Big thanks to WillowTree1221, Lexi1245 and ShippingQueen477 for your reviews. I also wanted to thank all the people who've favorited and followed this story. Sorry again for the slower update, life is getting busy but looking ahead at my schedule I should have more time to write come this November so please just bear with me! Now without further ado here's your next chapter!

Chapter 55

"Strange, I thought, how you can be living your dreams and nightmares at the very same time." {Jacob Portman, pg 144 book 2}

"Of course." Emma said, seeming puzzled by the subject change. She stood with Bekhir, along with many of the other children. But Bekhir raised his hand and shook his head.

"He's shy, I'm afraid. Just you." He said pointing to Emma, "and you" he pointed at Jake, "the healer" he nodded at Aurora, "and the one who can be heard but not seen."

"Impressive." Millard said beside her, "And I was trying so hard to be subtle!" As they left a gypsy woman in a flowing robe came over to them and offered to read their palms and predict their futures. Horace straightened his tie and stood, "The future is my specialty madam, let me show you how it's done!"

Bekhir lead them to a rather plain looking wagon and knocked on the door, "Radi?" he called gently, "Come out, please. There are people here to see you."

The door opened a crack and a woman peeked out. She looked over the three peculiars – not seeing Millard of course – with a careful look in her eye. "He's scared. Won't leave his chair." She told Bekhir and he nodded exchanging a meaningful glance with her before she opened the door wider and beckoned them inside. The wagon was small, it held only a small bed, little stove, a table and one chair. Aurora tried to imagine what life was like for the gypsies, living in cramped wagons for months at a time, dancing under the stars at night, getting odd looks from strangers you passed on the road – though the last part she could understand perfectly.

Sitting on the bed was a young boy, probably around thirteen, he had light blondish hair that was combed back away from his face, though a few strands kept falling forward, he wore clothes the same as the other gypsies, old and moth eaten, and watched his new visitors with caution. Aurora recognized his expression, it was the same one they had worn when Bekhir had caught them on the back of the wagon. It was a look you wore when you had something to hide and were worried it was about to all spill out.

"Take off your shoes, Radi." The woman, most likely his mother, said softly. Radi's gaze fell to the floor as his eyes filled with sadness.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes." Bekhir said.

Radi tugged off one of his boots then the other and Aurora had to suppress a gasp. There was nothing there, he appeared to have no feet, the cuffs of his pants hanging a few inches above the floor. Aurora turned to the empty space next to her where she could feel Millard's body heat radiating from, but she knew he wasn't looking at her. Whenever he looked at her it was like her heart could feel it as it began to beat faster, that's how she knew his gaze wasn't on her but on Radi.

It was the first time Millard had met someone like him, and Aurora didn't need to see his face to know he was reliving parts of his past that he'd long tried to forget. Aurora didn't know much about Millard before he came to the loop, he never told her, she only knew that it had to be awful, so awful he did everything he could to forget it. Miss Peregrine was his mother now, the other children his family. But seeing Radi was bringing it all back for him and Aurora reached out and firmly took his hand in hers hoping to be some sort of comfort.

"He began disappearing a few months ago." Radi's mother explained, "First just his toes, then his heels, finally the rest, both feet. Nothing I've given him – no tincture, no tonic – has had the slightest effect in curing him."

"We don't know what to do." Bekhir said turning to Aurora, "But I thought, the healer among you might. . . " he trailed off as he saw Aurora's expression but before she could speak Millard intervened.

"There's no healing what he's got." Radi's head jerked up at hearing Millard's voice but not seeing where it had come from, "We're alike, he and I. It was just the same for me when I was young. I wasn't born invisible, it happened a little at a time."

"Who's speaking?" Radi asked seeing that no one was moving their mouth but someone was talking. Aurora shrugged off Millard's jacket and handed it to him, he put it on and pulled his cap from the pocket, placing it on his head and approaching Radi.

"Here I am. Don't be frightened." He said as he took a seat beside Radi on the bed, the mattress sinking under his unseen weight. In awe, Radi slowly moved his hand to Millard's neck, feeling his jaw, his nose, his forehead, his hair – he even pulled a little hank of it, gently, as if testing Millard's realness.

"You're there." Radi said in wonder. "You're really there!"

"And you'll be too, even after the rest of you goes. You'll see. It doesn't hurt." Millard said answering questions he knew Radi had due to his own experiences. Radi smiled at him, seeming hopeful after what Aurora assumed had been a long time. His mother's knees wobbled and she had to steady herself against Bekhir. "Bless you." She said to Millard, near tears, "Bless you."

"There's nothing to be afraid of." He told Radi, "In fact, once you adjust to invisibility, I think you'll find it has many advantages. . . "

"Let's let them be." Bekhir whispered ushering them out, "I'm sure they have a lot to talk about."

oOo oOo oOo

MILLARD P.O.V.

"There's nothing to be afraid of." He told Radi, "In fact, once you adjust to invisibility, I think you'll find it has many advantages. " Millard told Radi as the others left the wagon.

"Like what?" the boy asked plainly, without excitement but also without his prior hopeless tone. Millard gave another quick glace around the room making sure they were alone, no parent would agree with the advice Millard was about to give.

"Well, since I can go completely unseen I've been able to become a pick-pocket and a master spy." He chuckled, "Back home I could follow people around and at the end of the day tell them where they'd been, what they'd had to eat, if they picked their nose when they thought nobody was looking!" he said making Radi laugh. "I've been able to observe and learn about various things largely due to the fact that I couldn't be seen." He paused trying to find the easiest way to explain to Radi.

"You see we all used to live in a loop – a day that repeats itself. So I was able to document when planes would fly over our island, know exactly where the bombs would fall and which direction all one hundred fifty nine people would run in, my work saved our skins on more than one occasion." He paused to gauge Radi's reaction, he didn't want to overload the boy with information but at the same time wanted to make sure he knew all the fun things he'd now be able to do, that his future wasn't as bleak as he'd thought it would be. "I can also go wherever I like and no one tells me no because they have no idea I'm there, it's a type of freedom like no other, being able to enjoy doing whatever you like without consequence."

"You talk about it like it's nothing." Radi said in a small voice. Millard shrugged, the shoulders of his jacket showing the movement.

"I've gotten used to it, so will you."

"But will everyone else?" he asked turning his gaze down to his invisible feet, his eyes growing sad.

"How do you mean?" Millard asked desperate to find what was troubling the boy so he could wipe away any doubts and negativity.

"What if. . . one day. . . they pack up and leave me behind. They won't be able to see me, so they might forget me, and they wouldn't even notice I was gone. I'll be left behind with the spiders and the wolves!"

"Radi." He said placing his hand on the boys knee, "Your parents love you, they'd never do that. You're so lucky to have been born to a family that understands, the majority of us don't have that luxury." There was a long pause while Radi considered Millard's words.

"Your friends never forget you're there?" he asked and it made Millard pause because yes, sometimes they did forget he was there, not that Millard minded. He wouldn't be able to spy if they remembered he was there watching, but he could see why it would upset Radi to know that. But he couldn't lie to the boy.

"I think sometimes they do." He said after a pause and saw Radi deflate, "but when it's important we make sure to stick together."

"You make it sound like this is the best thing that can happen to a person."

"It isn't easy, that's for sure. But just because it's difficult to adjust to doesn't make it a bad thing." There was another long pause and Millard waited patiently for Radi to speak. He was sure the boy had several questions and he didn't want to rush him, but what he asked shocked Millard.

"Can I go with you?"

"Pardon?" Millard asked wanting to be sure he'd heard right.

"When you leave can I go with you?"

"What about your family here? Your parents?" Millard said in shock, if he'd had what Radi had he'd never want to leave it.

"I belong with people like you."

"Radi. . . what you have, you don't realize how lucky you are. The grass isn't always greener, my group is together because our families didn't understand, your parents do –"

"No they don't. They try to, but they don't – can't understand me. But you do. You know what going through this is like." He said his voice now wavering, "I. . . need your help. . . I'm afraid of what I'm going to become." He said now trying to hold back tears as his darkest thoughts rose to the surface. Yes Millard knew exactly what he was going through, every emotion displayed on his face Millard had experienced for himself, and it was torture, the worst Millard had ever felt. Well, tied with when he had split up with Aurora, but still the change was awful.

"I'll ask. . . that's all I can do." He said but was afraid he already knew the others answer. Radi nodded his thanks sniffling and trying to regain his composure. Millard moved his hand to the boys shoulder to comfort him in some small way. After a long while his breathing had returned to normal and he looked up to Millard with a new question.

"What you said before, about my parents and me being lucky. What did you mean?" he asked and Millard felt his heart drop into his stomach, "When you started to disappear, what did your parents do?"

Millard took a deep breath and prepared himself to tell Radi what he'd never told anyone. Not even Aurora, only Miss Peregrine knew, he was only going to tell Radi because it would make it easier when they left him with his people, would help the boy understand how lucky he already was. Millard dug deep and took another breath as he began telling Radi something he'd wanted to keep buried forever.