A girl, about Cedrics age sits waiting outside the cabin. Once Cedric steps out from behind Balanos, their eyes lock. She has straight blonde hair, a bit longer than shoulder length — way shorter than Balanos’ — the same slender stance and smooth pale skin. “Hello.” She says, “Um, who are you?”

Cedric, not quite knowing what to say, is saved by Balanos. “The Dustbrook’s son. He —”

“You didn’t burn another one did you?” Patrick acuses, looking at the girl's charred thumb and smoke wafting through the door.

“Come here, we’ll get it fixed up.” He pulls his wand out of his pocket.

The girl looks back at Cedric before going inside. “Third pot.” She chuckles.

“Well, seeing as you're staying here —” Balanos starts.

“I am?” Cedric blurts out.

“Unless you have anywhere else to go?” But Cedric doesn’t answer her so she says, “Seeing as you're staying here, I’ll show you your room.”

Cedric enters the cabin — at least he thought it was a cabin. On the outside is a tiny wooden cabin but on the inside is a two story modern house. To the right of the entrance is the kitchen where Patrick is putting a bandaid on the girl’s thumb, to the left a living room and straight ahead is a staircase. Balanos is waiting at it, “Come on son.”

Son? Cedric thinks as he walks up the staircase. On the second floor is a hallway with four doors. Two on the left and two on the right. Balanos brought him to the last one on the right. “You can stay here if you’d like, but if I’m not mistaken dinner is ready. May be a bit burnt.” She laughs.

They both head down to the kitchen where a round wooden table is set up and four chairs around it. “I’m not the best cook.” Brie says, bringing a pan from the stove to the table.

“That’s alright.” Cedric says.

On the table are baked potatoes, black burnt bacon and various vegetables . . . including, to Cedric’s dismay, the same giant mothballs Zonks had offered him. Cedric piled his plate with everything but the mothballs. Looking to his side he sees that Patrick has an extra large plate, piled at least half a foot up. Cedric looked at it curiously but didn’t say anything. How’s that gonna fit in his stomach?

“So, we met Zonks today.” Patrick says, opening his mouth larger than should be possible and popping a full potato in.

“Ah, I hate that guy.” The girl says. “Oh I’m Brie by the way.” She gave a beaming smile to Cedric.

“Cedric.” Cedric says.

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“I know.”

Patrick kept shoveling more and more food in his mouth, without even swallowing, then proceeds to fill his plate to the same height three more times. Cedric couldn’t help notice Balanos sitting there without a plate or any food on it. “You gonna eat?” He asks.

“Oh no. I eat outside.”

Cedric sat, very confused at this until Balanos added in, “Dryad.” This just made him more confused. They finished eating and Patrick went through the living room and to a bedroom beyond, Cedric and Brie went up the stairs but Balanos walked out of the door.

“Come on.” Brie says. “You’ve gotta watch this. Bet you’ve never seen a dryad transform before.”

They run up the remaining stairs and into Cedric’s new bedroom. “Clear view from here.” Brie says.

“Clear view of what?” Cedric asks, but then he sees it. Barely visible from the dark, Balanos walks towards the giant oak tree in their yard. They watch as the roots come up out of the ground, grab Balanos and carry her under the ground. Cedric screams.

“Hah,” A voice booms from downstairs, “Bet you don’t see that above ground.”

“Above ground?” Cedric asks Brie.

“You don’t know? Didn’t you take the tunnel?” Brie asks.

“What, no. I woke up here.” He says embarrassed.

“Oh the fire.” Brie says. “I wish I could go up there.” She points upwords. “To your world, but my parents won’t let me. Says it’s too dangerous.”

Cedric remains, sitting up on the bed, very confused. “Wait what?”

“Here. Let me show you.” She runs into her room, then returns, moments later with a wand. Much like Cedric’s. Black with a white tip. Nothing like Patricks though, that looks more like a crooked stick.

“Got it just last month for school.” She beams, then slides the window open and points the wand out, up into the sky. A white orb rockets out of it and up and up it goes.

“I want to see your sky. The above ground one. Here it’s real boring. I’ve seen pictures of yours, all changing colors and such.” She says excitedly.

Now that she mentions it, the sky here is really bare, remaining a pastel blue, until night, making it much darker.

The orb from the wand stops, some miles above them. It smashes into hundreds of pieces and reveals that the sky is not a sky at all but a solid stone ceiling.

“I’ve always wanted to see the aurora.” She says. “I’ve heard that up there, it changes like a wave. Must be so nice, watching it all night.”

“Oh, well I lived in Albuquerque.” Cedric says, but Brie returns a blank face. “The U.S.”

“Oh.”

“We don’t have the aurora there. I have been to the Appalachians though. You can see it there.”

“Wow.” Brie says in amazement. “I’ve read about the Appalachians.” She quickly glances to the alarm clock and back to Cedric. “Oh. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Brie leaves to the bedroom across the hall, leaving Cedric in darkness and silence, left alone to his thoughts.

The day had been so fun. He’s never been in a place like this before, never felt fog like this, and never had a sister, but out of all the good thoughts comes a worrying thought. What if the Woebegone comes back? The thoughts have been learching in the back of Cedric’s mind, threatening to escape all day.

But as Cedric drifts off to sleep this worry slowly transforms into the panic of his situation. The thought that nothing will be the same again. There’s one thing for sure. If his parents are still out there. Cedric is going to do his best to find them.