The World in Flower

51. Hauntings

"Ashai!" Tirwah exclaimed, smiling at the image of his sister's face. "I am so glad you received my letter and device."

"You're really not among the Treaty of Silence?"

He shook his head. "As I explained, I'm not a citizen of Karsaiah, so not subject to the Treaty. Have you been well?"

"Oh, yes! I must show you my daughter. I will be right back."

Tirwah found himself humming one of the plainsongs the Home Free family had performed as he waited for his sister. He had debated for some time before arranging to have one of his fellow traders deliver the letter and communication device to his sister, but the memory of her devastation as he was claimed by the Treaty had convinced him it was the right thing to do.

***

Tim awoke to the tight, can't-breathe feeling of Adam crying and trying to be quiet. It had been a while since Adam had cried this hard. Tim reached out and pulled his husband into his arms.

"Sorry," Adam whispered.

"It's okay. I know it's been hard."

They laid there, Tim gently rubbing Adam's back while he cried. Adam clung to him as if he would suddenly fall if not for Tim.

Adam's sobs slowly lessened and then stopped. "Sorry," he repeated.

"You don't need to apologize. You feel how you feel."

"I just don't want you to think I don't love you because I miss Ericha."

"I understand. I miss Jenika, too."

"You're supposed to be the cryer. I don't know what's gotten into me."

"You got your hopes up," Tim answered. "I hadn't fully processed everything, so I hadn't emotionally invested in the possibility of Jenika being on Merely's world." How many more times would Adam's heart be ripped apart? Tim wondered.

"How do we do this without making people feel awful when we don't find any of their families?"

Tim thought about Merely, suddenly and definitively bereft of family. "I don't know. We're going to need their cooperation, but it's... it's going to suck."

They'd scried on Verlest for relatives of most of the people in the town, with a few exceptions. Some, like their boys, the Sisawos, and a lot of the recent kids, had arrived without pictures or other items connected to their relatives. Adam's special talent took a lot of extra work, so he hadn't gotten through everyone by a long shot. Should Adam start with those, killing two birds with one stone by scrying on both worlds at once? Or would it make more sense to get through as many people as possible?

"We should start with the counselors and religious leaders," Adam said as if reading his mind. "Max, Omar, Nyima, Gideon, maybe Rob since people seem to turn to him."

"That makes sense." Tim ran his fingers through Adam's hair. "You ready to go back to sleep? We've got school tomorrow."

"Yeah. I think I'm okay."

Tim kissed his forehead, then his mouth. "I love you, Adam."

"I love you, too, Tim."

***

"Thanks for everything," Tim told Zuri. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Absolutely. Take care!"

"Can I drive to school?" Kamal asked, coming in from the kitchen.

"We don't need you wasting gas to drive a couple blocks," Tim objected.

Kamal seemed resigned. "Figured you'd say that."