The Prime of Life

[Gildarts]

Christa had waved goodbye to her newfound friend, or perhaps budding love interest. She wondered if he would ever find the time to text or call her, but then the mechanics of the Omniverse itself might pose a threat to the ease of technology in some verses, whereas others like Camelot used owl or something. There were no cell towers there, but here in the Vastly Deep, Christa wasn't sure there was a need.

The air was lightly fragranced with salt and the breeze was crisp to perfection. Strands of Christa's blonde hair tousled in the breeze, and the elder sister crouched down to her favorite girl in the world. "Hey, welcome to our new home."

The pair strode the streets, both wore a smile brighter than the day, as they passed by dozens of store advertising their product by window. They found the beach and took the shoes from their feet, so their toes could feel the softness of the cool sand below. Christa didn't say too much, and neither did Katia. Instead, their expressions said it all.

"Ahh, isn't this wonderful? I've got my sister back, I can create a new home, and cast every pain I've ever felt... Far, far away. Even if I have to face it, and chase the chains of my past away, these are the memories I'll have with me forever." May have been what Christa said if her thoughts had only scathed the surface of the truth she knew was coming.

Beside her, her young sister, tongue frozen from lapping ice cream from a cone. From her eyes, bright and dazzling, her thoughts might have read a much simpler joy, "I have my sister, and she is the only home I'll ever need."

...

Christa thought about keeping Katia on the beach until long after the sunset, living in the constant state of bliss would have been easy, now that she had hit the jackpot, and most of her troubles seemed to be behind her. But, she reconsidered, as now that she had her sister back, she still had things to do by the end of the night. Little things that a big sister had to do, like make sure Katia got to bed on time, or actually make sure they had beds to sleep in.

They needed a motorboat. Then, Christa could sail off into the blue, create their own little island, and they could live their, just for a while, in their own piece of the world. For once, she could truly be, cast away from the world. It would be nice to get a breath of fresh air after that tantalizing ordeal, but being cast away from the bad, also meant she would be cast away from the good.

She needed safety for her sister, and that would not come from her and her alone. Christa, needed to return to the world, in order to fight the demons that threatened to overwhelm those exactly like her – just then, a pair of patrolling storm troopers walked by them – their arms cradled in their arms, and their authority, spewing from their set pace. Their steps were that of a metronome, and their gazes bore black and hidden by the glossy visors over their eyes.

"So, do you know where we're going now?" Christa prompted her sister, and stole the child's attention before she could notice the authority of the enemy she had known all her life.

"Hmm... You always said if you had the chance, you'd want to live on an island... And we're by the ocean now, so.." Katia's observation couldn't have been more correct.

Christa grinned, "You know it. How does that sound? Fishing and searching for seashells and watching the sun set every day?" Christa had omitted however, her own presence in the dreamland she painted with a mosaic words and allure.

"It sounds nice, if it will mean being with you, sis." It was almost supernatural, how Katia had never missed a beat.

[Gildarts]

The pair of sisters strolled their way closer and closer to a dock just off of the shoreline. As they walked on it, the aged and withered wood created and stirred with every step. Just a few feet below them, the swaying waves creaked and splashed upon the splintering wood.

When Christa neared the end of the dock, her sister, a bit warn out, trailed behind her. The woman extended her hand and thought of a ship balancing on water. Glowing, shimmering light spun in a spherical shape before it naturally bent and curved, stretching to the size she willed it to be.

A decent sized motor boat had appeared between the ripples and waves of the chaotic sea. Suddenly the new Prime woman got a running start on the dock and dove from the dock into the scooped deck of the motorboat. She hadn't summoned the boat with a rope tying it to the dock. So this speedy maneuver was necessary to save her newest method of transport from being cast away by the ocean's relentless force.

After lassoing the rope tightly to the dock's pole, Christa offered her sister a hand as she climbed in. The wind rippled on her clothing and ruffled the blonde's hair as she yanked the cord from the boat's engined and stirred it to a howling start.

The noise cut through the grapples of wind, and soon after the engine was hot with motion, the sisters debarked.

Propellers spun below the surface of the water and perpetuated their motion far off from the shore. Christa smiled as the distinction between land and sky was gone, and soon there were only waves and clouds. A storm was coming, but they were no longer closer to the land that bound them, and the pair were far off from the Empire's clutches.

Christa was free and finally, her sister was by her side. The dark doubts and stirring memories brought her back away from her happiness. She steered the boat easily, and basked in her moment of triumph and joy, because she of all people, knew that it would not last.

[Gildarts]

Finally they were far enough away from the shore and Christa pulled out a tattered map. It was one from the far away past, but it would do its job here where navigating by sea was of the utmost importance.

The boat slowed down and she cranked the wheel to a good forward position, while she shifted the gears to a halt. Waves crashed into the hub of the boat and the wind still rippled into their clothing, sweeping the last traces of sand from their clothes and replacing the coating with a spray of salt flavored dew.

Without further ado, Christa made a home for them. With much focus, from the depths of Christa's imagination, and with her keen concentration, the complexities of a whole building emerged, island and all. Palm trees, sand dunes, and coconuts. Everything you'd expect to see on a small island, and of course, there was a cool tree house hiding in the shrubs of the makings of a tropical forest on the far side of the island.

She drove the boat over to the dock and secured it up. She would make another later perhaps, but for now, she had used enough Omnilium to make up having emerged here in the Omniverse as a Secondary and Christa was ready for a nap.

Meanwhile, Katia watched as Christa brought things to life with the mere extension of her mind. That, alas, was the power of a prime. And despite how Christa and Katia had both been summoned here as secondaries, now, she was the odd one out, while her sister shouldered more burden than she could imagine, and bore the weight of new responsibility holstered in her new ability to protect herself, her sister, and, Katia suspected, she would soon take on the Omniverse.

But it was Christa who suspected her sister had a power hidden within her, that rivaled that of a prime. Perhaps, on that fateful day when the monsters of the empire came, they had not come for her, but her sister. The doubt always caught her when she least expected the fear to be dwelling. But there it was, once more freezing her mind as violently as ice was formed in a snowstorm.

"So," Christa's womanly voice beckoned her sister, "What do you think?" A wide smile grew on her sister's face and Katia examined the expression more than the home her sister had just summoned. Something about Christa had changed. Katia could only guess how long she had been "away" that her sister had been so desperate to get her back. She gulped for a moment, her youthful mind had somehow come to the conclusion that what her sister had one was far from the capabilities of any normal person. She had gathered a group of secondaries. She had united people in her own time of grieving. Or perhaps the most impressive...

She had met Omni.

Katia thought that all of this was much better than the alternative, which glimmered negligently in her mind. Christa, without her sister, without her home, without her love for anything and everything in the world, would have killed herself in her grief. Had it not been the hope of Katia's own return. What Katia didn't know, is the rest of the time Christa had been without her, she had been tortured by the very people who had killed Katia, and later reaped her merciless revenge.

It was hard to imagine that murder once coursed through her sister's veins as easily as love. It was even harder, with that smile looking back at her. But alas, Katia, the enlightened child of an unforetold future could only see the love in her sister's revived heart. And a wise child such as herself could recognize that darkness and despair could push any human to the brink of desperation. Till they become numbed that they became the very thing that destroyed them in the first place.

"Well Kat, do you like it?" Christa's voice delivered her back to the moment. And Katia realized Christa was looking back at her with an expression laden with worry.

Now Katia smiled with the fading sunshine and assured her sister, "I love it!" And the young girl bounced to her feet and danced her way inside.

...

"WOWWW it even has a hot tub !!!"

"Yep, and you've even got your own room." Christa smiled and opened up the door to the lovely looking room she had imagined for her sister.

"WHOA IS THIS A COTTON CANDY MACHINE?" Katia shouted as she jumped up and down all through the house. Looking and thrashing at all things that were cool.

"And we've got a pantry full of food. We never have to worry again." This safety, this reassurance, was something she had never known. Katia was too infatuated with all the cool trinkets and appliances she never had to understand the importance of food. The girl turned on the stereo then, and before Christa knew it, they were both dancing in the living room.

Spins, twists, and swirls, they moved all over the room with the freedom of wind. Hair was ruffled and splashed into the tune-filled air, smiles and laughter illuminated the room more than any lamp could ever do, and the sisters had the time of their lives as they reunited with each other, and the happiness brought to them by a song.

It came to the end and the two were left with smiles and heavy breathing, and Christa, with a bad hair day. Katia giggled and Christa played along, feeling clumps of her hair stuck together irregularly, and some of it stuck from end to end.

"What, do I have something on my nose?" Katia could only giggle as her older sister made a goofy attempt at wiping a speck of dirt away. Then she tossed her head about, and made her bad hair day all the more worse.

They both died of laughter, until finally Katia found a mirror and showed Christa her reflection, "Oh my, it looks like I've gotten a bit taller, wouldn't you say?"

Katia's smile never faltered, "No you silly, look at your hair!"

"GASP! It has gotten lighter from the sun, hasn't it?" She played oblivious and Katia told her.

"No, look! It's all tangly!"

"Who you callin' tangly!" Christa dove in and was furthermore known as the "tickle monster" and her fingers resembled feathers as they danced over her sister, causing her to shriek with laughter.

Finally, they settled down and were left panting as they both were sprawled out over the carpet and looking up at the ceiling while they came down from their high of laughter.

"I missed this." Christa said when there was air in her lungs to support the words. She then looked over at her sister. Who looked back at her and simply smiled. Katia looked delighted, but it was Christa who was the happiest woman in the world. For she knew the value of all that she had lost, and had somehow won the right to gain it back, and with that, balance had seemingly been restored, and with it, Christa's right to happiness once more.

They slept under the stars that night, in camping bags and with a small, wavering fire close to their feet. The last thing Katia remembered was counting the tails of shooting stars in the sky, while the last thing Christa remembered before falling asleep, was how beautiful the sky looked, with her sister below it.

[Gildarts]

The next morning Christa put her cooking skills to good use and made pancakes! With blueberries of course, just like her mother had for her.

The golden brown color told her that they were done on that side, so she flipped them with a sizzle! Before serving them drizzled in the sweet goo of maple syrup that added the extra textured layer of bliss the pancakes needed for completeness. Each plate was paired with a set of silverware and the eating began. Christa always felt great pride when someone else- especially someone she loved and cherished so much, ate her creation and wore an expression of satisfaction from it.

It was unnatural for Christa to summon her own food, and the woman preferred the smell and life that cooking brought when she made it herself. The clean up was quick and painless. She washed, while Katia dried the dishes, and then they put them away together.

They sat down again and Christa had to tell Katia what was on her mind. "Katia, we don't need to go clothes shopping, I plan to summon you a suitcase of whatever you want to wear, I even made some magazines, but before we do anything else. I have to tell you something."

"You're not staying." Katia surprised her sister by completing her sentence. Christa was beginning to believe that her sister really was a mind reader.

"And neither are you." Christa continued reluctantly. "I wish I could be the cool older sister all the time. But mom isn't around anymore and I have to look out for you too." The prime looked down at her hands, " Now that this power has been bestowed upon me, I have to do something with it. And as much as I would like to forget it, a dear friend's death was a reminder to me that I have more than one priority. And until you get a little stronger sis, I can't let you take on the world with me. I'm going to have to go it alone." Again.

"That's alright, I understand you'll be taking me to Ms. Tennant's place now. Will you bein back her dead husband too?"

Christa gulped and stared straight into the eyes of her sister. "Uhh... How did you-"

"Chris, it's been a while, so I'm sure your memories are a bit blurry. But mine are pristine and clear, no doubt from being freshly summoned again. I'm much more able than you know. Perhaps even part of it, was you didn't want something too needed to protect anymore. I may be your younger sister, but I'm a bit wiser now to the outside world. It does not mean I am not able to be a child. No. But I have these bursts of epiphany which I'm unable to control. And my mind tells me things I do not wish to know, nor can I begin to fathom."

Christa blinked. "Should I be-"

"Worried? No. If anything it will give me the means to protect myself when you are away, but alas, dearest sister, you always seem to forget that I am the one who has to protect you sometimes."

Christa gulped. Katia was saying that she knew the kind of monster Christa had become in her absence. Well, never again, the newfound prime vowed, and gave her sister a long and lasting look over. "I love you."

"I love you too Chrissy, and I understand that not every day can be a happy one, filled with homemade pancakes and new clothes." This was not the wisdom a child was meant to bear, and just when Christa seemed the most worried, Katia wore the youthful expression that told Chris that everything would be okay.

Even if the doubt and fear were ebbing in her mind... They would still be there. Worrying that Katia was brought back wrong, again.

Christa sighed and brushed it off as an abnormality, for she herself had been brought to the Omniverse and given the ability to change. It was that way for everyone- secondaries OR primes- it didn't matter which. And this in itself, was reassuring.

They flipped through magazines and picked out the ones Katia wanted to wear. Christa brushed her sister's hair and put it up into the pigtails she knew so well, while Katia smiled and enjoyed the time with her sister before it was the time to go again.

They sat together in their new home, enjoying each other's company, before they would set out to sail with the change of the world once more.

[Gildarts]

A single trunk load of clothes were all the possessions Katia had to show for her decade here on earth. Of course when they had been summoned to the Omniverse, they had been summoned without a home, or their stuff. So this was their second time they had to start over, save their parents' death, which thankfully Karia did not remember anyway.

The motorboat surfed the waves for some time before finally Katia sighted the land. It was the island! Hopefully Martha had gotten the email before they arrived, but it was sent so late that Christa has no choice but to assume the latter. She pictured Martha's new family, their smiles were happy, and unstained by the pain they once felt. They had moved on.

Yet again, Christa couldn't help but to admire Martha for being her own woman, for being so confident and strong on her own. Christa then thought of her own new friends. She had even gotten most of their phone numbers, so she could talk to them anytime she wanted! And then there was Abner. Not only had he grown into one of her closest friends, but he had taught her how to love again. And now, Christa was able to not only fight for love, but she also believed in it.

Hmmmm, I wonder what Isaac is doing right now? her curiosity was so strong that it compelled her to pull out her phone and dial up his number. She pressed the ringing phone to her ear until finally she got no answer and was sent to voicemail. The image of his face came to life in her mind. She smiled at it, and remembered their badass beginning.

They blew up buildings, shot up the streets, hell they even killed a few bad guys in the dunes. Ugh, endless dunes though, she would never go back there. It was too dry, too bleak, and too.. dead for her liking. No, Christa preferred the sunshine that flashed on the backs of winged birds in the air, and the entire ocean full of water and life. It was heartwarming, and overflowing with action. Nothing like the bleak dunes.

Still, she had to think, without her unbecoming beginning, she would never have met Isaac, and gotten to meet Omni. Because she never could have done it alone.

I suppose that's the moral of the story then, I changed when I made some friends, and we all got our wish granted. There's nothing left to tell. I got my sister, so buzz off, world! Christa thought to herself and hugged her sister's shoulder before pulling the boat into the dock and strapping it steadily in. They climbed out, and were met with the reunion of a lifetime.

The entire Tennant family rushed Christa and Katia on the dock. "Christa!!!" Martha came up with a hug, and behind her was the kids Christa met all those months ago. Everyone, even Christa wore a bright smile that was unmatched by the sunshine.

[Gildarts]

"It's so good to see you!" Hugs and kisses were shared, as promised.


Christa and Katia were welcomed into Martha's home. Katia's cheeks had been pinched so much by Martha that her rosy cheeks had gone numb, or perhaps that was from all the smiling they were doing. Everyone gathered round the living room while Katia examined the home and continued telling Martha how charming it truly was. This brought great delight to the secondary mother who was now holding her newest bundle of joy in her arms.

The picture Martha had sent must have been old, for the baby girl was now, undoubtedly, a toddler. And the fine lines around Martha's soft eyes had grown just a tad more noticeable. The weight of age was a simple one. It happened. Christa was curious now, if it would happen to her. She was a prime now, after all, and immortality would be cruel if she grew into a body she could not use, nor escape. Or perhaps, she aged in this body, and whenever she died she was brought back to her original state. Whatever the case was. It wasn't like she could ask Omni a second time.

The eldest sister sat by Katia's side while Martha went on and on about the simple, normal things that had to do with family life. Christa was calmed by Martha's essence of motherhood, and finally they ended up sharing a family dinner together. Martha was an excellent cook, and this was the first time Christa had tried the woman's cooking.

There was enough for the whole family, and the dining room was full of snorts of laughter, the sound of scraping forks and knives on ceramic plates, and the occasional witty blurb from Martha's two boys. Christa met the new husband, they had met shortly after Mr. Tennant's death, and he seemed like a really good guy. Did that mean Mr. Tennant deserved to stay dead? Christa thought not, and examined the happiness level of the family. Death was tangible, it hung in the air, it weighed in the shape of a child's smile, but above all else, Christa knew by her own experience that it was something that could be overcome.

Christa didn't bring up Martha's husband, but after dinner, the two were able to get some alone time and had stepped out on the porch into the moonlight.

"I see it in your eyes you know," Martha began, "That longing, that doubt, and your joy of course. I'm glad you found it." Martha continued after reading Christa's face for a moment, "I found mind too you know. You don't have to worry about hurting my feelings, and I can tell what's on your mind when you see my family. Christa, you need to know that you belong. You can stay here as long as you want, you don't have to feel like you're different than the rest of us. We all have our quirks, it's what makes us unique."

"Thank you Martha, you've been very kind to me." Was all Christa could muster. She had lost her own mother when she was very young, and part of her had always felt lost because of this.

"You know you don't have to thank me, and you know I love you even if our relationship had some humble beginnings. I hired you to find my dead husband, and you did. I thank you for that. But there's no way you could have saved him, and now he rests in peace, where he belongs. At peace." Martha looked sternly at Christa, as though immorality, and the ability to bring back the dead, had a purpose, but it was not to be overused, for it had its drawbacks too, "I'm not going to ask you to bring him back, the kids love their step dad, and have adapted and moved on to a life where their father will be forever in their hearts. That's the way loss should go. Even Primes have to deal with that realization at one point. You'll wear yourself out if you try to overthink things and I don't want that beautiful heart of yours to break."

Christa nodded slowly, "I understand. Thanks for caring Martha. You're very kind." They exchanged a long, meaningful hug and then Christa realized she had to tell Martha what was on her mind. "A friend called upon me to help him, I'm a prime now and I think I can make a difference, would you mind looking after Katia until I get back?"

Martha gave Christa a lasting look, "My, you have grown up. Yes, of course I can watch Katia, she's a member of the family now. But you my dear, had better come back in once piece."

Martha winked at Christa, signaling to their inside joke, and Christa chuckled, she was, after all, a Prime now.

[Gildarts]

Being a prime brought lots of responsibility. Or at least it did in Christa's eyes. Having been born a secondary first, certainly had changed her perspective significantly. Things that were so essential had now become trivial. Food, was an object could be summoned, not something to have to work, steal, or beg for. Battle was something a prime needed to know, or at least one was expected to have their own craft and be able to influence society. And of course there was death.

Death was final. When Christa was a secondary, now, it never had to be. But it was like Martha had said, there is only so much an immortal can do to bring back life to others. Her friend who had died in her arms? Christa wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, to bring him back anymore. Yes they were friends, but like Martha had said, he deserved peace. And who was she to deprive him of that? At least Christa could dream that he got to go home when he died. Whenever that might have been. But there were too many variables that were unanswered. Damn Omni. How could he keep all these secrets? Being a prime was supposed to make things better for her, not worse.

Christa was caught up in her swirl of thought for many moments as she looked over at the gleaming moonlight on the shimmering ocean. There were people out there that had never seen the moon on the ocean, let alone an ocean in itself. For some reason that thought wasn't as comforting as it was meant to be, and Christa yawned a bit before leaning on the wooden railing even more so.

The cold breeze stroked against her skin. She exhaled with all her breath into the night while her eyes suddenly fell, and she was looking at her hands once more.

"With great power, comes great responsibility." Who the hell knew that cheesy quote was actually true?

"And who the hell am I, to decide who gets to live and who gets to die?"

"You're my sister. And I trust you to make the right choice." Katia spoke from behind Christa, causing her to whirl around in surprise.

"Katia, what are you..." Christa started, flummoxed.

"I just came out to visit you, I didn't realize you'd be talking to yourself..." She said innocently.

"Heh, yeah, me either." Christa offered a sluggish smile.

"So, uh, I take it I'll be staying, and you'll be going, then?" Katia surmised.

"You're wiser than you look, little sister, but yes that is the way it will be for now." Christa looked into her sister's eyes, "Don't worry, when I return it will be a lot better."

"I know," Katia said, "You'll come home safe and it'll be good again. Plus I like Martha's family, I've made some new friends."

"I'm glad to hear that, sis," Christa agreed.

"Mind if I ask where you will be going?" Katia pressed and joined Christa's side, looking out onto the ocean.

"I don't mind. If anything happens to me I'll need you to come looking after all," Chris winked, but then realized the reality wasn't far from it. It could be terrible. The Pale Moors were uncharted territory for her, and well, there was unknown evils spread all throughout the land there. She could get captured, and not killed, and never see Katia again. But Christa, despite all her pain, wasn't sure she could look her sister in the eye for long, if she did not follow her own heart.

If she ever was in trouble, she had a whole league of people she could count on for help. She had to trust in them, and those others she had come to love, and around this, was where her hope for the future came from.

"That's right," Katia assured her, "I'm here for you sis, through the good and through the bad. And I'm glad. Glad that I'm here by your side."

[Gildarts]

The moonlight was dazzling as it washed over the rippling waves. Her skin basked in it, enhancing the pale silk white, while she realized she was becoming chilled from the evening coolness of be breeze that mercilessly cut through to her bones. And if she was cold there was no doubt that her sister was too.

Christa scavenged in the living room and found an old, fuzzy blanket and walked back out on the porch with it. Katia had nearly fallen asleep watching the moon, the only thing keeping her upright was the pole that she braced herself against, but her chin and eyelids both dipped longingly for sleep. Christa noticed this as she came around behind Katia with the blanket, and smothered all the corners of her joints with it.

Katia's eyes peeled open a bit, but she was no match for the fatigue she felt flowing into her muscles and whisking her mind away.

Christa wasn't a weak woman when she had started her journey, but there was something about being a prime that made her feel almost invincible. In one fell swoop, the woman lifted her sister in her arms and carried her all the way into her new bedroom. For a while, Christa sat by her side, admiring the smooth outline of her sister's peaceful face. It was in this observation, that she couldn't help think Katia had worn the same expression when she had died in Christa's arms. But that had been long ago, and much had changed. All except the dreaded fear of loosing her sister again.

Perhaps that was why she was leaving her behind. A prime certainly couldn't take a secondary on all of their adventures, especially not a child. And Christa's little sister was her weakness, it didn't matter that Christa could summon Katia again, to experience her death, would have been torture. But knowing that Katia was alive and well, being taken care of by a woman she trusted wholeheartedly, that was a thought that could carry her for miles, and days, without food or water.

Always, Christa would want the best for her sister. And this was it. This was the best option there was in order to give Katia a chance at a normal life. Knowing that she was surrounded by loved ones, and would be going to school... No, nothing had changed about Christa's love for her sister.

[Gildarts]

Christa waited until morning to leave. She sprawled out lazily on the leather couch in the living room - which was surprisingly foofy and comfy for something supposed to be covered in another animal's skin. Her eyes rested for a few hours of the night, but her mind had been unable to catch the sanctity that would have been a good night's rest.

There wasn't a reason for it, really, other than that there were so many questions unanswered, and if resurrecting the dead wasn't the correct answer, then she would have to find another solution. Pangs of guilt stabbed into her troubled mind. She had just got her sister back and now she was going to leave her again. Sure, it was to protect her. A prime's life was hectic and dangerous, and what if the empire came back for her again? This way was easier. Living just underneath Costa del Sol's spying eye. It was almost a long-term solution. When Christa returned, she would teach her sister everything she knew, so that Katia could defend herself, despite that simply knowing, was a heavy burden to bear.

To her surprise, the house started to stir relatively early. As if synchronized with the sunrise that climbed slowly on the translucent turquoise sky.

Martha made breakfast, a healthy dose of eggs, fruit, and yogurt were dished up to the kids, while Martha's new husband was served bacon and eggs with a smile, as well as a few extra ingredients. It was refreshing for Christa to see such new and passionate love, and she couldn't help thinking of Abner. The gentle lines of his face, the softness in his smile, the strength in his broad shoulders and the confidence that allowed him to hold his head up with such unwavering faith in himself. It was for all that and more that she admired him so wholeheartedly. And then the image was gone, blinked away by the wistfulness of bliss that never lasted very long, but was a welcomed but not eternal escape.

With a few kisses Martha's husband was out the door, and the baby began to cry once more. She was a daddy's girl. No doubt about that. She would never cry while he was in the same room with her, Christa assumed it was because of a special bond the two shared, love that gave the child strength. Once the toddler had settled down again, the kids were due for school, and Christa too, was due to leave.

"First day of school, and it looks like you have all you need," Christa spoke to her sister, "Aren't you excited?"

It wasn't that her sister wasn't, but Katia didn't want to see her sister go. "Aren't you leaving too?"

Christa blinked. There was no dancing around the subject with her sister. And even if Katia had a complete understanding of the reason Christa was going, it did not make it any easier. Christa paused before replying, "Yes. But I will always be with you in here." Cheesy, undoubtedly, and she pointed at her little sister's heart.

"Psh," Katia snorted and waved the hand away as she moved in for long hug that warmed both of their hearts.

"I love you." Christa muffled through the shirt over Katia's shoulder.

"I love you too sis. I'll call you every night." Both their blue eyes met, and Katia's looked earnest and unwavering, while Christa was on the brink of tears.

A wave goodbye and the school bus came around the corner to capture them all.

Suddenly, the whole house was consumed with silence. Martha was silent, and paused as though waiting for Christa to be ready to debark on her own path. Her mischievous toddler, sound asleep, for the time being.

The silence was eerie. And while the house was empty, Christa couldn't help but to remark that it was still full of love. "Is it always like this?" She asked Martha.

"Every time."

"How do you..." The prime trailed off.

"I know, and have faith, that they will return safe and sound. Just as I hope the same for you." Martha added the last part with a smile.

"Oh Martha, you've been an angel to me." Christa hugged the woman as though she were her own mother. Her once hard rough outer exterior, now melted away with the love that came with having a family.

Martha, wise and peaceful, let the hug go on for as long as it needed, and turned not a blind eye to the tears Christa was shedding, but lovingly accepted them as they stained her gown.

...

After a while, Christa was ready to leave. And Martha remained steadfast, manning the Homefront until the kids and her husband returned.

"You have my word that I'll take good care of your sister. Already I love you both so much. It's funny how we think we have all the love we'll ever need, and then by coincidence, we find something or someone that fills us to the brim, and makes us feel so complete." Martha offered her kind insight.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Christa remembered all the love that made her soft, but it was not a weakness anymore, to have someone to protect, but something worth fighting for. Abner and her newest friends.

They would be by her side, so she did not have to face eternity all alone.