Paul

While his street-side candle vending did alright at first, business really picked up when he moved to the shopping district. He learned the importance of having the right appearance: a well-dressed entrepreneur not so young to be untrustworthy or so old to seem desperate. Cardboard boxes disguised by illusion as tables of glass and elegant steel helped. His finishing touch appeared as an informative yet risqué sign, ‘Waxy Busts,’ that wasn’t too garish.

Paul watched the people of the world pass by. There were wealthy elderly men in tailored suits with comely young wives on their arms who could throw money at something they’d toss in the garbage tomorrow. There were young men in shiny new shoes who’d Made It Big wanting to convince guests and themselves of their acquired status with tokens of their new power—novelty items. And there were hopefuls in ill-fitting vests and trousers or putting on airs with expensive tunics vastly outside their budget wishing and waiting while window shopping. The poor laborers from medieval-age villages commuting through the Terminal every morning were not allowed here.

He adapted his pitch to each as they came, watching where they gravitated, always with a special piece under the table exactly what they were looking for. As the day ended, Paul packed up his stand—careful not to let any one person see the whole process—fitting three ‘tables’ and their merchandise into one ‘suitcase.’ After stopping at the market on the way home for produce, he visited the deli and even the sweets shop. He had plenty of money despite supporting seven kids with one job. These were prosperous times in Radio World.

Arriving home, he ignored the illusion of decrepitude and dropped his own of adulthood and normalcy to find Daniel and Wendi in the lobby. They’d been inseparable since the incident. Daniel needed her to interact with the world, and the boy was her link to sanity. After Wendi’s regression, they’d all become strangers to her—Daniel the one person caring to reintroduce themself. Though Paul hated to admit it, his effort seemed pointless considering the inevitability of her situation.

After the Eastwood event, both Daniel and Wendi were unable to deal with reality. However, whereas he’d been built up for three years by Dr. Adelaide, Wendi had been worn down for three years by her dark side. She’d reverted past the ten-year-old self who lost a sister. Wendi didn’t have the tools to fix herself, and no one had the durability to try fixing her dark side. More of her ‘self’ would be sucked into that black hole of hate until she hit the moral event horizon. She wasn’t doomed yet, but Paul couldn’t imagine how to save her.

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Passing them, he noticed Wendi reading aloud from a book. A children’s book with pictures, granted, but Wendi stumbled a lot less than last week. Daniel was there to catch her when she did, but he didn’t seem bored or frustrated. It… it looked like they were having fun. When she sounded out a challenging word and looked to him for approval, Daniel’s face lit up with the happiness of a proud brother.

One corner of Paul’s mouth quirked in a smile, and he privately asked, :You’re teaching her to read?:

Daniel grinned at Paul when he got the sending and returned, :Yes!:

:I know you want to help her, but why put in so much effort?: Paul couldn’t imagine how much energy it took to watch Wendi 24/7 and organize their weekly strategy meetings. She had to relearn everything. He’d seen them practicing with cutlery—made additionally tricky by Wendi’s enormous hands.

:That’s how I thought at first, too,: Daniel’s mind flashed with bright thoughts, excited, :Then I figured it out. You know what the Wendigo said about becoming whole by taking control of Wendi piece by piece?: How could Paul forget? He had nightmares to remind him.

:Every time she transforms, the Wendigo takes a bite out of the good Wendi’s memories and becomes stronger. So, I wondered, “How did she last three years like this?” The same reason I lasted those three years—Mary helped her, stayed with her. While Wendi is losing things, she’s gaining others. If her good side became strong enough, I think it could win.:

Paul frowned, :But, Daniel, do you have any idea how much you’ll have to give to make that happen? It could take months, no—years of new memories for the good Wendi to beat the bad! And you could lose all your progress in an instant… your plan is crazy!”

The young Angel nodded, :Even if I’m filling a sieve with water like the Daughters of Danaus, I have to try. We can get Wendi back.:

:I hope so,: Paul sent.

That was Daniel in a nutshell, a fighter of impossible battles. No matter what happened, no matter what the world threw at them, Daniel never surrendered. Instead, he treated every obstacle as a challenge, coming at it from different angles, never ceasing, creating new ideas, devising new strategies until he succeeded. He didn’t have Lea’s forceful personality or her social finesse, but he made up for it with a focused optimism as their new unspoken leader.

What worried Paul was how much of Daniel’s time the ‘Wendi project’ consumed. Weekly meetings or no, the others were left to sort things out for themselves. Paul hoped they’d hold themselves together with Daniel indisposed.