Chronicle 10
By the following afternoon...
Joanna's post had spread far beyond anything she imagined.
Thousands became hundreds of thousands.
Hundreds of thousands became millions.
People shared it.
Commented on it.
News organizations picked it up.
The story escaped the wrestling world almost immediately.
It became something much simpler.
A father.
A son.
A missing daughter.
Across the world, strangers wrote the same hope in different
languages.
"I hope they find Phoebe."
"I hope they hug again."
"Don't give up."
Love Hospital
Dr. Amina Idris entered the room carrying her tablet.
"I have something you should probably see."
Phoebe looked up.
"What is it?"
Amina turned the screen toward her.
Joanna's photograph.
Zas.
The Blue Orb.
The mountains.
The post beneath it.
Phoebe immediately recognized him.
"...Dad."
Then another face.
"...Arel-Sin."
Amina nodded.
"I wanted to make sure."
Phoebe quietly handed the tablet back.
"It is them."
Amina pulled up a chair.
"I imagine you have mixed feelings."
Phoebe gave a hollow laugh.
"'Mixed' is putting it mildly."
Armintie reached for the tablet.
She quietly read the post.
After a moment she frowned.
"...It doesn't mention me."
Amina glanced at her.
"I wouldn't assume that was intentional."
"Joanna barely knows your story."
"She may simply have focused on helping Zas and
Arel-Sin find Phoebe."
Phoebe nodded.
"I don't think Joanna meant anything by it."
She looked back toward the window.
"That's not what bothers me."
Silence settled over the room.
Finally Amina asked,
"Then what does?"
Phoebe swallowed.
"I don't know if I want to see him."
She struggled with the next words.
"...Dad."
Even saying his name hurt.
"He can tell the whole world he misses me."
"He can ask millions of strangers for help."
"...but..."
Her voice became firmer.
"If he's really sorry..."
"...he can tell me."
"In person."
"Not through a screen."
Amina nodded thoughtfully.
"He didn't know where you were."
"He couldn't come to you."
Phoebe looked down.
"I know."
"...but that doesn't make it hurt less."
Another silence.
Amina eventually asked,
"So..."
"What would you like me to do?"
"You don't have to answer today."
"You can ignore the post."
"You can reply."
"You can ask me to tell them nothing."
"There isn't a wrong answer."
Armintie looked toward Phoebe.
The two exchanged a long glance.
No words.
Just understanding.
Finally Armintie spoke.
"I think..."
"...you should write back."
Phoebe nodded.
"I agree."
Amina picked up her tablet.
"What should I say?"
Phoebe thought carefully.
"Tell Trinity..."
She smiled faintly at the unfamiliar name.
"...that we appreciate everything she did."
Armintie continued.
"Tell Zas..."
She hesitated.
"...and Arel-Sin..."
"...that we're alive."
Phoebe quietly added,
"...and that we love them."
"We never stopped."
Amina typed.
"Anything else?"
Phoebe took a slow breath.
"We're not ready."
"Not yet."
"We're not ignoring them."
"We're just..."
"...not ready."
Armintie nodded.
"...and..."
Phoebe looked directly at Amina.
"No apologies over a screen."
"If this is going to happen..."
"...it has to happen face-to-face."
Amina looked at both girls.
"If Zasaramel and Arel-Sin came here..."
"...would you see them?"
Neither girl answered immediately.
Finally...
Very quietly...
"...yes."
The word came from both of them.
Amina smiled.
"May I tell them where you are?"
Phoebe nodded.
"You can."
Armintie folded her hands together.
"If they truly mean everything they said..."
"...then let them prove it."
Phoebe looked once more at Joanna's post.
"They've said all the right things."
She closed her eyes.
"Now..."
"...they have to come."
Joanna's phone buzzed.
Once.
Then again.
Then again.
She barely looked at it.
Ever since posting the photograph, her notifications had
become a constant stream of messages.
Another celebrity.
Another journalist.
Another stranger wishing Zas and Arel-Sin well.
She smiled politely and reached for the phone.
Then she stopped.
The notification carried a small blue checkmark.
Dr. Amina Idris
Joanna sat upright immediately.
"...Zas."
He looked over.
"What is it?"
"I think..."
She swallowed.
"...this one's important."
She opened the message.
As she read, her breathing slowed.
Then-
A photograph.
Phoebe.
Armintie.
Both smiling faintly at the camera.
Healthy.
Alive.
Joanna didn't even finish reading.
"Zas!"
He was beside her almost instantly.
"What?"
She simply turned the phone toward him.
For several seconds...
He forgot how to breathe.
"...Phoebe."
Arel-Sin hurried over.
The moment he saw the photograph...
His knees almost gave way.
"...She's okay."
"She's okay."
No one spoke.
Not for a very long time.
Finally Joanna continued reading aloud.
She read Amina's message from beginning to end.
By the time she finished...
The room had become very quiet.
Relief.
Joy.
Guilt.
Sadness.
Hope.
Fear.
Every emotion seemed to occupy the cabin at once.
Arel-Sin slowly sat down.
"So..."
"...she still isn't ready."
"No."
Joanna answered gently.
"...but she answered."
He looked unconvinced.
"She doesn't want us."
"That's not what she said."
Joanna moved closer.
"Listen carefully."
"She said she loves you."
"She said she isn't ready."
"Those are different things."
Arel-Sin stared at the floor.
"I don't know what to do."
"I do."
Joanna looked toward Zas.
"You go."
"To Purushapura."
"You apologize."
"In person."
Arel-Sin looked up.
"That's so far away."
Before Joanna could answer-
Zas did.
"If you truly love your sister..."
"...distance is irrelevant."
He spoke so quietly that it barely sounded like him.
"There is no journey I would not make."
"There is no mountain too high."
"No road too long."
"If it means holding my daughter again."
Arel-Sin lowered his eyes.
Slowly...
He nodded.
Joanna smiled softly.
"I think..."
"...that's exactly what Phoebe wanted to hear."
As the room settled into silence once more...
Something caught Zas' eye.
At the bottom of Amina's message...
A phone number.
He looked toward the shelf.
Karim's satellite phone rested exactly where he'd left it.
He walked over.
Picked it up.
Held it in both hands.
"I wonder..."
Joanna looked at him.
"What?"
"I wonder if I should call."
"Yes."
The answer came immediately.
He looked at her.
"You should."
"At least speak to Amina."
"Maybe Phoebe."
"Maybe Armintie."
She smiled gently.
"...but..."
She rested a hand on his arm.
"Don't let the call become the apology."
"It can't."
"It shouldn't."
Zas nodded.
"It will not."
"I am still going."
He looked back at the phone.
"I only..."
His voice almost disappeared.
"...I only wish to hear her voice again."
Joanna felt her own eyes beginning to sting.
"Then call."
He took a deep breath.
His thumb hovered over the keypad.
For a warrior who had faced charging cavalry...
Who had walked into battles without flinching...
Who had stared death in the face more times than he could
count...
Pressing one button...
...felt like the hardest thing he had ever done.
He closed his eyes.
Exhaled.
...and pressed Call.
Late that evening, Dr. Amina Idris sat alone in her office.
Patient charts.
Assessment notes.
Discharge planning.
None of it was especially urgent.
...but it all needed doing.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
She barely registered it.
By the third ring she finally picked it up.
"Love Hospital. Dr. Idris speaking."
A hesitant voice answered.
"...My name is Zasaramel."
Amina immediately straightened in her chair.
"Zasaramel?"
"Yes."
"I..."
He took a slow breath.
"I was hoping..."
"...to hear my daughter again."
Amina smiled.
"You've called at a good time."
She pressed the intercom.
"Cornelia?"
A nurse answered almost immediately.
"Yes, Doctor?"
"Would you wake Phoebe and Armintie?"
"Tell them there's someone they'd probably like to
speak to."
She released the button.
Turning back to the phone, she said softly,
"It'll take a minute."
"They were likely asleep."
"I understand."
Neither spoke much while they waited.
The silence wasn't awkward.
Only nervous.
A knock came at the office door.
Cornelia stepped aside.
Phoebe and Armintie entered wearing hospital robes.
Both looked thoroughly exhausted.
"What is it?"
Phoebe asked.
Amina simply held out the satellite phone.
"Someone would like to speak with you."
Phoebe frowned.
"...Who?"
Amina smiled.
"Listen."
Phoebe cautiously lifted the receiver.
"...Hello?"
The answer came almost immediately.
"...Phoebe."
Her eyes widened.
"...Dad?"
Everything that followed dissolved into emotion.
"I'm sorry-"
"No, I-"
"I thought-"
"I didn't know where-"
"I was afraid-"
"I'm sorry-"
"I missed you-"
"I love you-"
Half-finished sentences.
Voices talking over one another.
Tears interrupting words before they could be spoken.
Armintie eventually leaned closer.
"Zas?"
"...Armintie."
"I'm sorry too."
"You don't have to-"
"I do."
"I failed you."
"No..."
"You didn't-"
"I should have-"
Again...
No one could finish a thought.
Amina quietly waited.
Eventually she gently touched Phoebe's shoulder.
"One at a time."
Everyone laughed through their tears.
It broke the tension.
Just enough.
Phoebe took a deep breath.
"Dad."
"Yes?"
"I don't want you thinking..."
"...that making this phone call means we're okay."
"It doesn't."
"I know."
"I know it doesn't."
"I still have to come."
"I still owe you an apology."
"In person."
Phoebe closed her eyes.
"Thank you."
"It matters."
"I just..."
She struggled for the words.
"I need to see you."
"I need to know..."
"...that you're here because you love me."
"Not because millions of people saw Joanna's
post."
"I understand."
"There will be no cameras."
Phoebe blinked.
"What?"
"Joanna suggested I tell you."
"I do not want this..."
"...to become a performance."
"I am coming as your father."
"Nothing else."
Phoebe felt another tear roll down her cheek.
"...Thank you."
Zas hesitated.
"There is something else."
"What?"
"Would it be acceptable..."
"...if Joanna came with us?"
Phoebe smiled for what felt like the first time in weeks.
"I'd like that."
"You would?"
"She helped us."
"Without even knowing us."
"I want to meet the woman..."
"...who's trying so hard to put my family back
together."
Zas looked at Joanna.
She had quietly covered her mouth with both hands.
She hadn't expected those words.
Phoebe continued.
"I don't know if everything will be fixed."
"It probably won't."
"I might still be angry."
"I might cry."
"I might even walk away for a while."
"I honestly don't know."
"...but..."
She steadied herself.
"I think..."
"...this can be the first step."
Zas closed his eyes.
For the first time since this nightmare had begun...
He could finally see a path forward.
"It is enough."
"It is more than I deserve."
"...but I will spend the rest of my life earning
it."
When the call finally ended...
No one felt better.
Not completely.
No miracle had occurred.
Nothing had been erased.
...but for the first time...
Everyone involved believed the family might someday be whole
again.
Gotham.
World Fighting Empire Headquarters.
Five-thirty in the morning.
Exactly the way Vince McGeady preferred it.
The producers shuffled into the Chairman's office carrying
coffee and varying degrees of exhaustion.
The room itself was as excessive as its owner.
Championship belts.
Movie props.
Signed guitars.
A marble fireplace.
…and, looming over everyone...
The enormous Triceratops skull.
Vince had never explained where he'd gotten it.
Nobody asked anymore.
Aiden McGeady entered first.
Behind him came Joey Ace.
Triple X arrived last.
Vince was already standing beside the enormous touchscreen.
He looked positively delighted.
"Gentlemen."
"I've solved it."
Nobody said anything.
They'd heard those words before.
Many times.
Vince pressed a button.
An image filled the screen.
Joanna Goldsmith.
Except...
Not really.
She wore a schoolgirl-inspired outfit.
A giant lollipop rested across one shoulder.
The cardigan was gone.
The sleeves had disappeared.
She smiled with exaggerated mischief.
Across the top of the screen appeared one name.
SUGAR CANE
Vince spread his arms dramatically.
"There she is."
"Our fourth Babe."
Silence.
Vince continued anyway.
"I've been talking about The Total Babes for
months."
"Magnolia Wine."
"Cotton Candy."
"Georgia Peach."
"...and now..."
He jabbed proudly toward the screen.
"Sugar Cane."
"The missing piece."
He looked around the room.
"I can already see the merchandise."
"Lollipops."
"T-shirts."
"Posters."
"The whole thing."
Joey Ace rubbed his forehead.
"...Vince."
"What?"
"Cotton Candy already found a character people
loved."
"The creepy doll."
"Fans still ask about it."
"Why throw that away?"
Vince waved dismissively.
"Because this is better."
Triple X spoke next.
"Joanna doesn't really fit this."
"She isn't Britney Spears."
"She's more..."
He searched for the right words.
"Glam rock."
"Alternative."
"Girl next door."
"She feels authentic."
Aiden nodded.
"I agree."
"...and..."
He glanced toward the screen.
"...Baby One More Time came out over twenty years
ago."
Vince looked genuinely offended.
"So?"
"So..."
Joey replied carefully.
"...people might think the reference feels dated."
Vince shrugged.
"Britney sold."
"This'll sell."
Nobody answered.
Triple X decided to change tactics.
"Even if we did this..."
"...the four women have never really worked
together."
"Cotton and Georgia have."
"The others haven't."
"They'd need rehearsal."
"They'd need chemistry."
"They'd need matches together before television."
Joey nodded.
"A lot of them."
"They're not ready."
Vince frowned.
"So get them ready."
"They will."
Triple X answered calmly.
"...but not tomorrow."
"...and not next week."
Aiden looked down at Joanna's contract file.
"She still has three months left."
"No one's taking her anywhere today."
"We've got time."
That finally made Vince pause.
He folded his arms.
Thought.
Then nodded once.
"Fine."
"A month."
He pointed toward Triple X.
"I want Joanna back in Gotham within a month."
"At the latest."
Triple X inclined his head.
"I can do that."
"...and another thing."
Vince looked toward Aiden.
"Get legal moving."
"I want a new contract on her desk."
"As soon as possible."
He looked back at Triple X.
"You tell her."
Triple X already knew what was coming.
"Tell her Trinity Dark is dead."
He turned back toward the monitor.
From Vince's perspective...
The decision had already been made.
"From now on..."
"...she's Sugar Cane."
The cabin had become a whirlwind of preparation.
Zas packed blankets.
Arel-Sin checked saddlebags.
Joanna folded spare clothes into a backpack she hadn't
expected to be living out of quite so soon.
Her phone vibrated.
Triple X
She looked toward Zas.
"I should take this."
He nodded.
"We shall be here."
She stepped outside beneath the training canopy.
"Hey."
Triple X didn't bother with small talk.
"You've probably guessed why I'm calling."
Her smile disappeared.
"...Yeah."
"It's Vince."
"Of course it is."
He sighed.
"He wants you back in Gotham."
"When?"
"Within a month."
She looked toward the mountains.
"...That soon."
"I'm sorry."
"It isn't just that."
She already knew there was more.
"What is it?"
A long silence.
"He killed Trinity Dark."
Joanna closed her eyes.
"...I figured."
"...and..."
Another pause.
"He has a new character."
She rubbed her forehead.
"Tell me."
"...Sugar Cane."
Silence.
Then-
"...You're joking."
"I wish I was."
"What is Sugar Cane?"
"He wants a four-woman faction."
"'The Total Babes.'"
Joanna physically winced.
"Oh..."
"...no."
"He wants Magnolia Wine."
"Cotton Candy."
"Georgia Peach."
"...and Sugar Cane."
She leaned against one of the wooden posts.
"I hate Britney Spears."
"I know."
"I don't even like that aesthetic."
"I know."
"I'm a rocker."
"I'm an alternative girl."
"I'm..."
She laughed bitterly.
"I spent years in The Banger Britches because that's
who I actually am."
Her voice softened.
"I miss those girls."
"I know."
"They fit me."
"This..."
She shook her head.
"This feels like I'm pretending to be somebody else's
fantasy."
Triple X let her vent.
He'd expected this reaction.
Finally she spoke again.
"...and now..."
She looked back toward the cabin.
"...I don't even know if I want to leave."
Her voice cracked.
"I've gotten attached."
"To Zas."
"To Arel-Sin."
"To all of them."
She laughed quietly.
"I actually started thinking of this place as
home."
Triple X smiled sadly.
"I believe you."
She took a long breath.
"You know what?"
"Even if Vince wants Sugar Cane..."
"...I'm still not sure I'll sign."
"I've got three months left."
"He can put me in whatever ridiculous outfit he
wants."
"...but that doesn't mean I have to sign another
contract."
"I know."
Triple X answered carefully.
"...but..."
"Don't make that decision today."
She didn't reply.
"Jo..."
"I don't like the gimmick either."
"I told him so."
"So did Joey."
"So did Aiden."
"It didn't matter."
She laughed.
"It never does."
"No."
"It usually doesn't."
He paused.
"...but..."
"When Vince gets behind somebody..."
"...they usually get opportunities."
"Even if the character isn't what you'd have
chosen."
She hated that he was right.
"I know."
"I just..."
She looked out across Daral Lake.
"I finally feel like I'm becoming myself."
"...and now someone wants to replace me again."
Triple X spoke gently.
"You've got a month."
"Use it."
"Help this family."
"Take your trip."
"Think."
"When you're ready..."
"...we'll figure out the wrestling."
She smiled faintly.
"Thanks."
"...and Jo?"
"Yeah?"
"No matter what you decide..."
"...make sure it's your decision."
The line went quiet.
She ended the call.
For a long moment she simply stood there.
Then she walked back inside.
Zas looked up immediately.
"You are troubled."
She nodded.
"They want me back."
She explained everything.
Sugar Cane.
The Total Babes.
The new contract.
The one-month deadline.
When she finally finished...
She looked utterly defeated.
"It couldn't have come at a worse time."
"I don't want to leave."
"I don't think I can."
Zas listened without interrupting.
When she finally fell silent...
He walked over to her.
Took both of her hands in his.
"I told my son something."
She looked up.
"What?"
"When he believed Purushapura was too far."
Understanding slowly dawned on her.
Zas smiled.
"With love..."
"...distance is irrelevant."
She stared at him.
"If your path leads you back to Gotham..."
"...it does not mean your path ends here."
He gently rested his forehead against hers.
"I will still be here."
Joanna's eyes filled with tears.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
"So was I."
For the first time since Triple X had called...
She believed him.
The following morning, the three of them crossed the village
toward a long timber shed.
The smell of oil reached Joanna before they even stepped
inside.
A woman lay halfway beneath a pickup truck.
Only her boots were visible.
A wrench clanged onto the floor.
Without looking up she called,
"You're early."
"I know."
Zas smiled.
"We're leaving today."
The mechanic rolled out from beneath the truck.
She wiped grease from her hands onto an already stained rag.
"Morning."
"Morning, Priya."
Her eyes immediately settled on Joanna.
"So."
"You're the famous internet woman."
Joanna laughed.
"I guess."
Priya offered her hand.
"I'm the mechanic."
"I keep the Blue Shield moving."
She gestured around the workshop.
It wasn't large.
...but it was packed.
Pickup trucks.
Two battered four-wheel drives.
Several ATVs.
Trailers.
Shelves full of carefully labeled spare parts.
Some looked decades old.
Joanna blinked.
"You have cars?"
Priya laughed.
"Disappointed?"
"A little surprised."
Zas nodded.
"We only keep a small fleet."
"They all serve a purpose."
"No one drives for pleasure."
"No joyrides."
"Fuel is too valuable."
"Repairs take too much effort."
He smiled.
"Normally..."
"I would ride Willow."
"...but we have supplies."
"No timetable."
"...and..."
He looked toward the mountains.
"...time matters."
Joanna nodded.
"Fair enough."
She looked around again.
"What happens if someone doesn't know how to
drive?"
Zas pointed toward a man snoring peacefully on a battered
couch in the corner.
"Herman."
Joanna stared.
"He's asleep."
"He often is."
"What does Herman do?"
"He drives."
She laughed.
"He drives?"
"He runs our bus."
"Our..."
"...bus?"
"It is a pickup truck with benches."
She burst into laughter.
"I wasn't expecting that."
"He takes people to the nearest intercity bus
stop."
"When he feels like it."
Priya rolled her eyes.
"When we can actually find him."
"So how do you know he'll work?"
"The Elder."
Zas answered matter-of-factly.
"...has methods."
Herman snored loudly.
Joanna decided she probably didn't want to know.
Priya walked toward a dark green four-wheel drive parked
near the back.
She patted the bonnet affectionately.
"This one's yours."
Joanna's eyebrows rose.
"A Discovery?"
"A 2012."
Priya nodded.
"It was donated years ago through one of British
Leyland's outreach programmes."
"They liked telling people they were helping remote
communities."
"They also liked clearing old fleet stock."
She grinned.
"We weren't offended."
Joanna walked slowly around it.
"It actually looks pretty good."
"It is."
Priya replied.
"When it behaves."
Zas smiled knowingly.
"It has personality."
Priya laughed.
"That's one way of putting it."
"It leaks a little."
"The driver's window occasionally refuses to
cooperate."
"The heater has two settings."
"Too hot."
"...and not working."
"The radio..."
She shrugged.
"...plays whatever mood it's in."
"...but..."
She tossed Zas the keys.
"...you know its quirks."
"I do."
"...and I'd rather have familiar problems than
unfamiliar ones."
Priya nodded approvingly.
"Exactly."
A few minutes later...
They rolled out through the village gate.
The Discovery bounced over the uneven mountain track.
Five minutes passed.
Then-
The dashboard lit up with three warning lights.
Joanna looked over.
"Should I be worried?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"They usually disappear."
"They usually?"
As if on cue...
Two warning lights vanished.
The third remained.
Joanna looked at Zas.
"...Usually?"
"It has never stranded me."
She laughed.
"I love how that's your definition of reliable."
For the first time all morning...
Zas smiled.
A genuine one.
...but it faded just as quickly.
His eyes drifted back toward the road.
Toward Purushapura.
Toward Phoebe.
Toward the apology he had rehearsed a hundred times...
...and still wasn't sure he deserved to give.
Joanna quietly reached across the center console.
She rested one hand lightly over his.
"You don't have to get every word right."
He glanced toward her.
"You only have to mean them."
He nodded.
Then tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
The road ahead was uncertain.
Fortunately...
The person beside him no longer was.
The Discovery finally left the mountain track.
Ahead, a wide dirt road stretched toward the horizon.
Far in the distance...
The highway.
It wasn't perfectly paved.
Cracks and patches interrupted the asphalt every few hundred
metres.
Still...
Compared to the mountain road...
It almost looked luxurious.
The Discovery settled into a steadier rhythm.
For several minutes, no one spoke.
Eventually Joanna looked across at Zas.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You may."
"It's about Phoebe."
"...and Armintie."
Zas nodded quietly.
"I've heard you call Armintie a troublemaker."
"I have."
"You've also said..."
"...this whole thing started because they fell in
love."
He kept his eyes on the road.
"Yes."
She waited.
"So..."
"...was that really the problem?"
He answered immediately.
"No."
The certainty surprised her.
"I was never angry because they loved boys."
He shook his head.
"I have never believed love should be forbidden."
"If Phoebe wished to spend her life with
someone..."
"...I would have accepted it."
"If Armintie had found someone she trusted..."
"...I would have wished her happiness."
Joanna looked surprised.
"So dating wasn't forbidden?"
"No."
"What they chose to do together..."
He shrugged.
"...was their decision."
"My only concern was that they were responsible."
"...and that neither was being harmed."
He sighed.
"I confess..."
"I struggle with the idea that Phoebe is becoming a
woman."
He smiled weakly.
"I even struggle with Arel-Sin."
Arel-Sin looked over from the back seat.
"You do?"
"I do."
"You ask questions."
"Questions I was once too embarrassed to ask my own
father."
He laughed quietly.
"I at least remember what it was like to be a
boy."
"...but Phoebe..."
He shook his head.
"I thought I understood."
"I did not."
He looked back toward the road.
"My anger had nothing to do with love."
"It had everything to do with disappearing."
"They left."
"They told no one."
"They wandered into mountains filled with dangers they
did not understand."
"I was terrified."
Joanna nodded.
"I believe you."
She let the silence linger before speaking again.
"...but..."
"...maybe they didn't know that."
Zas glanced toward her.
"What do you mean?"
"They grew up with rules."
"So many rules."
"When to leave."
"When to return."
"Who to travel with."
"Who needed permission."
She looked thoughtfully out the window.
"Maybe..."
"...they started believing they needed permission for
everything."
Zas frowned.
"They did not."
"I know."
She smiled gently.
"...but did they know?"
He said nothing.
She continued carefully.
"If every conversation feels like it's going to end
with..."
"'No.'"
"...eventually you stop asking."
She looked back at him.
"Especially when you're thirteen."
"You start thinking..."
"'Why bother?'"
"'He'll just say no anyway.'"
Arel-Sin quietly lowered his eyes.
Joanna continued.
"Maybe Armintie wasn't trying to rebel."
"Maybe she honestly believed asking wouldn't
matter."
"...and..."
She smiled sadly.
"The more you tightened the rules..."
"...the bolder she became."
"It became..."
"...'if I'm going to get punished anyway, I might as
well do what I want.'"
The only sound inside the Discovery was the hum of the
engine.
Finally...
Zas spoke.
"I believe..."
"...you are right."
He didn't sound defensive.
Only tired.
"I thought I was protecting them."
"I believed every rule existed because someone had once
been hurt."
"So whenever I was afraid..."
"...I reached for another rule."
Another long silence.
Then he laughed softly.
"Arel-Sin is easier."
His son looked surprised.
"He is?"
"Somewhat."
"I know what it was like to be his age."
"I remember being confused."
"I remember trying to become a man."
"I remember making foolish decisions."
He smiled at his son in the rear-view mirror.
"I can usually remember enough to help."
His smile slowly faded.
"...but Phoebe..."
He shook his head.
"I thought being her father was enough."
"I thought tradition would teach me."
"I believed if I followed the old ways..."
"...I could not go wrong."
He looked down briefly before returning his eyes to the
road.
"I never asked enough questions."
"I never listened enough."
"I thought I already understood."
He took a slow breath.
"I did not."
Joanna quietly rested her hand over his once more.
"Then maybe..."
"...that's what your apology begins with."
Zas looked at her.
"Not..."
"'I'm sorry I punished you.'"
She smiled.
"...but..."
"'I'm sorry I stopped listening.'"
The words settled over him.
He didn't answer.
He simply nodded.
Because, for the first time...
He realized that might be exactly what Phoebe needed to
hear.
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