I stopped by Cam's stall after my talk with Laney, feeling self-conscious after my outburst. He was busy with a customer, so I just idly looked over his displays of flowers as I waited. I decided on a whim to buy some for Kana and Mikhail. After a moment, I made up my mind to get some for Cam, too, just because he was so kind and patient and because he often mentioned how much he loved to receive flowers.

After his customer bustled off, her arms filled with flowers, he turned to me with a smile, saying, "May I help you, miss?"

I grinned and replied, "Yes, sir, I'd like three rose bouquets, please, and some pink rose and carnations seeds, too."

"Three?" Cam asked, dropping his play-acting in surprise.

"Yes, please, Cam. And... I'd like to apologize for earlier. Some of your comments reminded me so much of... of Ruby, and it all came flooding back. That's why I was kind of hard on you. Not because I think you're a reckless idiot or anything, but because I've already lost one friend that way. I... I couldn't stand it if something like that happened to you," I said, looking down at the ground.

Cam came around from behind his counter and lifted my chin up. He looked into my eyes, saying slowly, "I promise I won't do anything reckless. And I won't go riding alone on the mountain until you or Georgia give me clearance. Okay?" I nodded, feeling relieved. He kissed my forehead and returned to his counter, then deftly made up three beautiful bunches of early spring roses. I paid him, and he handed them and the seeds to me.

I admired the sweetly-scented bouquets, then picked out one and handed it back. He took it, looking puzzled, and asked, "Is there something wrong with this one?"

I smiled at him and said, "No, it's perfect. That's why I'm giving it to you." His face flushed with pleasure as he accepted the gift, and I blew a kiss to him as I ran off to quickly make finish my errands before hurrying home to do my chores.

After I finished tending to my farm, I put the remaining bouquets into vases and filled them partway with water, then placed those into a small box to make it easier to carry them. Hurrying into town, I first stopped at Gombe's seed shop to buy seeds for my delayed spring planting.

Next I hurried over to the clinic. I stopped in to say hi to Kana, but finding Georgia sitting there reading to him as he dozed, I just cautiously set the flowers on the table by his bed and waved, not wanting to interrupt her reading or his nap. Afterwards, I found Dr. Ayame and asked about Kana's progress, which she reported as very favorable. "That man heals amazingly fast. I think he'll be able to go home in a day or two, though he'll still need plenty of help. Hiro will go over once a day to help him with personal care—bathing and so on—but I'm hoping Georgia's father can spare her for a while to help with the horses and critters there. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if he was fully mended in a month, two at the most." I gasped at how soon she suggested he could be recovered—he must have some amazing healing powers indeed, if he'd be healed from such a severe break by then.

Then I asked about Mikhail, and Dr. Ayame scowled. "I don't know what to say about that one. He seems to have lost all interest in anything. You'll probably find him in bed, where I left him—I doubt he's even changed out of his clothes. He doesn't answer when I talk to him. He doesn't do anything. If he doesn't come around soon, he's going to just waste away." I blanched, shocked by her prognosis.

She gave me a hard look and said, "Tell me again exactly what happened yesterday." I went over the events again, then at her request, I gave her the full story of my history with Mikhail, including the various rivalries going on in the two towns. She nodded when I finished, looking thoughtfully at me. "Yes, I see. Now it all makes more sense. For the record, I believe you can add Dirk to your list of admirers. He talks about you almost nonstop lately when he delivers the mail. Maybe even Hiro, although I think it's more just a bit of a crush in his case—I think deep down he's really in love with Nori. And Kana appears to be warming to Georgia. So that leaves... ?"

"Well, Cam and Mikhail are the only two that have any chance, really." I sighed, burying my face in my hands.

"Out with it, kiddo," Dr. Ayame said. "What else is eating at you?"

"I don't want it to be like this," I replied looking up at her. "But the problem is that I love both Cam and Mikhail. I can't pick one over the other, because I love them both so much. I feel like I'd die if I lost either of them. I don't mean to be selfish or to string them along, I really don't. But...." I looked away with a sad shrug.

"But that's just the way the cookie crumbles, right, kiddo?" Dr. Ayame asked.

I nodded, feeling miserable. "I can't make myself love one more than the other. I just have to wait to see where my heart leads me, I guess. I just wish it would hurry and make up its mind!" She laughed, and patted me on the back.

"Well, cheer up, Alice. Mikhail has a sensitive, temperamental nature, but he's really quite resilient. He just needs to snap out of it. And I think Kana will be just fine," she said, smiling as she turned and listened to Georgia's voice patiently reading. I smiled, too, thinking hopefully that my playful pairing might actually work out. I wanted Kana to be happy, although I couldn't be the one to make him so.

After a moment, I asked, "Do... do you think I could visit Mikhail? Or shouldn't I?"

"I'd go ahead, kiddo. You might just be able to help him out of his blue funk. Just try your best to cheer him up, and we'll see what happens." I nodded and left, waving to Hiro as I went out the door.

I went straight to the town hall and on back to Mikhail's room. There was no answer to my gentle knock, but the door was unlocked and slightly ajar. I opened it and went on in, bringing the roses with me. I found him in his bed, listlessly lying on his side and staring at nothing. As Dr. Ayame suspected, he was still wearing the same clothes as he'd had on yesterday. A carafe of water on his nightstand appeared untouched, as was the bowl of fruit on his table. I felt my heart ache and my throat tighten as I looked at his forlorn figure.

I walked around so that I was in his field of vision, set the flowers on his nightstand, then turned and knelt next to the bed, looking him in the eyes. Without his glasses on, his eyes were much easier to see clearly. They were such a beautiful pale blue, like the shadows in ice. As my intrusion into his line of sight registered, his eyes gradually focused until finally he was looking at me with some recognition. He raised his head slightly from his pillow, saying faintly, "Alice?"

I reached out a hand and stroked his cheek, murmuring, "Yes, Mikhail, I'm here."

He lay his head back down and closed his eyes. "I... I'm sorry for what happened," he whispered. "I behaved abominably. And the despicable part is, I wanted to do so much more.... It took all my strength to hold myself back even that much."

A tear welled up and trickled down his cheek. I wiped it away, saying, "Shhh, it's okay. Don't worry about it. You didn't do anything terrible. Please, Mikhail, don't be unhappy. I can't bear for you to be sad like this." I felt tears beginning to flow and willed them away. I was supposed to be cheering him up, not making things worse.

Since Mikhail was nearly in the middle of the bed, there was a fair bit of room alongside him. I sat down next to him, kicked my shoes off, and stretched my legs out alongside him, putting his head on my lap and gently stroking his hair as I began to sing softly to him. I felt him gradually begin to relax, so I kept on singing—ballad after ballad, then folk songs, love songs, and finally even nursery songs and lullabies.

I felt my throat beginning to ache after nearly an hour of singing, but I didn't want to leave him in search of water, nor did I want to take his. So I kept on singing, figuring I'd sing until I lost my voice if necessary. Luckily for me, Ina peeked in soon afterwards, and I pantomimed my need for a glass of water. She instantly understood, and left, returning a moment later with a pitcher of cold water and a glass. She poured some for me, then stood looking worriedly down at Mikhail as I gulped it eagerly. Relieved that he was looking more peaceful, she tiptoed back out. I knew she'd keep any visitors away that tried to interrupt his rest after that, and I sang on.

As he relaxed, Mikhail moved over to make more room for me, and I scooted off the edge of the wide bed in relief. He laid his head back on my lap, his lower hand tucked under his cheek and resting on my thigh, his upper arm draped across my lap in a loose embrace. He curled up slightly, tucking his knees up against my legs through the bedcovers. He sighed, sounding more contented than sorrowful now, and a short while later he was asleep, breathing softly but deeply. Ina peeked in again, and I gestured for her to come closer. I whispered to her my dismay at my predicament—I couldn't get up without disturbing him, and I was loathe to do that. On the other hand, I still had some chores to do at the farm. And I hoped Mikhail could change into something more comfortable than the clothes he'd been wearing for almost two days straight. After a moment's thought, Ina waved me to stay put, then left.

She returned a little while later with Hiro in tow. She handed me a note, indicating that I should go ahead and go take care of my farm chores; Hiro would stay with Mikhail and help him to bathe and change his clothing if possible, or at least try to make him more comfortable if nothing else. I nodded, and slipped away from him as gently as I could, then joined Ina outside.

"He's a wreck, the poor man!" Ina exclaimed, looking back towards his room with a worried look.

"I know... I feel awful," I said, tearing up again.

Ina looked startled, apparently having forgotten that I was the cause of his breakdown. "Oh! Well, I didn't mean...."

"It's okay, Ina," I interrupted. "I know you didn't. But still...."

We stood in silence, then I looked up and said, "Well, intentionally or not, I'm the cause of his present condition. I'll try and help him get through this as best I can. For now, I'm going to go home, tend to my chores, clean up, and come back. Maybe I can't do much, but it really seemed to help to just sit there singing to him and letting him hold me while he slept. So if I have to, I'll stay there all night."

She looked startled by my proposal, but nodded. "Yes, that might help. Do you want me to look in now and then to see if you need anything? Like more water, or something to eat?"

I breathed a sigh of relief—the idea of spending the night in his room made me a little nervous, but it helped knowing that Ina would be checking in. "Yes, please, if you won't mind. I'd be very grateful. Thanks, Ina. I'll be back soon." Then I hurried off to get my work done and return. I wondered what Cam would say if he knew.... I hoped he'd understand, but even if he didn't, I felt I had to help Mikhail anyway. I'd do the same for him, so I hoped he'd keep that in mind.

Preparing myself for a long and probably uncomfortable night, I showered and dressed in leggings and a comfortable tank top. I slipped on my flip-flops, , packed a tote bag with a few essentials and a couple of books, and left. I hurried back down the road to the town hall, and softly knocked on the door. A moment later, Hiro opened it, and ushered me in. Mikhail was sitting on the sofa in his room, still listless but at least awake. He appeared to have just bathed; his hair was still quite damp, and he now wore pajamas. He turned and looked at me, and I thought I saw a flicker of... was it happiness? or relief? in his eyes.

I sat next to him, picked up his hand, and started to talk to him in a soft voice. I asked how he was feeling, did he want anything to eat or drink, was he tired? He slowly shook his head, but didn't say anything. Did he want me to sing for him? Read to him? Talk to him? Or to just sit quietly with him?

After a pause, he looked at me, and whispered, "Please sing." I asked if he wanted to lie down as before, and he nodded. So I helped him up and to the bed, then sat him down on the edge and pulled his slippers off.

Hiro was still hovering close by, so I asked him to help Mikhail get into bed, which he did. Meanwhile, I removed my flip-flops and sat on the bed next to him, staying on top of the blankets, and leaned back against the headboard with my legs stretched out before me. Hiro thoughtfully brought me a throw blanket from the sofa and another pillow to put behind my back. Then he looked at me questioningly, and I thanked him for helping.

He took the hint and left, saying before he closed the door to send word if he or the doctor was needed. Once we were alone, Mikhail scooted over to me and rested his head on my lap, hugging my legs as before. Then he sighed, and murmured, "Thank you for coming back, Alice. Please, will you sing to me now?" So once again I began to sing, this time pausing frequently for sips of water. I sang softly to him until once more his eyes drooped and he slept, still clinging to me.

Ina peeked in a few times, looking to see if I wanted anything. Then she'd withdraw and return to sleep for a few more hours before checking in again. After Mikhail dropped off, I read by the light of the bedside lamp until finally I began to nod and the book slipped from my hands. I set the book down on the table beside me, switched off the lamp, and fell asleep sitting there with Mikhail's arm still wrapped around me.