His black hand-me-down Vans squelched against the already dried golden stairs as Justin cautiously made his way back down to the road. He listened for any growls or heavy footsteps that could mean the beast was nearby.

It was completely dark except for the glow of the metal lamps on the street. When his feet hit the illuminated pavement, Justin exhaled. Looking up, he could see the dark castle on the hill with its windows of every shape. Above it, brilliant stars darted across the sky, forming the Milky Way. It was as if the storm had never happened. Pivoting around, he gazed one last time at the Indian palace, its golden spires seeming to reach for the stars.

Justin frowned. Unfortunately, he would be glad if he never saw the palace again. He blinked as a memory returned. He had seen the spires before. It had been one of the first houses he'd seen when entering the neighborhood. He looked down the street and his heart nearly leaped from his chest when his eyes landed on the black shadow of the large iron gate.

He dashed toward the gate with a desperation that he hadn't known was inside of him. He flung himself upon the gate as if he was a prisoner trying to make his great escape. When the gate silently swung open at his touch, Justin whooped and threw his fist into the air in triumph.

As if in response, the owl who had led him to the strange neighborhood, swooped down from a pine and soared along the arched pathway.

"Wait!" Justin shouted, racing after the bird. Coming out the other side of the archway, Justin watched the owl fly up into a tree. Diving headfirst into the thickets of blackberries and poison oak, Justin continued on without the owl.

He panted as he crawled, thorns scratching at his face, but he didn't care. All he could think of was home. Safe, comfortable home.

Abruptly, the thicket ended and the massive trunk of the fallen redwood lay in front of him. Hastily, he scrambled up the side. Reaching the top, he jumped to his feet. That was a mistake. His wet shoes, slipped upon the slick, worn wood.

His feet slipped from underneath him, and Justin fell headfirst to the ground. His skull slammed into a large rock and white light blurred his vision before everything went black.

"Justin!"

"Justin!"

"Where are you?"

Voices bounced through the darkness of Justin's brain. He felt as if he had fallen into a deep hole, one he would never climb out of. Things echoed through his mind, not quite reaching him. He felt alone.

"Justin?"

A voice tried to find him through the darkness. Justin's body formed around his mind. It felt heavy and painful. His mind slow, like swimming through mud to surface for air. A Light pierced through the darkness. He latched onto the light and it yanked him to the surface.

Justin's eyes opened. Blinding light surrounded him. He blinked.

"Justin, are you okay?" asked a deep voice.

Justin blinked again, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the light. The outline of a man came into view and then slowly it turned into a police officer holding a flashlight.

The police officer kneeled over Justin.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Pain throbbed on the right side of Justin's temple. He sat up, gingerly putting a hand to his head.

"Looks like you cut your head open, might have to get stitches," informed the officer, and he stood. Cupping both hands to his mouth, he shouted, "I found him! Over here!"

Justin could feel the blood on his hand. He blinked as it dripped into his eyes. He couldn't think or feel. How should he feel about this?

The ground softly shook as footsteps quickly approached.

"Justin?"

He knew that voice. It put warmth in his stomach.

More blinding light in his eyes, and then a woman was pulling Justin into her arms. More wetness. Was that his wetness or hers? He hoped he hadn't caused her pain.

"Oh, thank God!"

Another familiar voice, Justin knew he could relax now. He was safe.

He was pulled into larger arms than the woman's and then lifted off the ground and carried out of his forest.

When Justin woke, he found himself in a bed, but not his own bed. He sat up and looked around. Hundreds of beanie babies surrounded him; his brother's beanie babies. He fell back onto the pillow and winced as pain throbbed in the right side of his head. He was in his own room, just not in his own bed. He was in his brother's bed, the bottom bunk of the bunkbed they had once shared together.

"I'm awake!" his mother's voice shouted. "I didn't fall asleep!"

A tangled mess of brown hair came into view, a couple of twigs and pine needles sticking out of the heap. Justin leaned over to see his mom; her legs tucked into a sleeping bag on the floor.

"Did you sleep there last night?" he asked.

His mom held out her forefinger towards him. "No, not when you have a minor concussion. I did not sleep."

"You don't even have a pillow."

She leaned over and kissed Justin lightly on the forehead. "Hence the not sleeping. I had to wake you up every hour to make sure you were still alive. Do you remember that?"

Justin shook his head.

His mom sighed and placed her head on his brother's bed.

"Well," she said, "if your father asks you, please say that you remember me being a wonderful and caring mother. What do you remember?"

Justin thought for a moment. "I remember running through the woods away from..."

What had he been running from? He remembered floating in the air and rain, lots of rain, but some things in his mind seemed to be just out of reach. They were there, but he just didn't have access to them.

"Was it raining last night?" he asked.

His mother frowned. "No, not raining. But your clothes were drenched. Did you go swimming in the ocean?"

"With my clothes on?"

His mother smiled and then placed a hand on his arm. "Right, that doesn't sound like you."

"I remember the police officer finding me and you and dad holding me." He put a hand up to his head and felt a thick bandage. "I remember going to the hospital and getting stitches and I remember..." he paused, placing his hand on hers, "you crying. I'm sorry, mom."

Tears welled in his mother's eyes, and she wrapped her hand in his and squeezed it.

"No, I am sorry," she whispered. "I am so sorry." She let out a sob and buried her face in the blanket.

Tears dripped down Justin's cheek. "Mom, it's okay. I am fine."

She lifted her head. "No, you're not. Your father and I have ignored you. We have been so busy with..." She trailed off and her eyes wandered over to the beanie babies on the bed.

Justin squeezed her hand again. "It's okay. I understand. You and dad had to do what you've done. To find Simon."

His mother pulled her hand away and shook her head. She untangled herself from the sleeping bag and stood.

"It's not okay!" she shouted and then began to pace the room.

Justin sat up even more and nodded. "Okay."

"It has been five years. Five years that you have been ignored and neglected. Last night when I thought... I thought I had lost you too, I prayed. I actually prayed. I promised I would be a better mother if you would just come home. I'm going to keep that promise. Your father too, he said he wanted to try and be a proper family again." She stopped and looked Justin in the eyes. "It's not that we are giving," her bottom lip quivered, "up. Never. We just need to try and keep living."

Justin nodded again. "Okay."

His mother nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. She walked up to the bunkbed and sat next to Justin. She picked up a blue and pink whale beanie baby from the bed and moved its flippers.

"You know, when Simon was little, before your father became a teacher, we would travel a lot."

"I know," said Justin. "Simon was born on a sailboat."

His mom smiled. "He was born a traveler. Those were happy times for our family. When you were born, your father and I were so busy with our jobs, and then... Well, traveling got put on hold. But your father and I were talking last night while you were sleeping and we want to take you on a trip."

"What?" Justin blurted, his eyes going wide.

She placed a hand on his leg. "I know you don't think you can. But that is just fear of the unknown. It will pass once you get out there and see. We can do one of yours and Simon's adventures."

Justin's heartbeat quickened. He had trouble inhaling. There was a weight on his chest.

"But I don't want to," he forced out.

His mom removed her hand from his leg. "What happened last night? You had your father and I so worried. What were you doing wandering the woods? You are supposed to come home right after school."

Justin hung his head. "I was just playing. And I lost track of time and got lost."

His mom sighed. "Sheriff Johnson told us that Mason came home from school with scratches all over his arms and that Mason told him you attacked him after they saw you dressing up in girls' clothes in the drama class."

"Mom, no, that's not what happened," said Justin.

"Did you feel guilty? Is that why you were in the woods? Did you think Mason's dad would arrest you?"

"No, I was just playing. I didn't attack..."

"Well," said his mother, cutting him off, "you're grounded."

"What?"

"No Internet, no TV, and definitely no playing in the woods. This weekend you are going to help your father in the backyard and next week, after school, you will only do the dishes and your homework. Then we can reevaluate."

"Mom, please."

His mom stood and smiled.

"This will be good, you will see."

Then she walked out of the room, leaving Justin alone. His hands shook. He couldn't leave home. Simon had and now... Justin fell face first onto the pillows and let out a loud sigh.

Later that afternoon, Justin found himself with a rake in his hand, cleaning up the dead garden with his dad. His dad kneeled on his hands and knees, pulling up weeds. Justin stared at his dad's head. At only forty, his dad was fully gray.

"I know you don't want to go," said his dad.

"It's not," said Justin and he paused, trying to find the right words, "I want to go, I just..."

His dad sat back on his knees, his bright blue eyes filled with sadness. "I know. I understand. But your mom needs this. We need this."

"She's worried about me," stated Justin. He slowly leaned over to pick up the pile of pulled weeds and he winced as his head throbbed.

His dad grabbed the pile of weeds before Justin could. "Take it easy," he said. "It wasn't the brightest idea having you help me. Just push the rake around a bit so your mom thinks you're being fairly punished."

He dumped the weeds into a trash bin before turning back to Justin. "It's not just what happened last night. You really pulled away from us and your friends these last few years. If you had some extracurricular activities, if you did things with kids your age, maybe she wouldn't try so hard."

Justin raked the ground once. "I have drama."

His father smiled. "Yes. And we love that you do that. But you are the sole costume person and you hardly interact with the others."

"What can I do?"

Sighing, his father stood and moved over to the apple tree and began picking up dead branches off the ground. "Well, you could join a sport?"

Justin let go of the rake and it clattered to the ground. "Me? A sport?"

His father raised his hands. "I know. But you don't have to be good. You just have to be involved. Make friends. Be a kid."

Justin shrugged, not saying anything else. His mind recalled T-ball when he was four and hitting the ball into the bleachers. The bleachers behind the dugout. The ball hit his teammate's three-year-old sister causing her to cry. The kids teased him after that, saying everyone needed to stand back.

After dumping the dead branches into the trash bin, Justin's dad walked over to him and patted his back.

"Let's go into town and pick out some plants for the garden. We can plant strawberries, your favorite."

"Okay," agreed Justin.

Justin carried the small strawberry plants to the checkout counter of the local hardware store. He adverted his eyes to the ground as Carlos, the owner of the hardware store and father of Luis Ramirez, Justin's former best friend, walked up to the cash register.

He hoped Carlos would just check him and his father out without talking as if Luis and Justin were still friends.

"Hey Justin!" greeted Carlos. "How have you been?"

"Good," replied Justin.

"Why haven't you been over to the house to play with Luis lately?"

Before Justin could respond, Lupita, Carlos' daughter, saved him by coming through the front door. Justin's cheeks warmed as she smiled brightly at him. Lupita was a year older than Justin and Luis. She was tall with long black shiny hair she always wore in a high ponytail. She loved sports and horses. She was always so kind to Justin and when they had been younger, they would play with her Bratz Dollz together.

"Hey Justin!" greeted Lupita. She carried a soccer ball under one arm and wore a soccer jersey, shorts, long socks, and soccer shoes. She raced behind the counter, where she dropped the ball.

"Hi," said Justin, smiling.

"Hi honey," said Carlos to Lupita, and he kissed her on the forehead before grabbing the strawberries and scanning them.

"How is Les Mis going?" Lupita asked Justin.

Justin shrugged. "I am working with a costume bin filled with old women's clothes from a production of The Great Gatsby put on by the local Kiwanis club."

Lupita grimaced. "Brutal."

"How was soccer?"

She shrugged. "It hasn't started yet. Just practicing with some friends today."

"Is it coed?"

Lupita nodded. "Why? Are you interested?"

Justin shrugged.

His dad stepped up and placed tomato, lettuce, and corn seeds onto the counter, along with soil and a long coiled hose.

"Hey Carlos, how are things?"

"Not bad," replied Carlos, grabbing the seeds to scan them. "Picking up now that the weather is finally warming and people are heading back into their gardens. How are things for you and Vanessa?"

As if realizing what he asked, Carlos coughed and turned back to scan the rest of the items. An awkwardness settled between them all, something Justin had become used to. His dad frowned for a moment, but then immediately smiled and pointed at Lupita.

"Hey, did you know you have a future scientist here?"

Lupita smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Clooney."

Carlos smiled as well and shook his head. "I don't know where she gets it. I hated science in school."

"I do too," said Justin.

"Hey!" said his dad. "Watch it."

Carlos laughed. "They never turn out like us." Then he typed on the register. "That will be twenty-five eighty-two. Would you like a bag?"

Before his father could respond, Justin said, "No we can carry it."

Carlos nodded. "Right for the environment," he said miming quotation marks.

Lupita rolled her eyes. "Dad, it is for the environment." She handed Justin the strawberries. "If you want to play soccer, you better hurry. Registration ends tomorrow."

His dad's eyes went wide. "What? Soccer?"

Justin ignored him and replied, "Okay thanks." And he raced out the door before his father could say more.

On the drive home, Justin stared out the window, thinking of India, although he didn't know why.

"We will track down a tiger in the jungle to take a photo of it!" Simon had said as they explored the country using Google Earth.

"Me and you, Simon, we will go there!" Five-year-old Justin had squealed.

His brother placed his arm around Justin.

Justin turned away from the window, leaving the memory to look at his dad.

"I want to play soccer," he said.

His dad raised one eyebrow. "Really?"

Justin nodded.

"Does this have anything to do with a certain pretty thirteen-year-old?"

Justin shrugged, and his dad laughed. "It's a good reason! We will sign you up tomorrow."

The next evening, as Justin helped his mom make dinner in the kitchen, his dad came in and slapped some papers onto the counter.

"All right, I had to pull some teacher privileges, but I got you on Lupita's team."

Justin's mom, who stood next to Justin peeling zucchini, elbowed Justin in the ribs. "Lupita? So that's why you joined."

Justin elbowed his mom back. "She's nice."

Sitting down on the barstool at the kitchen counter, Justin's dad put on his reading glasses. "Seriously registered just in the nick of time," he said reading one of the papers. "You have two practices this week, tomorrow and Thursday, and then you have an actual game on Saturday."

"Where is the game at?" asked his mom.

"Looks like Templeton."

The room fell silent. Justin could feel his pulse in his temples. He forced himself to inhale. It wasn't India. It was only Templeton. He would be there and back in a day. He could do it.

He forced his mouth open. "Cool."

His parents exchanged a look and then his mom smiled. "I think we have tortured you enough. How about you go play on the computer? Your dad and I can finish in here."

"Really?" Justin dropped the carrot he was holding.

His father stood and came around the counter into the kitchen. "Yeah, go on, you helped a lot in the garden these last two days."

Justin pelted from the kitchen. He didn't want his parents to see the desperation seeping in under the cracks of his mask. He skidded on the hardwood floor into his mom's writing room and quietly shut the door behind him.

"Damn," he whispered as he leaned against the door.

On the far wall, the glowing eyes of a wolf gazed out at Justin. Above the eyes were the words The Far Beyond. Below the eyes, the wolf melded into the lips and chin of a woman, and below that, in bold white lettering, was the name Vanessa Clooney. Justin sluggishly moved around his mom's desk. Sitting in her chair, he opened her laptop.

The web browser was already open, the top of the page reading Forum for Parents of Missing Children. Justin popped open a new page, leaving the forum behind, and logged onto Facebook. He was hoping to see new photos posted of Ashland, Oregon's production of Les Mis. It surprised him to see that he had a new message. This was odd, as the only friends Justin had on Facebook were his mom, dad, cousins, grandmother, and Luis. His mom had to approve of any new friends. He opened his inbox and immediately clamped his hands over his mouth to keep from screaming. The message was from a Nitara Reishi.