Epilogue 2
Family

Storm raged overhead. Thunder barked and rumbled and roared, while lightning danced as if in delight of the cacophony. Waves battered the lakeshore and the tiny pier of the cottage, adding up to the frightening harmony. And inside the cottage, Raine curled up sandwiched by her mother and father, faking sleep.

No, she did not fear the storm; no more. But it reminded her too much of the night she had spent with her new friend – and later, his friends. It was just last night, in her mind’s reckoning, but it felt as if an age ago. Those kind, wise and even playful spirits seemed so far away.

And yet so near. So near…

She could picture Ossë drifting in the storm in his spiritual form, delighting in the crackling energy and the mergeing of many elements. She imagined Uinen dancing on the high, strong waves. She could almost hear Salmar somehow managing to find a tune for the storm on his lyre. She wanted to run together with Calmion under the pelting rain and danced madly to the convoluted, energetic tune…

Two hands, two quite familiar hands warm with sleep, reached for each other, tangling in each other on her midriff. And on her chest, a small conch pendant warmed as if on response to the intimate gesture. And a set of strong, invisible arms cocooned her in a gentle embrace.

Her family was here, and in her heart, and in her memory. She could live with it, for now. Until they all were reunited again, perhaps when the world was renewed.