‘I still remember Dad, he had that sword in hand, he looked at Mum and me, told us not to be scared, and then entered the room with the monster, and closed the door behind him…’

-Nell’s Sister, Hope, telling him ‘the story’

Nell watched Spirit until he couldn’t see her anymore.

He sat in silence for a long moment, lost in his tortured thoughts.

Almost without thinking, he reached into his pocket and drew out his comm. He switched it on and the screen lit up. He opened a file, and a burst of light and colour filled the screen for a moment, pouring into Nell’s eyes and filling him with a moment of euphoria.

He leaned his head back and sighed, putting his comm away again.

‘Lite is addictive... destructive...’ Nell grumbled to himself, quoting warnings he’d heard all of his life, while partially hating himself for partaking in it.

Part of him, however, didn’t even care any more.

His hope was gone.

His trust was gone.

His faith was gone.

Beat a puppy enough, and there is nothing left.

After everything, Nell couldn’t understand why she’d not even given him a chance. He’d not asked for the Universe... not even expected it, just hoped for a… chance.

Even that, it seemed, had been too much to hope for.

It had been too much to ask any of the girls he’d liked in his life.

Nell knew he was wallowing, but he didn’t care. He knew what people would say about him, but he didn’t care. He knew people would tell him he needed to get over it, that he was being a baby, selfish, pathetic. Some would laugh at his tears, his pain.

He still didn’t care.

‘This is becoming rather tiresome,’ a trilling voice said behind Nell. He glanced over his shoulder as a lizard approach. The green, crimson-striped creature was no bigger than his hand, though puffed out like a green ball. Tiny feet and hands seeming to poke off the bulging round surface. The little being had a round face with coin-sized eyes and a long lashing tail that swished and directed its body as it floated toward Nell. Small holes on the side of its head hissed, releasing air and the lizard deflated, dropping onto Nell’s shoulder.

‘What’s becoming tiresome?’ Nell asked. ‘The fact that I’m so hopeless with women, or that I’m so hopeless with women and I keep trying?’

The lizard sighed and blinked, looking up at his friend. ‘Let it never be said that Fingold ever told a person that trying was not an important practice – and try, try again, I say – however… your luck is quite dismal. Have you ever considered that you’re not meant to find a Wife… Being a bachelor can’t be all bad.’

‘You’re not doing anything to help my mood,’ Nell grumbled sullenly.

Fingold closed his eyes and sighed. ‘Please, forget I said anything! The last time you were shot down it took you three years to pull yourself together.’

‘I’m not getting over this any time soon, Fingold,’ Nell said dismally to his friend. ‘Maybe not ever.’

Nell’s eyes stung as he admitted it. This was so much deeper than just rejection.

Fingold was silent for a long moment. ‘I know this is hard for you... I wish I could do more for you. I’ve even talked with your Brother Bill about it. Even your Mum.’

‘I know,’ Nell said softly, ‘and I appreciate everyone’s concern.’

‘We want for you to be happy.’

‘I want that too,’ Nell said, chuckling mirthlessly.

He stared off into the woods, his mind swirling like the sky above, weighed down by a host of troublesome thoughts.

‘I know I can be insensitive about this sort of thing... I... don’t understand Human mating rituals... but I can tell that you are in great pain, and that hurts me, it honestly does. You found me, helped me in my greatest time of need... I wish I could do something more for you.’

‘I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do,’ Nell sighed. He snorted. ‘Maybe I’m just cursed.’

‘No, no, no! You mustn’t think that way,’ Fingold pleaded. ‘You can’t give up... just... believe that... If there is love out there to be had, it will find you.’

‘I believed that once,’ Nell sighed.

Fingold opened his mouth to speak, but instead just stared at Nell sadly.

Maybe Fingold was right, Nell admitted grimly to himself. If there was someone out there for Nell, surely things would happen to bring them together. Somehow, Nell couldn’t bring himself to believe that anymore though. Maybe it was something wrong with him.

Before... he would have pushed on, tried again, looked again... it hadn’t been in Nell’s nature to do nothing. He always thought that he couldn’t sit on his thumbs, waiting for some sort of love to fall into his lap.

Now... he really felt something had broken inside him.

Whatever strength, hope... faith he’d had, Hart had shattered it completely.

‘She would have been trouble anyway,’ Fingold tried, as he had some times before when he got overwhelmed by it all. ‘She was originally from Boggled, before the Royal Family took her in… Boggled? With a name like that, you can count on trouble, and you can mark my words on that one!’

Nell looked at his little friend, smirked, and he actually laughed.

‘It’s no laughing matter,’ Fingold defended seriously.

Chuckling, Nell glanced at the stream again, and then, with a grunt, he climbed to his feet. ‘Well, I suppose… I can’t sit around in Bluewood all day… Dad needs me to make sure the deliveries are all made, and there’s a list of things that needs done around the home… There’s always work to be done.’

Nell grimaced and started through the forest, heading home, hoping, as he walked, that he was leaving, at least some of his troubles behind him, but knowing, as moody thoughts still swirled around in his head that it wouldn’t be that easy. He leapt over the stream and moved through underbrush and trees, toward his home. On his shoulder, Fingold, who’d apparently, taxed himself too much flying through the woods to find Nell, curled up on the man’s shoulder and quickly drifted off to sleep. Nell glanced once at his little friend, and turned his eyes forward again, intending on picking up the pace and getting home before the storm began.

The clouds weren’t just coiling any more... they were rumbling.

Nell stopped short, when suddenly, a glowing white orb – a little larger than his head – drifted down from the treetops and hovered in the air before his eyes. Nell stared in wonder at the glowing orb. He leaned back a little as it floated, the merest of centimetres, closer to him. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, while on his shoulder, Fingold slept soundly.

Why am I scared… I just spent the last hour or so, talking with a Ghost Dog?

The orb glowed a little brighter and a soft tone, like a mournful note of music, rolled out from it like little ripples and seemed to brush against Nell’s skin. The touch felt so surprising. Nell couldn’t help bringing a hand up to his cheek as it tingled. Suddenly, the orb of light was moving, and it sped around Nell twice, before stopping in front of him again.

‘What the-?’

The orb floated away, swiftly, smoothly, into the woods, and once more let out the haunting note. Nell watched it go for only a moment, and then, without thinking, he followed, and as he did, the orb sped up, forcing him to run faster and faster.

‘Oh, do calm down, will you,’ Fingold grumbled tiredly, as he was jostled on Nell’s shoulder, ‘you don’t know how much flying taxes me. I just wanted a small nap!’

Nell barely heard his companion, and just hurried all the faster after the racing orb. The sound of rushing water filled his ears and he broke out of thick underbrush, stopping abruptly on the mossy edge of a cliff. To his right, a waterfall flowed over the ledge, down into a crystal clear pool that was surrounded by thick forest. The banks of the pool were like manicured lawns, and there were even small groupings of flowers that looked like they’d been planted there and not simply grown as part of nature’s randomness. Furthermore, there were silver monoliths on the shores of the pond, seven in all, looking like strange alien beings Nell had never seen before, creatures lost to time.

But that wasn’t what most caught Nell’s attention. With his eyes locked on the glowing orb, he watched it fall toward the placid surface of the pool below, flying so close as to ripple the water, though the orb never touched it. Below the water there was a flicker, a reflection, and it caught Nell’s eye. He stared through the perfectly clear water. It was deep, and grew darker near the bottom, but Nell could see clean to the bottom, and he stared in wonder at what he saw there.

A wooden door, like the kind Nell had seen on expensive mansions, with gold door knob and knocker, set in an arched stone door-frame sat at the very bottom of the pool. As Nell carefully studied the oddity from his perch, he quickly realized that it wasn’t just door and frame haphazardly set on the bottom of the pool, but indeed looked like it had been built there.

But who would build a door at the bottom of a pool… and why?

The glowing orb – which Nell had almost forgotten about – let out another tone, and then sunk below the water, straight toward the door, simply passing through the wood, and disappearing from sight.

Nell stared, and felt very odd. Why had the orb come to him? Why had it led him here?

Did it want him to follow it to the door?

Fingold snorted on Nell’s arm and blinked his coin-sized eyes as he looked up and around, quickly turning his face toward Nell’s. ‘What’s all this then?’ he grumbled. ‘This isn’t home!’ He looked down toward the pool and turned quickly to Nell. ‘Honestly man, you can’t seriously be thinking about throwing yourself off the edge!’

Nell glanced at his companion, and scooped the little lizard up into his hand. ‘Wait here,’ he said, setting the creature on the ground. Then, very out of character - and without a second thought - Nell dove from the cliff down toward the pool. He broke the water in a perfect dive, almost soundlessly, and then swam, with all of his strength, down toward the door. When he reached the door, he stuck his hand out toward the doorknob and grabbed onto it. It was smooth and cold, like the water all around. Nell twisted the doorknob twice, but it was firmly locked. Gently he ran a finger over the keyhole, and even tried to spy through it, but saw only darkness.

His lungs were starting to hurt, so Nell shot back toward the surface, broke the water, and gasped deeply for air.

‘ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE!’ a voice shouted from the top of a high cliff.

Nell looked up, and his eyes widened with shock when he saw how truly high the cliff was. When he realized it was the very same one he’d jumped off of, a thrill of fear and excitement ran up and down his spine.

‘ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF!’ Fingold shouted again, and Nell looked to his diminutive friend standing on the ledge, looking furious.

‘Don’t know what came over me,’ Nell called up.

Fingold slapped his forehead with one hand and shook his head. ‘Oh, my nerves, my tender, tender nerves,’ he bemoaned.

‘Wait there,’ Nell called up, and started swimming to the shore, ‘I’m coming up.’

As he climbed out of the pool, soaking wet, he glanced back toward the door in the water. ‘Oddest thing,’ he commented to himself. ‘Oddest thing.’ He turned and walked toward the cliff, searching for a way to get back up to Fingold. When he’d finally picked his way topside again, he moved to his friend and scooped him up, setting him on his shoulder.

‘Perhaps you should live in Boggled!’ the lizard scolded.

‘I hear it’s nice this time of year,’ Nell teased.

‘Please,’ Fingold sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing the side of his head, ‘let’s just go home.’

Nell nodded, and off they walked. But even as they did – while he was thankful his mind wasn’t so focused on his hopelessness – he couldn’t stop thinking of the glowing orb or the door. He wondered if he could get through the lock, wondered if he could follow the orb down. Still, even if he did, what about the water, and what could possibly be behind an underwater doorway?

Still, something inside stirred him to find out, and so, one set of troubled thoughts gave way to something new, and nothing had settled or resolved itself even as Nell left forest trails and crossed his backyard, to his house. Two levels soring above him as he rounded the corner, heading toward the front. Two other houses set in a small clearing of trees, but nestled so nicely in the forest.

Nell shared one of the houses with his Brother Bill, one was his Brother Mark’s house, that he shared with his Wife. The largest and most finished of the three houses belonged to his Parents.

The Homestead felt truly lonely with everyone away at present.

Behind his parents house were the Dogs houses, a barn…

Calm, peaceful, serene…

Nell’s many troubled thoughts, he found to be quite unfortunate.

But even more unfortunate, and unknown to him, was the fact that darkness - part smoke, part mist, part shadow, lurking, keeping to the shadows of the many trees on the Sorrow’s Homestead - watched Nell with vile, glowing, red eyes.