"And that's what's bothering you, so you need to mediate?" she asked quietly. "No, I came to terms with what I did with help. I meditate to block out the feelings and memories. No, block is the wrong word. Borrowers don't easily forget things. We have what is called hyper awareness. Even now I'm aware of things you aren't" he said. "Like...like what?" she asked. "My wife is worried your questions trouble me. They don't. Your heartbeat is slightly elevated. Your pheromones are more pronounced. Your feet are sweating again. Your labia is flushed. Ice pellets are hitting the windows. The fireplace is burning oak wood. I perceive a lot of things and I remember a lot more. The look on your sister's face when I came inside her for the first time. The smell of her hair in the breeze. The smell of her feet when she works out. The birth of my first child. The happiness in your eyes when you found out you had a sister" he said. "Those sound like precious memories to you" she said. "I focus on those in meditation to quell the bad ones. Me about to jump off the Boston Bridge when I was a homeless kid. Being raped by a human when I was 14. Seeing my parents buried alive when I was 12. The smoking corpse of my big sister" he muttered. "Oh my god" Cassandra whispered crying. Keith walked to the giantess and rubbed his hand across her lime green painted toenail. "It's not about the pain. No, it's about the joy in life. Every spell, every arcane, martial arts move, gun, or sword pales in the face of taking what is good in your life and making it your own. It's how we stand back up after life knocking us down is the magic" he told her looking into her eyes. Lawan came up behind and pushed him down. Without a word, she slipped his cock inside her. "I'll leave you two alone" Cassandra said. "Why? You're hornier than your sister. It's no shame in that. It's in your blood" Keith groaned as Lawan bounced up and down his shaft.

Cassandra was nervous and embarrassed though years of human living, but she couldn't deny the need for sexual stimulation. She was a yaksha after all and they craved sensuality at times. "R... really?" Cassandra asked. "It's how you bond. Similar to my kind too. Stop thinking like a human. You're more than that. So much more" Keith replied as she caressed his wife's tits. Cassandra lowered a shaking finger towards Lawan. Her fingertip rubbing her bare back up and down as her tiny sister fucked her brother in law. Lawan laid on Keith fucking him faster. Cassandra’s finger rubbed Lawan's ass now and Lawan looked up at the giantess giggling. And when Lawan gasped, Cassandra gently pushed her down making sure Keith came inside her. She didn't give either a moment to rest. She pulled them off one another and brought them to her face. Lawan was still panting as Cassandra kissed her. Her kisses went lower and she tasted her milk. Her tongue lapped up the leaking milk from her nipples before cleaning her tiny pussy. "Cassandra. What do you want to do with us?" Lawan asked softly. Cassandra placed her before her cunt. "If...if you want to" she mumbled. "You're so adorable when you're shy" Lawan giggled. Lawan used her hands to rub her folds making the giantess tremble.

"Your pussy tastes amazing" Lawan moaned as she licked and nibbled on her lips. The giantess made a squeak as Lawan squeezed her clit. Keith laughed at her. She turned her attention to him. She roughly kissed him suddenly nearly sucking his head between her lips. Keith gasped for air when she was done. Her fingertip grazed his tiny little balls and his cock jumped. She found holding him different than her sister. A man, a small handsome man in her control. She sucked his prick between her lips and Keith groaned as he settled in for a blowjob. Cassandra had done blowjobs before. She had done many things for certain men, but she was never in control. In high school a boy made her suck him off behind the gym bleachers. On her knees she serviced him. A young man fucked her from behind one drunken night. Another sucked her toes while she slept. All these events put her off of men and relationships which really upset her. She was a yaksha that wanted sex. But not one of them took her feelings, wants, and desires into effect. Now she was in control and she would have his seed and not let go until she did.

And as she sucked harder and harder, Keith winced in pain. Cassandra caught herself. She used her finger to caress his chest and gently brought him to cum. Her eyes went wide tasting his semen. She had tasted semen before but never so sweet. She reminded herself that he wasn't human. She looked at Keith for a moment and then plucked her sister from her cunt. She held them both in her hands. "Do...do you love me?" she asked. "You're my big sister. Yeah I love you" Lawan said. "Same here sister in law. Love comes with the territory" Keith said smiling. Cassandra gasped and closed her eyes. "You okay? You were close to cumming, but I didn't have time to finish" Lawan said. "I just did" she said showing them the wet carpet. "Did you cum just from..."

"That's how lonely I was" Cassandra said. Lawan hopped out of her grasp and grew herself. She kissed her sister and held her from behind. "Those days are over" she whispered in her ear. Cassandra nodded after wiping a tear from her eye. "So how did his cum taste? Bet it was good" Lawan snickered. Cassandra blushed. "Borrowers have wonderful stamina you know. They can fuck you till you can't stand. I forgot how many times I just nodded off with his dick in me and they know EVERY erogenous zone. Kidding aside, you might have way better luck with one. The right one will love you till they die. Live just for you. Worship you as their goddess. A partnership that transcends the flesh" Lawan said taking Keith from her and placing him on the floor. "And what of yaksha? Shouldn't I be with our kind? No offense" Cassandra said. "That's...complicated. We already know they saw you as something else than a little girl. If you did return, it might encourage them to forcibly recruit you" Keith said quietly. Keith canceled his shrinking spell growing him back. He quietly put his clothes back on as his words rattled Cassandra. "Keith. About the council" Lawan said. "I won't let them lay a finger on your sister" he said.

"The homeland sounds less cool by the moment" Cassandra said. "You have every right to return. We just have to do it on our terms. Speaking of yaksha, your parents have to be losing their shit by this point. It's been 6 hours" he said. "Wait. Can I come with you?" Cassandra asked. "You want to meet mom and dad?" Lawan asked. "Wouldn't you?" Cassandra asked. Lawan quietly nodded. Keith waited patiently as the two women cleaned up their appearance. "Is that sweater channel?" Lawan asked. "It's the best thing I own. I want to make a good appearance" Cassandra said as she put on her leather boots. "Sis, it's our parents not the Pope" Lawan said. "And if they think I'm a disappointment?" Cassandra asked worried. "I'll eat them" Keith replied putting down his coffee. Cassandra laughed a little.  "Who's joking?" Keith asked. "Behave" Lawan said. "I will when they will. Joseph. Miami please" Keith said. A portal formed in front of them making Cassandra jump. "The hell is that?!" she asked. "Instantaneous travel by way of making a wormhole. Magically it's called translocation. Nothing to fear from it" Keith said stepping through. Lawan took her sisters hand and guided her through.

"Holy shit. It actually brought us to Miami?" Cassandra asked looking around. "Unless Buffalo has palm trees I'd say so" Lawan snickered. "Ladies" Keith said standing at the front door. Cassandra was terrified but Lawan squeezed her hand and smiled. Keith knocked. Aat, their father damn near tore toe door off its hinges opening it. "Hey dad" Lawan said pushing past him. His eyes never leaving the woman with them. Boonsri sat quietly watching over her grand babies until familiar giant and giantesses entered her home. Lawan had Cassandra sit on the sofa. "Are...are you...my daughter?" Boonsri asked shaking. "Yes...yeah I am" Cassandra said. She was shocked at first as the small middle-aged woman scrambled into her lap and up to her shoulder. Cassandra turned to look at her. Tiny hands touched her cheek. Boonsri's hands glowed for a moment as she closed her eyes. She pulled back gasping. "It's you...it's really you!" the mother yelled weeping. Cassandra did the only thing she could think of. She cuddled the woman and cried herself. Aat sat down close to them. The man hung his head and wept softly. Lawan shrank down to see to her kids and Keith joined her.

"You must have thousands of questions. Like what you are, why we gave you up" Aat said. "Actually, they told me a great deal" Cassandra said pointing to Lawan and Keith. "And you just accepted what they had to say in just six hours?!" Aat asked astounded. "You'd be surprised to what people will want to believe if it explains away things that are making them go insane" Keith said to them. "Wha...what are you saying?" Boonsri asked. "It's what we expected. The seal you placed on her cracked. She was using some of her magic subconsciously. She was even shrinking in her sleep. It's a damn good thing we found her when she did. If the seal broke in public, it could've been a disaster" Keith replied. The woman hopped back onto the table and bent down on all fours. "I'm humbly apologize for earlier" she said softly. "Apology accepted. I don't know about you guys but I'm starving for some good Thai food" he smiled. "I know of a place" Aat chuckled.

30 minutes later, all of them sat in a private booth at the family restaurant. "A shame the children can't be human sized" Boonsri said looking at Lawan nurse her granddaughter. "Can't be helped. Their bodies are too fragile to withstand the strain. Another six months and they should be fine" Keith said. A woman came by and a tiny woman hopped onto the table. "Oh! Mr. and Mrs. Phan. I thought you went home already" the young woman said. The woman had long brown hair tied in a bun, wore a red dress and had flats on her feet. She looked to be 19. "We had to go home as our daughters and son in law came into town" Boonsri replied. She looked at the giant and giantesses before her and then saw Lawan. "It's so good to meet you! Your parents really helped me out with this job and my family" she said rushing to shake Lawan's hand. "Pleasure to meet you..."

"Carol" the woman finished. "Carol. Let's start off with some bubble tea and we can decide from there" Aat said. "Right away! GARY!" the girl yelled. A young man picked her up and carried her off. "That was very weird. Not one question about a tiny Asian girl in front of her?" Lawan asked. "Carol is a unique case. Last year, she was trying to help my husband find some pepper and lost her footing on the shelf. She would've fell to her death in a pot of boiling soup if Aat hadn't used wind magic to catch her" she said. "That's right. We pride ourselves on exotic cuisine, but borrower soup is not on the menu" Aat chuckled. "So, she learned about magic" Lawan said. "That she did. She swore on her and her families lives to keep our secret" Boonsri said. "She's a hardworking girl. Wouldn't even take time off for her pregnancy" he said. "She's grateful we let her family live in the room upstairs" Boonsri said. "Still I worry though. She works 50 hours a week wearing that stupid anklet" he said.

"Anklet?" Keith asked. "Having a borrower as a hostess is a pleasant thing but we worry that some nasty customer may stuff her in their pocket or purse. She wears a small device stores use to stop shoplifters. We already caught one person" Aat said softly. "I can only imagine the fears that go through her mind. I was small for only a few hours and everything made me jump" Cassandra said. "So you've been shrunk I see. Well you're in good company. Nobody is going to kidnap or eat you here" Aat chuckled. "They've been extremely kind and explained things to me. Thank god I'm not going crazy or a slut" Cassandra said twittering her thumbs. "So you have no children?" Boonsri asked. "Being an EMT gets in the way and guys I did attract weren't the best. Most just saw me as a fetish" she replied. "Nothing wrong with getting your feet worshipped dear but I do understand the problem when that's all they see. I almost didn't marry your father because I thought he only cared about fucking" Boonsri said. "I wasn't that bad" Aat said.

"You put in more time in stamina training than any other student. No less than three girls would leave the hall with your seed leaking out of them" she said. "Because I wanted to be the best. I'm competitive. A trait I passed on if you haven't noticed. No matter how many girls I fucked you knew my eyes were on you" he said. "I can get why she would be irritated dad" Lawan said. "She's not telling the whole story. Your mother played a cruel joke on me right at graduation. We were practicing fortification magic by eating one another. Well it was my turn to swallow her. So after she glowed indicating the spell worked, I swallowed her. A minute passes by and I can feel her moving around. No big deal. Then she screams over a magical link that the spell failed and stomach acids are burning her. I immediately go to throw her up. Nothing. She's still screaming, and I keep trying but only bile comes up. Then...she stops moving. I freak out and ran to the kitchen grabbing a knife. Just before I cut my stomach open, I see her standing on the floor looking up at me"

"So...you threw her up and didn't notice?" Keith asked. "No, I never swallowed her to begin with. She made a damn illusion and I swallowed that. When she canceled it, it felt like she went unconscious in my stomach" Aat said. "Yeah, they can be...realistic" Keith said as Lawan blushed. "I understood then how much he cared for me" Boonsri said as the waiter returned with the tea. "Four Pho with beef" Aat said softly. The waiter nodded. Cassandra had been quiet most of the time taking in everything. A family, her real family talking around dinner. And a sobering thought occurred to her. What would she say to her adopted family? Could she keep this from them? They loved her and it didn't sit right not to tell her but the talk of magic? That she wasn't human? How would they react? The question bothered her. Her worries were interrupted by the waiter returning with the food. "Carol. Rest. You look exhausted" Aat said taking the girl off the waiter's shoulder. Carol nodded and sat down sighing. Carol slipped off her flats and rubbed her tiny bare feet. "Christmas season really brung in the customers. Nick is still tallying up the numbers" Carol said to the giantess above her. "Remind your husband to rest as well. Receipts can wait. Tired husband makes for a poor sex partner" Boonsri said. Keith spooned up some soup for his wife. She looked puzzled as to how to eat with the kids. "If you want, I can hold them. Just sneak off and do your thing" Carol whispered to her. "But they're do for another feeding soon" Lawan said. "Leave that to me" Carol said pulling her dress down to her waist leaving her breasts bare. Keith shrugged to Lawan. She handed the babies to Carol and she slipped out to the back to grow.

"Magic is so cool" Carol grinned at the now giantess Lawan. "You're good" Keith said looking at her. "Practice. Technically this is my fourth child gave birth to. I... I only have two in my care" she said quietly. "Then where the other..."

"Farm. Breeding farm" Carol said. "Oh god I'm so sorry" Cassandra said mortified. "It's okay. It's something I've come to terms with. Nick was my last breeding mate when the law got passed. We decided to stick together when I found out I was pregnant with my third" she said. "Thank god that law was passed" Cassandra said. "Imagine my surprise to see so many humans friendly to borrowers. Like this man here" Carol said pointing to Keith. "Hmm?" Keith asked. "I know you. You came here last summer and made that woman who ran the halfway house fix shit up" she said. "You were there?" Keith asked. She nodded. Keith smiled to himself and continued eating. Lawan finished first to let Carol rest and returned to the table in her normal size. Cassandra listened to Carol as she told her stories about living in Disneyland as a kid. Stories as simple as hunting for fallen popcorn seemed like a mythical quest as Carol described it. Carol became so comfortable around Cassandra she rested in her hand. The giantess found herself petting the girl and caught herself.

"Not at all. Can you get my feet though?" Carol asked after Cassandra asked if petting her was bothering the girl. Cassandra chuckled and took on of her little feet between her fingers and rubbed. She was startled as the girl moaned. "It's that's good?" Cassandra asked. "A borrower’s feet are very sensitive. Even more so if she gave birth not long ago. If you really want to help her out suck on her feet" Keith said grinning. Cassandra shrugged and sucked Carol's feet into her mouth. The borrower sighed contently as the giantess licked and sucked the swollen stress off her tiny feet. After a few minutes, Cassandra stopped. "Why...why did you stop?" Carol asked. "You turned all red" the giantess replied. "Oh, I forgot to mention borrower females get intimately stimulated if you do that" Keith chuckled. "Oh damn. And you're married on top of that" Cassandra said embarrassed. "Pfft. We're open. Papa Aat licks my pussy when I'm over stressed and mama Boonsri rubbed my belly and licks my feet all the time. Nothing to be worried over" Carol said. "It's healthy. Are you eating those herbs I gave you?" Boonsri asked. "Yep. The kids and my husband can't get enough of my milk. That reminds me, Nick said not to worry about the sprain. It's better now" she said. "Oh good. I was worried my pussy clenched his body too tightly and seriously hurt him" Boonsri said. Cassandra felt the odd one out as they spoke of extramarital sex as if it was nothing.

"She's blushing. You'll learn that sex talk isn't a big a deal" Lawan said. "There's a lot I want to learn which is why I want this seal to be removed" Cassandra said. Everybody stopped eating. "Honey that's not a good idea" Boonsri said. "And I agree with your mother for once. You don't know what you're asking" Keith said. "Isn't it keeping me from my full potential? From who I really am?" Cassandra said putting Carol down. "It's not that simple child. Those seals were put in place for good reason" Aat said. Cassandra looked at everyone and saw nobody really approving of her request. "Oh come on! Sis, didn't you and Keith say you had a friend that had a seal removed from her? Didn't she turn out alright?" she asked. "Susan's case is different from yours. She spent nearly half her life surrounded by magic. She grew up apart from human society. And even then, she had extreme difficulty adjusting to her powers. It wasn't pretty Cassandra" Keith said. "I'm not saying it won't be hard! I'm saying I'm ready!" she yelled. Customers looked at their table. "We should continue this at home" Boonsri said. They left their restaurant shortly after.

Nobody said a word on the ride back and as soon as they entered the house, Cassandra started back up. "This is who I am" she said coldly. "Yesterday you were certain you were human and now so suddenly you're ready for this?" Boonsri said. "You say you're ready? Hmm. Are you ready for the power rush that comes with magic? Susan nearly ate people she loved. The guilt alone made her want to die. And the locked away memories. Cassandra, you familiar with how painful repressed memories can be?" Keith asked. Cassandra barely nodded. "Imagine that times 1000. It damn near tore her mind apart. And from what your mother told me, your power had left you catatonic and shitting in a diaper. You really want to risk all that?" Keith asked. "How would you feel if one day you found out you were something else. That the truth, the whole truth was locked away. Wouldn't you want to know what you really are?" she asked. "Honestly? I probably would" he said. Aat and Boonsri shrank Cassandra and themselves and sat on the sofa. Aat rubbed her hair while her mother held her hand.   

"This is not a good thing child. We can help ease you in but breaking the seal is taboo. We want it to be easy and not traumatizing" Boonsri said. Cassandra yanked her hand away. "Traumatizing? You know what was traumatizing for me? Being passed over by people because they think you're retarded...sorry "special needs" because you can't remember shit. Looking at other kids reading Harry Potter while you try to learn your ABC’s. Traumatizing as in being a 14-year-old girl who wants to fuck every cute boy in class but being told by your adopted Catholic parents you're going to hell if you have premarital sex? Oh wait. How about having to give away my cat I owned for 9 years because I keep having dreams it will eat me in my sleep because I KEEP FUCKING SHRINKING!" Cassandra screamed. "You and you are the last people to lecture me on trauma" she said coldly. Boonsri hopped onto the floor and ran to the back porch. Aat sighed and hung his head. Keith pointed to them as he got up. Lawan nodded and made her way to them as the giant walked to the back porch.

"Why don't you guys get it?" Cassandra asked crying. "We do. We really do but we're more aware of the dangers than you are. Here" Lawan said handing Justin to her. The teeny little boy gazed up at his aunt and smiled. "You're holding him by the waist but not by his arms. Why?" Lawan asked. "He could get hurt" Cassandra replied. "It's not certain and you're not a mother so how do you know so easily?" Lawan asked. "Because I'm an EMT. Natal care is mandatory" she replied almost annoyed. "So you have extra knowledge and experience I don't" Lawan said. Cassandra was quiet. "I wished to spare this from you, but I see that you should see it" Aat said. He touched her forehead and used a spell to share two memories. The first one was her sitting in a bathtub as a child rambling. Her father cleaning her with a cloth. He tickled her feet to get a giggle from her but all he got was a reflex. Aat cried softly as he finished cloth bathing her. And the last one was the night she was given up at the orphanage. Cold rain poured outside as Aat knocked on the door. Cassandra stood there unmoving as they left her. A woman guided her in and looked around outside but saw nobody. Her parents had shrunk themselves and hid among the shrubbery. "No, we can't just let them take her. They can't...I can't...I CAN'T JUST LEAVE MY BABY BEHIND!" Boonsri shrieked. She ran for the door barefoot, her sandals taken by the mud. Aat tackled her. "She's better off with them. The council would never leave her alone. They would search for us" he said. "My baby...my baby..." she muttered. Boonsri was so traumatized she pissed herself. Aat had to carry her away from the orphanage.

Cassandra gasped as the connection was broken.

"I've never seen Christmas lights in palm trees before" Keith said sitting in the swinging patio chair. Boonsri sat on the concrete with her face buried in her propped-up knees. "This must please you seeing me this way" she said. "What are you talking about?" Keith asked. "You enjoy throwing my mistakes in my face. Take pleasure in telling how wrong I am" she said. "You got me pegged wrong. We have our differences, but I don't delight in seeing you in pain. Off the concrete. It's cold" he said plucking the woman up. He cupped her in his hands and blew warm breath on her shivering body. He rubbed his fingers together and warmed her little feet between them. "With all that is said, she hates me" she muttered. He looked at her toes curled on his fingertip. She really was Lawan's mother. Same feet. "No, she's angry and hurt. She's lashing out because she doesn't know what else to do. As fast as she took to the truth, emotionally she's still sorting things out" he said. She looked up at the giant holding her and saw a sadness in his eyes. "You talk from experience?" she asked.

"Hope has the body of a 15-year-old girl but her mind is less mature. It frustrated her to be told things and still not understand. Why she can't have children yet. Why she can't leave the colony on extended periods. Why...why she can't use magic to fix the world" he said. "How did it work?" Boonsri asked. "...it didn't. My child is out there right now helping an immortal madman take over the world. So, you think you got problems?" he chuckled. His fingers caressed her long hair. "I had the best of intentions" she said. "That's how it always starts. Look, it won't be easy to fix this, but you owe it to her to try. You and your husband" he said. "I’ll...I'll try" she muttered. Keith brought her to his face. He gave the shrunken mother in law a gentle kiss. "It's takes a lot of courage to try" he said. "I was wrong. You and my daughter deserve one another" he said softly. "Admitting when you're wrong takes courage too...mother" he said. Boonsri chuckled softly.

Keith returned to the living room and placed Boonsri on the sofa next to Cassandra. "I didn’t know. Dad showed me the night you gave me up. I... I felt it. It was like a part of me..."

"Died. Died painfully" Boonsri finished. Boonsri held her close and let her cry into her shoulder. Lawan smiled up at her giant husband. "About the seal, our parents have legitimate concerns but mom, dad, she's right when she says it's her life" Lawan said. Everyone was quiet. Cass...we're asking you to think on it. Think really hard because if we do it, there's no going back" she warned. "That's a reasonable request, right?" Keith asked. Cassandra nodded. Lawan yawned. "We should be heading back" Keith said. "So soon? It's only 9:05" Cassandra asked. "Eastern time but we're on London time. It's 2:05 am for us" Lawan said. "You need a lift back to Buffalo?" Keith asked. "No, I took vacation the other day. Besides, I have catching up to do. Keith, I can't thank you enough" she said. "No thank you. Looking at you I know my wife will still have a smoking hot body 8 years from now" he laughed. Lawan blushed. Keith asked Joseph to translocate them back home. They watched as they passed through the portal. "I haven't even known them for a day and I already miss them terribly" Cassandra said.

Keith finished talking to control for any developments. There weren't any. He made his way to his bedroom where Lawan and his kids already were. They were fast asleep. Lawan with her leg sticking out from the tucked in sheet snoring. Keith smiled and used his finger to nudge her leg back under the covers. She had every right to be exhausted. Taking care of the kids plus netting her long-lost sister. His thoughts drifted back to Hope remembering the conversation he had with Boonsri. Keith left the room and went to the kitchen for a beer. There he found Alyssa drinking warm milk. "Can't sleep?" he asked as he opened the fridge. "Rose let slip what's really going on" she replied. "I see" he said popping the top off a Heineken and sitting down. "Is that what's really coming? A battle for who controls the world?" she asked. "More like who won't" he replied. "And if this Markus guy wins?" she asked. Keith found no reason to lie to her. "Then humans like you become playthings, food, or simply well treated slaves" he replied. Alyssa nearly dropped her glass. "How...how can you be so calm saying that?" she asked upset.

Keith took the glass of milk from her and sat it on the table. He used his stored-up magic to shrink her where she sat. He placed the bewildered on the table. "I want you to look at things from a borrower perspective for a moment. You're on a table, how do you get down?" he asked. She looked over the side. "Can't jump down" she said. "No, even a borrower would break her legs" he said. She looked stumped. See how the tablecloth goes down a bit close to the chair. "I can climb down and swing!" she said. Keith casted a spell. "What was that glow?" she asked. "Fortification spell. You're as strong and as durable as a borrower for a little while. Keith carefully watched as she climbed down and swung onto the chair. "Good job! Now climb down to the floor" he said. She eventually did. He carried her outside and kept her warm with his hands. "Now I want you to imagine that you live in a hole in that tree way out there near the main road. You got lost and now have to make your way back" he said. "You're not going to make me walk that are you?" she asked worried. "Hell no. You wouldn't get 100 ft. before mice attacked you. But borrowers don't have the luxury of choosing. This world is stacked against them. So how do you change that?" he asked.

"Dunno. If I was three inches tall all the time, I guess this would be a daily thing" she said. "Exactly, this would be reality for you. You asked me how I can say such things so easily. It's because it's reality. Worrying and pretending it's not there won't change what's coming. Those mice out there aren't going to go away because you're worried.  Hawks in the sky won't decide you're not dinner because you put it out of your mind" he said before closing the door. He put her back on the table and finished his beer. "But people are going to die either way. People you know" she said. "Yes, it's going to a hard to accept that loss, but the thing is freedom isn't free. It's bought with blood, sweat, tears, and lives. Borrowers are free because of sacrifices made. Cute African American girls like you aren't slaves because people fought and died for you to be free even all the way to the 20th century" he said as he took her little hands between her fingertips. "These hands can shape destiny. These adorable bare feet are going to take you places. I know because I have a good eye when it comes to potential. People like them. The ones that are going to fight will make sure you get your chance to change the world. Don't fear for them. There's nothing wrong about worrying but don't fear the sacrifices they make. They wouldn't want it" he said letting go of her feet.      

"I'm willing to send you back to your parents’ tomorrow in light of what's going on" he said. "But they'll have questions like who paid for the ticket" she said. "Do you think it matters in the long run?" he asked. "I can't leave Rose. Not now. Not like this" she said. "Then take her with you" he said. "And what about those questions? A rich friend being a ticket is one thing. A three-inch girl tagging along with me? Borrowers got it good but not rich college good" she said. "Are they good people?" he asked. She nodded. "Then tell the truth. It's so down to the wire that secrets could be meaningless" he said softly. "About your daughter. I'm sure you did everything you could by her. I can tell you're a good person" she said. Keith unshrank her. "But I still wonder" he said. She got off the table and stood on the floor. "I think that if nothing had happened, you'd still wonder. I'm not a parent but I know how it feels to wonder if you're doing your best. I have a kid brother who I... neglected as I studied to get my scholarship. It was hard, shameful, and guilty but I plan to get a degree and a kickass job so I can pay for his education one day. But there are times that I wonder if it will even out. You named her Hope for a reason. Maybe you should remember What it was. Goodnight Keith" she said. Keith kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Alyssa" Keith said softly.

Keith returned to his room and undressed. He had taught Alyssa what it meant to accept hardships but in turn she reminded him the reason he named his daughter Hope. The promise of a better world. His world, Aspen's, Claire's, everyone's. And promises are tied to one important thing he had forgotten...faith. Faith that everything would turn out okay. He laid down in bed and snuggled in. "It's about time you came to bed" Lawan muttered. "Thought you were asleep" he said. "You shook the bed" she muttered. "I don't spend enough time with my kids. There's Elena's and then Hikari's" he said. "You're doing what you can. You have kids on three continents" she said looking at him. "I'm yours tomorrow afternoon. I'll be your slave" he said. Lawan chuckled. "I'm serious. Shove me up your pussy, ass whatever. Milk me fucking dry if you want. Just..."

"Keith, it's okay" she said seeing him shake. She knew him better than anyone. As brave a face he put in, deep down he was terrified of what was coming. Lawan was too. As he fell asleep not long after, the vision of him being turned to dust hadn’t left her mind. She fell asleep certain to make tomorrow afternoon one that would leave no regrets.