Everyone is relaxing in the rec room when Estel hollers down that Grandma wants to see me. I hurry up the stairs because now that I am concentrating I can feel some distress coming off of Grandma.

Making it up to her room, I find her sitting on her bed looking out the window.

"Sit down, Tallulah," Grandma says.

"What's this about?"

"We need to head to Applewine."

My heart rate escalates. "Why?" My stomach churns. "What happened? Is everyone okay? Did someone die?"

"No one died, but your sister is in ICU."

"What?" My eyes widen and my heart stops. "Why? What happened?"

"Your sister and mom were out shopping and someone ran a red light and broadsided them. The medical team just got Kaitlyn into ICU after surgery."

"Oh my lord. Oh, my. Is she going to die?" I pace in front of the door.

"They don't believe so, but a lot can happen after surgery. I think it's best if I take you over to Applewine, so you can be with your family. If Kaitlyn starts looking better or is out of the woods, we'll come back to finish training. We'll figure anything else out if something happens."

Grandma wraps me in a hug. "Go pack," she says, kisses my forehead and lets me go.

It takes me all of 10 minutes to throw things into one of my bags. Grandma must have given the group the news, because I'm greeted by almost everyone as I leave.

A wave of sadness and hurt slams into me. I look for Mick, but she's nowhere in sight.

"Where's Mick?" I ask Estel.

"She had something she had to do."

"Tell her ... tell her ... just tell her I love her and I will be back as soon as I can."

"I will conejito."

I rush out the door into the car and Grandma and I take off.

The ride home seems to take longer than the ride to the cabin did. Silence blankets the car for a long time before it starts to drive me crazy.

"Tell me more about your life in Akiva or Salome or wherever you want to talk about," I ask.

"You know, my ancestors are from Ireland, and I try to go back a few times a year."

"Do we still have family there?"

"Only a handful that acknowledge they belong to the family. The ones who do are my age and aren't afraid of threats people make. They feel like they're old enough, if someone harms them it's their time to cross over."

"What's crossing over like?"

Grandma lets out a hearty laugh. When I narrow my eyes at her, she backtracks.

"Love, I'm not laughing at you, just the idea. Crossing over requires death, and as you can see, I'm very much alive."

I chuckle at my ridiculousness of being upset at what now seems to be a silly question.

"It would be nice to know that what we believe exists, but that is the essence of faith, isn't it? We believe in things not seen. We practice Mageia. That's pretty unbelievable to begin with, according to society. We've seen the effects of what more can happen when we ask the Ancient Ones or Mairom for help. So we believe they are there."

"Have you ever seen shadows? Maybe spirits?"

"Rarely, but I have seen them, especially when I needed comfort or to help me through a period of doubt. I feel your Grandfather's presence quite a bit. I've seen spirits on several occasions."

"Are they always there, and we just can't see them?" I ask.

"They are there in the next realm. Where this realm is; I don't have a definitive answer. My imagination says that it occupies the same space we do, it's just different. How? I'm not sure. Very rarely they will make their presence known to us, but I believe they are always there, somewhere."

"That's a nice thought.

"How often do you see spirits?"

"Every so often, maybe once a week or every other week."

Staring out of the car window, the hills that lay before us. It won't be long until we're home. A memory of the last time I saw the shadows comes to mind.

"I saw them about a week ago when I was battling myself. My doubts and fears against my potential. I didn't know what to do, and I was getting tired of fighting myself all the time waiting for it to decide where to go. It was at a particularly low moment while I was meditating by Tanner's Mudhole that I saw two shadows across the creek. I never know who they are. I'd like to think it's my birth parents, but I'm not certain."

"I'm positive that they still look out for you and could potentially come more frequently. It might have been them or someone else connected to you who was trying to guide you down your path."

"My path?"

"Some believe that everyone has multiple paths, but there are ones better suited to us. We pick a path and see where it goes. What's at the end of the path is unknown until the person gets there."

"And you've experienced this."

"Most certainly."

"How did you meet my grandfather?" I ask, changing the subject.

"When your Grandfather first came to Salome, my heart was immediately captured. When he finally looked up, some things seemed to clink in place with me. He came over and introduced himself. When I asked him why he was in Salome, he told me he was a Protector and was checking in with people in the village—cause that was about all it was at the time. When he told me this, my heart dropped to my stomach. I had heard about the Protectors, and what they did, what they sacrifice, and I wasn't sure I wanted to be part of that." She laughs. "I gave your Grandfather a merry chase, but he eventually won my heart and I couldn't ignore this because of my fears. When I was 'running away', every thought led back to him, and one day I realized that he was part of my path and I would forever regret letting him go. And I never regretted one moment of our lives together. I just wish he could have stayed longer in the physical realm."

Grandma pulls over to the side of the road and cries. I do my best to comfort her, but I've never experienced the death of someone I loved so dearly. Well, people that I can remember.