Then I heard her sigh, and she turned and looked at me searching my face. "I'm so sorry, John," she said. "I know I'm not handling this particularly w...ll." She took another deep breath. I could see her eyes glistening. "I probably won't say all of this right either, but I need to say it anyway, so please, don't say anything until I get it all out, okay?"I nodded, dreading what I was about to hear, but needing to hear it at the same time."Um, so, we were at Grandma's house. Things were nice and. Her father owned a small company inherited from her grandfather who himself was the bastard son of a "Lord." Fiona wasn't attracted to money, she liked people and hedonism, and such she didn't really fit in.Greg gave the seventeen year-old a weak smile as she potted the last ball before he had even managed to pot a single one. "That means you owe me a drink, and ya gotta order it nekkid," she crowed and he grunted towards her but Fiona was wasn't completely joking.In the end Greg talked himself. Felek looked around, straightening in his saddle. What had she...Something had changed.The trees."The trees are different." He looked at her. She was now looking around as he had, slowly nodding."You're right." They both swept their gazes over the surrounding forest. The trees were older. Darker. Their branches spread over the travelers blocking out more of the sun. Even as Felek comprehended that, the world darkened. As if noticing the cause created the effect. The path, too, had changed. Gone. As I enter, I see Leet is waiting patiently for me at the workbench.“What took you so long? I was on the verge of calling the police to start a search and rescue operation?” she tells me, laughing.I look at the door I just came through, my conversation with Akari still on my mind. I turn to Leet and tell her, my turmoil showing in my voice, “Sorry, I stopped to have a conversation with Akari.”If she heard my internal struggle, she doesn’t say anything about it. “So, what did you get? Sandwich.