When Ant returned, with too many bags for just herself, red-rimmed eyes, and a blank look on her face, Luna knew Donner was right. And she was right. And Ungle was dead.

Someone else was dead.

First Pink.

Now Ungle.

People could die, even when she didn’t want them to. Even when she saved them.

Ant hardly knew she existed. She had enough life in her to give her something to eat, but that was it. She folded herself on the couch, the television on low, and had no idea what was happening in the world around her. She was zoned out. So out that Luna didn’t know what to do.

“I don’t like it,” she said to Donner as they stood in the backyard. It was bad enough that Ungle was gone, she didn’t want to deal with Ant being depressed, too.

“Yes, well, such is life. One can assume it won’t last forever.”

“That’s not reassuring at all!”

“The truth, Luna, is often not happy.”

“I know that.” Of all the people in the world, she knew it the most. “But I don’t want to live with her on suicide watch. What would I do if I was orphaned again? With Georgia this time?!”

Something had to be done fast because she wasn’t about to be responsible for her cousin for the rest of their lives. She didn’t want to bond over being orphans with anybody, much less Georgia Gold. And Georgia wouldn’t even know what happened. She was practically a rock at the bottom of a pond!

“No,” she said, pacing. ”No. I won’t live like this!”

“What do you think you can do about it? What your Aunt is going through is completely natural. You had similar feelings a short time ago. You didn’t know the man long, though you liked him and I know you’re sad about it, so think how she must feel.”

That was true.

“Then I have to change her feelings.”

“Luna. That is not a path-”

“If it exists then I’m taking it and it must exist. I need to get inside her head for a second.”

“Woah, woah, woah!”

He shouted as loud as he could and her ears rang as she fell on her bottom on the small concrete patio outside the sliding glass door.

“The mind arts are not for you to play with! Being able to do something doesn’t mean you should!”

“Well, Ant shouldn’t be sad for the rest of her life, and who even knows how long that will be with the way things are going! If everyone around me is going to die a tragic death, then she might as well be happy before it happens to her, too.”

He’d learned by now that arguing with Luna was a fruitless task. She’d made up her mind and she would try to make her plan reality. If stopping her was impossible, he had to at least ensure she didn’t break her aunt even further. “Alright, I understand your concern, but you can’t waltz into her mind and change everything. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about this. Wait so I can tell you what to do.”

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“Fine. But make it quick. Georgia will come home from school eventually and I’d like to be done before she’s back. Otherwise, I’m betting Ant will start crying and then Georgia will start crying and then I’ll have to knock them both out.”

“Alright, pay attention. There are multiple ways to manipulate the mind and I won’t waste time going over all of them. What you need to do is shift her grief to something else. The easiest way to do this will require her to be asleep. You will then enter her dream and find where she has recent memories. You will not touch her memory. What you will do is add a new one. It needn’t be overly specific; this is why you will use her dream state. First, you must decide what she should feel instead of grief.”

Instead of grief.

Ant was sad that her husband was gone. Went to work one day and didn’t make it home again. Now everything was different. She hadn't worked outside the home since Georgia was born, but she'd have to. Luna was sure Ungle was smart enough to have life insurance, but still. Ant would want to fill up her time, so she wouldn’t have to think about him. Maybe she would want to move, to escape the memories and start a whole new life.

“She should feel determined. To make sure Ungle won’t worry about us. To make him proud. And my mother, too.” She thought it out as she spoke. “And to do a good job for me and Georgia. Thinking like, I can’t fall apart. I need to be strong. I can be strong. I am strong. Something like that.”

It was a hasty plan and the mind was a terrible thing to waste, but Luna had her head set on the idea and there would be no persuading her otherwise. “Fine. It’s logical enough. Do a small thing and let her own mind take over as soon as possible. But be aware, there will be side effects,” he warned. “And those can’t be predicted. There’s no telling what this will do to her personality.”

“It has to be better than living with a half-comatose woman.”

“You think that now, but those who pay to have magic used on the minds of their loved ones find out that is a simplistic wish. The mind is complex. A small, forced change is not to be taken lightly. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“And when everything is fine, I’ll say I told you so.”

Back inside, Luna pushed something that felt like sparkly blue, a puff of cotton, to Ant and caused her to fall asleep where she sat. She landed on her side, breathing steadily.

“Wait until her eyes begin to twitch. That is a sign of dreaming.” He instructed. “I will not be going with you. God forbid she remembers the dream and a strange man within it. So, while you're there, don’t stand out. Don’t interact with her directly. Whatever is happening in her dream, leave it alone as much as possible. Write a note or something. Put an inspirational message on television.”

The moment REM sleep began she dove into Ant's dreams, following a light behind her eyes and into her mind.

It was slow here—the hospital. The doctor was speaking so slowly. His words didn’t make sense. The door stood open behind him. Ungle wasn’t visible because a blanket had been pulled up to cover his entire body. There were no beeping machines like the ones hooked up to herself before she met Ant.

This was a recent memory. Last night, Luna guessed. Or this morning. When Ant found out Ungle was gone.

She tried making a radio and putting it on the floor, the voice was one she’d heard in the car before and it spoke of overcoming, but Ant didn’t notice it. She walked into the room instead and the doctor was gone. The hallway was gone. It was the room and Ant and Ungle.

And Luna.

The windows didn’t show anything at all. Not the sky outside, not a reflection of the occupants. The floor was bright white.

Ungle didn’t look right as Ant pulled back the sheet and Luna hated it. She wanted to set the whole room on fire, but if she did that Ant would get scared.

Or maybe she wouldn’t.

Maybe she wanted to burn the room, too. Maybe she hated to see Reginald lifeless and gray like Luna did.

Ant didn’t care when everything went up in flames; it reminded Luna of Pink and she hated that, too. She didn’t want Pink to die, but she did. She didn’t want Ungle to die either and she saved him. She would have saved Pink if she knew she could.

So why was he dead now?

Something far away.

Ink Pen.

Death won every time.

In the end.

No one would remember Pink.

No one would remember Ungle.

No one would remember Ant or Georgia or the house or the hospital.

He was always right.