Chapter 4 - Cursed

by james attwood

The scene inside of Arfryn on this cold winter’s morning was as bizarre as it was macabre. Laid out on the kitchen table was Merfyn’s body, an old sheet covering him. Dabs of blood had stained through around his stomach, reminding his children of his grim fate. Across the hall in the living room the maiden made of flowers, formerly an owl, was tied to a chair. Surrounding her were the remnants of the Elderkin family, keen for answers. None were more eager than Zoe, having held her dying father in her arms as she lost her three children, she was now on a warpath.

            “You’re telling me you don’t know anything? Anything at all?” Zoe paced back and forth, playing the role of detective. Not by choice, but this was all she had to go on. The petalled hostage still gave no answers, merely weeping as she apologised for what had passed with stammering words.

            “This won’t get us anywhere Zoe.” Idris leant against the wall, reluctant to take any part in this. Truth be told he was still struggling to recover from his morning run.

            “They took my kids! They took Orson!” Emotions were running high in the cramped room.

            “Look at her, she’s terrified!” Idris yelled, now standing by the woman's side.

            “You’re defending her? After what she did?”

            “Wouldn’t dream of it...just look.” Idris tried to calm his sister as best he could, he knew this wasn’t her, not really. In the chair the woman sat still, cheeks drenched with tears. “She’s just as scared as we are.”

            “Fine,” Zoe relented and sat back down, “be my guest.”

            Idris limped over and took a knee in front of her, speaking softly he appealed to her better nature. Like comforting a victim at the scene of an accident he talked her through what had happened from the other party’s point of view. How they just wanted to understand.

            “So, let’s start with an easy one, do you have a name?” He looked directly into her eyes now, unflinching despite the oddity he was speaking to.

            “Blo...Blodeuwedd.” She stuttered. Whether it was fear or inability that was interrupting her words was hard to decipher.

            Idris turned to the others, a knowing look on his face as they all seemed to stop what they were doing and pay attention. He’d already guessed at her identity as he brought her back up the hill, the others had their thoughts as well. But to hear it said aloud took them all aback. Welsh tradition spoke of a fair maiden that was conjured from the flowers of oak, broom, and meadowsweet to be the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Her husband was placed under a tynged, a curse, to never have a human wife, and this was the answer. She became unfaithful however, and in plotting against her husband with a man called Gronw she in turn was cursed to become an owl. To never show her face in the light of day again, to suffer the hatred of all other birds. A tale they’d all heard, but one they found difficult to reconcile with the woman that was sitting before them no matter how convincing she appeared.

            “You’re Blodeuwedd? How can that-?” Zoe edged as far as she could on the couch but couldn’t find the words to further her enquiry. So many questions were on the tip of her tongue, but she found any line of inquiry superfluous next to the location of her children.

            “Who else could she be?” Aria stated bluntly. She would be the last to believe something so fantastical but couldn’t deny what she’d seen unfold with her own eyes.

            “It’s true. But this...is not my world.” Blodeuwedd’s words still staggered from her lips, those petals quivering as she shook, “Sorry-it wasn’t meant to be...”

            “Take it easy,” Idris tried to comfort her, hesitating as he felt the disapproval of his sister. “We’re not going to hurt you; we just want to understand.”

            “Maybe she’s struggling to talk after having been an owl?” Cara felt pangs in her heart as she spoke, cradling Cooper in her arms she hid how distraught she felt without Orson in sight. Even so she found it hard to place the blame at this sorry soul’s feet. “Who knows what it’s like, or how long it’s been.”

            “What’s to stop her from turning back?” Raymond accused, a sterner tone undercutting the sympathy that was building in the room. He maintained his composure but was no less embittered than his wife was.

            “Hell, if she is who she says she is how are we meant to believe a word she says?” Zoe resumed her accusative tirade. Her eyes were still red with tears as they began to well again, “She betrayed her own husband in the story, even tried to have her new man kill him didn’t she? There’s a reason she was cursed-”

            Zoe couldn’t finish her sentence before she broke down in Raymond’s arms. The morning had taken its toll and as far as she was concerned, Blodeuwedd was part of the reason everything had transpired, no matter how pitiable a picture she was now. The brothers and sisters grouped around Zoe and shared a moment, they were all reeling from what had transpired and the last thing they wanted was a divide to emerge between them.

            “It was a curse. A curse he promised to relinquish. He created me, then turned me into that owl...he was the only one who could turn me back.” Feeble words escaped from Blodeuwedd’s mouth one at a time. Her speech was slow but deliberate, “It’s the only reason I agreed to help. In return for my humanity. I never dreamed it would cost this much.”

            “The bastard who killed dad?” Lewis spoke for the first time in a while. He’d been nursing a mangled knee, Orson’s whereabouts weighing on his mind. He’d find him. And then he’d find the man who did this. That much he knew.

            “No, the man you speak of was Efnysien. He works for Gwydion, he’s the one who orchestrated everything.” Blodeuwedd seemed to handle her words ably now, though still spoke as if she shouldn’t be speaking at all. “He sent us out of fear, fear of the unknown. Few have travelled through the trees before. I dare say we were disposable.”

            Lewis voiced the name Efnysien under his breath, taking mental note of a man he would not soon forget. Hostilities in the room relaxed as the answers came slowly. Idris felt he could continue his friendly approach.

            “So, he promised to end the curse in return for your help?” he was clueless regarding this Efnysien character, but Gwydion he’d heard of. Her tales were lining up with what childhood memories they were evoking. “Why us?”

            “That I do not know,” she answered, ashamed, worried to disappoint her captors now that they were showing her kindness, “he just asked me to play the role of scout, to lead whoever I could to Efnysien.”

            “What do you mean whoever?” Zoe was dumbfounded. Were her children just easy targets?

            “Gwydion was adamant he only needed proof, that one of your family would be enough.” Blodeuwedd composed herself, wiping the tears from her delicate face. “Proof of what, I’m afraid I do not know. I asked but he wouldn’t tell, he wouldn’t dream of telling me.”

            “So, you agreed to help these men take my children without a clue as to the reason why?” Zoe wanted to make sure she was hearing this right, Raymond leaning in next to her. “You get what you want and damn the consequences?”

            Blodeuwedd stared longingly at the fireplace, away even from Idris who she felt might be her only friend in the room. She reminisced of her past, of the existence Gwydion had mandated her.

            “You don’t know how it was. To be gifted life one moment and have it taken away the next. I did not know love from Lleu, or even Gronw. I was but a solution to their problems. Or perhaps I simply never understood its meaning, so naive was I to their ways. No sooner had I failed to live to the expectations of man, had Gwydion decided that I failed the chance at the life he’d given me. Cursed to live life in another form when I had barely become comfortable with the first.

            “To know the beauty of living in such a fleeting manner, knowing the kiss of the sun, to feel the admiration of others. Only for it to be taken away, replaced by the hatred of another beast entirely. I’ve flown the night skies in solitude for centuries, never able to feel the warmth of the day again.” She mustered the courage to look Zoe in the eyes, to face the strangers she realised she had wronged so. “He promised that he would not harm the child, and I would have done anything to escape that fate. My unfledged life could never pretend to understand your loss but know that I am truly sorry. I see now that my plight was accursed from the beginning.”

            Each and everyone in the room contemplated her tale of woe, bar Gelert who still lay at the foot of the kitchen table dutifully at his fallen master’s side. Her sentiments seemed genuine, her tragedy a tale they had all read but now saw differently. Zoe had known her share of inner struggles, her younger self and Maeve had supplied a comprehensive case history. She now found herself looking at Blodeuwedd in the same light.

            “Then help us.” Zoe asked frankly. “Our pain might be worlds apart, but your curse is lifted, I’m…no, we are the cursed now. We’re in that darkness, without those we hold most dear. If you want to know what it is to live then help make things right.”

            “But you said...” Blodeuwedd felt overwhelmed. The subject of ire from birds and men alike for so long, a chance to change that felt too ideal, even undeserved in the present company. “How could you accept my help?”

            “Like you said, I would do anything to help them escape their fate.” Zoe’s tone was resolute, the conditions of their understanding clear. Unwavering eye contact led to an uneasy smile on Blodeuwedd’s pale lips, perhaps there was no love between her and the Elderkin family, but they made her feel like a person again.

            “Let’s start with what we do know. You may not be privy as to why Gwydion wanted us, but you came through the tree right? That’s where this Efnysien guy took them?” Raymond perched on the coffee table closer to her, eager to work out how to proceed now that his wife and brother-in-law had broken through. “How do we do it? Cross into your land?”

            “I didn’t think it possible at first. After all I knew not of your realm before this...”

            “Realm?”

            “Our realms are different planes of existence entirely, the gap between them unbridgeable.” She had a captive audience at this point, they were as clueless as she was not days ago. “Gwydion employed a strange magic to cross the divide however.”

            “Can we get hold of Gwydion’s magic? Use it ourselves?”

            “It was not Gwydion’s magic...” she turned to look at Merfyn’s temporary resting place through the hall, “I believe it was your father’s.”

            Murmurs of disbelief circled throughout group; this was the least believable revelation they’d heard in a morning of unbelievable revelations.

            “Dad didn’t...he wasn’t some magician.” They echoed one after the other.

            “I heard the girl call out his name, Myrddin. The white bearded elder came to protect her, his ring alight with old magic. Efnysien seemed convinced, threatened even. I would be too faced with such a powerful legend.” Blodeuwedd was far looser with her answers now, perhaps she was being naive, but she was a stranger in a strange land. She felt the Elderkin family might be her only safety, even as their hostage.

            “Myrddin? As in Merlin?” Aria questioned her logic; it was a coincidence surely. All this talk of the make believe was making her feel like the only rational adult in the room, or perhaps it was just the notion that her father would keep such a secret that rubbed her the wrong way. “I’ve known dad for almost forty years, I’m pretty sure he’d mention it if he was some wizard of Arthurian legend.”

            “Merlin Sylvestris, Myrddin Wyllt, Merlinus. I’ve heard him go by many names. What would one more be?” Blodeuwedd did not mean to overstep any boundaries, she saw the topic was perhaps one potential truth too many. “I cannot be sure though; all I know is that Gwydion could not truly comprehend the tools he was using. They were as much a marvel to him as they were to me.”

            “The ring!” Zoe lit up, her thought process catching up with the matter at hand after having been frozen in its tracks by Blodeuwedd’s suppositions.

            She ran to her father, Gelert flinching from his sleep. Her hand reached for the blanket that covered him, but she found herself feeling sick, a retching sensation in her throat as her stomach turned. Barely a few hours had passed since she saw her father die right before her eyes. Even the sight of Idris trudging that flowery being through the door hadn’t halted the hapless grieving of the siblings, the pressing emergency of the missing children merely pushed it below the surface. The sight of Merfyn’s pale fingers under that cloth made her feel ill to the core. Her parents should be behind her now, not laid to rest when she needed them most. They’d know what to do. But there wasn’t time to mourn, not whilst the children were missing. She took a deep breath and began to remove the ring, she knew it would be tight around the finger but didn’t stop, it wasn’t an experience she wanted to linger.

            She held it up to the others to announce, “She’s right, I saw his wedding ring light up. The wood inside, it glowed.”

            “I believe it must be a key, Efnysien had a branch he used to open the doorway that shone just like it.” Blodeuwedd agreed.

            Zoe didn’t utter another word. Briskly dashing out of the house she went straight for the old oak outside, ring in hand. It was quite the scene of devastation even now. The trunk still stood like an indomitable totem, a few proud branches still jutting into the air to maintain the silhouette of a tree. But its bark was blackened and frayed and the ground surrounding it coated in its ashes. What was once a colourful celebration of mother nature was now a colourless grave to its memory. Zoe wasn’t fazed, pressing the ring repeatedly against the burnt edifice. A faint blue hue could be seen along the rings centre, though the oak wouldn’t react no matter how many times she tried.

            “It’s completely burnt up honey.” Raymond was the first to catch up with her. “No doubt he did this on purpose so we couldn’t follow.”

            “No, no, no. It has to work!” Zoe couldn’t accept it, finally a glimmer of hope dashed so quickly.

            Raymond held her arm back to stop her repeated attempts, it was a sorry sight. He felt her pain but could see plain as day that the tree was lifeless. It wasn’t long before the others joined them outside.

            “She says she feels it was a unique connection between the tree and the branch. That dad’s ring has the right wood in it...” Idris lamented, “But without the right tree it’s useless.”

            “The right tree?” Aria pondered that for a while as the others deflated in response to the news. “This isn’t the original tree is it, mum always said it was her piece of home. Caerfyrddin that is.”

            “That could work.” Raymond mulled it over before acknowledging one glaring hurdle, “Over a hundred miles away though, we don’t have that kind of time.”

            “Didn’t...ugh what’s his name, have a sapling going or something?” Lewis clicked his fingers looking to Idris for the answers.

            “Damn you’re right!” Idris exclaimed; it never took long for their wavelengths to align. “That was Huw, dad gave him an acorn ages ago to grow on his farm and it took off like...well...”  He ironically gestured to the scorched oak tree, a shadow of its former self. “Haven’t visited his place in years but I don’t see why he wouldn’t still have it. It’s a twenty-minute drive, worth checking out.”

            With a plan finally in hand the Elderkins spared no time in mobilising. Aria had travelled light but found her father’s shed was still well stocked. Climbing rope, flashlights, her father’s pocketknife. Even on the most relaxed of getaways she couldn’t shake her survivalist mentality, so the prospect of this excursion had her grabbing everything she could. What provisions the rest could muster were thrown in old rucksacks from Merfyn’s mountaineering days before they departed, clad in their warmest winter wear. The house’s curtains were drawn and a reluctant Gelert was coaxed into Raymond’s car. One forlorn look was given to Arfryn, childhood memories clashing with the sombre visage it was now. As everyone loaded into the cars they all vowed they’d return as soon as they could.

*

The road that morning was frosty and lonely. Barely another soul was seen on their way, an off-putting but pleasant convenience for Cara who loathed having to pull over on these single-track country roads. She found it hard to take her eyes off of the rear-view mirror, looking to Cooper who had fallen back asleep in his car seat. She was jealous, to be blissfully ignorant of what was going on would be a gift right now, although she could tell he’d be longing for his big brother soon enough.

            “He can’t come with us.” She said to Lewis, raising the issue they’d both been waiting to talk about.

            “I know...” He acknowledged, there was no chance he’d knowingly take his youngest son through to that realm. He couldn’t admit aloud that he’d have to leave half of his family behind to pursue his son but they both knew what he meant. “We’ll get them and be back in no time.”

            They were following Raymond’s family wagon ahead, Cara concentrating to navigate these twisty back roads. They were a far cry from her metropolitan homestead. “Let’s just hope that flower girl is steering us straight.”

            “Idris seems convinced.” Aria assured them sardonically, double checking her inventory of tools out of nervous habit now.

            “He always tries to see the good in people I guess.” Cara admitted, Idris and Lewis being so close she’d got to know him quite well she thought. She’d seen the rift this girl had caused between Zoe and Idris but was reluctant to choose sides, especially at a time like this.

            “Especially if they’re as good looking as her.” Aria didn’t share Cara’s reluctance to judge.

            “Hey there’s no chance, dude was just talking. Worked didn’t it?” Lewis asked rhetorically, knowing how good Idris could be with people when forced to talk with them. “Anyway, he’s with Jess isn’t he?”

            “Not since a couple of months, no.” Aria dropped the information casually, only worrying it might have been shared in confidence afterwards.

            “Seriously?”

            “Why do you think he’s drinking like this again? Besides the obvious...” Aria felt some guilt for what she’d said about her little brother now, the conflicted look on Lewis’s face reminding her this wasn’t the best time to doubt each other. She looked up from her bag for the first time, “You’re right though, God knows he’ll do anything to find the kids.”

            “Son of a...” Lewis sighed.

*

Blodeuwedd’s presence in the car made their brief journey seem all the longer. She sat unshackled in the back, bewildered by the vehicle she was in. It was a good thing that Raymond knew these roads like the back of his hand because between him and Zoe the new passenger was rarely unwatched. The only conversation to be had was the nonsense words Idris was speaking to Gelert as he made a fuss of him. The dog seemed oddly comfortable, albeit downcast, ignorant of just how strange a company they now kept.

            “So, what do you think?” Raymond hesitantly asked, it had been at the back of his mind since they’d departed. He had to follow up with an exaggerated “Hmm?” to snap Zoe out of her vigilant trance.

            “About what?”

            “Merfyn. Do you think there’s any chance it could be true?”

            “Before this morning I wouldn’t have given it a second thought but...” She stopped herself mid-sentence. She couldn’t believe she was considering it but in light of recent events it made some sense. She knew little of the mythical Myrddin, only what anyone else would have heard. But she knew the real Merfyn. A man fascinated with the whimsical, who’d joke of fairies in his garden and mermaids off the shore. At least she thought they were jokes. Derwen always fobbed these off, keener on the stories from her many books than the flippant concoctions of her husband, but perhaps she knew a truth behind them. Zoe decided against indulging the prospect for now however, it wasn’t Myrddin who had her children. “Even if he is...was some kind of wizard it doesn’t matter. We have to work with what we’ve got and that’s this ring.”

            “Just wish he would have told us you know.” Idris added, looking into Gelert’s eyes as if he might have some answers.

            “I’m sure he had his reasons.” Raymond tried to offer some comforting wisdom. “If it’s even true of course.”

            Blodeuwedd hadn’t uttered a word. Her eyes inquisitively studied one element or person at a time, never maintaining eye contact for long. Even unbound she still felt like a prisoner, or rather she felt she still deserved to be a prisoner. Regardless the sensation of being human once more was liberating. Elated, she simply wanted to run out into the fields they passed by to feel the sunlight she so craved. Without the confines of her feathers masking her every emotion she found herself having to dash a smile from her face. She couldn’t enjoy her freedom yet, not whilst these people suffered for it.

            “I just can’t stop thinking about Maeve, in that man’s clutches.” Zoe lamented. Of course, she was worried, but she had to say it out loud. As if to explain her brevity with the others earlier. “They must all be so afraid, out there alone.”

            “I know, I know. But I also know that Maeve is as stubborn as I am, she’ll be making their lives hell right up until we find her.” This got the faintest smile from Zoe, a precious sight for Raymond. “They’re smart kids honey, they’re going to be okay.”

*

Slippery ice turned to tacky mud as they pulled up to Huw’s farmhouse. Little had changed since Idris came here last, it was comforting to see his friend’s quaint life carried on as normal. The courtyard was well trodden with the heavy treads of tractor tires, stabled horses nosed at the new arrivals and a litany of barking dogs could be heard at the door. Huw was an old friend of his, but shared a mutual interest in gardening with Merfyn, something that had in turn led to the gifting of the acorn many moons ago. He’d offered his condolences over the phone for Derwen, but Idris didn’t look forward to explaining the rest to him.

A heavy stable door creaked open one half at a time. The deluge of spaniels that swarmed out circled Idris once or twice before running off with Gelert, catching up on lost time no doubt. Huw emerged after them, welcoming yet confused as to why so many Elderkins had descended upon his house unannounced. Idris rushed the pleasantries and ran through events as quickly as he could, after all if they were in the right place Huw would be witness to it all soon enough.

            “That’s-Jesus man, I’d say you’d all lost your minds, but it doesn’t look like it.” Huw’s leg had been pulled many a time by Idris, but the sullen faces told him this wasn’t the case. “I’m so sorry to hear about Merfyn…you tried the police?”

“And tell them what?”

“I suppose you’re right…” he scratched his head, at a loss for what to say, “All of you come inside, I’ll do anything I can to help.”

            “There’s one last thing before we get to the tree...” Idris nodded for Blodeuwedd to come out of the car. She closed the car door behind her but pressed right back up against it when the dogs bounded around her way, the avian instinct kicking back in.

            “You weren’t kidding...” Huw murmured in disbelief.

            Inside they all gathered in the kitchen, between the family and the pack of animals it made for a busy scene. Huw brewed some tea and called to his wife to announce their company. “Jesus!” She exclaimed upon seeing Blodeuwedd, calming as much as one could after the abbreviated explanation was given out again. Huw had offered to take care of Gelert, but Idris was convinced if anyone could sniff out the children it would be him. Lewis felt he’d be more inclined to hunt Merfyn’s killer. Either would suffice.

            Despite the hospitality no one felt like staying however, and Idris politely returned the conversation to the sapling Huw had been growing. He obliged, pointing out of the bay window. Just visible was a lone tree, reaching through the mist at the edge of the moor. It wasn’t as grand as the oak back home, its trunk might be a squeeze, but it was decidedly mature for its age, nonetheless. After all it had been in the ground for less than a decade, it was certainly of the same hardy lineage.

            Together they traipsed across that open field, a few dishevelled sheep staring on in idle curiosity as they chewed the dewy grass. Idris couldn’t help but notice the double barrel shotgun Huw carried down by his side.

            “Sheep particularly aggressive this time of year?” He jested, eyeing the shotgun.

            “If you’re really going through with this, I felt you should take this with you. You remember the basics right?” Huw felt ridiculous to be offering up a gun as if it were normal, all kinds of laws were being broken here, but his friend was chasing a murderer.

            “I don’t think that’s necessary.” Aria expressed her concern; she wouldn’t want the children to see them arrive with a gun in hand after all.

            “If you ask me this guy deserves everything that’s coming to him, I just don’t want any of you ending up like your dad.” Huw stated bluntly, it was the cold truth he felt they had to be aware of. Ever the pragmatist, he just wanted to give them a fighting chance.

            Idris sheepishly took the gun and offered some subdued thanks, sliding it through the mesh in his backpack intended for less deadly items. He then palmed the box of shells, a dozen Huw assured him. More than enough, he thought, as if he had any idea what they’d be facing, though he hoped there’d be nothing to shoot at all. Being armed in such a manner hardly sat well with him, but the clarity and care with which Huw explained the mechanisms put him firmly at ease. He was whisked back to his teenage years, squat next to Huw preparing for target practice. Simpler times.

            Soon enough the young tree stood before them, seemingly average but supernatural all the same. It shared that same mysterious quality of the burned oak, that inexplicably ancient aura. Perhaps it was this morning’s experience that was clouding her judgement, but Zoe was sure this was no ordinary tree. The moment of truth, she pressed the ring she now wore against its surface, hesitant of what may come. The reaction was near instantaneous. With a brilliant blue light, the tree began to creek and shift. Rune after rune lit up its bark like iron brandings, forming a narrow arch right down its centre. The wood split violently and caved inwards, releasing a wave of mist from within. Zoe backed up and stared on in wonder. It worked she thought, it really worked!

            She chuckled to herself in disbelief as she turned to face everyone, they were all besides themselves. Finally, some real progress, now all they had to do was go through. Even so looking into that wall of fog, into the nothingness within, made the idea of venturing forth a daunting one. They took a moment to collect themselves, to really think this through. Idris realised he was so preoccupied with sorting the mystery of the tree he’d barely considered how much he’d taken Huw’s understanding for granted. But help had always been there, no questions asked.

            “Thanks Huw...for everything. I really appreciate it.”

            “Don’t mention it. Just bring the gun back in one piece alright, yourself included.” Huw half joked, before remembering one last thing, “Oh, and hey, come visit more often you git. Less of the Lord of the Rings baggage next time though if you don’t mind.”

            Lewis and Cara were sharing a heartfelt moment, one they prolonged for as long they could. The depths of the unknown, the home of abductors and myth, was no place for Cooper. He could barely walk, taking him any further would be irresponsible. Just this simple decision was made all the more difficult as it meant one had to go on without the other.

            “I’ll bring him back.” Lewis assured with conviction, nodding for himself more than her. “I’ll bring him back and we’ll be together again before you know it.”

            “I should be going with you…” Cara tearfully uttered, devastated that her family was being split again so soon. They’d decided she should stay. To look after Cooper, to watch over Merfyn and the other oak. “You have to be careful, please. I can’t lose you as well as Orson.”

            “We’re not losing anybody else, trust me.” Tears ran down Lewis’s cheeks as well. Even though he swore it wouldn’t be their final goodbye, it felt like it.

            The two embraced and declared their love for one another for the thousandth time. For all she knew they could all be back within the day, but she knew that was a naive hope. Lewis kissed Cooper’s forehead farewell and turned to the doorway whilst he still had the strength. Idris ambled past and nodded to Cara, promising to watch her husband’s back.

            “We don’t know how long this will stay open guys; we should make a move.” Raymond spoke out to the group. With everyone ready he took Zoe’s hand and promised her, “I’m with you every step of the way.”

            That’s all she needed to hear. Husband by her side and siblings behind her, she felt ready for whatever faced them through that tree. A cautious first step was taken through the fog, her hand running along the damp inner wall of the tree’s trunk. One by one they followed Zoe. Raymond, Aria, Lewis, Idris, Blodeuwedd and Gelert. One by one they were lost to the fog. It wasn’t long before the tree sealed itself and they were truly gone. Huw made his way back to the house, but Cara stayed a while with Cooper. They stood alone in that empty field for a time, together in the crushing normality of the real world.