Evening settles over the cabin and Mom, Dad, Sawyer, and myself have dinner at the table like a distinguished family. Mom made street tacos, which taste as fancy as they look, and fresh cherry limeade to wash them down with. My real mother couldn't have whipped up a meal like that even if she had a recipe.

As we eat, the conversation remains mostly on Sawyer and I. I don't bother asking Mom and Dad many questions, because their answers likely won't be the truth, anyway. They are very happy to get the scoop on me and my relationship, though.

After dinner, the rain stops and the clouds clear out. We move to the living room for a two hour game of Monopoly, and then Mom and Dad announce that it's time to go. After an amazing evening, a pang of sadness hits me at the thought of them leaving, but I remind myself I can bring them back with the snap of my fingers. They're not my real parents, but they're the happy-go-lucky versions I dreamt of when I was young; the parents without the problems. Celestia feels complete with them here.

Sawyer and I stand near the door to see them off. They put their coats and shoes back on, and we all exchange hugs.

"I really enjoyed our visit! We'll have to do it again sometime!" Mom says happily.

"It was so good to see you, baby girl," Dad says as he squeezes me.

"It was good to see you, too," I smile. 

"And again, I know it doesn't make up for my being gone, and I wish I could tell you why I was, but I truly am sorry. Standing here now, if I could take that time back, I would never leave."

"I feel..." I struggle to find the words to express my newfound closure over Dad's absence. Three simple words come to mind that instantly make my heart swell and bring tears to my eyes.

"I forgive you," I say softly into his shoulder.

"Autumn," he whispers, his voice cracking. "I might not have been there, but there wasn't a day that went by that you weren't on my mind. You'll always be my one and only baby girl."

A tear slipped down my cheek. "I know, Dad."

Sawyer and I stand on the porch in front of our home, arm in arm under the dusk sky. We watch as Mom and Dad walk down the steps and into the forest, heading nowhere in particular except out of view. 

Mom looks back once and gives us one last wave. We both wave back. Then the pines swallow them and we're alone again. We both linger in the serenity of the moment, saying nothing, no movement. I stare at the dark mouth of the forest where my parents disappeared, then my eyes scan over the lake, royal blue and glistening in the moonlight. Crickets and cicadas sing. An owl calls out somewhere in the distance. I close my eyes for a brief moment, basking in the feeling of inner peace.

Sawyer sighs comfortably. "It's strange. I was about to ask what now, like we have to be doing something....but we don't have to do anything."

I look at him. "It's a beautiful night. Let's go sit on the dock."

He grins and nods his head. "Okay."

With my arm still wrapped around his, we walk down the steps and the dirt path to the dock. We sit down on the edge and I dip my bare feet into the water while Sawyer rolls up the bottoms of his pant legs before dangling his feet. We sit there in silence for a few minutes, gazing out into the night, his hand trailing up and down my left arm. Then he breaks the silence.

"You know something?"

I reply, "What?"

"We have a dock and no boat. What good is a dock without a boat?" He asks hintingly. 

"I assume that's a rhetorical question. You want a boat, don't you?" I grin and elbow him gently in the side.

"Yes. Don't you want me to have a boat? It'd be so much fun. We could spend whole days out on the water, we could venture to the other side of the lake and see what's out there, I'd even let you drive sometimes."

"Babe, you don't have to convince me. If you want something, I want you to have it." I cuddle into his side. "I wish that tomorrow when you wake up you'll find a brand new boat here waiting for you."

We look at each other with happy smiles.

"Thanks," he says. It's like we read each other's minds when we lean in at the same time and meet halfway for the kiss. It's long and slow and everlasting, and I imagine a movie camera behind us, recording two silhouettes in front of a watery moon. My back hits the wood as Sawyer's fingertips trace my jawline, and then he lies down beside me. The rest of the night gets lost among the stars, galaxies, and infinite possibilities above us.

"Please, not yet..." The muffled echo of someone sobbing in the distance wakes me. I open my eyes and am met with more darkness. "Wh-" I start to whisper to myself as I struggle to gain my bearings. I'm haunted by familiar heartbroken wails, which I know are coming through the veil. 

"Hold on, Autumn. Please. Please..." My mother's voice begs to me desperately. I bolt upright in my bed and whip around. My bedroom is illuminated by the window just enough to see that I'm alone.

"Mom? Hold on for what?" I ask aloud, but I know it's no use. I can hear prayers, but I can't reply. I wonder: why would she be praying to me to hold on? What does she mean? Then a notion enters my mind, and suddenly I feel dizzy. 

"Sawyer!" I yell.

Through the quiet house, I hear the click of Sawyer's bedroom door opening right outside the room. His footsteps thud across the hall to mine. The door swings open and he stands in the doorway in his pajamas, looking confusedly at me. 

"Are you okay?" He asks, but upon eyeballing me, he answers himself. "Something's wrong." He comes to my side and sits down on the edge of the bed.

I look to him in desperation. "I heard my mom again. She was crying, and she said to hold on...as if she's coming. I'm-" I stop short. "I'm worried she's going to try to kill herself or something. "

"Oh Autumn," Sawyer whispers, reaching an arm out to comfort me. "Surely not."

"What else would she mean? She was begging me, Sawyer. 'Autumn, hold on! Please!'" 

"Well, I don't know," he says honestly. "Have you considered that maybe the voices you're hearing aren't real? Maybe it's a manifestation because you miss them."

"No," I shake my head. "My fake parents are the manifestation. I don't know how to explain it, but...I know the voices are the only thing left besides you and me that are real. They're prayers and they only work one way, so there's nothing I can do. I just wish there was some way I could reach out to Mom and let her know everything's okay; let her know I don't hate her."

Sawyer turns his body on the bed so that he's directly facing me. "You know, when I was still alive, I remember hearing stories of people seeing signs from their lost loved ones. For example, a woman saw a cardinal on her late husband's rocking chair, and he was a Cardinals fan. Granted, it could've just been a coincidence, but...I don't know. Maybe you could send a sign like that or something," he shrugs.

"I wouldn't know how. Celestia is the only place I can control," I sigh.

"Look, just try not to worry. You're up here and she's down there for a reason, and there's nothing you could tell her now that she doesn't already know. So you two didn't get along. Neither of you were perfect, but you know she knows that you love her, just like you know deep down she loved you. It's out of your hands now, okay?" Sawyer reaches for my hand.

I nod helplessly and slide my fingers between his. Suddenly, everything goes black. A jolt like electricity runs up my arm, and Sawyer's hand becomes cold and fragile around mine, which has gone limp. His grip is tight. It takes a considerable amount of effort for me to squeeze my hand, and when I do, I feel a metal band around one of his fingers - a ring.

I gasp as I fall over sideways, only coming back to reality when I hit the hardwood floor beside my bed. The impact knocks the wind out of me.

"Autumn!" Sawyer exclaims, immediately coming to my aid. I roll over onto my back and gasp for air. He hovers over me as I take a few breaths.

"What happened?" He asks, still confused.

Still lying there, recovering, I look at him. "I think I just held my mom's hand."

The confusion etched across his face disappears and he nods understandingly. "You said 'I wish.'"

"Huh?"

"When you said you wished that you could reach out to your Mom - you made a wish, so you must have literally reached out to her," he explains.

I didn't even realize I had done that. "Oh. Wow...it worked."

He helps me up and we sit back down on the edge of the bed.

"What did it feel like?" He asks.

I shake my head, trying to find the words to accurately explain it. "Everything went black and I felt a shock go through my arm, then suddenly the hand I was holding wasn't yours. I didn't see anything, but I felt it. Those were Mom's boney fingers around mine, and I felt the ring she always wears."

"Oh. Do you feel like it...helped?"

I take a deep breath and contemplate for a moment. "I think so. I hope so. I feel more at ease now. I believe she felt it too. She'll know that I'm still here; that I'm listening."

"She knows she's not alone," Sawyer nods.

"Hey," I say as I remember that the last thing I remember is lying on the dock outside with Sawyer. "We got reset from the dock, didn't we?"

"Yep. It's so weird for me if it happens when I'm awake. I was literally lying beside you on the dock talking, then I blinked and suddenly I was in my bed, talking to myself."

"That would be weird," I answer. To be jolted from one place to another, without warning? I'm glad it only happens to me when I'm unconscious.

"It's like mental whiplash," Sawyer chuckles.

"I do still wonder why I'm the one in control of everything. I mean, we're both here. It only seems fair that we'd both have the ability to make wishes."

He nods. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't guilty of wondering that myself, but I think it's because I don't need the wishes. I already have all I need: you. I guess this is your heaven and I'm just in it. I'm okay with that." He gives me a reassuring half grin.

We sit there silently for a moment, enjoying in each other's company. I glance at the window again, hoping to grasp some idea of the time.

 "How long has it been since the reset?" I ask Sawyer.

He shrugs. "A few hours, maybe."

"Oh. Sorry if I woke you. It freaked me out hearing my mom crying like that."

"Ah, no worries. I was awake, anyway. Couldn't sleep." Suddenly, he stands up. "Speaking of, I guess I'll let you get back to it." He starts for the door.

"Wait," I stop him. "You don't have to leave."

He turns to look at me. "I can stay...if you want."

There in the darkness, we stare at one another for a moment. Slowly, I nod. He walks to the door and gently pushes it closed, and I scoot closer to the wall to give him room. He lifts the covers and slides in underneath, and we face each other. 

"I might reset in the morning," he whispers.

I answer, "It's okay. I don't think I'll be able to sleep, either."

His mouth curls up. "We'll not sleep together, then."

His arm snakes around my side and pulls me in closer. I close my eyes, focusing on the warmth of his body next to mine. His presence.

"So am I really that boring to listen to when I'm talking?" He asks. "Cause when we got reset off the dock, I was basically in the middle of pouring my heart out to you. You know, the dreams I had for my life; my hopes for the future here. The good stuff. And you fell asleep. That's kind of rude, Autumn."

He stops talking and waits for me to reply. I grin to myself as I say nothing.

"Autumn?"