"What are you going to do now?" Vincent asked.
"I don't know," I said. "I'm not sure."
It's been after a day. Nothing's changed. I'm still tired. I'm still lost. I still don't know what's happening, as I've already said. Worse, the questions were still there and a few more have sprung up.
I looked at Vincent in the corner of my eyes. He looked so calm in his usual facade, that same face I saw when we first met and he caught me from a falling moment. But now that I know something that I didn't back then, I'm sure of how false some of that composure is.
"Would you come with me?" I asked.
"Where?"
"You know where." I raised my hand overhead. "There, out of here. I'm sure you already know."
Vincent only answered me with silence. I still haven't asked him about Rigel's note. even if I wanted to, I feel like he's purposely avoiding it. yesterday, Zebby dragged him along to do all the work for me. after that, he didn't say goodbye and left without notice. That part should have scared me, but it all vanished when he came knocking at my door the next morning.
Now I'm here, alone again—with him.
"Have you ever realized that there's a sort of pattern between us?" I asked.  "There's always the tendency of you being with me, and then you'd drag me to some lost and found rendezvous. Or, we end up talking. Lots."
Vincent repressed a laugh, probably finding the fact amusing.
I unconsciously pouted, annoyed with lighthearted reactions I've been receiving. "How come you always make me talk more than I'm used to? Have you got a spell cast on me or whatever? I genuinely want to know."
"I could say the same thing to you," he said.
I scoffed. "Yeah right. You haven't told me that much. And that was only one time."
"Well," he whispered, his voice somewhat bashful and anxious at the same time. "That was the only time  I probably did that. Talking."
My mouth hung open, gaping with disbelief. "You're kidding me! No way that's true"
"It is."
I stared at the cliff below me as I made sense of that. The fog and mist mixing to form a sort of blanket over the whole town send shivers down to me, the cold seeping through as well as the peculiar chilling mortification. My cheeks warmed up in response. I only hoped that Vincent would think my flushed face was due to the cold and not because of embarrassment.
It sounded too much for me, holding someone else's secret when I could not be responsible for my problems. It made me feel jittery and so very responsible. Knowing me, I would always be afraid of responsibility.
I decided to leave it at that for now.
Earlier this morning, Vincent came to me with an unusual hurry on his face. All of his words, his actions, and the way I dragged him to the high cliffs were too hyper as if he was moving and running out of time. I took him to the place that I knew would calm him down. I didn't want to go to the edge of town, at that old arch where I used to empty my head, so we went to the next best place.
The Cliff's Towards Home. The Cliff. It still hasn't changed.
Mom is gone. Rigel is gone too. But The Cliff hasn't—had never changed. The town too. It's still here, like always. It's still the same. Like always.
Even when I leave, and maybe come back, I'm certain I'll come home with everything unchanged.
For the first time, I liked it. For the first time since all summer filled with me doing nothing but complain, I feel relieved that I have something I can call grounded and safe.
Every corner, from here at the top where I could see all over down the roads where the town ends, all I could see were memories, not the houses, and trees all on their own. All of it tells me that I once belonged here and I can still be.
"You still have something to tell me right?" I asked the silent Vincent.
The rays of the rising sun reflected upon his glasses that I didn't get to see what he was thinking with his eyes not visible to me. I wanted to look at them again, but I don't want him to know that I want to.
"I should have," he said as an answer. "But I think you already know what I'm going to say."
A snort came out of me, making him look my way. His gaze tells me that this isn't a joke, which I already know.
"Trust me when I say that I only know half of the story. Rigel wasn't exactly the obvious type when it comes to telling his stories, and neither were you. You guys prefer telling things in riddles. My brain isn't really sharp enough for mind games if you don't already know."
I couldn't suppress a sigh. "Plus, I got the information I have when it was too late. Memory loss kind of deter the whole thing." It was just minutes away before he was gone, to be exact. Kapoof!
I couldn't talk about the whole thing still though. It still feels like a dream. Everything about how Rigel disappeared still feels like a dream.
As I said, he's gone. Just like Mom. Just like the person I once called Dad. They all are. My original family, the one I knew is gone.
"When the time comes that I'd have to leave this place, you'll come with me, right?" I asked.
Vincent nodded. "I will."
That's good. I wasn't asking a no for an answer.
The sun greets me a hello. I waved back absentmindedly like I was crazy, a greeting of welcome as well, not a fair well. Not yet.
This isn't where it's supposed to end.


•••


It's Rigel...
               I'm sure you have a lot of questions right now. I can't blame you.  I've left you with the information you wanted, written in this notebook. I'm sorry it's the only thing I could do. I'm sorry too that I wouldn't be there to help you anymore. I just ran out of time. Believe me, I wish we could have had a lot more chances.
I'm leaving you in your guardian's care. He knows who you are and you already know who he is. He knows the person that I probably already told you about. He knows the man who told me much about your mother and you. He will help you.
You can still find her.
Stella. Stella went back to the home of her child self. You can still find her. Find her.
Sorry Becca, for fulfilling your wish too late. I hope you wouldn't mind me taking your name with me in hopes that you and I will always be tied together. I will always be your Rigel.



London, England
you'll find what you're
looking for there.
Stella's Guardian will help you.
Your Guardian will be with you.
to be continued...