Completed

Lemerion was glad to be getting out of the house. Spring had decided to go out with all the force of a typhoon. The roaring winds were just as endless as the rain. Flood warnings came almost every day. The farmers were beginning to worry that all of their crops would be absolutely ruined. Thankfully, nature's wrath ended when summer began. The black stormy days gave way to bright blue skies with white, wispy clouds. The heat remained at just the right temperature as well. For someone who loved the heat like Lemerion, the change was a most welcome one.

100

I don't know how I managed to function over the next several weeks. Mustering up the courage to call Mr. Finley back that one evening had been a nightmare. Blessedly, he had been understanding even though he rightfully remained displeased with my behavior. I promised him such a situation would never occur again- whenever the moment came for us to try once more did occur again. I began to think that that moment would never actually arrive. The truth is that I was barely keeping my head above the surface of the bottomless pool of depression in which I was currently treading. It was just when I was starting to get a grip after Ranna's death when more bad news came. Alcarien had passed away too. Then it felt like the next day Aewen was also gone. Delerith followed shortly after. It seemed to me as if time had decided to stand entirely still, but in reality it was moving so much faster than I wanted to admit. I started to hate answering the phone. I know the children hated to hear it ringing.

Desperation

It was strange having Eloril back after having him gone for a while. I hadn't realized when I sent my family away just how much I would miss them- even though I continued to believe my choice had been the best one. To have my brother back was incredibly comforting. Eloril's presence gave me the boost I so desperately needed in order to be able to go back to being on my own until his next visit. I was glad nana had been persistent about him still coming around. I had come to think that I knew pretty much all the answers and paths a situations could have, but in this case I was shown that there was still some thing about which nana knew best.

The one downer about Eloril's trip happened when we took a walk alongside the river. He had suggested we go closer to the water. I believed he merely wanted to enjoy the sounds of the quiet current, but the truth was that Eloril wanted to talk to me in an area more secluded. It was then that Eloril revealed to me how ada continued to be highly upset with me over me having banned him from visiting. Apparently, he had made a stance of not writing letters to me and not opening the letters I sent him in an attempt to persuade me to change my mind. As much as his decision hurt me, I knew they were because I had hurt him. However, I was adamant about not revoking my decision. I let Eloril know that. He had already figured that would be the case, and so he told me not to worry. He, nana, and I all understood it was impossible for ada to stay mad at me for long. We reasoned he wouldn't last a month before the guilt of ignoring his little Calenmir got to him and he was the one changing his mind.