Ashley hung a small white plaque with the words 'Fantasy' scrawled on in curly, dark purple font up on the tiny hook sticking out of the bookshelf. The shelves from each section were a different colour, purple for fantasy, red for romance, blue for Sci-fi and so on. They were empty now since Eilis was still painting the mural and Ashley didn't want them too smell like paint or get stained.

"There, they're all set up." Ashley stepped back and turned to Bella who was measuring out a rectangle where a door was supposed to go, joining the Glen and their as yet unnamed bookstore.

"I just finished too. Want to get something to eat?"

"Definitely."

They stepped out of their store and made the short walk to the Glen. The lunch rush was starting to wind down to a slow trickle. One of the few people still buzzing around inside the restaurant was the blonde woman with red and blue eyes and the familiar looking woman, sitting around a table in a corner with a young girl with curly black hair.

Ashley greeted Gem, the woman, at the checkout, who'd been hired recently to replace him, and ordered their meals: two chicken marsalas with white rice.

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Hours later, Ashley glanced up and grinned as the door to his store opened, and Ethan stepped in, arms full of takeout.

"Have you had dinner?" Ethan asked, setting the takeaway bags with the Glen's logo down on the checkout counter.

"Too busy," Ashley muttered, reaching for the bag. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, baby," Ethan sat across from him. "You've been so stressed all day, I was getting worried."

"I'm fine. This whole process is just more hectic than I thought it would be. I had no idea that I had to register with the city. Do you know how difficult getting a new birth certificate was? I never want to see another social services worker again." It's not like he could get his old one, those were all back home... "I'm just glad you and Bella are here to help me."

"I remember how difficult it was when Kaili and I started the Glen. There was a lot more paperwork than I thought there would be but it's rewarding." Ethan spoke as Ashley walked to his side of the counter with his food and sat next to him. "At least you don't have to deal with the banks."

"Thank god. I wouldn't want to have to deal with managing a loan too." He sighed, opening up the plastic container and grinning when he saw the contents. "Pork chops! Yes! I haven't had these in ages."

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The Hollow? The Cavern? The-

"The Clearing?" Bella suggested. "No, not that."

"Why is this so difficult?" Ashley groaned then leaned on the arm of a couch tucked in one corner of his as yet unnamed bookstore. "Coming up with a name should be the easiest part."

"How are things going for you, Eilís?" Bella asked. Eilís was on the other side of the room, long red hair tied back into a ponytail and she was dressed down in a pair of old jeans, a stained red blouse and overalls.

"Finally got the right shade of blue." Her painting showed a small idyllic cove from the perspective of a person peaking out of a cave with mermaids stretched out on rocks jutting out of the sea or playing in the coast. Fairies flew on stretched out wings in the distance, and other magic users dotted the beach.

"This is amazing!" Eilís blushed at Bella's words, pale skin turning tomato red.

"Thank you."

"That's it! I've finally got it!" Ashley suddenly blurted out, getting to his feet. "We can call it the cove!"

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Candice sighed, plopping down next to Lukas on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate. His grandmother's health had taken a turn for the worst, so he wasn't in the best state of mind.

"Are you okay?" Candice knew he wasn't, but asking if he was okay sounded better than asking if he felt like he falling apart.

"No. I feel... useless."

Candice sighed. "You can't fix everything."

"I know that. But usually, I can try. It's not fair."

"Not to sound cliche but nothing in life is fair."

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So this is the last chapter before the epilogue. But don't worry, I'm writing a sequel called 'Coming Together' which will be out by next week. It has new different characters though, so don't worry, I'm not going to mess with Ethan and Ashley.

- I. Tamilore Onkọwe

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