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to the wardrobe, there was no telling what the old woman would do to her if she was caught.
    The grass was tall so finding her tracks wasn’t hard. He’d just cleared the top of a hill when he saw her; she was sitting next to the Wooleston River. Breathing a sigh of relief, he descended the hill toward her. Her cape was down and her hair was fanned out around her face from the wind. With her bare feet dangling over the rock she was sitting on, to rest in the cool water, she looked as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “Fern, I told you to stay in the cave. Someone might see you here.”
    Fern smiled up at Rowen from her spot on the rock. “I couldn’t sit in that cave all day, Rowen. Besides, it is a beautiful day and I’m so hot in these wretched clothes. I needed something to help cool me down.” She turned away to look out across the water. “Salem is beautiful without all of the pollution in the air, isn’t it, Rowen? I find that my senses are more acute here in this century for some reason. Tell me, did you get a look at Jonathan?”
    “ What makes you think I wanted to?” he replied.
    “ Because I want to see Mary. It’s only natural to be curious, Rowen! After all, they are our ancestors, aren’t they?”
    Rowen watched her chew the end of a piece of grass. She seemed way too content for his liking. “What’s going on, Fern? I thought you would have still been angry with me for leaving you behind today.”
    “ I don’t know, Rowen! It’s strange, but I sensed somehow that I would be all right. What do you think that means?” She looked at him with her brows furrowed and her lips puckered to one side.
    “ I don’t know.” She was really starting to scare him. “Fern, no one saw you today, did they? The old woman didn’t come back while I was gone, did she?”
    “ No, of course not. It’s just been me, all alone.” She watched as uncertainty crept across his face. “Really Rowen, I swear! You have nothing to be concerned about.”
    “ Let’s get back to the cave, then, I have some new clothes and food for our dinner.” Taking her hand he helped her to her feet when she reached out to him. As they made their way back up the hill she started humming a strange little tune, one he’d never heard before. It was giving him the creeps.
    * * * *
    “ Atce, atce, atce ete el ikaw.” Fern hummed the words over and over in her mind all afternoon until she thought they would drive her nuts. What did they mean? She didn’t even know the language, why would she know this tune? As she tried to push it from her mind, she concentrated on the items Rowen brought back with him from the village. Amongst the items there were some candles; she lit two of them when it started getting dark and they were now casting their glow against the walls of the cave.
    Rowen had remained deep in thought all afternoon. They had so much to do and he had no clue where to start. Fern was still humming her tune with a cheery little smile and it was beginning to irritate him. When she stood and twirled around with the dress he’d bought her pressed to her body, he almost lost it.
    “ This dress was a wonderful choice, Rowen, thank you for picking it out for me.” She smiled, then sat back down and ate a piece of her cheese.
    After throwing the rest of his cheese into the bag he looked up at her. “What the hell is wrong with you, Fern? This morning you were prepared to kill me for bringing you here, and now you act as if you haven’t a care in the world.”
    “ What is there to be worried about, Rowen, we can’t stop the past, now, can we? Don’t you think it would be better to start trying to figure out a way to ensure our future? Like you, I have no intention of falling in love right now, so we obviously will have to come up with a better idea.” She smiled at him sweetly. “You know what? I’m hot. I’m going to undress and lie down on this beautiful blanket you brought me.” Standing up in front of him