The Spot of the Fallen Sun

The trees ended as suddenly as if an invisible hand had drawn a line through the earth.

Share Girl stepped over the last gnarled root and stopped.

Before her lay no clearing, but the forgotten bones of another age.

An immense stone amphitheater rested beneath the open sky. Marble columns, worn smooth by centuries of wind and rain, circled the structure like silent sentinels. Some still stood proudly. Others lay broken where they had fallen, their drums scattered across the dusty ground. Cracks spiderwebbed through the pale stone floor, all leading toward a circular stage at the center.

Above it, the roof had been pierced clean through.

Not collapsed.

Pierced.

A perfect opening gazed upward into the heavens.

Dust drifted lazily through the shaft of fading evening light.

The forest stopped at the edge of the amphitheater.

Blue branches leaned inward from every direction, yet none dared cross onto the marble.

It was as though even the Blue Tree Forest understood this place belonged to something older than itself.

Share Girl slowly turned in a circle.

"No fairies."

Her voice echoed softly through the empty seats.

"No Hollow Folk."

Another echo.

"No birds."

Nothing answered.

She frowned.

"I hate quiet."

She had spent the night following Tess.

Or trying to.

The Forest had folded every trail back upon itself until it finally delivered her here instead.

Alone.

She searched the empty entrances.

“Tess!”

Only her own voice answered.

Her footsteps rang against the marble as she wandered toward the center of the ancient stage. The cracks beneath her feet radiated outward like frozen lightning.

She crouched, brushing her fingers across one of the blackened scars burned into the stone.

"They never fade."

"No."

The familiar voice drifted through the opposite entrance.

Share Girl stood.

Limbo emerged from between two weathered columns.

Behind him came people.

Not one.

Not two.

Eight.

All of them.

Share Girl counted once.

Then again.

"...Eight?"

The strangers looked exhausted. Torn clothing. Dirt-stained faces. Bruises. A few fresh bandages wrapped around arms and ankles. But they walked.

Every one of them walked.

Limbo stopped several yards away.

For a long moment, neither he nor Share Girl spoke.

She looked from one survivor to the next.

"...You didn't lose anybody."

Limbo slowly shook his head.

"My footsteps grew heavy the closer we came."

His eyes wandered over the little group behind him.

"I feared we would lose one so near the destination."

A gray-haired woman stepped beside him, offering an apologetic smile.

"We almost stopped several times."

Limbo nodded.

"When danger lurked..."

His voice softened.

"...or the path shifted..."

He looked at the choir.

"...their voices rose."

The youngest among them smiled.

"We just kept singing."

"As if guided by another," Limbo finished quietly.

His eyes glistened with something Share Girl had never seen in them before.

Wonder.

"We did not lose a one."

Share Girl looked over the group again.

No missing faces.

No empty place in their line.

No one left behind.

For the first time since she had entered the Blue Tree Forest...

She wondered if someone really could leave.

The thought frightened her more than anything she'd seen in the forest.

Limbo looked toward the darkening sky.

"We'll lose the light soon."

The gray-haired woman followed his gaze.

"We should make camp."

"Camp?" Share Girl laughed. "Lady, you've picked the nicest hotel in the whole Blue Tree Forest."

Several nervous smiles spread through the group.

"She's joking," Limbo assured them.

"I am?" Share Girl tilted her head. "Huh."

Limbo ignored her.

"The night is safest spent here."

He looked around the amphitheater.

"The forest does not cross these stones."

A young man with sandy hair stared back toward the wall of blue trees surrounding the ancient structure.

"...Why?"

"No one knows."

Share Girl shrugged.

"They're smart enough not to."

The choir exchanged uncertain glances.

"Enough standing around." Share Girl clapped once. "Everybody grab leaves. Big ones. Dry ones. You're sleeping on marble tonight."

The strangers looked toward Limbo.

He nodded.

"Do as she says."

Share Girl grinned.

"See? I got promoted."

The group scattered.

Almost immediately they began helping one another.

An older gentleman bent with stiff knees to gather armfuls of broad leaves. Before he could straighten, two younger members relieved him of half the burden.

Another woman carefully tucked a loose bandage back around Penelope's wrist.

Someone laughed.

Someone apologized for stepping on another's foot.

Someone thanked them anyway.

Share Girl watched.

No one argued over who was carrying more.

No one complained.

No one wandered away.

They simply...

worked.

Together.

"Huh."

She muttered it under her breath.

Limbo wandered toward a pile of fallen marble.

He knelt.

His left hand rubbed slowly along the tattoos covering his right arm.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Heat gathered beneath his palm.

A tiny spark jumped free.

Then another.

Finally, a glowing ember drifted onto a bed of dried moss tucked between two broken stones.

The flame caught.

Within moments a cheerful fire danced against the gathering darkness.

The choir applauded.

Limbo blinked.

"...Thank you."

Share Girl burst into laughter.

"They're clapping because you made fire."

"I know."

"They think you're a magician."

"I know."

"They don't know you're weird."

"I know."

She laughed harder.

"I've got food!"

Every head turned.

Share Girl dropped to her knees beside the satchel Limbo had given her.

She rummaged through it with exaggerated excitement.

"What do we got today..."

She held up a handful of blue berries.

"Nope."

Back into the bag.

A bundle of mushrooms.

"Nope."

Back into the bag.

Finally—

"There we go!"

She triumphantly produced strips of smoked venison wrapped in broad leaves.

A collective sigh of relief escaped the choir.

"I knew Limbo packed something good."

She tossed the bundle toward Maureen.

"Cooks better if somebody besides me touches it."

Maureen caught it awkwardly.

"Thank you."

Share Girl shrugged.

"I like sharing."

Christian smiled.

"I suppose that explains your name."

"It sure doesn't,” Share Girl answered so quickly the little circle erupted in surprised laughter.

Even Limbo allowed the corner of his mouth to twitch.

Before long the smell of roasting meat drifted across the marble.

The fire painted warm oranges across ancient columns.

Bedrolls of woven leaves surrounded the flames.

The amphitheater no longer felt abandoned.

For one evening...

It felt lived in.

Share Girl sat cross-legged beside the fire, happily watching everyone eat.

No one reached for seconds until everyone had been served once.

No one had to ask.

They simply waited.

She frowned.

"...You're all really like this?"

Maureen looked up.

"Like what?"

"You keep making sure everybody else is okay first."

Christian chuckled.

"Old habit."

"We spend months on the road together," Seth added. "You stop thinking about yourself after a while."

Penelope smiled.

"If one of us hurts..."

"...we all hurt."

Share Girl stared into the flames.

Nobody had ever said something like that before.

Not to her.

Not about her.

She quickly shoved another strip of venison into her mouth before anyone noticed she'd stopped smiling.

Across the fire, Limbo quietly watched her.

He said nothing.

He knew exactly what she was hearing.

Not the words.

The life she'd never had.

The fire settled into glowing coals.

No one spoke for a while.

The only sounds were the crackle of burning wood and the occasional scrape of stone as someone shifted upon their bed of leaves.

Above them, stars slowly emerged through the great opening in the roof.

Share Girl leaned back on her elbows.

"So..."

She looked around the circle.

"Who's got the good stories?"

A few chuckles answered.

"I mean it." She pointed around the fire. "Everybody that's still breathing has a story worth hearing."

"We've had enough stories for one lifetime," one of the older gentlemen muttered.

Share Girl smirked.

"That's usually when the best ones start."

Silence returned.

Not uncomfortable.

Comfortable.

The kind earned after surviving something terrible together.

Maureen looked toward Limbo.

"You two seem to know this place."

"We know enough."

Limbo stared into the flames.

"Not everything."

"The forest doesn't tell anybody everything," Share Girl added.

Christian tilted his head.

"You keep saying 'the forest' like it's..."

He searched for the word.

"...alive."

Share Girl answered immediately.

"It is."

No smile.

No joke.

Just certainty.

The fire popped.

Several members of the choir instinctively glanced toward the wall of blue trees.

The branches stood perfectly still.

Almost as though they were listening.

Christian lowered his voice.

"What... is this place?"

Share Girl opened her mouth.

Limbo answered first.

"We call it the Blue Tree Forest."

"No..." Christian shook his head.

"I mean..."

He gestured around them.

"...this."

His hand swept across the marble ruins.

The broken columns.

The shattered stage.

The perfect circle overhead.

Limbo looked around as though seeing it for the first time himself.

"We call it the Spot of the Fallen Sun."

"Did the sun really fall here?" Seth asked.

Share Girl laughed.

"Hope not."

"It would explain why it's dark."

The circle laughed.

Even Limbo smiled.

Seth grinned proudly.

"I've been saving that one."

"You should've kept saving it." Share Girl teased.

More laughter.

Real laughter this time.

The kind that hurt sore ribs.

When it faded, Christian looked back toward the stage.

"So... what really happened here?"

Limbo slowly shook his head.

"No one knows."

"There are stories." Share Girl shrugged.

"Lots of them."

"Every one was different."

Maureen folded another piece of wood onto the fire.

"What do they say?"

Limbo rested his forearms across his knees.

"They say..."

He looked upward through the circular opening.

"...that something fell."

"A star."

Share Girl nodded.

"Or the sun."

"An angel."

"Or a liar."

"A god."

"Or a devil."

Back and forth they went.

Finishing one another's thoughts.

Contradicting each other.

Neither correcting the other.

The choir couldn't tell where the truth ended and the legends began.

Finally Seth laughed.

"So..."

He pointed between them.

"...which one is right?"

Limbo looked at Share Girl.

Share Girl looked at Limbo.

Together they shrugged.

"We don't know."

The answer settled over the fire more heavily than certainty would have.

Christian frowned.

"You've lived here this long..."

"...and you still don't know?"

"The forest doesn't explain itself."

Limbo's voice carried no bitterness.

"It simply is."

The fire crackled again.

Its warmth wrapped around the little circle.

Maureen pulled her blanket a little tighter around her shoulders.

"I think..."

She smiled at the others.

"...I like not knowing."

Everyone looked at her.

"If we knew everything..." she continued, "...there'd be no room left for faith."

Share Girl watched the choir.

Not one person rolled their eyes.

Not one challenged her.

Seth simply nodded.

"I like that."

"So do I."

"So do I."

The agreement passed around the fire as naturally as breathing.

The silence lingered.

Comfortably.

The fire had burned low enough that the flames no longer danced. They simply breathed.

Seth leaned back against one of the fallen marble drums.

"I never asked your names."

Share Girl looked up.

"You didn't."

"I'm Seth."

He pointed around the circle one by one.

"You already met Maureen. Christian. Penelope..."

The introductions continued around the fire.

Each name greeted with a smile or small wave.

No grand speeches.

Just people.

When everyone had finished, Seth looked back at the two strangers.

"And you?"

Share Girl answered first.

"I'm Share Girl."

The choir waited.

"...That's it?"

She nodded.

"That's it."

Christian smiled politely.

"An unusual name."

"So I've heard."

"And you?" Maureen asked Limbo.

"Limbo."

She blinked.

"Your parents had an imagination."

"They had hope."

The answer came so softly no one knew quite what to say.

The conversation settled again.

Eventually Penelope spoke.

"I think..."

She hesitated.

"...I think your names fit."

Share Girl tilted her head.

"How so?"

"You share."

Penelope smiled.

"And..."

She looked toward Limbo.

"...you help people who feel lost."

Share Girl looked at Limbo.

Limbo looked into the fire.

Neither corrected her.

Share Girl stood.

"I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Limbo asked.

She pointed toward the darkness.

"Bathroom."

The choir laughed.

She grinned.

"Kidding."

Then she disappeared into the shadows beyond the firelight.

The laughter faded.

She wandered between broken columns until the voices became distant.

She leaned against cold marble.

The smile slipped from her face.

"They like me."

She said it quietly.

Almost afraid someone would hear.

"They actually..."

Her throat tightened.

"...like me."

She looked back toward the warm glow of the campfire.

Seth was saying something.

Everyone laughed.

Maureen reached over and fixed Penelope's blanket again.

Christian was helping one of the older gentlemen carve another strip of meat.

Nobody was alone.

Share Girl hugged herself.

"They don't know me."

The words hurt more than she expected.

"If they knew..."

She looked down at her hands.

The scars.

The cracked skin.

The places where Simon had remade her.

"...they wouldn't."

A tiny pebble bounced across the marble.

She looked up.

Mike stood between two columns, his body shimmering with drifting motes of light, as though music itself had decided to become a boy.

Half hidden.

Watching.

His head tilted.

He didn't speak.

He simply mimicked her posture.

Arms wrapped around himself.

Share Girl couldn't help but smile.

"You spying?"

Mike copied the smile.

She rolled her eyes.

"Creep."

Mike mimed rolling his own eyes.

She laughed.

A real laugh.

Quiet.

Gentle.

"You always know when I need somebody."

Mike tapped his own chest.

Then pointed toward hers.

As if to say...

Same.

Share Girl looked back toward the fire.

"They're nice."

Mike nodded.

"I don't belong over there."

Mike looked at the camp.

Then back at Share Girl.

He slowly shook his head.

Not agreeing.

Disagreeing.

Share Girl frowned.

"You think I do?"

Mike nodded.

She laughed through her nose.

"You're dumber than you look."

Mike smiled wider.

Share Girl sighed.

"I wish..."

The words caught.

She wasn't used to wishing anymore.

"...I wish I'd met people like them first."

The sentence hung between the columns.

Mike lowered his head.

Even he had no answer for that.

After a long while, Share Girl pushed herself away from the marble.

"They're probably wondering where I went."

Mike pointed toward the fire.

Then made a little shooing motion.

"I know."

She started walking.

Then stopped.

She looked back.

"Thanks."

Mike gave a tiny bow.

Then disappeared into the darkness without making a sound.

When Share Girl returned, nobody interrogated her.

Nobody asked where she'd been.

Maureen simply smiled and patted the empty place beside her.

"We saved your spot."

Share Girl looked at the space.

Then at the people surrounding it.

She sat down.

Quietly.

For perhaps the first time in years...

Someone had saved her a place.

The warmth of the fire settled into weary bones.

For the first time since entering the Blue Tree Forest, no one looked over their shoulder.

No one jumped at every snapping twig.

The darkness remained beyond the marble steps, held at bay by the ancient amphitheater as though it respected boundaries long forgotten by man.

The fire cracked.

Orange sparks spiraled upward through the opening in the roof before disappearing into the stars.

Seth watched them drift.

“So...”

He looked between Limbo and Share Girl.

“...what happens tomorrow?”

Limbo lifted his eyes toward the perfect circle overhead.

“Tomorrow...”

His voice became distant.

“...is why people come here.”

Christian's eyes wandered upward.

"That opening..."

He pointed toward the hole in the roof.

"It looks almost..."

"...Perfect." Seth finished.

Share Girl smiled.

"That's the creepy part."

Christian frowned.

"It wasn't weather?"

"No."

"Time?"

"No."

He looked at Limbo.

"What made it?"

Limbo answered honestly.

"I don't know."

The fire popped loudly.

Everyone jumped.

Share Girl laughed.

"Nerves are finally coming back."

"I suppose that's a good sign." Maureen smiled.

"It is."

Share Girl nodded.

"It means you're finally relaxing."

Christian folded another piece of wood onto the fire.

"If tomorrow is why people come here..."

He hesitated.

"...what happens?"

Limbo became very still.

"When the sun rises..."

Every eye drifted toward the opening above.

"...don't look."

The words were so simple they almost sounded absurd.

Seth lowered his eyes.

"Don't look?"

Limbo nodded once.

"Whatever you hear."

He paused.

"Whatever you feel."

Another pause.

"Keep your eyes closed."

Penelope quietly asked,

"For how long?"

"Until the warmth leaves."

Share Girl picked up another stick and tossed it into the fire.

"Don't peek."

She looked around the circle.

"I'm serious."

Christian tilted his head.

"What happens if we do?"

Share Girl answered matter-of-factly.

"You die."

No one laughed.

No one questioned her.

No one argued.

Maureen simply nodded.

"Then we won't."

One by one the others agreed.

"Of course."

"If that's what keeps us safe."

"We've trusted you this far."

Share Girl blinked.

"...That's it?"

Seth smiled.

"You've gotten us farther than we ever thought we'd make it."

He shrugged.

"I don't see much point in doubting you now."

Share Girl looked away.

She didn't know what to do with trust that wasn't earned through fear.

After a long while Seth spoke again.

"Has anyone..."

He hesitated.

"...ever made it this far?"

The fire crackled softly.

Limbo watched the glowing coals.

His answer came almost as a whisper.

"No."

Heads slowly turned toward him.

"You are the first."

No cheers followed.

No celebration.

Only quiet gratitude.

Maureen reached over and took Penelope's hand.

Christian reached for the older gentleman beside him.

One by one hands found hands.

No one suggested it.

No one led it.

It simply happened.

A circle.

Unbroken.

Share Girl watched them.

Waiting.

Someone would let go.

Someone always did.

Minutes passed.

No one moved.

She looked down at her own hands resting in her lap.

Scarred.

Misshapen.

Alone.

She quietly tucked them beneath the blanket of leaves.

Across the fire Limbo noticed.

He said nothing.

Sometimes silence was kinder than comfort.

The flames settled lower.

One conversation became two.

Two became whispers.

Whispers became yawns.

Soon the amphitheater held only the soft breathing of tired travelers.

Share Girl remained awake.

She looked around the sleeping circle.

They hadn't spread themselves apart.

Each had fallen asleep close enough that, if fear woke them in the night, all they had to do was reach out.

Someone had left a place for her.

Right beside Maureen.

She stared at the empty bed of leaves for a long time.

Then, without a word, she slipped beneath the blanket.

She did not reach for anyone.

But for the first time in a very long time...

She fell asleep knowing she wouldn't wake up alone.

Night surrendered slowly.

The stars faded one by one.

Not disappearing.

Simply stepping aside.

The fire had long since become glowing embers when something stirred the air.

Not wind.

Warmth.

It drifted across the marble like the first breath after holding one's lungs empty for too long.

Share Girl's eyes fluttered open.

She frowned.

"...Limbo."

He was already awake.

Sitting cross-legged near the dying fire.

His back remained turned toward the stage.

"I know."

His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"It's time."

One by one the members of the choir awoke.

No one spoke above a murmur.

No one wished to disturb whatever sacred thing approached with the dawn.

Maureen quietly helped Penelope to her feet.

Christian rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Seth stretched and smiled.

"...I can feel it."

"So can I."

Another voice answered.

The warmth grew stronger.

It wasn't hot.

It simply wrapped itself around them.

Like stepping from winter into spring.

Share Girl stood.

She brushed leaves from her skirt.

Without being asked, everyone gathered together upon the circular stage.

Shoulder to shoulder.

The place where, according to stories, something had fallen long ago.

Their breaths hung together in the cool morning air.

No one seemed afraid anymore.

Only expectant.

Seth laughed quietly.

"I've never..."

He searched for the words.

"...felt anything like this."

Neither had Share Girl.

The warmth reached her too.

She hated herself for how badly she wanted to turn around.

She folded her arms tighter.

"No peeking."

She tried to sound playful.

It came out as a plea.

Maureen smiled.

"We remember."

She reached for Penelope's hand.

Christian reached for Seth's.

Soon the entire choir stood connected.

One circle.

One heartbeat.

One hope.

Share Girl watched them.

Then quietly stepped beside Limbo.

He never took his eyes from the stone beneath his feet.

"Good."

He whispered.

"They remembered."

The warmth deepened.

A strange pressure settled over the amphitheater.

Not heavy.

Comforting.

Like invisible hands resting gently upon weary shoulders.

The marble itself seemed to awaken.

Dust lifted from ancient cracks.

Tiny particles danced upward through the still air.

Share Girl closed her eyes.

Somewhere...

She thought she heard music.

Not sung.

Not played.

Simply...

present.

"So beautiful."

Penelope breathed.

No one answered.

Words suddenly felt too small.

The first rays of dawn climbed the outer columns.

Golden fingers stretching over weathered marble.

Slowly...

Patiently...

The light crept upward.

Over broken stone.

Across forgotten seats.

Toward the great circular opening above the stage.

Then...

It came.

Sunlight poured through the opening like a living river.

Not harsh.

Gentle.

A wall of gold descended upon the choir.

Their hair lifted softly in a wind that had no source.

Blankets fluttered.

Tears rolled freely down smiling faces.

Share Girl felt the warmth against the back of her neck.

It reached for her.

Inviting.

Welcoming.

She squeezed her eyes tighter.

Beside her, Limbo bowed his head.

Neither moved.

Neither spoke.

The warmth became overwhelming.

Not painful.

Perfect.

It was the feeling of every goodbye undone.

Every loneliness healed.

Every wound forgiven.

Share Girl understood then.

This...

This was why people looked.

A trembling voice escaped the circle.

"It's..."

Another answered.

"...so beautiful..."

Someone laughed through tears.

"My Lord..."

A scream cut the words in half.

Silence.

Then another scream.

Shorter.

Sharper.

Another.

Another.

Like the wrong keys struck one after another across a piano.

Share Girl's heart lurched.

"No..."

She whispered.

"No..."

The screams stopped.

All at once.

The warmth lingered only a moment longer.

Then, like the tide withdrawing into the sea, the sunlight retreated.

The golden river climbed back through the opening.

Across the stone.

Over the broken columns.

Back beyond the trees.

The amphitheater grew still.

Very slowly...

Limbo opened his eyes.

Share Girl did the same.

Neither spoke.

Before them...

The choir remained exactly where they had stood.

Hands still joined.

Faces lifted.

Smiles forever interrupted.

Every one of them had become pale pillars of white.

Frozen in the final instant of hope.

Share Girl stared.

She searched desperately for movement.

A blink.

A breath.

Anything.

There was nothing.

Limbo lowered his head.

His shoulders sank beneath a weight older than grief itself.

After a long, terrible silence, his voice barely escaped him.

"...They forgot."

Share Girl looked at him.

He closed his eyes once more.

"...to sing."

Silence.

The kind that changes people forever.

No one moved.

The circle remained unbroken.

Fingers still intertwined.

Smiles forever reaching toward a promise they would never touch.

Dust drifted lazily through the morning light.

Share Girl searched every face.

Seth.

Christian.

Penelope.

Maureen.

Each one exactly as they had been only moments before.

Only...

Still.

Too still.

"They..."

The word caught in her throat.

"...they..."

She walked forward.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Almost afraid a loud footstep might wake them.

"They're playing."

No one answered.

She smiled weakly.

"They got me."

She looked over her shoulder.

"They're playing with me."

Limbo remained where he stood.

His head lowered.

He could not make himself lie.

Share Girl's smile disappeared.

"No."

She shook her head.

"No."

She reached Seth first.

His smile remained.

His eyes fixed forever toward the heavens.

She waved a hand in front of his face.

Nothing.

"Seth."

Silence.

She poked his shoulder.

Hard.

Nothing.

She looked back toward Limbo.

"Tell him."

Limbo closed his eyes.

"I cannot."

Share Girl frowned.

"You tell him to stop."

Silence.

"You tell him!"

Her voice echoed through the empty amphitheater.

Nothing echoed back.

She grabbed Seth by both shoulders.

His body did not yield.

Not even a little.

Like stone.

Like...

Her fingers slowly tightened.

"No..."

Her breathing quickened.

"No!"

She drew back her fist.

Limbo lifted his head.

"Share Girl."

Too late.

She drove her fist straight through Seth's smiling face.

The pillar shattered with a deafening crack.

White fragments exploded across the marble.

Her arm disappeared to the elbow before bursting out the other side.

She stumbled forward as what remained of Seth collapsed into a mound of brilliant white crystals.

Silence.

Her arm hissed.

Thin trails of smoke curled from her skin.

Tiny glowing embers appeared beneath the cracks running along her forearm.

The Sharing began again.

Orange light spread beneath her flesh like fire beneath paper.

She stared at it.

Then at the pile before her.

"...Still Sharing."

Her voice broke on the last word.

She turned.

Another pillar.

Christian.

Another punch.

Another explosion of white.

Another cloud of dust.

Another friend gone.

"They made it!"

Crash.

"They made it all the way!"

Crash.

"They were supposed..."

Her fist shattered Penelope's shoulder.

"...to go home!"

Crash.

"They did everything right!"

Maureen exploded into a rain of pale fragments.

"They were good!"

Another pillar.

"They loved each other!"

Another.

"They..."

Her voice gave out.

She struck again anyway.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Until every smiling monument lay scattered across the marble floor.

Nothing remained standing.

Only drifting dust.

And silence.

Share Girl dropped to her knees.

Her burning arm hung uselessly at her side.

She stared at the white fragments covering the stage.

"They all leave."

The words barely escaped her.

She laughed once.

A broken sound.

"They all..."

Another laugh.

"...leave."

She lowered her head.

"I'm..."

A tear struck the marble.

"...still here."

The amphitheater seemed impossibly large.

Limbo quietly crossed the stage.

He didn't try to stop her.

He didn't tell her she was wrong.

He simply stood beside her.

For a long time.

Neither spoke.

Finally...

He rested his hand upon the handle of his hickory walking stick.

"...Come."

Share Girl didn't look up.

"Where?"

"I heard tale of a herd of pegsai frolicking in a field just yonder beyond the ridge."

She sniffed.

"Got any Appaloosas?"

A tiny pause.

"Indeed."

He turned.

Simply...

...started walking.

Share Girl remained where she was.

Her uninjured arm folded across her chest.

Pouting.

She kicked a chunk of white crystal.

It skipped across the marble.

"I don't wanna."

Limbo kept walking.

She sighed dramatically.

"I said..."

She kicked another piece.

"...I don't wanna."

He disappeared between the ancient columns.

She stood there another moment.

Then, with exaggerated swinging steps like an indignant little girl forced to leave the playground, she followed.

Halfway to the columns...

Limbo began humming.

Softly.

A tune so old it seemed older than the forest itself.

His left arm shimmered beneath the ink covering it.

The tattoos vibrated almost imperceptibly as though remembering words his lips no longer spoke.

Share Girl listened.

The melody floated through the morning air.

Then...

Another voice joined it.

Not a voice.

A harmony.

She looked up.

Between two weathered columns stood Mike, his body shimmering with countless drifting specks, as though a melody had gathered itself into the shape of a boy.

He smiled.

Not with his lips.

With the music.

Share Girl smiled back.

She hurried the last few steps until she caught Limbo.

Without a word she slipped her hand around his arm.

The humming never stopped.

She looked toward Mike.

"I accept."

Mike's form shimmered.

The melody swelled for just a heartbeat.

Then the music scattered into the morning breeze.

Limbo never asked who she was speaking to.

He simply kept humming.

Together...

They disappeared beyond the ridge.

The ancient amphitheater stood silent once more.

Morning light settled gently across broken marble.

The white fragments of the choir glittered like frost.

No one remained.

No voices.

Only the memory of a hymn drifting somewhere beyond the ridge.

Several moments passed.

Then...

Movement.

Two figures emerged cautiously from the tree line.

Tess stepped onto the marble first.

Clint followed close behind.

Neither spoke.

Their eyes swept across the ruined amphitheater.

The shattered white pillars.

The dust.

The footprints leading away.

Clint swallowed.

"...What happened here?"

Tess didn't answer immediately.

She knelt beside one of the scattered white fragments.

Ran it between her fingers.

It crumbled.

She looked toward the circular opening overhead.

Understanding slowly settled across her face.

"The sunrise."

Clint looked up.

"...We missed it."

"We weren't supposed to see it."

She stood.

Brushed the white dust from her hands.

The ancient book remained tucked beneath her arm.

She opened it.

Its pages turned with a life of their own.

Stopping.

Waiting.

Tess read silently.

A slow smile crossed her face.

"There."

She pointed beyond the stage.

At the far edge of the amphitheater, just beyond the marble, a massive blue tree stood apart from the others.

Unlike every other tree in the Blue Tree Forest, its trunk had split wide enough for a person to walk through.

A dark opening waited inside.

Clint frowned.

"That's... a doorway."

"The book says..."

She closed the cover.

"...it leads back to the Weeping Willow."

He looked from the opening...

...to the endless forest behind them.

"You sure?"

She smiled.

"No."

A beat passed.

"But the book is."

She started toward the tree.

Clint hesitated only a moment before following.

The opening swallowed them both.

Silence returned.

Again.