still elsewhere.
Decision made, the crew all get ready to disembark, making sure they had everything they needed should they need to fight. Even though Luffy had told them that the town didn't seem to be in danger, it was always best to be prepared rather than be caught without any way to defend themselves should they need it.
When they were all ready to go they left the Going Merry as a group, sticking together as they made their way through the docks and into the streets of the town.
Just like from what they could see from the ship, the townspeople were mulling around with an air of fear surrounding them that was palpable to the rest of the crew by now. Everyone would keep looking around shiftily as if they were worried that something would jump out at them at any minute. The crew did their best to not let it get to them seeing as Luffy had enough issues with blocking the town out as it was, but they couldn't help but feel a little on edge as they made their way to the market.
Clearly, something had spooked the town but it was yet to be clear as to what exactly that trigger had been.
When they finally reached the market that had been jubilant and lively just the day before, they found it to be just the same, if not worse, than the rest of the town. There was a hush over the place as people darted this way and that. Heads stayed down and the only words uttered came from vendors relaying how much customers owed them.
It was as unsettling as the rest of the town.
"What's up with everybody?" Nami asks softly, not wanting to draw too much attention their way by speaking too loudly.
"Whatever it is, I think it's safe to say that Luffy was right. They're definitely scared of something." Sanji said, eyebrows furrowed and a frown on his face as he drew the cigarette from his lips and blew out a puff of smoke. Beside him, Robin was looking around in disguised interest, wondering just like everyone else what had happened to cause such a shift in atmosphere. Unlike the crew, however, she was content with observing at this point rather than inserting herself in the conversation.
"B-but of what?" Usopp asked, no longer feeling any semblance of calm as he succumbed to the fear surrounding him. Luffy shifted uneasily away from the sniper, not wanting to be too close when he was already having trouble not giving in to the fear threatening to take over.
"Maybe it's got something to do with that howl from last night," Zoro suggested, eyes darting around the town as he took in their odd behavior.
"Howl?" Chopper asked in surprise, not having heard it last night. The rest of the crew were equally confused as they looked at Zoro.
"Yeah, there was some loud howl last night. Right after it happened Luffy came out and said the town had been terrified and it woke him up." Zoro explained with a shrug. The crew looked to Luffy at that, but the captain didn't seem to be paying them any attention. He was breathing heavily again, eyes wide and a sweat starting to break out on his forehead.
"Luffy?" Chopper asked softly, not wanting to scare the rubber teen anymore than he already was. It didn't seem to matter though as Luffy sucked in a breath at Chopper's voice, turning to look at him with blank terror.
"Deep breaths, remember?" The reindeer supplies, his words still spoken quietly. Luffy only continues to look on blankly for a minute, but then he seems to register the words and he nods. He visibly tries to slow his breathing which becomes shaky and uneven for a few moments before finally going back to being steady and even.
"Why don't we start asking around. Maybe they'll tell us what's going on if-" Nami stops herself, blinking in surprise as Robin's voice drifts over their way, crisp yet soothing in the tense air.
"Curse you say? My, that sounds awful." She says sympathetically to one of the fruit vendors who nods enthusiastically.
"Yes, it's positively dreadful!" The vendor agrees in earnest. Realizing that Robin might be getting the information that they were all curious about, the crew quickly made their way over.
"And what is this curse exactly? If you don't mind me asking." Nami asks with her most disarming smile. The vendor blinks at her in surprise, taking in the rest of the crew as well now.
"You're not from here, are you? Everybody on this island knows about the curse. Even the merchants that come around know." They say suspiciously, eyeing all of the members carefully. As their gaze drifts over to Luffy, Nami quickly sidesteps in front of him - because if they're going to notice any of them it would be their captain who doesn't seem to be paying the conversation any mind.
"Ah, no, we're not. We're travelers and are only here for a few days but no one's mentioned any curse to us. Gosh, do you think we should be more careful then? I don't like the sound of a curse following us around." Nami says in hopes of derailing the vendor's curiosity. It seems to do the trick because they look around nervously before leaning in and lowering their voice.
"If I were you, then I would be more careful. Last night was The Howl." They whisper urgently, shielding their mouth with one hand and continuing to look around nervously as if they were going to get in trouble for saying this much.
"The Howl?" Nami asks in just as quiet a tone, leaning in with the vendor. Behind her, Usopp gulps fearfully while Chopper has to remind Luffy of his breathing once more. Robin is standing close next to Nami, just as interested in what's being said as the others, while Zoro and Sanji are glancing at each other, frowns on their faces.
"Yes yes, The Howl. You see, there's this old abandoned town up in the mountains. Konoro Town. Been abandoned decades now because of the curse." The vendor starts, turning to point to the mountain in the distance.
"That's where it started. It's said nothing in that town could get done because of the curse. Buildings would collapse and when they would try to rebuild them the builders would deal with one thing after another. Supplies would suddenly disappear or something they built the night before would be destroyed the next morning. Things like that. And then there were bigger problems like the wells all drying up or even people going missing." The vendor looks away from the mountain to look at them with wide eyes.
"M-m-missing?!" Usopp squeaks out, but the vendor ignores him and continues on with the story.
"Everyone in that town eventually left because of the curse. Just up and left one day. But it doesn't stop there. They say that The Howl is the curse crying out in anger now that there's no one to torment in its town. After The Howl, the curse extends its hold all the way here to our town for the day and wreaks havoc here." Nami blinks in surprise, not quite sure if she believes the story or not.
"And how often is there a Howl?" She asks carefully, wanting more information but not wanting to tip the vendor off to the fact that she didn't entirely believe them.
"It's always random. You never know when there's going to be a Howl. That's almost as scary as wondering if the curse will get you. My advice, though, since you're new here and all, is to avoid Konoro Town at all costs. They say anyone who enters that town becomes cursed for life." Usopp all but faints, skin deathly pale at the ominous words, and Nami quickly thanks the vendor before dragging him away.
"So that's the issue then? Some stupid curse?" Zoro asks once they were far enough away.
"S-stupid?! Zoro, take that back! Take it back before the curse hears you and curses you too!" Usopp all but yells, waving his hands frantically around in fear. Zoro only rolls his eyes at the antics, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I don't know how real this curse is or not, but the town seems to believe in it enough," Nami says, eyeing the people as they pass. After having had it explained to them, they can hear now that that's what the whispers around them were about.
"Did you hear, the curse got Old Benny and he twisted his ankle last night!"
"Marjorie said all of her flower pots were knocked down when she got up this morning. It's the work of that damn curse I tell you!"
"I wouldn't trust Gary as far as I can throw him, but I do believe in the curse and he said after The Howl he found all of his chairs stacked on the table!"
Everyone they pass is saying one thing or another about how the curse has affected them since The Howl and it's starting to put Nami on edge, wondering if maybe there might be some validity to this so-called curse.
"Don't worry Nami-san, I'll protect you from the curse!" Sanji says gallantly. The navigator merely smiles distractedly at him in thanks before looking back at the townspeople.
"Ne, Luffy, maybe we should just stay on the Merry for - Luffy?" Nami cuts herself off as she looks to where Luffy had been. Had being the operative word.
The last she'd seen, Luffy had been walking beside Zoro, all but clinging to the man since they'd gotten to town, but now he was nowhere to be seen and they hadn't even noticed when he'd wandered off.
"Y-you don't think he's gone ahead and is waiting for us at the Merry, do you?" Usopp asks tearfully, having a feeling he knows where the Captain might have wandered off.
"He was already being highly influenced by the town so there's really no saying where he might have gone. With an emotion like fear, people tend to do things they might not have if they had been within a normal state of mind." Chopper says worriedly, smelling the air in hopes of finding picking up a trail.
"And Luffy is unpredictable even when he's not terrified," Nami says with a defeated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Oh, I think I smell him!" Chopper exclaims happily, turning back to face the mountain they had only just learned was home to the abandoned Konoro Town.
"We're doomed!" Usopp moaned pitifully.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Luffys not entirely sure when he got separated from the crew.
He remembers being in town with them and sticking near Zoro since he was the calmest out of all of them. He remembers going to listen to the vendor with them. He remembers hearing something about a town in the mountains, but then it all got a bit too much and he was too overwhelmed. Even though he'd been trying to focus on breathing, the fear from not only the town, but Usopp as well, had tipped him over to his breaking point and he had to leave.
Looking around, he saw that he was standing on an overgrown path that looked as if it hadn't been used in years. Looking at where it led he saw it went toward the mountain, and suddenly he remembered that the vendor had said there was a town up there.
Still feeling the cloud of terror from behind him, Luffy felt that the best plan was to go to this other town. Maybe they would be happier, or at least less overwhelming than this town was. Besides, it would be a nice little mini-adventure to get there, and what could be better than an adventure?
Decision made, Luffy set off down the path with a grin, feeling the fear slowly dissipating the further away from the seaside town he got. It was such a relieving experience that the rubber teen actually felt his shoulders slump and his posture relax. He hadn't realized just how tense he had been, but now that he was finally relaxed, it was much more noticeable.
Pleased, he starts humming his favorite tune about islands as he walks, looking around him at the surrounding trees. Every once in a while he sees a bird fly by or hears a rustling in the bushes, but he can feel that it's nothing dangerous or even human so he only continues walking.
When he's halfway up the mountain he realizes that he can't feel anyone in the new town. Didn't a town usually have a lot of people living in it? And that vendor was just telling him about this place, so people knew about it. But then, where were they all? Confused and intrigued, Luffy picked up the pace, eager to get to the bottom - or should he say top - of this mysterious town. Feeling his excitement rising, Luffy's grin stretches across his face and he feels a laugh escape his lips.
When he's finally reached the entrance of the town he looks around and notices that there is indeed no one around. It doesn't look like anyone had lived there for a long while either. All of the buildings are surrounded by tall grass and covered in moss and vines. The wood used to build the homes and shops are old and rotting and some of the roofs have holes in them.
All in all, the town looks to be in ruins.
Interest piqued, Luffy walks slowly through the streets, poking his head into the buildings as he passes and ooh-ing and ah-ing all the while. He's halfway down the street when he realizes that there is someone in the town, someone who's nervous and scared, yet determined and trying to feel courageous.
Blinking in surprise, Luffy swivels his head to look towards where he can feel the person and hears a high-pitched squeak at the same time that he sees someone dart behind one of the dilapidated houses.
"A person. Hey, person! Hey~! What are you doing up here? Do you live here? Hey, person! Answer me!" Running after them only results in whoever it was that had been hiding darting away further into the town. Never one to give up a chase, Luffy runs off after them, ignoring everything else.
"Are you alone here? Where's everyone else? Why are the buildings all old and ruined?" None of his questions are answered, but he doesn't really mind. He's having fun running through town and even though the person he's chasing is scared - which is the emotion he'd been trying to get away from in the town - it's easy enough to block out when it's only the one person now.
"Does this place have a food place? Hey, person! Do you poop?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Of course, he's in the town. Where else would he go? We couldn't just land on a nice island with nice people and have a nice time. Hey, you guys, I think I'm catching a bout of I-Can't-Go-To-The-Cursed-Town-Or-I'll-Die disease!" Usopp says, though most everyone ignores him. The only one who pays him any mind is Chopper who starts freaking out and believes that Usopp will actually die.
"What trouble could Luffy get into in an abandoned town anyhow?" Sanji asks, thinking that this is for the best. After all, the town seemed to have been overwhelming Luffy earlier, and if he was able to find a bit of peace out here where there wasn't anyone to influence him, wasn't that a good thing?
"You never know with Luffy. I'm sure he could find trouble on a completely uninhabited island if he tried hard enough." Nami says.
"At least he's probably not being influenced anymore. It'll be easier to get him back to the ship." Zoro says as he focuses on moving up the overgrown path leading them up the mountain.
"True. Chopper, you're sure he's up there still? He didn't turn around right?" Nami asked because even though she still didn't quite believe in this curse, she would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little apprehensive of it all. If she didn't have to actually go into Konoro Town she would be happy.
"I think so, yeah," Chopper says, stopping in his ranting to sniff the air and determine Luffy's location. At his confirmation, Nami sighs but nods and continues on.
From the back of the group, Robin continues to listen on silently, taking in everything the crew is saying and trying to piece together answers to questions that she's had since meeting the strange Straw Hat Pirates. It had been hinted, and even outright said, that Luffy could feel people's emotions, but when asked about it the captain had mentioned that it wasn't because of his devil fruit that he felt things such as lies and emotions.
Which had led her to believe that he had been bluffing. After all, nobody would be able to do such a thing without the aid of a devil fruit, and Luffy definitely had the rubber fruit. If everyone didn't know that eating two devil fruits killed the consumer, she would have thought he got his abilities from a secondary fruit.
As it was, however, it seemed to be something even stranger than that. The crew seemed to wholeheartedly believe that the teen felt what others felt - to the point that it could influence him - and Robin was beginning to believe it was true as well now after everything she had seen and heard today.
But how? Was he born with the ability? She'd heard tales and read books about people sometimes being born with strange abilities, but nothing like this.
Perhaps it had something to do with the mysterious facility then. It was the only logical explanation after all. People knew next to nothing about what a facility actually was, and it was apparently important enough that the government was willing to chase down the children who had escaped from them. The only other time she'd heard of something like that was her own case, and that was because she was able to read a dead language that the government wanted no one to know about.
So what did Luffy and the other children know about this facility that the government wanted kept secret? Were they responsible for Luffy's abilities? Did other children from facilities have similar, or maybe even different, abilities than Luffy? And if so, how had the facility managed to give these children abilities in the first place?
She wasn't finding many answers, but she was glad for the mystery.
"Look, I think that's the town there." Sanji's voice breaks Robin from her thoughts as they all look ahead of them.
"Ack! It's Konoro Town! W-wait, seriously guys, let's think about this! If Luffys in there, he's already cursed, but that doesn't mean we have to be too! Let's just go back to the Merry and wait for him there!" Usopp begs, legs shaking to the point that they're barely holding him up.
"Come on Usopp, I thought you were a brave warrior." Nami teased, her hands on her hips as she raises an eyebrow at the sniper.
"I-I am! I'm the br-bravest warrior there is!" He says, puffing out his chest despite his shaky legs ruining the image he was trying to project.
"Then you'll have no problem going into the town with us." The navigator says with a smirk, turning her back to him and following after Sanji who hadn't stopped walking.
"W-wha-?! N-no I-! Zoro! Hey, wait, Zoro, no!" The swordsman, who had grabbed onto the back of Usopp's shirt, dragged the sniper over to the entrance of town, ignoring the kicking and screaming that came from him. Chopper and Robin followed without issue, though Chopper looked a little hesitant the closer they grew to the town.
"T-this place isn't actually cursed, right?" The reindeer asks, looking up at Robin who smiles gently down at him.
"I'm sure there's an explanation other than a curse as to why this town has had so many problems," Robin assures with a smile. Relieved to hear this, Chopper beams at the woman before catching up to Nami and Sanji, passing Zoro and Usopp on the way. Usopp, who had heard Robin's words, seemed to calm down from them as well, slumping in Zoro's grip and allowing himself to be dragged.
"Then again, there's always the possibility that it is cursed and we'll all meet a horrible fate before the days end." She finishes as she walks by, only proving to rile Usopp up once more. Zoro sighs and shakes his head, pulling Usopp along roughly as the sniper screams and cries, begging to be let go. Robin laughs quietly to herself, joining up with Sanji, Nami, and Chopper who stood waiting at the entrance.
"Alright, everyone's here. Ready to go in?" Nami asks once they were all together again. Usopp yells an emphatic no, but he's ignored as everyone nods.
"Right. So... here we go..." Raising a foot in the air nervously, Nami slowly puts it passed the Konoro Town entrance sign and squeezes her eyes closed before lowering it swiftly on the ground. They all wait a moment for something to happen, but when nothing does she peeks open one eye cautiously.
After another second of silence, she lets out a relieved sigh and steps in.
"See, it's fine!" Nami exclaims as she steps fully into the town and turns around to look at every one.
"We already knew that," Zoro said in a bored tone as he follows her in.
"Oh yeah, well I didn't see you walking in here." Nami accuses, but he only shrugs.
"I'd rather you be cursed over me." He says easily. Nami doesn't like this answer though and she shows it by hitting him over the head.
"You were willing to let me be cursed?!" She shrieks angrily.
"Ow! You witch, what was that for?" Zoro barks back, enraged.
"Oi, moss head, apologize!" Sanji yells next, slamming his foot down over the spot Nami had just hit.
"OW! Stop hitting me you damn assholes!" Beside the three, Robin watches on in amusement while Chopper tries reviving Usopp who was passed out on the ground lying half inside the bounds of Konoro Town and half out.
It seemed Nami had worked out enough of her anger and was calmed down now. With a huff, she turned to look around at the dilapidated buildings surrounding them and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Now, where would Luffy be?" She asks, mostly to herself but loud enough for everyone else to hear.
"Normally I'd say food but there doesn't seem to be any of that here," Sanji says as he and Zoro finish their argument for the moment.
"Why don't we split up then? Sanji, Robin, and I will focus on the left side of town. Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper will take the right. We can meet up back here later." Nami suggests, pointing to each group and then to where their designated section would be. Everyone, aside from Usopp who is only just waking back up, nods in agreement with the plan and begin breaking off into their groups and walking off.
"W-wait, what's going on?" Usopp asks as everyone starts walking away, leaving him behind. Scrambling to his feet, Usopp hears a rustling to his right that terrifies him, but when he looks there's nothing there.
"G-Guys?! Guys, hold on a second, I think I caught the deadly Theres-Something-Scary-In-The-Cursed-Town-And-I-Can't-Be-Alone-Here-itis! Guys!"
Well, hello again!
Where do I even start?
First, I am so sorry to have left you all waiting for all this time. This is a story that I never forgot over the 2 years it took for me to update it. Believe me, every chance I had, I was working on new chapters. Unluckily for me, I was hit by the curse that seems to follow every fanfiction writer, and as such, things in my personal life were not going well. To put it simply, there was illness, death, big life changes and, on a more positive note, a diploma and acceptance into my desired graduate program. Inevitably, this meant that I had absolutely no time, or the emotional capacity to work on this story as much as I wanted to.
Right now, I am currently in between semesters and decided that I was going to finally sit down and get something new out for all of you amazing readers who have been so patiently waiting for this. I don't know what life will have in store for me from here on, but just know that I always meant it when I said I would never abandon a story. I still think about this story daily, I still plan what I want for future chapters, I still write whenever I can - even if it's only a sentence or two. So despite it taking two years to do so, I'm finally back in action and here with the early Christmas gift that is this chapter.
As of right now, I am planning to get the rest of this arc done and posted for all of you. At this moment, that means up to about chapter 43 which is where I think this arc will end. After that, I plan to move on to Jaya, but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get those chapters written and posted in a timely manner.
Still, as I was saying before, I am always working on this story, and even if Jaya doesn't come right away, know that in time it will.
I will never abandon this story.
So, to wrap-up; I plan on weekly updates once more up until the end of this arc which I think will take us to chapter 43. After that, the future is uncertain, but rest assured that I am always working on this story whenever possible.
Merry early Christmas to all that celebrate, and thank you so so much for all the kind comments and concerned PM's from those of you wishing me well. Thank you for all the support on this story over the years, even when it seemed hope was lost and I wouldn't be returning. I can never express to you all how grateful I am for your support, and it was your comments that would motivate me to sit down and work on this, even through hard times in my life. Without you all, I truly believe there would be no story for me to tell as there would be no one to hear it. Even if there is only one reader left, I will always come back to finish what I've started.
Thank you, thank you, thank you all. I couldn't ask for better supporters of my work.