Yes, I said I wouldn't contribute this year, and here I am anyway. I couldn't resist. But don't let the fact that it's 11 chapters scare you; some of them are very short.

I started wanting to write a fairy tale/Xmas story (like Dnel's "Moogles Don't Dance") but as I wrote it, I found it becoming very dark and a very "Jippy-sytle" story. So don't expect my usual style of story. No one is clever in it and it is very dark in places. However, I do have some surprises in the ending, so read/skim it in order.

In addition, it is definitely PG-13 and contains adult content and sexual subject matter. Be warned.

So thanks to Dnel and Jippy for inspiring the style. And thanks to all the Kupopolis vets for helping me with all the Kupopolis geographic and historical color. And thanks to Miranda and Cathy for helping me with the ending.

Enjoy.

Rawley Cooper

Dave Green moved from cargo room to cargo room, looking for the room where his three crates were being stored. He wouldn't be comfortable up on deck until he knew that the crates hadn't been damaged after all the new cargo they had put on when the ship had docked in Scande in the Dragon dimension.

He could have taken a more comfortable mode of travel to Tzen in the Esper dimension and just waited there for his crates. But he was happier "watching over" the crates personally. That is why he was taking the slow route to Tzen, as a passenger aboard a merchant ship.

He needed those crates for his business, and his business was his life. He was a salesman for a restaurant supply company out of Tasnica (in the Mana Dimension), specializing is selling to bars, inns, and taverns in out-of-the way parts of the Web.

Naturally, he had a holographic computerized catalog of all his goods, with beautiful fully 3D images of everything he sells. Most salesmen in this business just send the catalog to the customer and then sold them by phone or other electronic communication (it was a hell of a lot cheaper that way).

He represented one of the smaller manufacturers, and the bigger companies had a much wider selection than his company did. He was only able to make a good living because his customers preferred to buy from a real person face to face. And those types of people also preferred to see and feel the real object they might be buying, not just a hologram of it.

So he watched over his samples like a mother hen watched over her chicks.

He found the room at last, and was relieved to see his 3 crates were tied down just as firm as last night. Ê But just to be compulsive about it, he went over and checked each fastening by hand.

As he went over to the crates, he was aware of the soft breathing somewhere in the back of this cargo room. There were no cages for shipping animals in this room. So someone (or something) was hiding just a few feet from him.

He sold supplies to some of worst bars in the Web, and he was no stranger to dangerous situations. In his mind anything hidden and breathing was dangerous. But he know that if he just backed out of the room, that would make it clear he had heard the breathing, and the whatever might see that as a reason to attack. So he carefully went about his business as if he had heard nothing.

But his mind now was not on his crates, it was on the breathing and any sign that whatever it was might start to move.

The breathing was soft and high-pitched, and not very well hidden. He checked a rope and stole a quick glance towards the back of the room. The boxes back there were all small, and close to the back wall. Whatever was hiding there had to be very small in order to stay hidden.

"OK" he thought "Some animal, or some small non-human race, or maybe a child."

He looked again quickly, and was able to see small edges of yellow print cloth just behind one small box. "OK" He thought again "Not an animal, a non-human or a child."

He thought back to dinner last night. There was only one mess for the crew and passengers alike (this was a cargo ship, they took very few passengers). There were no non-human races and no children. Ê Moreover, they only took on military personnel and cargo in Scande. So the breathing must be from a stow-away.

He was comfortable with his conclusion and thought that he had fussed over his crates enough so it would appear normal to leave. He would casually leave the cargo room and pretend he had heard nothing. He would not tell anyone. It was not his job or business. And he had survived all these years, in some of the worst neighborhoods in the Web, based on one simple rule. Never stick your neck out. Ê Never get involved.

Nevertheless, something inside him prompted him to break that rule just a little. He didn't know why, just some impulse.

"I have this bag of Chero Chips that I bought for a snack. I don't thing I want them. So I'm leaving them on this box. Anyone who wants them can have them." He said casually aloud as he placed the chips on a nearby box.

"Stupid stupid stupid." He kept telling himself. If he was wrong and something dangerous was hiding here, he just made it clear he had heard it. Ê He would be dead before he could make it out the door. But if it was someone harmless stowing away, he had helped a fellow creature. And once he left the room, the bag of chips could never be traced to him. He still was totally uninvolved he reassured himself.

He walked quickly to the door. No need to pretend to be casual now. He had gotten outside and was sighing in relief that he was still alive as he closed the door.

"Thank you Mister. Thank you very much." Came a soft sweet voice from the cargo room as the door was almost completely closed. He stopped dead from surprise.

"It's probably a trap." He told himself "The thing wants me to open the door so it can kill me." But that sounded paranoid and far-fetched even to him.

He should just keep walking anyway he told himself. "Remember: Never stick your neck out. Never get involved."

But as he thought these things, his curiosity just got the better of him. Why had this person bothered to say thank you? They could have had the chips and still stayed hidden?

He opened the door and looked at the face of an angel. The face of an angel being crammed full of Chero Chips. The face belonged to a small human girl; she looked about 5 years old. She was painfully thin, with stringy long blond hair and a very thread-worn dress. When she saw him staring, she swallowed her mouthful and smiled up at him. He had heard the expression "his heart melted", but had never understood it before. But that smile; so happy, so innocent, so pure, his heart really did melt at the sight.

He desperately wanted to stare at that smile some more. "The child is harmless, and just talking with her doesn't mean I'm getting involved" he rationalized to himself. So he moved back into the room, closed the door and sat on some boxes.

"Hi little lady. My name is Dave. Dave Green. And what is your name?" His name really wasn't Dave Green. That was his "working name". Most salesmen adopt a working name, something easy to say and remember and without any ethnic connotations. But since Dave didn't have any family at all, and his only friends were business friends, Dave Green is the only name he ever used anymore.

"My name is Suzy. Everyone calls me "Little Suzy" because I'm so small for my age." She said happily while stuffing more chips in her mouth.

"Oh? What is your age?" He asked, just to keep the conversation going.

"Eight and two months!" she said and smiled again. Dave thought if she was 8 years old, she was indeed small for her age.

Dave just sat and watched her eat for a bit. He didn't know quite what to say, but felt that as an adult he should try to give her adult advice.

"I assume that you are not a paying passengers on this ship?" He asked.

She didn't answer, but her smile disappeared and she looked scared and guilty. That was as clear an answer as a "Yes" would have been.

"Don't worry. I won't tell on you. It's none of my business anyway." Her smile came back in full force, and his heart melted again.

"But don't you have a family member somewhere who is very worried about by now?" Dave said with what he hoped was friendly compassion.

"Yes there is! My only family is my Daddy. My Daddy must be VERY worried about me by now. Ê That is why I am here. I have to go find my Daddy and tell him that Mommy is dead and that I have no place to live!" She said very fast and almost in tears all in an instant.

Dave knew he should not have gotten involved. He knew that he should have just left and not gone back in. And now he was trapped. Trapped by pair of innocent eyes. But now, he couldn't just leave without trying to help this poor girl.

"Your Daddy is a soldier serving in the Occupied Zone then?" He asked.

"Yes my Daddy is a soldier. My Daddy is a hero." She said brightening up and smiling again. "But he is on a secret mission, and I don't know where he is. He could anywhere!"

"If you don't know where he is, why are you on a boat going to Tzen in the Esper Union's Occupied Zone?" He asked her, a little confused.

"I don't know where my Daddy is. But he must be somewhere where there is a lot of fighting. That is why he is on a secrete mission and why he hasn't visited Mommy and me for so long." She said quite casually. "So when I saw them loading that giant dragon robot on this ship, I knew it was going somewhere with lots of fighting. Ê So I hid on board so I could look for my Daddy there."

Dave knew that this ship was a private merchant ship registered to a Guardian corporation in the Gate dimension. But they had a contract with the Scande army to transport equipment and supplies to the Esper dimension for use in the OZ (Occupied Zone). So most of the cargo on board was military equipment including two huge dracoforms.

Dave also knew that the girl was on a hopeless mission. If the girl's mother just died, the first thing that the Scandian government would have done is try to trace her father. And the Army would have been called in to help. It was just simple economics; it is cheaper to find a relative to take care of her than for the government to do it themselves. So if they couldn't find her father, there was no way a little girl could do anything.

But he wanted to at least try to help, if only to be friendly: "What's your father's name? Do you know what rank he is? Do you know what he does in the army?"

"That's easy." Said Suzy cheerfully again. "My father is a soldier in the army and his job is to fight bad people and protect us. And his name is Daddy. At least that is what I call him. I don't even know his last name, since my Mommy didn't change her last name when she got married. Ê The government people said I needed to know what other people called him if they were going to find him. And I don't know what other people called him, since I just call him Daddy."

"So how do you plan to find him?" Said Dave bewildered.

"Oh that is simple. I know what he looks like, of course. I even have a picture of him. See." Suzy pulled out a large photo and carefully unfolded it to show Dave. It showed a very young captain staring lovingly at a very pretty young woman with blond hair just like Suzy's.

"Maybe your mother or father had friends who would know his name? Maybe we should go back and ask them?" Said Dave, still trying to somehow be helpful.

"My Daddy has lots of friends." Suzy was happy again, the girl switched emotions like a cab driver switches lanes Dave thought. "You see, my Daddy is on a secrete mission. That is why he can't come home to visit or even write letters. But he has lots of friends. And he sends his friends over all the time to see that my Mommy and me are OK. But since Mommy died, all his friends stopped coming over and I don't know their names so I can't find them either. And now that they took me away, there is no one living in the house and my Daddy's friends won't be able to find me and won't know that Mommy is dead." She was crying again.

"I don't think it's that bad." He tried to comfort her. "They can easily ask the neighbors where you went. I'm sure you won't be that hard to find."

"But it's been months since the government people came and put me in the bad place for kids with no parents. And when my Mommy was alive, she had a soldier from the base or one of my Daddy's friends over almost every day. My Mommy didn't like to be alone; she always wanted company. So why did they stop coming when she died? Ê Why don't they come find me in the bad place and tell me where my Daddy is? Why don't they tell my Daddy I'm all alone so he can find some nice place for me to live?"

A picture was forming in Dave's head. An absent father, and a mother who had a different soldier over at the house every day. But if the little girl hadn't figured it out, he certainly wasn't going to try to explain it to her.

"Maybe it just takes time." He said "And I can't believe the orphanage is that bad. Maybe you should go back and wait?"

"NO! Ê That is an awful place. They are bad kids there. And they say that I'm an orphan too and my Daddy is dead." She said with anger "But I know that isn't true because I still see his blue thread at nights. My Daddy is not dead!"

"His Ôblue thread'?" Dave asked the girl. "What do you mean by that."

"One of my friends told me that there is a love thread between Mommys and Daddys and their kids. A connection sort of. So sometimes when I have really bad nightmares, I think really hard, and I see the blue thread between me and my Mommy and my Daddy. Then I know that I don't have to worry about my nightmares because my Daddy will come back someday and protect me from bad things." She was talking again very fast. "When my Mommy died, her blue thread went away, but I still see my Daddy's blue thread when I think really hard. So I know my Daddy is still alive."

"See what getting involved gets you" Dave thought angrily to himself. "The child is insane and on a hopeless mission. And she can't possibly survive alone in a rough place like Tzen. So either you have to take care of her, or you have to live with the guilt when she dies or worse. Never again. Next time just walk away and don't get involved!" He scolded himself.

"I still think you would be better off in the orphanage in Scande Suzy." He said as kindly as he could. "But if you like, I'll help you sneak into my cabin. You can sleep on my chair; it is very comfortable. And I will pretend to be seasick and have all my meals sent to my cabin. That way I can share them with you. I planned to spend the rest of the trip reading in my cabin anyway."

Her smile came back, full force. That pure innocent joyous smile. His heart melted yet again. Ê Then she ran over to give him a hug. Something he was very uncomfortable with, he did not know quite how to react.

He wasn't been that altruistic. If he were really a nice person, he would volunteer to buy her a ticket. The money was no problem; it wasn't that expensive. But he was afraid that despite his best intensions she would end up dead or doing something crazy soon after they reached OZ (the Occupied Zone). In that case, he didn't want to have a whole ship full of witnesses that he was somehow connected to her. Ê He was desperately trying to stay uninvolved, even though that was clearly as lost a cause as finding her father.

She broke off her hugging him and then looked up at him. "Mister Green. When we get there, will you help me find my Daddy. Please. Pretty please with sugar on top."

"We will see Suzy. We will see." He said, knowing he was lost.

Little Suzy was having the best and worst day.   The boat had docked last night and Uncle Dave had rushed around renting a jeep and getting his boxes loaded in the back of the jeep.   She called him "Uncle Dave" now; it just seemed to fit.   It was late when they got to his hotel in Tzen, and she slept most of the trip so she didn't really see any of Tzen that night.

But in the morning, he drove her to a place called "Emerald City".   He said his first appointment was in the afternoon, so they had time.   That was the "best" part of the day.   She had never been outside of Scande in her life, so everything she saw was new, strange, and exciting.   The dingy city, the bombed out wasteland that was the landscape, was all very strange to her and so looked magical.   It took them hours to drive to "Emerald City" but she wished it had taken longer.

She had read a fairy tale once about a little girl who goes to a land called OZ and goes to the Emerald City to wish herself home.   Now Suzy was in a land called OZ and going to the Emerald City to wish to find her Daddy.   It was like walking into a storybook full of magic.

But the Emerald City didn't look like a storybook.   It just looked like an army base just like the one near her home.     And when they got there, they spent most of the time in uncomfortable chairs waiting.

Adults were very strange.   They would wait for a long time with other waiting people, so they could finally talk to a man who told them that he couldn't help them and they had to go to another building entirely.   This happened like 5 times.   Wouldn't it be easier on everyone if they just waited on the right line first off?

One of the people did try to do something to help.   He asked a lot of questions about her Mommy's name and her name.   "Is your name really Suzy, or is that short for Susan."   Things like that.   He then spent a lot of time on a computer.   He was looking at lists of names of wives and children of Army personnel he told her.

But after looking for a long time, he asked her silly questions like "Are you sure your father and mother were marred?   Did she wear a wedding ring?   Did you ever see wedding pictures?"   Suzy thought these were very silly questions.   Of course her Mommy and Daddy were married.   Mommys and Daddys first get married, then they have kids.   Everyone knew that.

After asking a lot of silly questions, he sent her and Uncle Dave to another line to wait.   Another man on another line told them that the man in her photo was not wearing a Scandian uniform.   But that he was an expert on all the uniforms of all the armies on the Web, and he didn't recognize it, so it could be from anywhere (even Scande he admitted).   And so it continued.   It was very late in the afternoon when they finally left, with no word about where her Daddy was, and no idea of where they should look next.

Uncle Dave was worried because he was very late to his afternoon appointment, and he had to drop her off at the hotel first which was on the other side of Tzen.   She asked him if she could please go with him, (she even said `pretty please`). She didn't want to be alone just now, and she was feeling guilty about making him late to his work.   He finally agreed, but didn't seem happy about it.

His work was in a very dirty and dark looking bar.   Uncle Dave told her this was a very dangerous place, and she should stay right where he put her.   The place didn't look dangerous to her, just a lot of drunken solders and some ladies with to much makeup on.   But Suzy knew that drunken people sometimes did bad things without realizing it, her Mommy and her Mommy's soldier friends got drunk a lot.   So she was a good girl and stayed in the seat in the bar office and didn't move.

Uncle Dave took a long time with the bar manager.   Not that she minded.   She was alone a lot at home, and she would tell herself stories in her head.   This evening she was repeating to herself a fairy tale she had once heard about a Moogle who couldn't dance and who eventually found a family.   That was a good one.

Finally, they were leaving the bar.   Uncle Dave was holding her hand tightly and told her to stay very close to him.   He said he didn't realize how dangerous this place was at night or he would have never brought her here.     It was now very dark outside, and the streets did look a little scary.

Suzy had planned to be a good girl and do everything Uncle Dave had said.   She really did.   But when she heard a women scream she knew that someone was in trouble.   And aren't you always supposed to help people in trouble?   So she ran towards the small alley where the screams were coming from.

When she got there, she saw something that horrified her.   It looked like five solders were trying to hurt a poor lady.   They were hitting her, and ripping her clothing, and grabbing at her.   The lady looked like she was trying to get away, and was scratching them and yelling a lot of very bad words at them.

"That is silly Suzy" she told herself.   After all these were solders, just like her Daddy.     Her Daddy wouldn't hurt a lady in the street.   Solders were like policemen, they helped people and fought in wars to protect them.   They didn't hurt people.   She had to be seeing it wrong.

"Of course!" she almost said out loud.   She had seen it all wrong.

The poor lady was almost hysterical, with her arms and legs flailing and kicking everywhere.   And all those bad words.   Nice ladies in the street don't say all those bad words.   This poor lady was obviously having some sort of fit.   Her friend Sasha's Mommy had fits sometimes when she was drunk and had to be tied down so as not to hurt herself.

So these nice solders were trying to hold this lady so she didn't hurt herself when having her fit.   Suzy couldn't hear much that the solders were saying.   But she did hear one say "Relax baby.   You know you'll enjoy it if you do." And another said, "Man this chick is hot."   Clearly thought Suzy, they were trying to calm her down and help her relax, and they were worried because she had a fever.

All this thinking took Suzy only a moment, and she thought she heard Uncle Dave running after her and yelling something.   But she wanted to help the poor lady also.   At this point, the soldiers had grabbed both the lady's arms and legs and were laying her on the ground and removing her clothing.   That makes sense she thought, when I'm sick, my Mommy makes me lie down and puts on sleepy cloths.     One of the soldiers looked like he was trying to kiss her and rub her chest.     So Suzy was afraid that the lady was having trouble breathing and needed mouth to mouth.

"Can I help?   Should my Uncle Dave and I go get an ambulance?" She said very loudly just when Uncle Dave caught up to her and grabbed her to carry her away.

All the soldiers froze in surprise when she spoke and just stared at her.     But one of the soldiers pulled out a gun and pointed it right at Uncle Dave.   "Stay right there.   I don't want you running for the MPs just now.   Don't move or I'll plug you!"   Uncle Dave kept a tight hold on her, but stayed very still.

Suzy didn't know what "plug" meant, but it didn't sound nice.   However, she was happy the soldier wanted them to help.   Clearly, he wanted them to wait for something before calling for help.   And it was nice of him to pull out his gun to protect them while they waited.

"But if you want to help, little one, I'm all for it.   The more the merrier I always say!"   Said the soldier with the gun laughing.

"NO WAY Mic!" Said one of the other soldiers.   "No way am I doing a little girl.   That is just sick.   And no way am I doing it while a little girl is watching.   And you CAN'T kill a suit Mic!   We might get into trouble for that."

Suzy didn't understand most of this.   Grown ups say such silly things.   Of course you can't kill a suit.   Clothing isn't alive so you can't kill it.   But why would they get into trouble for trying to kill it?   Maybe they were worried that the lady would be angry that they tore her clothing when trying to loosen it?

"Yey Mic.   This one scratches and bites too much." Said another soldier.   "And why waste time with a little girl when there are plenty of willing ladies just inside the bar.   It's not like they are expensive or anything."

"That Ôlittle girl' probably works at Madam Yow`s place.   Madam Yow caters to exotic tastes.     So she probably does it 20 times a night.   And the suit is probably her pimp." Said the soldier with the gun. "Anyway, I like it when they scratch and bite!"

But the other four soldiers were starting to get up to go.   One walked over to Mic and said.   "Come on Mic.   I'm not doing it in front of a little girl.   And we don't need any more trouble with the Sergeant.   I'll buy you a drink and we will get one of the bar girls to entertain us.   Come on."

Little Suzy didn't understand any of this. But she rarely understood what grown-ups did or said.   It didn't bother her any. The important part was the lady had stopped flailing about and yelling bad words.   She was getting up and trying to get her clothing back together.   She must be over her fit.   And the soldiers left because they weren't needed anymore.

Her Uncle Dave was still holding her very tight and he was clearly shivering and sweating.   He must have been very worried about that poor lady she thought.

When the soldiers had left, he turned her around very sharply.   "You will never never NEVER do that again!   And I will never never take you to work with me again.   Clearly, this is all my fault.   From now on, you stay in the hotel.   I don't care how many times you say pretty please."

Uncle Dave sounded very angry.   But Suzy was so happy she just beamed.   She had been afraid that now that they couldn't find her Daddy here, that he would leave her or would send her back to the bad place.   But clearly, the "you will stay in the hotel" part meant he planned to continue to let her travel with him.

Just then the poor lady who had the fit walked over to them.

"I wanted to thank you.     I really appreciate the help.   I owe you big.   But if I could impose on you some more.   I'm currently without a ride, and I need to get home to patch up some of these cuts.   Could you give me a ride?   It isn't far.   Really."   She said very calmly.   She didn't look like she had a fever anymore or was having trouble breathing.

"Oh sure.   Of course.   Why not!" Said Uncle Dave still very angry and looking like he was about to have a fit himself.   "That's me.   The Good Samaritan.   Never minding my own business.   Always getting involved.   Getting myself killed for total strangers and little girls with big smiles.   Just big idiot me.".

Uncle Dave said very silly things sometimes thought Little Suzy.

Little Suzy quickly got into Uncle Dave's Jeep, and since the sample cases were in the back seat they had to all squeeze into the front.   Suzy was in the middle between the nice lady and her Uncle Dave.   It was kind of nice there she thought.   Like a hug.

"I should explain.     I am almost never in that sort of neighborhood after dark."   The nice lady was saying as they drove.   "But last week I told one of my clients that she would probably die if she left her home tonight.   I made her promise to stay home.   But when she drinks she gets reckless (she has a drinking problem), so she went out anyway.   Now what was I to do.   I couldn't just let her be killed could I?   I had to go get her home again?   Right?"

Suzy noticed that the nice lady hardly breathed or paused when she talked.   She just rattled on.

"So anyway.   My friend Shala and I found her and got her away from those soldiers and Shala took my car to drive her home while I delayed the soldiers so they could get away.     Unfortunately, the soldiers thought I was volunteering to replace her and wouldn't take "no" for an answer."   She continued to ramble.

"The funny thing is, I did a reading on myself before I left the house.   I wouldn't go to a neighborhood like that unless I was sure it was safe.   And the threads said very clearly that I would have a very unpleasant time but I would be in no real danger.   That situation sure looked dangerous to me.   So the only explanation is that you and the girl were predestined to be there tonight.   That it was an absolute certainty that you would rescue me."

She finally paused and Uncle Dave said quickly "Excuse me, but I didn't understand any of that.   You did a reading?   And why were you so sure your friend would be in danger and you wouldn't be?"

"Oh, I'm sorry.   I'm just rattling on as if we are old friends and you don't even know me.   My name is Lalina-so, Laly to my friends.   So it is Laly to you and my cute little hero here." She tickled Suzy a little at that.   Suzy decided she liked Laly.   "Anyway, I come from Aryth.   I'm a Tane, a specialist in the threads of Fate.   During the OmniSent Conflict I was taken off world and I cut my leash and escaped.   I came here to hide out.   But now this is my home."

She continued to ramble on: "I have a good business going.   Mostly the soldiers pay me to read their future for them.   Not that I can tell them much. There are so many threads of possibilities around any combat situation that I can't say anything for certain.   But it seems to comfort them anyway.   They also ask me to see if their girls back home are faithful; which they usually are not; it is never pleasant. And I find lost objects, and tell expectant mothers what sex their baby will be, and É."

Laly's rambling speech style was almost hypnotic.     And Suzy didn't understand most of it.   So Suzy felt herself dropping off to sleep.   But before she went out, she smiled happily to herself. She had heard the line "find lost objects".   Laly was a Wizard. Just like in the storybooks.   And Laly, she knew, was going to find her Daddy for her.

Little Suzy woke up when they got to Laly's home in a cozy nice part of the city. She had tea and cookies while Uncle Dave helped Laly clean and dress her wounds. Suzy looked around Laly's home.   It was neat and clean and filled with bright colors and frilly things.

"Not at all like my Mommy's house" Suzy thought.   But she liked it a lot, and she liked Laly a lot.

After some small talk and more tea, Laly got business like.

"OK.   Dave tells me you are looking for your father.   Usually I charge a lot of that sort of thing, but I owe you so this one is no charge."   Laly said with a smile and a giggle in her eyes. "I am certain to find your father somewhere in your fate threads.   But I can't guarantee I can locate where he is now.   If you are pre-destined to never find him, the best I can do is tell you that.   I can't make what is impossible possible."

Suzy didn't understand that at all.   But that didn't bother her.   She just nodded as if she understood so Laly would get on with it.

When Laly began, she reminded Suzy of the chatty hairdresser that Suzy's Mommy went to.   She sat Suzy on a chair in the middle of the kitchen and started looking a something interesting over her head.   She would follow this unseen something with her eyes and then move to look at it from a different direction, then suddenly move to some other unseen whatever.

"Oh.   I see you like to read.   Fairy tales mostly I see.     I like them too, especially the ones with happy endings.   My.   You have a lot of magical talent.   If we were in Aryth you would be sent away to be trained and someday become a powerful wizard.   You were a very small baby when you were born, practically premature.   And É" she rattled on for a while like this never staying on any one topic for long.   Suzy lost track of most of it, she was busy thinking about finally finding her Daddy.

Then suddenly Laly's tone got worried "Oh my.   This isn't right.   This is very unusual.   You poor dear." And then she stopped talking and just looked worried.

Laly continued to look at unseen things over Suzy's head, but didn't say another word for over an hour.   On occasion Laly would pour herself some tea and drink it quietly off to the side without talking.   But soon she went back to "reading" Suzy.

Finally, she told Suzy to pull the chair back up to the table and poured three more cups of tea.

Then she spoke.   "Suzy, I learned many things just now.   Many very strange and unusual things.   And I have to be very careful how I tell you these things because your life is in very serious danger."   Dave almost dropped his teacup Suzy noticed.   But Suzy wasn't concerned, grown-ups always said things were dangerous and you must not touch and the like.

"Understand I can't tell you everything I learned.   There are some things that if you knew them they would increase the danger and I don't want to do that.   But I promise that everything I am about to tell you is the absolute truth.   I will not lie to you.   And it is very important you believe me.   I am doing this only because I owe you and I want to do what ever I can to save your life."

"To begin with there is a powerful and terrible demon out to destroy you.   HeÉ"

"Come on now" Said Uncle Dave "Demons?     Out to destroy a harmless little girl? Suzy might like fairy tales but I don't.   Is this how you make money, scaring your customers so they keep coming back?"

"I assure you MISTER Green, that I am a professional."   Said Laly indignantly "I have never told a customer that a demon was trying to kill him or her because this is the first time that I ever saw seen such a thing.   Now if I may continue."

Suzy was just listening quietly.   Hoping it would start to make sense and Laly would get to the part about her Daddy.

"This demon would have killed you long ago Suzy, except you have a sort of protective shield around you.   Kind of like a shell, an invisible shell of illusions.   Because of this shell, the demon can't find you or destroy you.   But if the shell was to break, which it will do soon, the demon will attack.   And if that happens, your fate will be a slow painful death, or total insanity, or something far worse." Laly was speaking very earnestly to Suzy, trying to make her understand.

Suzy was trying to process this all.   And while she was hearing the words, a thousand thoughts went speeding through her head.     A demon?     She had terrible nightmares, maybeÉ?   No, she didn't remember a demon in them, but she didn't really remember them much at all.   But there were demons in her fairy tales.   Her favorite fairy tale was about two girls who killed a demon with a magic light.   In that story a demon killed a little girl just to be mean to one of his enemies.   MaybeÉ

Then Suzy smiled.   The smile was so out of place that both Laly and Uncle Dave looked on her as if she was crazy.   But her mind, working suddenly incredibly fast, traced out the facts to the logical conclusions.

"Of course" Suzy thought to herself.   "That is why Daddy never visits me.   That is why he never writes.   That is why Daddy couldn't come and take me out of the bad place.   One of my Daddy's enemies sent the demon.   Some bad man that my Daddy defeated like in the storybooks.   Now the bad man sent a demon to kill me to get revenge.   And Daddy found a wizard who put a shell around me to prevent the demon from finding me.   But the demon is watching Daddy, so if he came to visit, the demon would find me."

Suzy practically hugged herself in glee.   All this time, her Daddy was protecting her and she didn't even know it.   The fact that he didn't visit proves he loved her and was protecting her.

Uncle Dave was shaking her now.   "Suzy are you OK.   I don't know if I believe this or not, but I don't think you should be laughing about it.   Talk to me Suzy."

Suzy calmed down with some effort.   She didn't want to worry Uncle Dave and Laly.   Clearly, they weren't smart enough to understand what all this meant she thought.

"But what about my Daddy?"   Suzy asked as she turned to Laly   "When will I find him.   How do we destroy the demon so I can go live with my Daddy?"

"You can't destroy the demon.   It is indestructible.   You can only hide from it or survive it."   Laly said seriously   "But this much is certain.   As long as you are wearing your protective shell, you will never find your Daddy.   Only after the shell is destroyed will you have any chance of finding him.   But when the shell breaks the demon will attack and then you will most likely only find a slow death or insanity."

"Wonderful stories you tell small children." Said Uncle Dave.   "And I don't see how scaring her to death is very helpful.   You said you wanted to help, so help.   What can she do about this demon thing? Assuming you didn't just make it up."

"I told you.   I'm not telling you everything, but everything I'm telling you is totally true." Said Laly, a little angry.

"Suzy dear.   There is one hope.   In the Crystal Dimension, in the Mountains around Mist, near the city of Grimstone, there is a mountain called Mount Cetious.   If you go to the very top, in 3 weeks time, on the first night of the full moon, you will find the demon.   You must go to Mount Cetious at that exact night; you must break your shell, and then confront the demon.   You will not be able to defeat him.     But if you can confront him and call him by name, in that spot, at that time, you will have a chance of surviving the battle.   Not a good chance, but a lot better chance then anywhere else at any other time.   And once the shell is broken and you survive the demon attack, there is a possibility that you will find your Daddy."

Suzy hugged herself again.   The descriptions of what would happen to her if she failed didn't bother her at all.   Her Daddy wouldn't let the demon kill her.   Her Daddy had been protecting her all along, so he would still protect her.   The whole thing sounded like a fairy tale, and fairy tales had happy endings.     And when she found the demon, she would find her Daddy, she just had to do it.

"Oh please Uncle Dave!   You have to take me to that mountain.   I just have to find my Daddy.   Oh pleeeeesssssseeee.     Pretty please with sugar on it." She said to Uncle Dave using her best smile.

Uncle Dave was looking trapped and a little angry "OK.   Now let us assume I believe in demons, which I'm not sure I do.   And lets us assume I believe that one is chasing Little Suzy here, which is very hard to believe.   And let's assume I believe that that demon is on that mountaintop just when you say it will be.   Shouldn't I be taking Little Suzy in the entire other direction?     Shouldn't we be in deep cave in another dimension during that full moon?"

"No.   I said, Suzy's protective shell is starting to break.   I have reinforced it somewhat, so it will hold until you get there." Laly said talking to Uncle Dave now "But it will break eventually.   And when it does the demon will attack and a slow death will result.   Some fate threads are possibilities, other are certainties.   I know the difference.   Her best chance of surviving is to confront the demon herself head on.   Please I don't want her death on my conscience, and this is our best chance of saving her."

"OK.   I know Mount Cetious.   It is near Grimstone and I have customers there." Said Uncle Dave as if he was being forced into it "If I rearrange my schedule I can get us there near that time, then I can take a few days off and go climb a mountain.   If I remember right, Mount Cetious is popular with the hiking set.   If I rent camping equipment we should be able to get up there in time."

Suzy almost clapped with joy.   When Uncle Dave starts to plan how to do something, he usually ends up doing it.   "I'm going to find my Daddy.   I'm going to find my Daddy." she repeated to herself.

Uncle Dave turned to Laly, his voice getting a little hysterical now. "But the demon!   What weapons should I bring to protect Suzy?     How will she break this shell?   How will she know the demon's name to call him by name?   What will we do to after all this to get rid of it.   Let's say Suzy survives the attack, will it decide to kill me instead?"   (Uncle Dave does worry a lot Suzy thought)

"You are in no danger Mr. Green, other than emotionally." Laly said putting her hand on Uncle Dave's arm to comfort him.   "But no weapons can be used against a demon this powerful, you shouldn't even try.     Suzy will know the demon's name when she sees it; that is no problem.   She just needs to say the name aloud.   Breaking the shell, however, at just the right time will be difficult.   That is why timing is important.   There will be people on that mountaintop that night that can help.   It will be your job Mr. Green, to tell them the full story so they will know what to do."

Uncle Dave looked trapped, which Suzy knew meant he was going to take her.   She was going to fight that demon and then she was going to find her Daddy.   It would be a fairy tale with a happy ending. She just knew it.

William Banks was sitting roasting Olade Fruit on a stick over an open fire along with his two children and his wife.   He didn't really like Olade Fruit. Olade Fruit were small round things about 1 inch in diameter.   They were almost as sweet as pure sugar, but they were hard to eat raw.   However, if you roasted them, they got sticky and gooey and you couldn't eat them without getting messy.   So of course, it was traditional with campers to roast them over an open fire.

The view from the top of Mount Cetious was beautiful.   Well worth the two-day hike it took to get to the top.   The full moon that night lit up everything, so he could stare for hours over the other mountains in this range and look down on Lake Cecil, which would be their next stop in this camping/hiking trip.     In addition, from the top of the mountain where they were until it got dark, they could see Grimstone in the distance.   They even had a clear view of the giant monument erected on the spot where Celiose and the Grand Army defeated Burzmale and the Dark Wrath during the Great War.

William looked happily at his family.   His wife Gruta was still a very beautiful women and a wonderful wife.   His children: Todd 11 and Jenny 8 were his pride and joy.   They had an expensive home in a good neighborhood just outside of Trianable in Hyrule.   And he had a good job.   Most people would have said his job was boring, but being a government job, it paid for his nice home and all the best for his family.   And he never had to work overtime; all-in-all it just fit his laid back style.   It also gave him a lot of time off, including 2 weeks every summer so he could take his family camping.

Not that he liked camping that much.   But any vacation he got to spend with his family was fine with him.   The camping was his wife's idea, he would have preferred a luxury resort or theme park or even a simple hotel in some interesting city.

"But those places are magnets for sin!" Gruta would say if he brought the subject up "They have pools, crowded with people wearing immodest bathing suits, and bars where people get drunk every night.   And gambling and even evil harlots.   And every type of vice is practiced in those places.   Is that the environment you want to take your children to?   More important, is that the environment you want your children to look forward to every year?   I will not have it!   I'm putting my foot down, we are going camping!"

William giggled as he thought about it.   Gruta put her foot down on many issues. She was a Narcolic, very active in the local church, and very religious.   And many people would consider her bossy and prudish beyond belief.   But he knew this was just her way.   She was basically a good person and very reasonable in the long run, you just had to be patient with her.   And he didn't mind being patient with her; he loved her.

So every year they would go camping.   And since they spent almost no money on entertainment and accommodations, they could spend their vacation budget on travel. In the past years, they had vacationed in six different dimensions and seen wonders that most people only could read about.   "Yes." William thought, "It is a good life."

It was almost midnight, and it was past time to put the children to bed.   And cleaning them up after the Olade Fruit would take some time.   So he was just standing up to suggest they do that.   As he turned, he saw a man staring at them from the peak above.   He was 100 yards away, and didn't look very dangerous (probably just another camper, William thought).

But then he saw a little girl standing next to the man.   And as he made eye contact with her, he saw her face exploded into a smile.   She screamed "DADDY!" and tried to run towards them.   But the man stopped her. And whispered something urgently to her and she let him lead her by the hand as they started to walk down towards William and his family.

Gruta had seen them also.   And she shushed the kids in her "There will be no arguments" voice and told them to stay put.   Then she got up so she and William could meet the newcomers half way (away from the children in case there was trouble).

When they came together, the man introduced himself as Dave Green, and the little girl as Little Suzy.   Then he said, "This is going to sound very strange.   And I know you won't believe me, course I don't believe me myself.   But I have a long complex story I have to tell you sir.   And I REALLY think it would be better if I told you alone.   No offence madam."

"No offence at all Sir." Said Gruta "But it is not going to happen.   My husband and I are a team, and if it is important for you to talk to my husband, it is important for me to be there also."

For some reason, William noticed that the little girl seemed ready to cry at the word "husband" but soon got over it.

William thought for a moment. "I agree with my wife completely.   Whatever your reason for talking to me, there is nothing you can say to me that you can't say to both of us.     And I will not talk to you unless my wife is there"   The girl winced at the word "wife" in both cases.

"Whatever you say."   Said Mr. Green.   "But let's get higher up.   I know this is going to sound crazy, but there is a demon somewhere on this mountain. And it is hunting Little Suzy.   If it attacks I'd prefer your children to be far out of range."

"It doesn't sound crazy Mr. Green."   Said Gruta seriously (William wasn't sure why, it sounded very crazy to him). "Servants of evil are everywhere.     Just give me a moment to tell the children."

And while she went to the children, William looked at the little girl again who was staring at him with eyes full of total adoration and a smile so pure and innocent that it could melt anyone's heart.

William climbed to the peak of Mount Cetious along with Mr. Green, the little girl and Gruta.   They picked an area to talk that had several small boulders to sit on and visibility on all sides.   Gruta insisted, so they could see the demon coming if it attacked.   And nobody (but me, thought William) argues with Gruta.

Mr. Green started his story with him finding Little Suzy on the boat, but told them everything he had learned from her about her mother and missing father.   He was very careful to not mention her mother's name or say who the man in the photo was, probably he was hoping to soften the blow.   But William knew instantly who was in the photo.   The look of total innocent love that Suzy was giving him made it obvious.   It also was obvious to his wife, William knew.   Gruta had seen his copy of that picture, and she could see the child's loving looks.   Gruta was sitting and listening quietly, but her knuckles were white and she was building up to a small explosion he was sure.

William remembered that when he asked Gruta to marry him, she had made two conditions.   One was that he convert to Narcolism (an easy condition in his mind).   The other that they confess all past sins and always tell each other everything.   He had told her then about his week with Shea (Suzy's mother), and even showed her the photo.   She instantly forgave him and agreed to get married, but to her mind, he was forever tainted: "soiled goods".

The fact that he was not a virgin on their wedding night was bad enough.   The fact that Shea had been his only previous experience didn't soften the sin any in Gruta's mind.   But the fact that he had spent a week with a prostitute.   That was a sin in Gruta's mind akin to murder.   Gruta believed that prostitutes were evil creatures sent to destroy mankind, about equal to demons.   Even to look at one made you dirty.   And while she understood the special circumstances and forgave William completely, she never forgot the stain on his character.

Somehow, he knew, Gruta would interpret this whole thing, including Suzy's unhappy life, as his fault.   A punishment from God for the terrible sin of associating with her mother.

But Gruta just listened to the story.   Gruta's face was red with anger, and William knew that meant the final explosion would be terrible.   But she only spoke once.   When Mr. Green got to the part where he took Suzy with him to the bar in Tzen, Gruta jumped up from the rock where she was sitting and said "Mr. Green, how could you.   A small child like that!" but then she apologized for interrupting and sat down again.

William listened to everything.   He didn't think fast on his feet, but he knew at the end it would fall to him to explain things to Suzy.   And he had no idea what he was going to say to her.

Then Mr. Green got to the part where Laly described the demon and the danger and the people on the mountaintop who would break the shell of protection.   "How by all that was holy am I supposed to do that?" He thought to himself.     He didn't know anything about demons or magic shells.   Maybe Gruta knew something?   But somehow, he felt it was going to be his job.

Mr. Green had finished his story, and was looking at William expectantly.   Little Suzy was still staring at him with total trust and love in her eyes, and a smile that could soften granite.   He looked over at Gruta, hoping she would take charge of this situation, but she just looked daggers at him and motioned him to go talk to Suzy.

He didn't know what to say, but partially for Mr. Green's benefit and partially to soften the blow, he started with some questions.

"Dear.   Just to get some details straight.   I want to ask you some things. Is that OK?"

"Of course it is Daddy." She said happily.

("That answers my first question" he thought).   "But other than my photo, you don't remember ever seeing me in person, do you dear?   Think hard, think way back."

"No Daddy.   You know that.   I was too young when you left to go to war.   And you haven't been back to visit because you didn't want the demon to find me."   She just beamed at every word.

"So someone told you the man in the photo was your Daddy.   But you don't know that for yourself.   You are only taking their word for it."   He said as gently as a person handling a soap bubble they don't want to pop.

"But that is silly Daddy.   I've always known you were my Daddy."   She was gleeful, like someone being tested but who knows the right answers.     "I don't have to take anyone's word for it.   In the photo, you can see it in your eyes.   You loved my Mommy very much.   And when Mommys and Daddys love each other they have babies."

William carefully didn't look at Gruta, he knew he would be paying for this for a long time now.   But he had to be honest with the girl, and he wasn't going to say anything he hadn't already told Gruta.

"Yes dear. You are right.   I did love your mother very much."   He knew he couldn't keep softening the blow forever "I grew up in the Kingdom of Carrion, and the Great War I was a captain in the King's army.   I was very young, and I was stationed in Scande in a diplomatic entourage for a short while before moving on to a combat post in Hyrule.   Before I was transferred, I had one week off.   This was my first time away from home, away from my family.   And I was very scared about going to fight in the war.   So I desperately needed to spend my week off with someone I loved."

"So I met your mother, and I did love her, very much, because I needed to love her for that week.     I don't think your mother loved me, but that wasn't important at the time.   But that was it, one week.   Then I went off to war in Hyrule, and I took my copy of that photo with me.   I insisted your mother take the other copy; she didn't want it.   I'm surprised she kept it.   I never wrote your mother, I never went back to Scande, and I've never saw her again anywhere else.   After the Great War, I got a government job in Trianable in Hyrule and married Gruta.   I don't travel for my work, and I don't go anywhere without Gruta.     Your mother was there when I needed her, and I am grateful for that. But that is all it was."

The girl just looked on in disbelief.   But he felt it was better to get it all out at once and then repair the damage afterwards.   "But even if we did make a baby together, which I don't think we did, I can't be your Daddy.   You see that was 15 years ago, during the Great War.   So unless you are 14 years old, I can't possibly be your Daddy.   I am very very very sorry."

William didn't know how to end it or what to say next.   What William hadn't told her was that that photo of him and her mother was his most prized possession all through the war.   Not only did he show it around so he could brag about his beautiful girlfriend.   But when he was very scared and feeling alone, he would stare at it for hours, remembering the good things in life.   It made him sad that this same photo, that helped him so much, was now causing Shea's daughter so much pain.

Little Suzy heard everything her Daddy said, but didn't believe it. How could she.   He said he wasn't her Daddy, that he was never going to come back, that he was not going to protect her, that he wasn't even a soldier anymore.   These were absolute facts her entire life.   They had to be true.

"You have to think," she thought to herself.   "It doesn't matter how long ago he knew Mommy.   He loved her, he said so.   So they made a baby and that was me."   But that made no sense ever to her.   She had no idea how babies are made, but she felt the Daddy had to be there for some of it at least.

And she decided it was better if he really wasn't her Daddy then if he was and was never coming back and never going to protect her.

"But maybe he is protecting me!" she thought with a ray of hope "Maybe he is lying about this so the demon won't attack me."   But that made no sense either.   Daddys don't lie to their little girl.   And she wanted the demon to attack.   Uncle Dave explained that.   And if he was lying to protect her, why wasn't he protecting those other children?   Why could he visit them and protect them and not her?

Then she thought "My blue thread.   That will prove he is my Daddy."   The blue thread that linked her to her Daddy.   The blue thread that she always saw when her nightmares scared her.   The blue thread that proved her Daddy was alive and would return someday.     She knew that only she could see the blue thread.   It wouldn't prove it to anyone but her.   But if she was sure then she could find a way to convince the others.

So she concentrated very very hard.   But no matter what she did, there was no blue thread any more.   Could the blue thread have been in her imagination?   Could she have seen it only because she wanted to see it?

Her thoughts started to come very fast now.   She tried to remember everything her Mommy had told her about her Daddy.   Maybe this wasn't her Daddy.   Maybe her real Daddy was still going to come back for her and protect her.   After all, Laly didn't say they were climbing this mountain to find her Daddy.   They were climbing this mountain to fight the demon, finding her Daddy came later.

"Mommy never talked about Daddy.   She never told me anything about Daddy at all." There was no help there.   She never even told Suzy that the man in the photo was her Daddy.   Suzy must have seen the photo, seen that the man was in love with Mommy, and just assumed.

She needed some hint as to who her real Daddy was.   She reviewed everything she could think of.   Every strange thing grown-ups say that she didn't understand.   And some of it started to make sense.   If this was true then that must be true. And this fact led to that.   Thick and fast, the thoughts and information came at her and started putting itself together like a puzzle.

"My nightmares!"   She suddenly decided.   The key to it all was in her nightmares.   She forgot her nightmares as quickly as she could when she woke up.   But if she tried to remember them instead, maybe she could find the answer?

Once she tried to remember her nightmares, they suddenly became very easy to remember.   The memories started flowing into her.   First, like drops, then like turning on a faucet.   Then the faucet became a hose.   Then the hose became a flood.   The flood became a river, and the river became an ocean with no land anywhere. And soon the memories totally encompassed her, coughing her.   The memories were terrifying, horrible.   She was drowning in them.   She tried to scream but couldn't.   And she felt like the pain would never stop forever and ever and there was no joy in the world only horror.

Dave watched as Little Suzy just stared at this man whom she thought was her Daddy but clearly wasn't. She didn't talk, didn't smile.   It seemed she had to think about this and all three of them just sat and let her think until she was ready.   William was still right next to her, saying simple southing things like "It will be OK dear. It is going to be OK."     His very scary looking wife just sat.   She was still red faced and very angry and he was sure all of them were going to get screamed at as soon as she was sure Suzy was OK.

But something started to change in Suzy's face.   Her face slowly turned very white, and she opened her mouth as if to scream but no sound came out.   William checked her heartbeat to be sure she wasn't having a heart attack, and then tried doing everything from hugging her tight to shaking her. But she just stared into nothing and looked like death.

"Are you OK Suzy?   Speak to me!"   Dave realized that he was yelling at her, and that he had been yelling for a little bit now.

Then Suzy turned to look at him.   But this wasn't the Suzy he knew.   Her face was still ash white and she eyes were hard and cold. Her mouth did not smile and did not take on any other expression he had ever seen on her.   It was just there.   She didn't look like a little girl anymore, but like a miniature adult.

"No Mr. Green. I'm not OK.   But I will live.   My shell of illusions is broken.   The demon has attacked and has consumed me.   And the demon is more terrible and horrible than anything in any storybook.   The demon's name is ÔReality'"

As Dave watched, she turned to Gruta and William.   "I am sorry to have scared you and for any trouble I have caused you.   My belief that you were my father was a pure fantasy.   That was the only photo my mother owned and so the only thing I could use to make up a father.     I realize I caused you pain, and am very sorry to have done so.   We will be leaving now and you can get back to your real family."

She then turned back to Dave.   "I owe you more then you could possibly know.   And I am very grateful.   You saved my life by finding me on that ship.   And Laly was correct, coming here was the only way for me to survive what I just went through.   I will trouble you for just one more thing.   If you could escort me back to Grimstone then you can get back to your life.   And you can feel good that I will be eternally grateful to you."

"That is silly Suzy." Dave said.   "I'm not going to just drop you in Grimstone.   Where will you go, what will you do?"

Suzy answered with a very cold and adult sounding voice.     "I will find a brothel that, (how did the soldier in Tzen put it) Ôcaters to exotic tastes'.   I have no illusions anymore.   With my background, and considering all I've been through, I'm fated to a life of prostitution.   Best to get it started when I still have my current clarity of thought.   That way I can earn my own keep and maybe save enough money to get into a more normal life eventually."

Dave was horrified.   "Suzy, you don't know what you are saying.   You don't understand what goes on in those places.   Surely the orphanage in Scande is better than that!"

"On the contrary Mr. Green.   I know what goes on in those places far better than you do.   I now remember very clearly what my mother's clients did to me when my mother was to drunk to stop them.   Or to be more honest, what my mother's clients did to me when my mother purposely got drunk so she couldn't hear my screams.   Shells of illusions run in the family it seems."

Dave was in total shock. But Suzy, with her adult voice, continued,   "Come now Mr. Green.   Certainly you didn't think this was only about a missing father and a prostitute mother.     The demon called ÔReality' in this case was far more terrible than that.   A million times more terrible." She gave a little half smile at this, a cold and grim thing.

"But what makes you think that those same things don't happen at the orphanage?" She said still talking to Dave "Especially when you are small for your age and unable to protect yourself.   I'm not the only emotionally disturbed child in that place.   But even if I go back there, most of the children there grow up to a life of crime. Only the very strong can break the cycle.   My current clarity will not last.   And I'm clearly not very strong."

Dave was desperate.   This just can't end this way he thought.   "Suzy! You can't mean all these things.   There has to be a better solution.   There has to be an orphanage somewhere that isn't like that.   Or maybe I can find parents to adopt you. I have contacts in 7 different dimensions."

Suzy started talking to Dave as if he was a small child "Now who has a shell of illusions?   No decent people will adopt me, not with my background and emotional problems.   And I couldn't survive if someone like my mother adopted me, honest prostitution is better than that.   And yes, I'm sure there are good orphanages around, but no city will spend tax dollars on a foreign child, they will just send me back to Scande.   You are not thinking clearly Mr. Green."

Suzy continued, "Mr. Green, you saved my life. You don't owe me anything more.   Laly was correct about everything.   The only way I could survive in my mother's house was to pretend that my ÔDaddy' would someday return and save me.   That way the past didn't matter and I could pretend all the horrible things were just nightmares to be forgotten."

"But that illusion was breaking down when I went to the orphanage.   The memories could easily have driven me insane or to suicide.   Remembering them that way, slowly, drove me to do foolish things to try to keep the illusion of a missing father going.   That's why I ran away from the orphanage, because I had to find some way to keep the memories from coming back.   And if you hadn't found me on that ship, I would be dead in the streets of Tzen even now.   Certainly, I was incapable of surviving on my own.   Laly said, if the shell was to break on its own, and I had to face Reality a little bit at a time, a slow painful death or insanity was a certainty."

"So thank you Mr. Green. And thank you Mr. and Mrs. Banks.   You have all saved my life and done a very good thing.   I will be fine.   Laly said so.   And you can't defeat the demon ÔReality' she said that also.   But I will survive." She looked at Dave sadly "Shouldn't we go now?   These nice people need to go back to their children."

"NO!   It can't end this way.   And don't tell me I'm being unrealistic, because I don't care.   If we can't find a better solution, I'll adopt you.   Living in hotels, traveling all the time, that is no life for a child, but it will be a hell of a lot better than what you are suggesting."   Dave almost yelled at her.

William was horrified when he heard Suzy describe her former life.   Somehow, reading about those things doesn't prepare you for the realization that very real people, in this case the daughter of a women who was once important to him, have to go through it.

He was dying to jump in almost immediately and insist on adopting Suzy.   He and his wife had been trying to have another child for 5 years now.   But he knew Gruta would never go for it.   She would never let a child that tainted by evil anywhere near her home or children.

As Suzy talked to Mr. Green, he tried to go over all the options in his head.   He couldn't believe all the orphanages in Trianable were like what she described.   Maybe he had enough pull to get her in one of them.   Or maybe he knew someone who would adopt her, the members of their church loved big families.   But she was correct; the government had ways of doing things and almost never made exceptions.   And everyone in their church was like Gruta (to a lesser degree); they would never adopt her when they found out her background.

So naturally, he almost jumped for joy when Mr. Green volunteered to adopt her. Not the best solution, but at least a solution.     And maybe Gruta would allow him to help, as long as he did it from a distance.

But then the volcano that was Gruta erupted.   She choose that moment to finally talk.   And it looked like she was going to spoil even this partial solution.

"YOU WILL NOT!   It is positively indecent.   You are a bachelor, you spend most of your life in bars, and you know nothing about raising a child.   You can't carry her around like so much baggage, living in hotels, never going to school or having any friends.   Mr. Green.   You will NOT adopt her.   We will not let you!"   Gruta was building up steam, William knew.   She could yell for hours when sin was involved.

"Well I can't just abandon her!     If I need to, I'll quit my job.   I'll settle down, work in a store or sell by phone or computer net.   Whatever it takes!"   Mr. Green replied with some anger of his own.   Only a very brave man can stand up to Gruta when she was angry, William thought.

"Oh that is great!   So you are going to add Ôunemployment' to the list of reasons you can't adopt her.   But it doesn't matter anyway.     You can't adopt her because she is not available for adoption.   She is our daughter now.   We are adopting her.   And I will hear no arguments from anyone on this point."   Gruta yelled most of this at Mr. Green, but at the last line, she looked straight at William.

William's world just turned over 180 degrees.   He didn't know whether to cheer with joy or shrink back in horror.   He and Gruta had a very set way of dealing with the world.   He was the laid-back father who always said ÔYes' to the children and everyone else.     She was the hard disciplinarian who always said ÔNo'.   They never exactly argued (you don't argue with Gruta) but somehow after discussing things for a bit they always reached a compromise between ÔYes' and ÔNo'.   So alone, they were not very effective parents, but together they did a great job he thought.

But now Gruta did the impulsive emotional thing.   And he found himself having to be the cold rational counter point.   "Gruta, are you sure?   She is clearly emotionally disturbed.   She will be a very difficult child to take care of; there will be many problems.   And no matter how hard we try, it all might come to grief in the end.   That is a very real possibility.   Are you ready for that type of heartache?     And even if you are, can the children handle it?   Is if fair to them to bring that type of influence and problem into the house?"

Now Gruta turned all her pent-up anger at her husband.   It was a frightening sight.   "Of course there will be problems.   And of course there is no guarantee.   But that is true of every child.   For 5 years now, we have been praying to God for another child.   Yes, I thought he would send us one the normal way, but we didn't specify that in our prayers.   And nether did we say Ôonly send us a child if there won't be any problems'. God knows best, and we just have to trust him."

"Are you blind Dear?   Are you suffering some delusion?   Can't you see God's clear and obvious hand in all of this?   Everything from you forcing that awful women into keeping a copy of that photo, to Suzy hiding in that specific cargo room in that specific ship.   There are no coincidences.     God moved that child through three dimensions and untold dangers just to bring her to this desolate mountaintop at this exact time so we could adopt her.   It is clearly his plan and our destiny.   To refuse would be heresy!"

"Are you sure Mrs. Banks?"   Said Suzy.   William noticed her face was getting back some of its color, but still looked cold and emotionless.   "I'm not a little girl anymore.   You can't go through all the things I did and just go back to be normal again.   I can't just forget all the things that have happened in my life up to this point.   I will never be free of them.   Are you sure you want a daughter that is É. Tainted?"

Gruta was still red in the face, and clearly wanted to yell at William some more to release some anger.   But when she turned to Suzy, she just looked sad.   "Up to now, dear, my way of dealing with sin is to avoid even the smallest contact with it.   And I will still do that, it is the safest way to deal with something that dangerous.   But that won't work in this case.   For you or me.   We need to face it straight on.   So am I sure?   No.   No parent is ever sure about anything; we just pretend that we are."

"But you are not Ôtainted' dear." Gruta said with tears welling up in her eyes.   "Sin requires free will.   You have to do it; it can't be done to you.   Up to now, you have never had any free will.   Therefore, you are as free from sin, and are as pure and innocent as a newborn baby.   And you are now our new born baby, as clearly a gift to us from God as if you came out of my womb."

Suzy gave smiled a little.   It was an adult smile, William noticed.   But it was a smile. "I will make sure you won't regret this Mrs. Banks.     I will work hard, and do whatever I can do earn my keep.   And I will never do anything to make you regret your generosity."

"NO YOU DON'T."   Said Gruta with her gruff parental voice again and drying her tears.   That was the Gruta I know and love William thought.   "You will do the same amount of chores that my daughter Jenny does.   No more, no less.   And you will forget to do them half the time just like she does.   And you will test your limits and disobey on occasion just like a normal child.   And drive your father and me crazy some times.   That is an ORDER!"   She said gruffly.

"Try not to dwell in the past, dear." Gruta's voice became kindly again.   "You can't forget and you shouldn't, but you can move on.   Just decide that was then and this is now, and the past need not effect the present if you don't want it to.   Promise that you will try to join and be a part of the family.   And we will promise to try to be tolerant and to accept you for who you are. Any other problems we will work out as they come up."

William couldn't stand it any more.   He also kneeled next to Suzy and gave her a big hug.   At first, she looked as if she was in shock, and but her face had gotten all of its color back now and if it was still an adult face, it was at least a soft one William noticed.   Soon she started to hug back and even grabbed Gruta to join the hug.

"Come dear." Gruta said taking her hand, "We have to introduce you to your new brother and sister.   They are hiding behind that rock over there, trying to eavesdrop EVEN THOUGH I TOLD THEM TO STAY IN THE CAMP."   She yelled the last part at the rocks and two very sheepish children stepped out from behind them.

"I don't think they could hear anything except the parts when I was yelling.   So we will have to explain it to them."   She took Suzy's hand a moved towards them. William, overjoyed, followed.

Dave watched them move off. He was totally forgotten, of course.   But it all ended happy.

He had gotten involved, and even went demon hunting, and he had come out of it alive.   Now he can get back to his life and remember to never get involved or stick his neck out again.

He watched the lights of Grimstone in the distance for a bit.   Then he started to go down the mountain.   Maybe when he was in Trianable again he would look up the Banks and see how Suzy was doing.   Maybe that would be OK.

"And where are you going Mr. Green!"     Said Gruta right behind him.   He hadn't noticed that she had come back towards him.

"You will not be going down this mountain in the dark.   Moon or no moon.   You will stay with us tonight and share our breakfast.   I will have no arguments!"   She said angrily.

Dave just smiled and mumble "Thank you, if it is no bother."

"And get use to the name ÔUncle Dave' because that is what Suzy and her brother and sister will be calling you from no on.   We will always have a place at the table set for you when you visit Suzy, and I expect that to be as often as you can manage it."   Gruta said still angry, but with a laugh in her eyes.

Dave laughed and shook his head yes.   "Maybe once you get involved, you are permanently involved." He thought.

Then Gruta's face softened as she said,     "Suzy isn't the only person that God sent to a lonely mountaintop to be adopted.   Clearly, his plan was for you to be adopted as well.   Any man who would escort a disturbed child through three dimensions and go demon hunting with her on a hard to reach mountaintop is clearly in need of a family very badly."

Little Suzy, Todd, and Jenny were opening their presents with glee and laughing at every gift.     It was winter festival, and her new Mommy had insisted that the whole family should be there for the celebration.   So Uncle Dave was there.   And a salesman who travels all over the Web has access to the best presents.

Little Suzy thought back, she was very nervous 6 months ago when she first became Suzy Banks and had to start a new school.   And it was difficult at first.   Due to her small size and Scandian accent, the kids at school teased her.   But Jenny got angry with them.   Jenny was usually laid back like Daddy, but when she was angry, she was just as scary as her Mommy.   Jenny made sure they didn't tease her for very long.     Now Jenny and she were best friends and always did everything together.

And she even like her new brother Todd (though she would never say that when he could hear her).   He was big, dumb, and annoying, but there wasn't a mean bone in his body.   She looked around the room, and saw all the decorations and all the presents, and most important, all was happily laughing family.   She smiled her broadest smile.

But the scene was missing one thing.   She thought very hard and the blue threads appeared as they always did.   As they did almost instantly when she came to live with her new family.   A thread for every member of her family, including Uncle Dave.   And especially the blue thread that had always been there.   The one connecting her to her Daddy.   Why she didn't see it on Mount Cetious she didn't know.   But it had never left her she knew.

She just watched as the family talked and laughed the blue threads mixing with the holiday decorations to make the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

"Suzy, I want Uncle Dave to play Wiztate with us later, but he says he might be too tired." Said Jenny breaking the spell.   "You ask him, he always does things when you ask him."

"Oh please Uncle Dave. Please play Wiztate with us.   Pretty please with sugar on top!"   pleaded Suzy and flashed him her biggest smile.

She watched as Uncle Dave's heart melted and he nodded yes.   Then for no reason she run up and hugged her Mommy and her Daddy.


The Very Happy Ending