Molo decided to leave these thoughts that had been troubling him aside; thoughts which beget questions begging for answers that could not be found. At...least not before he ventured into the Widelands proper, until he could find what Umberth described as the Necropolis where inestimable knowledge was waiting to be uncovered to the world. Knowledge of a time unknown before man had ever walked the lands, the Time of the Gods.It was already a fascinating sensation walking upon the very same road. Gleaming horns pierced the air above its head, but did nothing to distract from the absence of eyes in the creature's head.Ann had thought it would be a thrill to dabble in magic, just a lark. When it started, it had been just another way to annoy her parents. Just like her piercings, and her black clothes, she was lashing out at the chains she thought they were putting on her. She and her friends had gone shopping to buy all the right books, and had spent a small fortune on candles and. I love you Steve, see you soon, I promise. Oh, say ‘hello’ to Ping later.” I put the phone down, feeling more at peace after the conversation, finished my beer, locked the front screen door, turned off the TV (the game had finished and I didn’t even see the score!) and lay my head back and slept.I woke to a noise, focused my sight in the darkening room, and looked at the door where, not unexpectedly, Ping was smiling through the screen door at me. “Chao Anh, can I come in?” I rose from the sofa. I'm naked. Does it look like I'm not sure?"And so I took her in my arms. The touch of her skin was electric. It sent tremors through us both. I kissed her. She kissed back. And all the repressed sexuality between us exploded in that kiss. And when it ended the universe had changed. The connection we had been growing for so long seemed complete now, and only the two of us mattered. For the moment, everything was just right. And there was no hurry as we both removed my clothes.There were candles.