Zaira slammed her bedroom door and screamed, her fists in balls. She stomped her foot. A ridiculous tantrum for an adult to be having. Still, she was angry. She shouldn’t be angry at Rushka, yet her anger latched onto their image. She knew angels were unbiased creatures. She knew they weren’t real friends. Yet this stung. Nay, it hurt.

Rushka had been reassigned to another continent. And had been ordered not to talk to her. And they had agreed. She needed to stand on her own two feet, the Seraphim counsel had said.

Zaira dropped to the floor and lay down. She felt so alone.

In the following days her thoughts and memories either crushed her with their weight or left her so completely empty she felt like screaming just to fill the void. She was back to going to bed crying, feeling just as alone as she was when she had lived in the dank cave she had called home for 400 years. She had felt proud not two weeks earlier, with her trips into town and to the library, she’d even gone to the library after the little ghost left. She’d come a long way from being a scared animal. But now...

Yet, eventually, the ringing in her ears from the dead silence in her house and the smell of bloodstained sheets were too much. She picked up her heavy limbs and forced herself outside.

She prepared her and the Rosses’ grounds for the winter. Raking the dead pine needles, cutting down the garden for overwintering, and buying discounted materials in Nanowin for some planting in the early spring. Ryan had protested at first, but Hannah shooed him inside. She received many a lovely supper in exchange.

All soul's day was spent quietly with no family to celebrate with. She lit a candle for her son, a candle for the woman who had taken her in when her family disowned her, and a candle for the few friends she had made in her life. She hoped they knew how much they had meant to her. She hesitated to light a candle for the little ghost. She ran her thumb along the unlit candle. Baby would have been sorted by now and sent to wherever spirits go for a rest before they were reincarnated. The Underworld. She knew it was not a scary place, and that the gods who ran the place were some of the kindest. Yet Zaira still couldn’t pluck up the courage to end it. It would be simpler, wouldn’t it? She put the candle down.

The Rosses invited her over for Thanksgiving. This was the celebration of the long-awaited armistice between the indigenous tribes and migrant Europans who had, prior to the treaty, at their worst fought bloody battles against one another and at their best kept an uneasy peace. Unfortunately, it was also a bittersweet holiday for the Rosses’. This holiday was meant to be celebrated with friends and family. It looked to Zaira as if the Rosses also had neither.

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Zaira felt anger grow towards their sons. How could they break the old couple’s hearts? All they really needed to do was show up, even a call would be better than nothing. She also knew Hannah and Ryan had offered to go over to their homes if travel was the problem. So, what was the issue? Zaira tried her best not to speak her judgments out loud.

She ended up spending Christmas with the Rosses as well. She personally didn’t celebrate. Jesus wasn’t popular among the non-humans. Could he have been a demi-god? Sure, that happened all the time. Could he have been sent by the One? Possible. In any case, it was very clear his focus was to attempt to get the humans back on the right track. He paid little attention to the non-humans. He was a good speaker though, Zaira remembered that. She’d gone to hear him speak a few times.

As a Christmas gift, Zaira brought the Rosses a wall-mounted picture display to help declutter the fireplace. They gave her a couple books to add to her collection. This was likely a busier Christmas than years passed, but the boys' absence still hung heavy in the air. The atmosphere mimicked the fall holiday and mirrored the one in her house but a few days prior. Zaira had spent the solstice alone. Another year had died and despite the changes in her life, she had spent the first few days of the new one alone. She could have invited the Rosses she supposed, but she had felt like wallowing. As she watched Hannah and Ryan transfer some of their pictures to the wall mount, an unwelcome thought flitted across Zaira’s mind. She saw an image of her grown son, with several of his own children surrounding him. They played together as they celebrated the new year. Zaira had to excuse herself from the house to compose herself.

The rest of winter was spent shoveling, working, and lying in bed. She didn’t read. Sure, she’d try, but she’d just end up staring at a blank page. Nothing managed to draw her out save the Rosses.

One warm early spring morning Zaira heard the crunching of tires on the unpaved road below. She stood and opened the bedroom window curtain just enough to peak out. She saw a car pull to the Rosses. The same one she had seen that fall, parked on the corner. She watched as a taller male human in a suit with dusty blonde hair stepped out of the vehicle. Arthur had finally shown up.

Zaira growled at him as she watched Hannah throw her arms around her boy. Ryan appeared shortly thereafter and threw his arms around his wife and son. Both elders were in tears. Arthur, in Zaira’s opinion, did not hug his parents tight enough. How dare he? Others were not so lucky to have a family who loved them so.

Zaira drew the curtain over her window to stop herself from interrupting the reunion. It would do her no good to project her jealousies. She vowed not to step foot on the front portion of her property for the duration of Arthur’s visit.

The boy stayed longer than she expected. Zaira saw his car parked across the street for several nights. That was good she supposed.

About a week after Arthur’s appearance, there was a knock on the door.

“Hannah?”

“Hello dear.” Hannah had a bright smile on her face. “I’ve come to invite you to dinner.”

“What about Arthur?”

“He’s left. I’m sorry, did you want to meet him?”

“It's ok. I just thought that you wouldn’t want me over now that Arthur is back.”

“Whoa! Dear! Not invite you over? You are practically family! Come, let's get you fed.”

Hannah grabbed Zaira by the arm and started dragging her to her place. Never mind that it was early afternoon. Zaira tried to wipe subtly at her tears as they made their way across the street.