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instead, he felt damp grass. A twinge of disappointment pushed on his chest.
    Ander shook his head when Daen looked over his shoulder wearing a question on his face. “I can’t feel it either.” He knelt next to Daen and pressed his hand on the ground just as one of the birds approached.
    Daen watched as the bird appeared to float over Ander’s hand. He nodded his understanding.
    They stood together in the moonlight and watched the world, so close yet so unattainable.
    ~~~
    Their routine continued for the next few weeks. Daen trained Randell to handle a sword. He helped Pam with her chores while she gave him language lessons.  Conversations started to become much easier for Daen. His host family struggled a little with Aduraun and was thankful Daen had a knack for picking up their language quickly.
    One evening at dinner, Ander broached the subject of Daen's visit to this world. "Now that we can communicate better, can we talk about why you're here in this world? You've asked about Raisal. Does she have something to do with why you're here?"
    Daen nodded. "I was told of my mission. I was told I was to help her." Daen's use of the English language was cryptic at times but the message was clear.
    Pam asked, "Help who?"
    "I do not know. I think it is Raisal, but I do not know. Why was I sent here, if not for Raisal?"
    "Now that you know she's not here, what will you do?" Randell asked. He didn't like where this conversation was going. If Daen's mission wasn't here, would he leave to find whomever he was to help?
    Daen answered in Aduraun. "I'm not a tracker. I have to believe that if I were meant to hunt for someone, I would have been accompanied by a tracker."
    Three voices hummed in unison: "Umm ... "
    Daen scanned the confused faces and realized what he'd done. "Ah. I am not a ... What is it called? ... I cannot feel others. It is not my ... gift."
    "Does that mean you'll stay?" Randell asked. He was trying to contain his hopes but his parents could see his fear.
    Daen glanced between Ander and Pam , trying to read their faces, trying to determine if he would be welcome. "I ..."
    It was Pam who made the offer, shocking everyone in the room. "Stay; under one condition. You move into the guest room." She pointed to the ceiling.
    "Yes! Thanks, Mom." Randell said, jumping from his chair at the kitchen table and hugging her.
    Ander looked at Pam from the corner of his eye and grinned. "Yes , Daen. We would welcome you here as long as you need."
    Daen knew this arrangement was temporary. Yet he also knew that leaving here and wandering around a world like this would be risky and likely unproductive. Where would he go? How would he live? How would he know when he'd found her? He decided to be patient. He would learn to survive in this world and then he would venture out and see what he could find.
     
     
     

 
    6
Family
     
    Two weeks later, Randell peered through the screen in the storm door, searching the street in front of his house. "When did you say they would be here?" He turned to look at the newspaper that hid half his father's body.
    Ander tipped the corner of the paper down to look at his son. "They'll be here by lunchtime. Now go clean up."
    Randell took one last glance out the door before running up the stairs for a quick shower after his training session with Daen. He knew Daen would be waiting to use the bathroom after him , so he hurried along.
    Daen waited patiently on the back porch for Randell to finish in the bathroom. He could hear the water running through the open bathroom window above the porch. As he waited, he worked to calm his nerves. Raisal's son was coming for a long weekend and it was his chance to find out where she might be. Although he was enjoying her family, he had a mission. The sooner he completed his mission, the sooner he helped her, the sooner he could return home ... he hoped.
    He heard the water stop, his cue to head upstairs to get ready, so he slipped inside the kitchen where Pam