”I chuckled, “ARE you interested?”“We’ve had that discussion!” Karin said, shaking her head. “I’m curious as to why she would make tha... offer?”“Didn’t you ask her?”“I did. But it doesn’t make sense. She said you love her and will protect her and she feels free to do anything when you’re there, so long as it makes you happy.”“And that confuses you?”“It just seems like she’s made herself into some kind of slave for you.”I chuckled, “No, that would have been Anala. Anala would literally do. The next day was very active as we settled into the life of the village. In the mourning we explored the area around the village, going as textiles. In the afternoon we again swam and worked on our tans. That evening we had a fantastic dinner washed down with a glass of wine. Our parents had decided to try out a local club and said we would have to keep ourselves amused, Alex said that would be no problem, I caught something in the tone of his voice and nearly came there and then. The moment. It made me wish that Mom had treated me like Dad had treated my sister. And I decided that maybe I could do something about it. I told Wynter to take her time getting up. I told her to go ahead and take a shower and clean up whenever she was ready. Then I went into my room, cleaned up quickly, put on some sweats, put a rubber in my pocket, and went downstairs. Mom's door to her bedroom was closed but we didn't lock doors in our house.I quietly opened her door. She was sprawled on top of her. .. Maybe we could get a little place. I’d pay for it, you know I’ve got the money, or will have by then. I know that freshers usually stay on campus, but...” She stopped just as suddenly as she started. “I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? You might not even want to—”I cut her off with a kiss. Not one of our passion-filled nuclear fires, or even a slow, simmering lover’s kiss. This was something deeper. Something more. It was as if, in that one kiss, our souls connected. As if we were.