She gasped as she drew the first breath into her air deprived lungs and then she sat up, rubbing her eyes and staring at the men and women around her,...men and women she'd served with proudly. Then Hunter was at her side, pulling her off the floor, kissing her.Aphrodite sighed. "Love conquers all," she mused. She turned slowly, glancing back only once before slowly fading from sight."She brought you back to me," Hunter whispered against her lips. "You can't do that to me again, Mira. Promise me!. “Ehm… Ms. Summers.” Milton knew that he should have made his presence known to her the minute he came over. "Oh hey, Milton." Ashli smiled when she saw Milton standing there. “Hey.” Milton stuttered when he saw Ashli’s warm smile. Her smile made him feel even more guilty for having watched her just now. Though even now that Ashli knew that he was there, she still didn’t cover herself up. “Sorry, I just dropped my contact.” Ashli apologized to him as she went back to looking. “Oh, would you like. The man was shaking his head. “No ... Jesse died the summer after his graduation. I attended his funeral. He had an older sister, but no brothers.”In the meantime, Jesse was trying to become invisible. He tried to move to the back of the store, but Grant took his arm and held him.“Can you explain this, Jesse?” he asked.“No,” he lied.“What is your name, Sir?” Grant asked.“Norman Carson. Jesse and I played baseball together on the school team. We were good friends. I may be old, but I’m not. He weaved through crowds of Brothers and Sisters carrying bunches of cut flowers, arm-loads of candles, braziers, singing bowls, and cushions that reeked of stale incense. The air was thick with candle-smoke and the low buzz of whispered mantras and barked orders.He almost spilled his dolly-load of boxes when a yellow-sashed Erudite carrying a large crystal punch bowl cut him off and headed towards the center Circle, past the outermost Green Circle, where other Initiates like the young man were.