Chapter 20: The Meeting

Rich and Elaine sat in the darkness in the living room. They could still hear Eli crying upstairs, and the low murmur of Oskar’s soft consoling voice. The news of Gudmund’s death had hit her hard.

He shook his head sadly, “You should have seen her when I first met them. There was a toughness about her; a kind of fatalism. She had a cat-like predatory way of moving. She trusted no one but Oskar. She was almost a feral child. Now look at her. She’s…almost fragile; she’s vulnerable, trusting. The older she gets, the younger she seems. She’s almost 12 again. And yet…every time something unpleasant happens in her life, I see that primal look in her eyes that I saw that first day. Her past will always haunt her, it seems, and understandably so.”

“It’s all because of you, Rich. And Oskar of course. But you gave them both the loving, stable environment necessary for them to evolve into what they are today.”

“As long as were placing blame here, I think your 13 years as their mother had a lot to do with it too. They have a real family now, and your contributions to it have been indispensable.”

“Richard Dawson; always the romantic.” She said kiddingly.

“I didn’t mean…” he stumbled.

“Shh!” she kissed him gently. “If I haven’t figured out how to read between the stodgy lines by now, I never will.” She smiled at him.

They heard movement upstairs. Eli’s crying had stopped, and the sound of banging, boxes sliding across the floor, and furniture being moved replaced it. Oscar hurried down the stairs, flashed them a brief smile, and disappeared into the back yard. He quickly returned and hurried back upstairs with a bundle of…something. They looked at each other.

“Should we…”

“No. Let’s leave them alone. If they need us, they’ll let us know.” Dawson whispered. “By the way, Gudmund’s lawyer called this afternoon. He said the paperwork would be finished in about a month and that he had a few things to bring over to us at that time, along with the will. It seems the beneficiaries of his estate are all living in this house, save one.”

“Really? I wonder who it could be?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say it was his chauffer and jack-of-all-trades. I met him a few days before Gudmund…died.”

“You didn’t tell me you had met anyone but Gudmund that night. What was he like? Do you think he was…”

“I’m almost certain of it,” he said. “I arrived just before the sun went down and he buzzed me in. When I opened the door, he stepped back into the shadows as the sunlight reflected off my windshield and caught him in the face.”

“Do you think he poses any threat to us now that Gudmund is dead?”

“Unlikely. He was fiercely protective of him though. He watched me like a hawk the whole time I was there. His eyes were like … yours when you came after me after I blew you into the pool with the hose.”

“I slipped. You and your … ‘hose’ had nothing to do with it!” She scowled at him.

“Really! I have four eye-witnesses who remember it quite differently,” he taunted. “Shall we take a vote?”

“Okay, okay! You win! But it was a lucky shot,” she mussed up his hair and kissed him on the forehead. “But why do you think he’ll leave us alone?”

“Because he was loyal to Gudmund. And Gudmund assured me, in his presence, that Eli’s safety and happiness were his primary concern at this point.”

“Well, I still don’t like the idea of another vampire nearby that knows so much about us,” she said worriedly. “But you’re probably right.” She tilted her head as she listened for signs of activity upstairs. Everything had been quiet now for a half hour or so. “They’re pretty quiet. Do you think Eli is okay?”

“I think now would be a good time to see how they’re doing,” Rich said as he headed for the stairs. He looked at his watch. 8:30. They should still be up, especially tonight. They went upstairs and peeked in Eli’s door. “Can we come in? Elaine said softly.

“Sure!” Oskar said. He was sitting at her table, reading a book. The box of albums was open at his feet and several of them were next to him on the table.

“Where’s Eli?” Dawson couldn’t see her anywhere. But the window was open. He felt a pang of fear as he remembered what happened the last time she left at night by herself.

“She…wanted to fly for a while. She was so upset, I didn’t want to stop her.”

“But where did she go?! Did she tell you where she was going?” Visions of the Other One flashed vividly before his eyes.

“She went to see Hannah,” he said sheepishly. She didn’t want to talk to her; only to see her. But I think she’ll talk to her anyway.”

Dawson and Elaine looked at each other. “Well, I hope she took some clothes with her. First impressions can be pretty important,” Elaine chided.

“Yeah, she took her backpack with clothes and stuff in it. She said she’d be back by 10:00, and for you not to worry. She said she wouldn’t do anything stupid.”

Yeah, I remember how that worked out for her the last time, Dawson thought to himself. He couldn’t help it. What she went through alone at the Other One’s hands that night still disturbed him, even after all these years.

“Really, Dad! I think she’ll be okay. No vampires there.” Oskar smiled at him. He nodded towards the bookcases and Eli’s computer desk. “What do you think? Eli did it herself.”

They both turned, and saw immediately that a shelf on her bookcase had been removed and her eggs, their new cameo, the Dawson Lecture brochure, and several photographs stood in the larger space the missing shelf provided. In the center, with a vase of flowers beside it, was a photograph of a much younger Gudmund, with his arm around his new bride. They both looked very happy.

“She said she was going to change the pictures every week, except for the one.” He nodded at the box on the floor. “And there certainly seem to be enough to last her a long time.”

Elaine could tell that Richard wasn’t really listening. He was really worried for Eli. “Rich, if she’s not back by 9:30, I’m going after her. You’ll not talk me out of it.” He flashed her a grateful smile.

======

Eli flew low over the row of two-story, red brick homes and dropped silently into the dark street. She quickly stepped behind a hedge, retracted her wings, put on her blouse and shoes, slipped the backpack back on and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She walked slowly down the block, looking at house numbers. She crossed Tillingham Way and continued down Twineham Green, which circled around a small park and re-emerged on Tillingham Way about a half block down The yards were all well-lit and well-kept, with nice orderly flowerbeds separated by low, dark green hedges and cobble-stoned driveways and sidewalks. “One… two… four!” There it was. Hannah’s house. 4 Twineham Green. She stood there for a moment in front of the low brick wall, then crossed the street and sat on a post at the edge of the small park opposite the house. Her house was one of the few on the block that had a small grass-covered yard in front. She could see her mother and father through the gracefully curved front window, watching television. Upstairs through a similar window on the second floor, she could see Hanna and her older brother sitting at a table, reading. The centuries melted away as she watched them; her ever-so-great grand-niece and nephew. She felt odd, seeing them for real; real people in a real house with a real family. Her family.

“Hannah! Time to take Einstein out for his walk!” Eli heard her mother call out to her from the living room.

“Okay, Mom!” Eli saw Hannah stand up and disappear towards the back of the house. A couple minutes later, the porch light came on and Hannah was dragged out the door on the end of a leash by the whitest, fluffiest dog she had ever seen. And big. He must have outweighed Hannah by 50 pounds. “Einstein! Heel!” The dog ignored the command completely and pranced around the small yard impatiently, dragging her along behind him. “Einstein!” she said crossly. “Stop!!” He stopped so suddenly that she almost ran into him, then held his head down and looked up at her guiltily. “How many times do I have to tell you? Wait for me! I can’t keep up with you.” She bent down and hugged him tightly around the neck. Knowing he had been forgiven, Einstein began bouncing around excitedly, and a bit more slowly led her through the gap in the fence beside the hedge, turned left, and started down the sidewalk at a fast clip. Eli sat stock still, hoping they wouldn’t notice her – which they didn’t. They continued on down the sidewalk and around the corner toward Tillingham Way. Eli quickly stood up and climbed the tall bushy tree next to the post, sat on a low limb behind a thick wall of leaves, and watched her continue on around the green. As they rounded the corner and started back toward the house on the park side of the street, Einstein, suddenly alert, jerked the leash out of Hannah’s hand, ran up to the base of the tree, looked up at Eli, and let out a short bark. Then he sat down with a smug look on his face, staring at her.

“Bad dog! What ever am I going to do with you? You just don’t mind!” Hannah reached down and picked up the end of the leash as Einstein, still watching Eli, let out another short bark. “Whatever is the matter with you this evening? There’s nothing there! See?” She reached up and shook a branch. Her eyes got big as she spotted Eli and stepped back quickly. “Who are you? What are you doing in my tree?”

“I don’t see your name on it anywhere,” Eli retorted, “Besides, you live over there.” She nodded at Hannah’s house. “This tree is on public property. I have as much right to be here as you do.”

“How do you know where I live? You’re not from around here.”

“Duh! I was right here when you came out of your house with that huge mop on a leash. I watched him drag you around the park until he finally got away from you.” She grabbed the branch with one hand, swung down and dropped gracefully and silently in front of her. She looked at her sternly for a second, then broke into a big grin. “Boy, he’s big! And cute too! His name is Einstein? Why’d you call him that?”

“Because his hair looks like Einstein’s. All poofy!” she fluffed up Einstein’s fur to make her point. “And he’s really smart!”

“I dunno about that. He certainly doesn’t mind very well.”

“That’s what I mean! He understands everything I tell him. I know he does! But he chooses to do his own thing. He only minds when he chooses to. He thinks things over carefully and then says to himself, ‘Nope, I don’t think I can accommodate her at this time. I have another, more important agenda.’ Isn’t that what smart people do?”

Eli giggled, “I never thought of it that way before. You may have something there.” She crouched down and rubbed Einstein behind his ears. He immediately put his head on her knee and wagged his tail at her.

“That’s it! You’ve won him over completely! He’s your friend forever now.” She looked at Eli more closely. “You look familiar somehow. Do I know you from school? What’s your name?”

“My name is Eli. But I don’t live around here. I’m just…visiting.”

“My name is Hannah. Do you have any pets? I actually have quite a few myself.”

“No, no pets. Unless you count my brother.”

Hannah laughed, “I have one of those too. Sometimes I think pets are a lot less trouble.”

“Yeah. And pets don’t beat you at scrabble.”

“I love scrabble! But I usually beat my brother Jason at it. I read a lot more than he does.”

“I almost always beat Oskar too, but I never beat Mom and Papa. My papa’s a professor at Oxford, and my mom’s an artist. She went to Cambridge,” Eli said proudly.

“Wow! You must be really smart then.”

“Actually, my brother and I are both adopted. We’re from Sweden originally.”

“Really? We’re Swedish too, but my family’s been here a long time now. My last name is Sandstrøm,”

“My last name now is Dawson.” She realized she was probably giving Hannah too much information about herself, but she couldn’t help it. She was entranced by her. She felt close to her; Hannah was a solid link to her past…to her mother and father – and her dear sister.

“Eli Dawson! That’s a nice name. It sounds quite sophisticated.”

“Hannah Sandstrøm! Wow! That’s a tongue-twister. Try saying that real fast 100 times. My name’s boring compared to yours.” Eli grinned at her.

“You’re funny!” Hannah gave her a quick hug. “And you’re nice too! I’m glad I found you.”

“What do you mean!? I found you first.”

“No, Einstein found you first!”

“Hannah! What are you doing out there? Who’s that?” Eli watched as her brother came across the street and walked up beside Hannah. His eyes suddenly got big. “Hannah! She looks exactly like you! Exactly!” he grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her around and pushed her up next to Eli. “You’re both exactly the same height, your hair is the same color, and you … look… exactly… alike!!”

“Eli, this is my crazy older brother Jason. Jason, this is Eli, my new friend.”

New friend! Eli felt a warm glow deep inside. Hannah had no idea how close they really were. Or was it how incredibly far apart they were? The stark reality of what she was flooded to the surface; she was deluding herself to think that she could ever be friends with this sweet child, this 12-year old girl who couldn’t kill a bug. Contrast that with how many people she had killed over the centuries. “I…I should probably go. My … uncle will be worried if I’m not home soon.”

“You can’t go,” Jason protested. “You’ve got to at least let Mom and Dad see you first.” He took her by the hand and led her across the street, flanked by Hannah and Einstein. “I can’t wait to see the look on their faces.”

Eli sighed to herself. This was going to be worse than she thought. What could she say to them? She hesitated a moment at the door, turned and looked at Hannah.

“What are you waiting for? Come on in.” Jason almost dragged her through the door.

“Mom, Dad, you need to see this! Hannah has a new friend that you’ve gotta see.” He lead them into the living room and posed them side by side in front of their parents.

“Eli, this is my mom and dad, obviously.” Hannah smiled at her. “Mom, Dad, this is Eli Dawson. I met her outside on the green. Einstein found her in my tree.”

“Glad to meet you Eli,” her father said. “You’re right Jason, she looks exactly like our Hannah.” He looked at Eli carefully. “It’s astounding, actually. What are the odds? Where are you from Eli, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“I’m Swedish originally, but I’ve been here for…a long time now.” She was beginning to realize how difficult lying consistently was. To lie properly you needed a very good memory. “My brother and I were adopted, but my parents are from here.”

“You look so much like Hannah I can’t help but think there may be a common ancestry,” her mother said. “Do you know what your Swedish surname was?”

“Yes, actually I do.” She said proudly. She thought about Gudmund’s meticulous work on her genealogy “It was Örn.”

“Very interesting. That’s an historically old Swedish name. Do you know what it means?”

“Yes, ma’am. It means ‘Eagle’” Eli said shyly.

“Quite correct.” She smiled at her. “Do you speak Swedish?”

“It’s my first language. I learned English …later.”

“Well, I’m impressed. You have no accent at all. You must be a very bright girl.”

Eli blushed, “Thank you, but I think it’s just that I’m good at languages.”

“Well, it nice to have met you, Miss Eli Dawson.” She turned to her children. “Have you two finished your schoolwork?”

“I have,” Hannah said, “But Jason still has a book report to do.”

He gave her a dirty look. “Okay, okay. I’ll get right on it.” He headed for the stairs. “Bye Eli.”

“Bye, Jason. Good luck on your book report.”

He smiled at her as he went up the stairs.

“Mom, can we go out for a while?”

Okay, Hannah, I know it’s Friday night, but stay on the green please. It’s getting a bit late. Eli, do you have far to go? We can drive you if you wish.”

“No, thanks. I’m just over on Southover near Old Finchleians.”

“Okay, then, but be careful on your way home.”

“I will, thanks.

Hannah took her by the hand, “Come on Eli, let’s go climb a tree!” They hurried out the door and across the street.

Eli reached up, grabbed the low branch and effortlessly swung herself up. Hannah quickly joined her. “I’m glad you’re here, Eli. My brother says he’s too old to climb a tree with me any more, and it’s so much fun.”

“It is fun isn’t it?” Eli remembered climbing with his brother so very long ago, but the trees near their farm were much taller and more dangerous. He could barely keep up, and his brother had been much older than Jason and still climbed with him. “Wanna race to the top?”

“No, it’s too dark. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair. I know the tree a lot better than you do. I know the best ways up, and the ways that dead-end.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“No! Please don’t. I don’t want you to get hurt. I just met you.”

Eli smiled at her, “Thanks, but I’ll be fine. Just stop me if you think I’m going to fast.” She disappeared into the darkness.

“Boy you’re a good climber,” Hannah said, a bit out of breath. They were just about as high as they could go safely, but after watching how effortlessly Eli climbed, she felt like she could have just kept going all the way to the top.

They sat there quietly for a while, looking at the stars and casing the neighborhood. Hannah filled her in on all the local gossip and neighborhood eccentrics, and where all the shortcuts and hiding places were. From this height, they could even see into some of the back yards. It was cool out, but it felt kind of pleasant after all their hard work in getting up there. On a sudden impulse, Hannah took off her necklace and handed it to Eli. “I want you to have this.”

“But… why? It’s so pretty.”

“Because I feel like you’re a kindred spirit, like in Anne of Green Gables. And the locket already has your picture in it.” She smiled at her. “Here. Let me put it on for you.” Eli pulled back her hair as Hannah put the necklace around her neck.

Eli was touched. “Thank you so much, it’s beautiful!” she hugged her tightly. She felt terrible that she had lied to her; she was so very nice.

“Hannah? Can you keep a secret?”

“Sure!” she said excitedly as she slid over next to Eli and took her hand, “I love secrets!”

“I’m not who you think I am. I’ve been lying to you a little. I actually came here just to find you.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because I know we’re related. And you look so much like me. We’re part of the same family.”

“That’s really neat! But how do you know?”

Eli slipped off her backpack, pulled out a mailing tube, gently removed an old yellowed scroll and spread it out across their laps. It was a portion of her family tree, beginning in 1730 with her parents, and continuing through her sister, uninterrupted, up to the marriage of Hannah’s parents and the births of their two children, Hannah and Jason. But all branches except the uninterrupted path directly to Hannah’s family were discontinued, with numbers in circles at the branch ends.

“Wow! That looks really old.” Hannah exclaimed excitedly. Is it worth a lot?”

“Only to us.” Eli smiled at her. “And the latest entries are obviously not that old. The last was made 12 years ago when you were born.” She reached into the backpack and pulled out a photocopy of the scroll, but smaller. “This is for you. But you have to keep it a secret,” she whispered.

Hannah looked at the scroll carefully for a few minutes, “But, where are you? I don’t see your name here anywhere.”

“Well, I’m there. That’s part of the secret. But I can’t tell you where I am right now. But soon, I hope.”

“I so love a good mystery! Will you tell me if I can figure it out?”

“You won’t be able to. But I promise that, if you do, I’ll tell you. After all, we’re kindred spirits.” She squeezed Hannah’s hand tightly.

“But, you said you lied to us. You didn’t lie to us at all! You never said we weren’t related, and no one asked why you were here,” Hannah said with conviction.

Eli sighed. She shouldn’t have come, but now that she was here, she was going to make the most of it. “Have you ever heard of a ‘Lie of Omission?’ That’s a lie that you tell by not setting someone straight on something you know they’ve misunderstood.”

“What did you … not tell us that we misunderstood?” Hannah smiled as she thought about how odd that sounded.

“That I’m really not a twelve-year-old girl that has a relative of yours on the family tree parallel in time but on a different branch.” Boy was THAT statement full of lies of omission, she thought to herself.

“I’ll have to think about that one for a while,” Hannah said, sounding a bit confused. “Is that a clue to your mystery?”

“It’s the biggest clue! Just remember, I’m on the family tree in your hand. And I did lie to your mom and dad. I told them I was staying on Southover.”

“Well, where are you staying then?”

“I’m not staying anywhere. I live near Hampstead Garden, with Papa, Mom, and Oskar. Oskar is the only one who knows I came here tonight.”

“But how did you get here? By bus? Your parents must really be worried by now.”

“I can’t tell you that. Sorry. It’s part of the secret.”

“And how are you going to get home? It’s getting late. It’s almost 10:00. My dad can take you home, if you’d like.”

“No thanks. I can manage. And I don’t want them to know I lied to them; they’re so nice.” She hadn’t realized how late it was. “But you’re right, it’s getting late and I need to go.” She quickly rolled up the scroll, stashed it in her backpack, and started down the tree.

“Wait for me!” Hannah called out to her as, much more slowly, she picked her way down through the darkness. By now, Eli was out of sight. “Eli? I can’t see where I’m going.” She hadn’t climbed this high in the dark before, and once she got a few feet down into the tree, the thick foliage blocked the streetlight. It was almost pitch black. She felt for a branch, stepped out into thin air, lost her balance and felt herself beginning to fall. She grabbed a small branch, but it broke with a loud snap and she tumbled outward out of the tree in slow-motion.

For a brief moment, she saw an unobstructed view of the ground as it rushed up towards her and she instinctively threw her arms out in front of her. Suddenly, she felt an iron grip on her wrist and she was jerked to a stop with her feet dangling three feet above the ground. “Gotcha!!” All she could see was the big grin on Eli’s face as she looked up at her. With one hand, Eli smoothly pulled Hannah back up to the big branch and deposited her there safely. Hannah hugged her, still shaking a little.

“You saved my life! Now we’re blood sisters!”

Eli hugged her back tightly. “I guess we are, huh! Blood sisters! I like that.” She carefully lowered Hannah to the ground, then dropped quietly down beside her. Suddenly, Eli reached up and caught Hannah’s copy of the family tree as it fluttered out of the tree towards them. “I think you forgot this.”

“Hannah looked at her for a second, then burst out laughing. Eli quickly joined her and they sat facing each other holding hands, laughing until there were tears in their eyes.

“What’s so funny?”

Startled, Eli jumped up, spun around and… “Mom! What are you doing here?”

Elaine was standing in front of them, hands on her hips and a frown on her face, “I came to get you of course. Your communication skills need a bit of work. I believe you need to remind yourself to let us know when you feel like going on a solo nighttime excursion. Do you realize how much you worried your father? Keep in mind what happened the last time you did something like this.”

Hannah jumped up. “It’s my fault! I kept her talking so long, we lost track of the time. Please don’t be mad at her. It really is my fault! I wouldn’t let her go.”

“ANOTHER advocate? Eli, what am I going to do with you? You recruit them faster than I can fend them off. You must be Hannah.” She held out her hand, “I’m Eli’s mom.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dawson. You’re not going to punish her, are you? Please don’t! She saved my life!”

Elaine smiled at her and turned to Eli, “What do you think Eli? What would be a proper punishment for an incorrigible child who sneaks out at night without telling either of her parents where she’s going? And unnecessarily worries her Papa who cares more about her than anything in the world?”

“But I knew Oskar would tell you where I was as soon as you found I was gone!”

“Ah, but you see, the key is, AFTER we found you were gone. I’m really disappointed in you, Eli. I thought we were past all this. You worried your father and there’s no excuse for that. It was only out of respect for your grieving process that I waited so long to come after you. And, as much as I think you deserve it, your Papa made me promise not to punish you.” She turned to Hannah, smiling, “And your heart-felt plea didn’t fall on deaf ears either. You and her Papa, at least for the moment, have saved her.”

“Thank you so much! I couldn’t bear for her to get into trouble on my account!”

“Believe me, Hannah, she doesn’t need your help to get into trouble. She’s quite good at it all by herself.” She gave Eli a big hug. “Ready to go home, Butterfly? Your Papa’s waiting for you. And Oskar too.”

“I’m really sorry, Mom. I just had to get away. I wasn’t thinking. I’ll apologize to Papa as soon as we get home. I’ll see you later, Hannah.”

“Wait! Shouldn’t I introduce your mom to my mom and dad?”

“You can’t! Please, Hannah, don’t tell them my mom came. I feel bad that I lied to them. Next time, I promise.”

“Okay, Eli. It’ll be part of the secret!” she walked with them down to the corner, where an immaculate shiny-blue, like-new 1984 MG sat waiting for them. Eli threw her backpack in the back seat, climbed into the front, and rolled down her window. She reached out and took Hannah’s hand as Elaine got in next to her.

“Kindred spirits?” she whispered.

“Kindred spirits!”

“Blood sisters?”

“Blood sisters!”

Eli squeezed her hand tightly, slipped a small piece of paper into her hand, and winked at her. “Mom, show Hannah what a fun driver you are! Please?!”

“It’s kind of late Eli, I don’t want to upset anyone in the neighborhood with all the noise.”

It’s okay, Mrs. Dawson, most of the neighbors are old and deaf anyway. And the rest of us stay up real late. You won’t bother anyone.” Hannah was getting excited.

“Okay Eli. But fasten your seatbelt please.” She smiled at Hannah. “Why don’t you step back on the green a bit?”

“Eli grinned at Hannah. Wait’ll you see this. Mom used to drive race cars.”

“Sports cars, Eli. sports cars. There’s a big difference.”

“Whatever! She’s really fast, Hannah. Watch this!”

Elaine scanned the green and surrounding area carefully, looked back toward Tillingham Way, listened intently for a moment, then pulled quietly away from the curb. She revved up the engine a couple of times, popped the clutch, and squealed down the street past Hannah’s house, squealed around the first corner, then the second, then accelerated back towards Tillingham Way. Hannah turned and watched , holding her breath as they completed the circle around the green. Still accelerating, Elaine slid sideways out into Tillingham Way, corrected for the skid just a bit and with a screech of tires, poured on the coal. The last thing Hannah saw was Eli’s smiling face hanging out the window, hair blown back in the wind, waving furiously.

She stood there for a few minutes as the roar of the engine faded away in the distance, then she opened the note Eli had given her. Her phone number and address.

She tucked her family tree safely inside her shirt and walked slowly across the street, smiling to herself. She opened the door and ran into her mom and dad in the midst of rushing outside. “Are you okay Hannah? Who was that? Did you see?”

“I sure heard it! I walked Eli up to the corner, so I couldn’t see who it was. As soon as I heard it, I came running back, but I was too late. It was gone!” She felt a pang of guilt, but after all she couldn’t very well reveal even a part of their secret; and she was pretty darn certain that hadn’t been a Lie of Omission.

“These hooligans are getting brasher all the time. They could have killed someone! If you had been crossing the street…I don’t even want to think about it!” He hugged Hannah, then walked her back in the house. “Did Eli get along safely? Did you see her cross Tillingham?”

“She’s safe, Dad. I watched her out of sight.” At least that’s the truth. She smiled to herself.

Finally, she said her good-nights and went slowly up the stairs to her room, her head filled to the brim with her exciting new secrets and her mysterious new friend. Where did she get our family tree? How did she know where I lived, or what I looked like? What had happened the last time she left home at night without telling anyone? What was she grieving about? Had someone close to her died? How did her mom know my name? Does she get into trouble a lot? I don’t believe it! She’s too nice! And how could she be so strong?! Even my brother couldn’t have grabbed me out of the air like that. She rubbed her wrist, where she could still see the imprint of Eli’s fingers. She could see the beginnings of the bruise she knew she would have tomorrow. And her mom! She’s a bit intimidating. I don’t think I’d want to be on her bad side. But she seems like she’d be a lot of fun, too. And she called Eli ‘Butterfly.’ I wonder what that means. She sat down at her desk, pulled the family tree out of her shirt and began to study it carefully. Let’s see… Mr. and Mrs. Örn had three children: Arvid, Anne, and Elias. Anne married Loffe Leandersson and had four children. Arvid died at the age of 23…how sad! And Elias… his branch goes off to the side and ends. His tree must be on another page, but I guess he’s not on my tree. Let’s see…Anne’s and Loffe’s children were named…When she finally woke up with her head on her desk, it was 3:00AM. She carefully hid her family tree under her bed, climbed in and went quickly to sleep. But not before the imaginary faces of all her long-dead ancestors passed before her. I’ll figure out who you are, Eli. Just you wait!

===

As soon as they were well away from Hannah’s house, Elaine slowed down to a reasonable speed, and headed for home. “Thank, you, Mom. Especially for…that.” She laid her head on Elaine’s shoulder.

“Any time, Butterfly.” She hesitated, “Was she…what you expected?”

“No. Even more! She’s sweet and kind and trusting. Like Oskar! Mom, I like her a lot! And I know I can’t be her friend. She would hate me if she knew what I was; what I have done.”

“Where have I heard that before? Before Oskar? Before your Papa? Before Jack? Before Henry? Eli, you have a batting average to die for. I know it’s a real long shot in this case, but don’t give up hope. Anything is possible. And Papa and I will do everything we can to help you reconnect with your family. Believe it.”

“I believe you. I really do!” she laid her head in her lap.