Anya was still in a pileup with George and the dogs, her hand on Bond's brow. It was apparent that she had voided in her sleep. George said nothing of it as she clung to him. "Oh, Georgie! I dreamed everything, and it was like it was real!" she squalled. "But it was worse! I- I touched Becky! I was in her mind! I felt everything when- when- when-!" She screamed.

Papa and Aunt Sylvia hurried out. Papa wore the bottom half of a set of pajamas, clearly pulled on in haste. "Oh Anya, Anya," he said. He brushed a hand through her hair.

It was George who spoke. "Anya, that is what happened," he said. He took Anya's hand, and she felt his sincerity. "You were holding Becky's hand when she died. I saw it. I felt it."

Anya opened her mouth to protest, but she felt her own memories wavering like a mirage. As her tears poured out, she looked over Papa's shoulder. She saw Bond reluctantly following Aunt Sylvia to the bath. Ever so briefly, the dog looked back at her. "Bond," she said. "You did send me back."

By breakfast time, Anya and George were cleaned up. By well-oiled routine, their soiled clothes went in the laundry, while the damp mat and bedding were bagged to go to the cleaners. Anya watched a tape taken from television. It showed a courtroom, where a monitor and player had been set up on the witness stand. The screen showed Anya herself, fumbling through a story.

"I saw Becky, she's my best friend in the whole world, so I called her," she said. "She and Bill started running, but the man in the sky started shooting. Bill tried to stop the bullets. He must have stopped some, but he fell on her."

The outcry in the court nearly drowned her out. The voice of Bill Watkins' father could be heard bawling, "Oh my brave boy! The flower of the east cut down!"

"I reached out to Becky. She took my hand," Anya said. "But the bullets went boom, boom, boom!" The cries did briefly drown out the audio. "And then, an' then- there wasn't any Becky! Where did Becky go?" As she burst into tears, the video was hastily stopped by one of the officers who moved forward to keep order.

Papa sat down beside Anya. He carelessly held a dissident newspaper Anya was never allowed to read. The front page showed a cartoon of a small weasel rending a chicken; the caption read, SHOULD THE MARTEN GUARD THE HENHOUSE? "I called Uncle Yuri," he said. "He and Aunt Chloe will come over soon. Chloe says they will bring your cousin. That will be fun, won't it?"

"Yes," Anya said. She mustered a smile. "Georgie, do you believe me?"

"I know you're upset," George said. "Just think how this looks. You saw the tape. You remember talking to those people, don't you? You told me they were really nice to you. It was the worst day of our lives, and you just happened to remember it without the worst part. Wouldn't it make sense that you forgot it to stop the hurt?"

"Maybe," Anya said. "But I can read minds. I've seen Bond foresee the future. Isn't there a chance that we did something together?"

"Yes, I cannot discount anything you have told me," Papa said. "Still, consider this. If you changed the past, and that made you able to remember the previous version of events, there would have to be other changes. Even things that had nothing to do with the bombing would have happened differently. There would be children who were never born, just because a different sperm fertilized their mother's egg."

"You're right," Anya said. Already, she felt a haze over her memory, telling her that the memories that came to the surface were what had always been. She felt a further temptation to let the other memories that lingered go.

Sylvia sat down. "Maybe it will help if we talk about what happened," she said. "You know the families don't like numbers, but I think you're ready for it. 1,854 students, staff and rescue workers were killed on the Eden campus that day. Another 900 were injured or crippled. The man responsible was Captain William Marten of the Luwen Elite Reserves. He ordered his flight to launch over 3,000 mines at the school instead of their assigned target. He fed incorrect coordinates that caused one of his own men to crash. He fired air-burst warheads, anti-tank missiles, anti-personnel rockets and a 2 cm autocannon at both the school buildings and the students trying to escape. He deliberately targeted Becky and Bill when he shot them. Then he crashed his plane after exchanging fire with his own wingman. Neither tried to eject."

"If the bad guy died, what was the trial for?" the girl asked.

Papa spoke then. "It was for the surviving pilots who refused Marten's orders but didn't protest or intervene," he said. "It may sound strange, but it was their duty. Three of them took their own lives before or during the trial. The only survivor of Marten's flight was executed. Three others were sent to a hard labor camp in Nielsberg. Three more officers in the Westalian air force were court-martialed in Westalis for overriding repeated orders to remove Marten from combat missions. The Ostanians weren't happy about that; they wanted to try them, too."

"Did someone really tell the bad man to do it?" Anya pressed.

Papa's face darkened. "No," Sylvia said. "You know how they argued about that at the trial. The advocate general of Westalis still wanted to say it was all a mistake. People like Oberst Watkins thought that even delivering their own men to the tribunal was part of a plan by Westalis to force Ostania to terms. They were both wrong. The only orders were from Marten, according to his own detailed plans. He told his men they had received a classified mission. They all admitted they knew he was lying."

"Is it true what they say?" Anya said. "That he was mad at Oberst Watkins and Mr. Blackbell for what they did in the other war?"

"It's true, mostly," Papa said with a frown. "Marten's wife and all five of their children were killed in one of Ostania's reprisal' actions, by a squad under Watkins' command. The troops had been armed with Blackbell selective-fire rifles. His friends and former fiance said that he had made detailed threats against both men and their families, Becky especially. But he had also had a troubled marriage. His family were caught behind the lines because his wife refused to leave with him. Several of his fellow pilots said he admitted he felt personally responsible when he was informed of their deaths. You must know, grief is complicated. So is guilt."

Anya hugged Papa. "You would never have done that," she said. "Not for Mama, or me, or Fiona, or Sylvia, or anybody."

Papa lifted her off the floor in a bear hug. "No," he said. "Not after I had you. And if I hadn't had you, I wouldn't have had anything I cared enough to fight for." Sylvia and George joined in their embrace.

It seemed only moments before there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Loid said. He disentangled himself. Anya followed him. She thought of Yuri, Jr, smiling and happy- but her memories were already growing dim and confused. She braced herself as Papa opened the door.

"Hello!" Yuri said. He carried a huge bouquet, as usual. Beside him, Chloe held a swaddled infant. "I heard someone could use some cheering up, so we brought a friend along. It's your cousin Yolanda!"

Chloe stooped to hold out her baby to Anya. She mutely accepted the offered bundle. The baby stirred, and gave a smile of recognition. A tiny pink dress left no doubt that it was indeed a girl. Papa leaned down and murmured in her ear: "What is it? Do you feel like something changed?"

"No," Anya said. Yuri and Chloe smiled as she carefully cradled her cousin in her arms. "Not at all. You were right, it was just a dream."