Ms. Anya glances up at the clock; just two more hours left in the week. Then, she could go out for drinks with some friends and give them the latest update on the cults in her classroom. Of the children, 90% are still in a mixture of green and gold. The rest would either simply wear gold or some form of pink and red with gold. Of course.

This class really loves Kit. Ms. Anya smiles sadly, feeling a sense of pride in being able to teach these little nutty students. It almost saddens her to think they would no longer be her students in two weeks.

But, no need to feel that yet. For now, this is Ms. Anya's class of weirdos. And they are all diligently coloring in today's letter, P, as asked. A few have already moved on to drawing words that start with "puh." She tries not to laugh when some draw big piles of "poop" on the page. It begins with "puh," and she has told them everyone does it. So, no problems with a bit of poop on the page.

Ms. Anya walks towards the back of the room. Her eyes move independently when she catches a sparkle in her peripheral vision near Lucilla. Ms. Anya watches the girl look up at nothing. The girl appears engrossed by the air for a long moment. Her mouth falls open, and she drops her brown crayon.

Ms. Anya moves closer and places a hand on her shoulder. "Luci, are you okay?" The teacher watches as tears soak the outline of poop Lucilla had started on her page.

Lucilla's glittering brown eyes turn to her teacher. She swallows and smiles sadly, "Kit is with Persephone now."

Ms. Anya's eyebrows furrow together as a gasp sounds in the room. She can feel the tension rise as the children sniffle around her. Then, the crying starts. Not whining. Or fake cries. Real, gut-wrenching tears are breaking Ms. Anya's core because there are no words she can find. Who is she to say that Kit is really okay? What if the weird leader of the Green Ones is right?

Gold and green sparkles catch the corner of the teacher's eye. She turns to see the outline of a woman with hair cascading down the side of her body, smiling at her.

"Is this what hallucinating is like?" Ms. Anya whispers.

Her skin pales as her armpits moisten.

Ms. Anya clears her throat while averting her eyes away from the sparkly hallucination. "Children," she croaks out. "Children, let's just practice our breathing. It's okay to be sad and miss our friend."

The students look past their teacher to the glittering woman in the classroom. Ms. Anya examines each face, hoping the children will show some form of fear. But they remain calm. Their tears now silently flowing with hope brimming in some eyes.

Ms. Anya turns to see the woman extend a hand upward. So, Ms. Anya does what seems logical and screams, falling between a set of tables.

"Ge-get down, children!" She screams, trying to remember her training for emergency situations.

Sparkles fall around the teacher, who is huddling in the fetal position on the floor. She tries to make a movement to bring a few children close to her, but they refuse. Instead, children's laughter twinkles with the falling stars.

Lucilla turns to see Ms. Anya on the floor and sighs. She walks over a few steps to squat beside her.

"It's okay," she whispers. "Psyche is just trying to help us feel better."

Ms. Anya looks up at Lucilla in shock. "Psyche is real?"

Giggling, Lucilla nods while offering her hand. Ms. Anya hesitantly takes it.

"See," Lucilla holds open her palm to let a spark fall on it. "These won't hurt you."

Ms. Anya nods, holding open one of her palms. "Luci, I just need you to be honest with me right now. And know that I won't be angry with you no matter what you say. But did you put something in my drink during snack time today?"

Lucilla's head tilts to the side. Her braid swings behind her as she thinks about her teacher's question. "No, I didn't do anything to anyone's drink, Ms. Anya. It isn't nice to play with other's people food."

Her teacher nods, rising from the floor. "Okay," her head continues to bob quicker than usual. "If you say so."

"You're funny, Ms. Anya," Lucilla giggles.

Then, she turns to run beside Chloe, who still has silent tears running down her face. The two embrace in a side hug before closing their eyes.

Ms. Anya watches her little ones slowly begin to comfort one another while feeling her own anxieties lessen. She closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths, letting the moment consume her. This might just be a wonderful dream tomorrow.

The teacher opens her eyes to look at Psyche in all her glory once again. She takes deep rhythmic breaths, placing both hands on her heart. Ms. Anya feels Psyche smile at her before moving closer. A sparkling hand extends to rest on top of the teacher's hands.

Do not fear, Psyche whispers to her. They will be okay. Kit is okay. Let them mourn and celebrate her.

"Okay, class," Ms. Anya's voice cracks again. She claps her hands quickly while swallowing down her emotion. "I think we should go outside. Kit would love to see the dance everyone has been working on."

Psyche smiles at the teacher as the children provide a mixture of cheers and tears on their way to line up at the door. The goddess and sparkles dissipate as Psyche follows them through the doors.

"We're going out to the field to dance," Ms. Anya says, knocking on the class's door next to theirs.

"Did she?" Ms. Cindy asks softly from inside. Ms. Anya nods.

She repeats the action for the last class door on the right before reaching the end of the hall.

Ms. Anya opens the door to the playground. Bright light streams into the hallway as the students walk outside.

Psyche blinks. David and Kit look through the doorway at her. They smile widely, providing a quick wave before running away with a light shimmer behind them.

Lucilla lets out a small gasp. "Did you see that?" She whispers to Chloe as they walk outside.

Chloe shakes her head. "No," she pauses. "What did you see?"

Lucilla's eyebrows go together. "Kit with a little boy. They ran towards the field."

"Ugh, she always has to be first, right?" Chloe sighs as tears form in the corners of her eyes.

Lucilla glances at her friend, clasping hands with her. "Always. Let's show her what we've been practicing."

The two girls break into the sunlight and run as fast as their little legs take them to the field. Enzio, Kai, and Jonathan stand, directing children to their spots.

"We're still missing some people," Kai calls out to Lucilla. "The other classes haven't—"

A small scream is heard from the doorway as the two other kindergarten classes sprint toward the field. There is a mixture of hugging and tears as the children greet each other.

The teachers stand back from the students, watching silently as they prepare for their dance.

Ms. Cindy provides Ms. Anya a side hug. "I called the principal to let her know we're doing this. She says it's okay."

"Thank you," Ms. Anya smiles, wiping away a few tears while watching the students.

Psyche settles away from the humans with a hand resting softly against her heart. A soft wind rustles beside her. She turns to find Eros folding in his wings, looking at the children, readying themselves. Chloe runs around with the boys, making sure everyone is in place. Psyche smirks at the large circle the children create.

"Her family should be passing by soon on their way home," Eros comments, crossing his arms.

Psyche nods. "That's good."

They stand silently for a few moments, waiting.

The children pick their hands up in unison and begin their dance.

"I heard your mother visited Kit and Gene," Psyche whispers.

Eros nods. "She has some penance to do."

Psyche smiles at her husband. "It brought Kit great happiness to know Aphrodite is there for her mother."

The children begin to run and jump while changing positions. Psyche lifts a hand, and flower petals fall from seemingly nowhere on the children. The children cheer, continuing the dance.

Eros and Psyche hear a car stop behind them. They turn to see Gene and the rest of Kit's family get out.

"That's the dance they've been working on," Damian says, pointing towards the kindergartners.

"How did they know?" Kit's father asks.

Gene's mother covers her smile briefly before letting her hand drop slowly.

"Psyche," she whispers, watching with watering eyes. "We should go to the temple. Well, after they're done."

Gene turns to see her husband nodding, his tears breaking at the edges of his eyes.

Among the children, Lucilla looks up to the sky, smiling at the flower petals falling on them. Psyche would protect them, even through death. Lucilla spins in a circle a few times before stopping. She sees Kit's family standing in the distance and feels Psyche's message.

"Stop!" Lucilla calls. The children immediately follow her directions. "Sit down. I have a message from Psyche."

All the children sit down as Lucilla motions for Kit's family to move closer. She waits until they are a few feet away before speaking.

"Psyche wants us all to know that Kit will always be close to us. The thread of her spirit is forever tied to us. All we must do is find our peace. Then, reach for the thread," Lucilla calls out before sitting down. "So, let us practice. Everyone sit and be still. Find your peace."

Ms. Anya watches the silent, meditating children in amazement for a few moments before sitting down to follow Lucilla's instructions. Kit's family slowly follows Lucilla's example.

Other cars stop to see why so many people sit in the field. The other two kindergarten teachers go about telling them the news, causing more people to sit with the mourning children and family.

No one knows this is the start of a yearly festival celebrating Psyche, the Petal Dance. It is said that dancing in the celebration and meditating under the petals can bring peace to people's troubles.

Psyche smiles at her now ever-growing followers.

"Come," Eros says, pulling on her hand.

"Where?"

"To the temple," he smiles. "I need to show you something."

Psyche lets Eros pull her away from her meditating followers through the city and up the temple steps. They wave lightly at Janus, who smirks at them from his perch on the shrine entrance.

"I see he has found you," Janus calls after Psyche.

She turns and sticks her tongue out at him until they disappear around a bend.

"Look," Eros says, stopping in front of her statue.

Psyche gasps, looking at her statue free of the vines that once overpowered it. "I'm free."

She jumps and turns in a circle. "I'm really free!"

Eros hugs her. "The vines will not grow back. I made sure of it."

"Thank you," Psyche smiles, letting herself hug him back.

Her followers would now have a place to visit her. She no longer needs to fear the abyss.

"So, does this mean I'm not in trouble anymore?" Eros whispers.

Psyche elbows her husband away with a smirk. "You're getting there." She floats to sit in her tree above the statue, and Eros follows.

The two sit in the tree, looking out over the city. They watch as an older man pauses before Psyche's statue, considering her. Eros holds Psyche's hand and gives it a slight squeeze.

The old man reaches into his pocket to retrieve a small coin. He places it on her offering plate and then kneels down to pray.

Psyche smiles. "Chocolate is better," she winks at Eros. "But I'll still help him."