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As the sun passed noon and afternoon arrived, the Reed family and Kael left the house and set off toward the schoolyard. Alvie and Carr held hands, strolling in front of Kael and Prea. The air had chilled in the past few days, but it still remained warm in the sun’s light, and Kael walked beside Prea in awkward silence. He still had his doubts about this excursion. Normalcy was something they all desperately needed, especially the siblings, but he didn’t want them to become the center of attention.

Merry music drifted through the buildings and streets, reaching the group long before the schoolyard came into view. The minute he heard it, Carr began skipping and pulling Alvie down the street to the promise of fun and games. Alvie laughed wholeheartedly and with real joy at her brother’s excitement as she attempted unsuccessfully to slow his progress. They were meeting Beda and Dal at the festival as both were attending with their own families, who had been made aware of the situation regarding Prea, but Kael was unsure if any of them believed it.

Prea’s hair fell loose against her back and it tangled in the wind, but she kept it close to her face in an attempt to draw the least amount of attention to her presence. Kael was still rather unknown within the community, so the two together went unnoticed. They kept away from the crowds and enjoyed the festival by the closest wall of the schoolyard. She watched her unfamiliar brother and sister as they wandered around the festival, playing games, eating and chatting with friends. They looked so young, happy and carefree now that they were no longer alone in this world.

“Look, there’s Dal with his mother and father,” Kael pointed out as they joined the festival on the opposite side of the green. Prea felt like a voyeur as she spied Dal across the space and witnessed his face light up with love once he found Alvie in the crowd. She watched as he moved through the festival goers and saw the same expression come across Alvie’s face when he finally reached her.

“So Dal is one of my oldest friends,” Prea stated uncertainly. “And now he’s in love with my sister?”

“Yes, he is. They got very close while you were away.” Kael studied her as she stood next to him watching the festival. “It’s my understanding that Dal’s always loved her. They were just too quiet to ever know.”

“Oh,” she responded simply.

“Well, I see you two have found a nice hiding spot,” Beda said from behind them, causing Prea and Kael to turn in surprise.

“Hello, Beda,” Kael greeted, eyeing Prea. “I thought it best.”

“Hello,” Prea added politely.

“You have a nice view of everything here,” Beda said, glancing around and finding her parents in the distance over her shoulder. Prea and Kael followed her gaze until they saw her parents, frozen, eyes wide and mouths open in shock. Beda silently shook her head in their direction and they blended into the crowd. “Don’t worry about them. I’ll keep them away from you. And I’ll try to do the same with everyone else,” she promised. “Have fun, you two.” Beda spun and walked away, back into the mass of festival goers.

“It’ll be fine,” Kael whispered, squeezing Prea’s hand tight. “Look, Carr’s playing marbles.”

Prea watched her little brother play, happy that he was happy. As the sun shone down on the festival, the glinting of Carr’s golden hair conjured images in her head, flickers of him and another young man with chestnut hair playing in the schoolyard under the sun. It was just a flash, over as soon as it began.

But the boy’s happiness did not go unnoticed, nor did Alvie’s, Beda’s or Dal’s. Since the news of Prea’s accident, the Reed family and Prea’s closest friends were shadows of their former selves. Two months had passed and it appeared to the townspeople that they were moving on, if slowly. Now it was as if the past year hadn’t happened; the ship hadn’t gone down, father and fiancé hadn’t been lost and there was no mysterious sleep for Carr.

And it caught the attention of everyone.

The festival grew as time went on, Prea’s friends and family unable to stop themselves from including her in all the festivities. Alvie and Carr brought crafts, food and stories to the pair at the wall, focusing the attention of the festival on the two they were hoping to keep away from the crowd. The third time Carr came over with a present for Prea, she looked up and saw a number of people staring directly at her.

The whispers and pointing started and Prea’s heart began to thump wildly. The clamor of the crowd dulled as her loud pulse took its place. Her vision lost focus and the air seemed thin as it appeared everyone on the green, everyone in the schoolyard, was looking at no one but her.

Her mind barely registered Carr calling her name and pulling at her sleeve. “I can’t…can’t…breathe…” she stammered, her voice trailing off.

Kael grabbed her hand and pulled her away. “Carr, we have to leave. Go find Alvie. We’ll see you later, okay?” Kael directed the little boy before the two of them turned and left. They didn’t rush, just walked away casually, moving towards home hand in hand.

“Just breathe. All you have to do is breathe. No one else is around anymore. We’re alone. Just breathe,” he instructed Prea as they walked, reminded of how she had done the same for him back in that dark tunnel under the mountain. By the time they reached home, Prea had calmed down for the most part.

“How are you doing?” Kael asked as they removed their coats and shoes.

“I’m better now,” Prea replied quietly. “Just tired.”

“Why don’t you go upstairs and lay down? I’ll make you some tea and bring it up,” he suggested.

She looked at him gratefully, nodded and climbed the stairs. Kael headed to the kitchen and started boiling water for tea. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he thought. The festival had done the family good and they had gotten away before being bombarded. It was a success, no matter how it ended.

But how were they supposed to reintroduce her back into society? He had some ideas about trying to trigger her memories. Maybe he should try them. What did they have to lose after all?

He took the steaming tea upstairs to the bedroom Prea shared with Alvie. But the room was empty. He checked Carr’s; it too was empty. He returned to his room, which, in reality, was Prea’s room. She was standing at the back window looking out at the trees and garden below. You couldn’t tell from standing here that the trees were the only thing that separated them from the ocean. Maybe she remembered that this was her room, he thought.

“I have your tea,” Kael said from the doorway and that sudden noise caused her to jump a little out of her skin.

“Thank you,” she replied, but made no move towards him. She didn’t even turn.

“I thought you would be in Alvie’s room…” he began.

“Something told me to come in here,” she said and finally looked at him. “This is your room, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I’ll go.” She hastily moved to exit the room.

“You don’t have to go,” Kael said quickly. “This was your room long before it was mine. I should say is your room.”

“Oh.”

“Come sit down, have some tea.” He directed her toward the bed and handed her the hot mug. Something on the bedside table caught the sunlight and glistened, throwing bright colorful rays all over the room. Prea just watched as the light danced, jumping from wall to wall until it slowly faded. Her gaze returned to the still-glowing rock atop the small table where it held her stare, just as she held Kael’s.

“Is that what I think it is?” Prea whispered.

“Yes, it’s the stone,” Kael answered just as quiet.

“The one that healed Carr?” she added.

“Actually,” Kael began. “By the time I got here with the stone, Carr was already awake and well.”

“He was?” she asked, surprised, and turned to face Kael. “What happened?”

He looked into her beautifully green, questioning eyes. “We don’t know,” he replied honestly. “One day he just woke up and said he was hungry. We never knew what was wrong with him to begin with and we have no idea how he got better.”

“Hmm.” Prea turned away from him and looked back at the stone, contemplating something. She said nothing and Kael couldn’t read her face, having no idea what was going through her mind.

“What are you thinking?” Kael asked her, curiosity winning out.

She turned back to him. “Huh?” She shook her head, turning back to the stone. “Nothing.”

He leaned across her and grabbed the stone off the table. He held it out in front of her and waited for her to hold out her own hand. She stared at his offered fist and hesitated before extending her hand below his.

“Here,” Kael muttered and dropped the stone into Prea’s open hand.

As soon as the stone touched her skin, her fingers closed around it, holding it tight. Her hand came down to rest on top of her leg where she opened her fingers and studied the magical rock on her palm. It emitted a pulsing glow and held her attention completely, mesmerizing her. Prea tilted her head to the side, her brow furrowed and a quizzical expression crossed her face.

A familiar face flashed again, but this time it was different. It was an apparition of the young man’s face from earlier, a ghost in dark woods.

“Prea, please tell me what you’re thinking,” Kael begged, desperate to have some connection with her again. She looked back into his eyes.

“It’s heavy for its size,” Prea murmured, placing the stone back on the table and taking a sip of her tea.

It didn’t work. Even though it was a slim possibility, he thought the stone would restore her memories or trigger something in her. It was a long shot, remember? Kael told himself. You knew it might not work. But that didn’t stop the hope; the hope that the stone would work or her room would trigger her memories or the cliff would feel familiar. She was still a stranger.