No. Wait. When will I see you again?" she asked. "How will I find you?"

"Well, you don't have to stand on the end of a diving board."

Ivy smiled.

"The end of a tree limb will do," he said. "Or the roof of any building three stories or higher."

"What?"

"Just kidding," he said, laughing. "Just call--anytime, anywhere, silently--and I'll hear you. If I don't come, it's because I'm in the middle of something that I can't stop, or I'm in the darkness. I can't control the darkness." He sighed. "I can feel it coming on--I can feel it right now--and I can fight it off for a while. But in the end I fall unconscious. It's how I rest. I guess one day the darkness will be final."

"No!"

"Yes, love," he said softly.

A moment later he was gone.

Author: Elizabeth Chandler