JANUARY 13, 2013

The alarm went off. Everly Grace Prewitt rolled over with a moan and silenced the device with the press of a button.

"All right, Grace," she muttered to herself. "Another day, another random body pain. Here we go."

Grace sat up, wincing at the pain in her abdomen. This pregnancy was admittedly easier than her first two, it was true, but that didn't mean it wasn't painful in its own right. The baby inside of her was growing, and she felt the pain that accompanied that growth.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, then put a gentle hand on her stomach. "Good morning, baby girl," she said softly to her pregnant belly. Grace was eighteen weeks pregnant, and she'd had the ultrasound last week that told her that the baby was a girl. There wasn't much of a baby bump yet — Grace could easily hide it with flowy tops — but there would be soon. She needed to dig out her maternity clothes and hope they still fit her.

But not right now. Right now, she needed to make breakfast for her two boys. She got dressed, then glanced sadly at the empty bed. Her husband, Edward, was away on a business trip, and she'd slept alone in the king-sized bed for the last few nights. She missed him, like she always did when he had to go out of town. But he'd be home in just a few hours, so she could make it until then.

Grace padded out to the kitchen and started making eggs and toast. Her boys were picky, as many young children were; but eggs and toast, to their parents' relief, was one meal they'd always eat. It was simple fare, for the boys would turn their noses up at anything fancier. Grace liked to experiment with more complicated meals, but for now that was saved for date nights when she and Edward sent the boys to a babysitter's house and then cooked dinner together.

Maybe they could do that soon.

Grace soon heard a soft whining from the living room. She ignored it until she had finished making breakfast, which didn't take long. Then she followed the sound to where Edward's big grey dog lay in his giant dog kennel. "Good morning, Duke," she said. The dog wagged his tail and whined, asking to be let out. "All right, let's get you breakfast, how about that?"

She went and filled Duke's food and water bowls, then returned to let the dog out of his kennel. Duke stretched, then came out and gently butted Grace's chest with his head. Given his size, Duke could easily trample Grace if he wanted to. But the old Great Dane would never harm a fly.

Grace ruffled his ears. "Good morning to you, too. Your food is in the kitchen." She followed him in and made sure the humans' food was safely out of the way of the huge dog.

Duke started eating his food, and Grace went to go wake her boys. She climbed the stairs to their room and opened the blinds. "Good morning, Curtis," she said. "Good morning, Jojo."

Curtis and Joseph Prewitt opened their eyes. Four-year-old Curtis immediately sat up. "Are we going to the zoo today, Mommy?"

Grace smiled. Curtis loved the Oakland zoo. But they weren't going today, not least because it was cloudy outside and would likely rain soon. "No, we're not going to the zoo today," she told Curtis, giving him a hug. "Today, we're going to welcome Daddy home from his trip."

"Daddy's home!" Curtis said excitedly. He climbed out of bed.

"He's not home yet, but he will be soon," Grace said. She turned to two-year-old Joseph and helped him out of bed. He was a quiet, smiley boy, and he smiled one of his sleepy morning smiles at Grace. She hugged him, then helped him get dressed as Curtis dressed himself on the other side of the room.

Once the boys were dressed, Grace sent them down to breakfast. She glanced out the window again and sighed. The rain in Oakland, California seemed so dreary sometimes. It never snowed, either. Summers here were nice, but Grace didn't like the winter climate much at all. She didn't specifically remember a time when she had been in snow, but she somehow knew she liked it. She wished it would snow here at least sometimes.

She shook her head — no time to have a pity party. She went down the stairs and served the boys their breakfast, cutting their toast into small pieces. Duke put his big grey head on Grace's knee, as if begging for more food, but she just laughed and gently pushed him away. "You've already had your breakfast, buddy," she told him.

He huffed at her. "Yeah, I know, I'm so mean," she teased.

"Duke can't have human food, huh Mommy?" said Curtis.

"That's right. It makes him sick."

"That's bad, Duke," Curtis told the dog. "Getting sick is bad. If you're sick, you can't play with us."

Grace enjoyed her breakfast, but her boys were particularly slow to eat this morning. Joseph wouldn't eat any bite that wasn't delivered to him by a pretend airplane, and Curtis kept getting distracted by talking about how excited he was for Daddy to get home. Grace was excited, too, but Curtis still had to eat his breakfast!

The boys were almost done with their food when Grace heard the lock turn in the front room. Curtis heard it, too. "Daddy!" he cried, abandoning his last few bites of eggs.

Grace got to her feet. Was Edward home already? He wasn't supposed to be here for another two hours. She picked up Joseph and hurried to the front door, close on Curtis's heels.

"Well, hello, Mr. Monkey!" Edward put down his briefcase and lifted Curtis into his arms. "I've missed you!"

"Daddy! We're going to the zoo today!"

"No, Monkey, we're not going to the zoo today," Grace reminded him. She and Edward both put their sons down on the floor. Edward gave his wife a hug and bent down to kiss her. She leaned into the kiss, then pulled back with a look of happy surprise. "Hi, Eddy," she said. "I wasn't expecting you back for a few more hours."

"I was able to leave early," Edward said. "I'm feeling pretty tired, but I wanted to get home to you."

"I'm glad to have you home," Grace said, planting another kiss on his cheek. "There should be some breakfast left for you if you want it."

"Sure," Edward said with a smile. "How's our baby girl? Has she been moving around a lot since I left?"

"A bit," Grace said. "I've been reading to her, like the doctor suggested, but I think she'd love to hear you read to her tonight." At this point in the pregnancy, the baby could hear, and Edward enjoyed reading aloud.

"That sounds wonderful," Edward said. With that, he went to go get some breakfast.

The family went back to the dining room, passing the living room on the way. Duke, who was lying on the couch after being cruelly denied Grace's breakfast, wagged his tail enthusiastically and gave a happy whine when he saw Edward. When Grace and Edward were first married, the dog would've jumped up and knocked Edward over with excitement. But in his old age, Duke was perfectly happy to show his excitement without expending too much energy.

"Hi, Duke," Edward said to the dog, stopping to pet him. "I'll come sit with you in a minute."

They made it to the kitchen. The whole way there, Curtis chattered excitedly, while Joseph toddled along beside his dad. Grace made Edward a plate of food, then wrestled the boys back into their seats and sat down herself, though she'd already finished her breakfast. With Edward there to help, the boys finished eating (most of) their helpings, and soon Grace got started on the dishes while Edward ate and talked to the boys.

Grace was almost done with the dishes by the time Edward finished his food. He rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher with the others. "Definitely better than the eggs at the hotel," he said to Grace.

"Oh, good," Grace said. "I'm glad you have at least one reason to come back home."

Her tone and smile said that she was obviously teasing, but Edward took the opportunity to put his arm around her waist and pull her close. "I have a lot more reasons to come home," he said seriously.

"Mm, I know."

"Daddy! Come see the Lego house I built yesterday!"

"Jojo help!" added Joseph.

"Go see the boys' house and snuggle with the dog," Grace said.

"Oh, if I must," Edward said. He followed Curtis to the living room.

Grace finished up the last of the dishes before joining them. Edward sat on the couch with Duke's head resting on his legs, scratching the dog absently while Curtis talked about his Lego house. Edward looked tired but happy as he relaxed with his sons and his dog. Grace smiled at him, and he smiled back. His work schedule was all sorts of crazy sometimes, but at least he could still spend time with his family.

"I'm going to add another level," Curtis proclaimed, looking as if he'd had the most ingenious idea in the world. "Joseph, don't get in my way."

"Hey now, Curtis, don't talk to your brother that way," Edward said. "He can help."

Curtis got to work on the second level of his structure, building with pieces of all shapes and colors to create an amalgamation of plastic blocks that somewhat resembled a house. Joseph helped by putting random pieces in random places, and Curtis only sometimes got upset at his little brother. Grace tried to keep the peace between them while Edward sat with Duke on the couch.

After a few minutes, Grace heard the tinny sound of phone speakers. "The unimaginable story of the last twenty-four hours is gaining more and more attention as experts consult on what could possibly have caused. . ."

Curtis and Joseph looked up immediately at the sound of a technological device. "Eddy, could you put in headphones?" Grace asked. She didn't want to hear the news, and she didn't want her boys to crowd around Edward's phone like moths drawn to a porch light.

He looked up. "Hmm? Oh, right. Sorry." He glanced down at the heavy dog on his lap. "Um, could you get them for me?"

Grace tried not to sigh. Wearing headphones was common courtesy, in her opinion, but Edward often forgot her preference. He was courteous about it when she reminded him, though, so she tried not to get annoyed. "Are they in your briefcase?" she asked. Edward nodded, and she got them for him.

"Thanks," he said. He moved to put them in the headphone jack.

"The small town of Gravity Rises, Oregon, is one that few people knew about. But now—"

"Wait," Grace said.

Edward paused. "Yes?"

"Leave those out," Grace said. "I. . . I want to hear this story."

She wasn't sure why she'd said it, but Edward raised his eyebrows, shrugged, and left the headphones out. Grace sat down beside him on the couch and stared at the screen, fully aware that she was the one acting like a moth drawn to a porch light.

"Bus driver Jesús Ribera happened upon this strange crater yesterday morning. Both the town and a large amount of the forest have completely disappeared. Ribera told our reporters that the last time he had seen Gravity Rises was on January second. Anything could've happened since then to cause this disappearance." As the reporter spoke, the news channel showed pictures of a big, empty crater surrounded by trees.

Grace gasped.

"I know, it's insane," Edward said. "No one knows—" He stopped as Grace waved a hand to quiet him.

"Gravity Rises is perhaps best known as the hometown of CEO Gaston Northwest. Any attempt to reach Mr. Northwest through phone call or email has been completely unsuccessful. Employees at his business claim that the last time they heard from him was on the morning of January fifth."

A picture of Gaston came onto the screen, and the reporter talked more about him. Grace gasped again, putting a hand to her head. "Grace? You okay?" Edward asked in concern.

"That man," Grace whispered. "I know that man."

"Gaston Northwest? Yeah, he does business with my dad sometimes. You probably heard—"

"No, I know—" Grace stopped talking abruptly and waved her hand for silence again.

The picture of Gaston disappeared, and the news broadcast continued. "Experts are baffled, but teams of scientists are already on the ground at the crater to run tests and build theories on how the town and the forest could've disappeared. Joining us this morning is a seismologist who will discuss—"

"Turn it off," Grace said.

Edward looked confused, but he did as she asked. He put a hand on hers. "Grace, honey, are you okay?"

"No." Grace got to her feet. She suddenly felt very confused. "I. . ." She glanced back at the couch. Curtis and Joseph had climbed onto the couch and leaned against Duke to see the phone screen, and now they looked up at their mother in confusion.

Edward pushed Duke's head off his lap and stood. "What is it? Do you want to go lie down?" he asked Grace.

"Maybe I should," Grace said. "Can you — can you watch—"

"I'll watch the boys for a minute," Edward said. "You go lie down."

Grace went to her room. She didn't stumble, but she felt unsteady on her feet. What was going on? Why had that news broadcast had such an intense effect on her? Why did she recognize the name Gravity Rises? Who was Gaston Northwest, and why did she get so — so horrified and angry when she saw him?

She lay down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her mind raced, but she couldn't follow the threads of her harried thoughts. So many confusing ideas and images flashed through her head. Stone rooms with firelit lanterns, fancy rooms with large windows, people in purple robes, pine trees and snow. . .

Grace closed her eyes and tried to sort through her thoughts.

~~~~~

Edward walked quietly down the hallway and tapped on the door to his bedroom. "Grace?" he called softly.

There was silence for a moment. He wondered if she was asleep. Then, "Come in," said a quiet voice.

Edward opened the door. It had been almost an hour since Grace had come in here to rest. Edward had wanted to rest himself — he'd been up most of the night driving — but, well, when your wife was pregnant, you had to make some sacrifices. He assumed that her intense reaction to that news broadcast was partly related to increased hormones from her pregnancy.

Grace was lying on her side on the bed, turned away from Edward. "How are you doing?" he asked, coming over to sit on the other side of the bed.

Grace rolled onto her back and looked up at him. Instead of answering his question, she asked, "How are the boys?"

"I took them over to Becky's house," Edward said. Becky was their favorite babysitter; she lived just a few minutes away. "I thought you could use the quiet."

"Okay," Grace said.

"Are you feeling better?"

She just stared at him for a moment. "Grace?" he repeated.

Another moment passed. Then, "Eddy," she said slowly, "what do you remember about when we were married?"

Edward frowned. Where did that come from? He lay down beside her on the bed and offered his arm, which she rested her head on. "Well," he said, not sure what she was looking for, "I remember being scared. I was. . . I was angry at my parents for choosing my wife for me. And I can't say that I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. But. . . then we talked on our honeymoon about how we wanted to make things work. How we wanted to do our best in the circumstances. And we did." He pulled her closer to him. "I can say now that I love you," he said softly.

"Me too," she whispered. "But. . . but did you know. . ." She paused. "Did they tell you anything about my family? Where I came from? Any of that?"

"No," Edward said. "They just said you were the daughter of a rich businessman my dad knew, and that when you married me, you'd be part of the Prewitt family. I didn't know anything about you except that your name was Everly Grace. Why?"

She didn't answer at first. "Because. . ." She took a deep, slow breath. "Gaston Northwest," she said. "He's my father."

Edward's eyes widened. "He is?" No wonder she'd had such a strong reaction when she learned about his disappearance.

"Yes, but. . . but I forgot that." She rolled onto her side and tried to look into Edward's eyes. Edward carefully pulled his arm out from under her head and rolled onto his side to face her. Grace looked intently at him. "I forgot all of it," she said. "My father, the town I grew up in, everything."

Edward blinked. "Really? How much do you remember now?"

"Most of it, I think," she said. "Since I came in here, I've just been. . . thinking. And the more I think, the more I remember."

"How did you forget about it in the first place?" Edward asked.

She hesitated. "This is where I'm going to sound crazy," she said.

"I'm listening."

"Okay." She took another deep breath. "Gravity Rises is a magical town. The forest around it is filled with magical creatures, and there's. . . there's a group that wipes people's memories of the magic so they won't find the creatures. There's a stone. A magical amulet. It wipes the memories. And when I was a teenager, I. . . I was the one who used the amulet. I wiped people's memories."

Edward wasn't sure how to process this information, but he didn't say anything. He listened silently.

"When I turned eighteen, the. . . the amulet stopped working for me. I have a little brother, and he started using the amulet. They sent me off to marry you not long after that. I think. . ." She closed her eyes, and Edward watched a few tears slip between her eyelids. "I think they forced him to wipe my memory before I left. The. . . the amulet doesn't permanently get rid of the memories, and it's possible to remember them with a trigger. That news broadcast triggered my memories."

Edward gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "That's. . . that's a lot to take in," he said.

"I know. It's. . . it's really confusing."

"I bet," he whispered. "So you think you forgot your family because your little brother hid your memories?"

"My father would've forced him to," Grace said. "I. . . I don't remember it actually happening, but that's the only explanation I can think of." Her face was pained, and more tears replaced the ones Edward had wiped away. "I forgot him, Eddy. I came here, I married you, and I completely forgot my brother and everything else."

"I'm sorry." He moved closer and put his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry."

"My brother needs me," Grace said. "He's in. . . he's in a bad situation. They treat him terribly. Before I left, I promised him I'd come back and help, but I. . . I failed. Six years, and I haven't even thought about him, much less tried to help him."

"Because they made him wipe your memory, right?" Edward said. "It's not your fault. And if he was the one who did it, he'd know that."

Rather than take comfort in this, Grace gave a little sob. "It must've been so traumatizing for him," she whispered. "He wouldn't have wanted to do it."

"Of course not."

"I. . . I have to go to him."

Edward was quiet for a moment. "How?" he finally asked.

The word floated in the air above them.

"I don't know," Grace said. "But I — I have to. I have to go to Oregon and do whatever I can to help bring him back."

"Where do you think he is? Did something magical happen to the town?"

"I have no idea what happened," she said. "Something magical, definitely. But I don't know. Unless—"

"Unless what?"

"Unless the group — the Order of the Crescent Eye, the group that forced me to wipe memories for them — unless they did something to help—"

She stopped, her eyes widening.

"Help who?"

"Bill Cipher," she whispered, sounding like she was remembering this even as she said it out loud. "He's a demon. A demon the Order worships. He's trapped in the town. If the Order did something to the town to help him escape. . ."

She trailed off, and Edward didn't know what to say. This was all crazy. Magic and demons and disappearing towns? If Grace weren't acting so serious, Edward wouldn't believe her. He didn't know if he believed her as it was.

His life was simple: work to support his family and help Grace raise their children. They didn't have a big mansion or a staff of servants like Edward's father had, but that didn't matter. Edward had purposefully distanced himself from his parents years ago. Now he only had Grace and the boys to worry about. His life was fairly typical for the California middle class, and he was okay with that. He worked and played and did normal things. Besides enjoying the occasional fantasy novel, he never thought much about magic. He didn't need to.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you," Grace said quietly. She didn't sound resentful, but she did sound a bit disappointed.

"I don't think you're crazy," Edward assured her. "I know you're not lying, either. But. . . it is hard to believe."

"I get that. If. . . if the memories weren't so clear, I don't think I'd believe it either. But they're here, in my head, where they weren't before, and I just. . . I know they're real."

Edward looked into her eyes and saw the sincerity there. He couldn't imagine how confusing it must be to suddenly have memories that he didn't have just minutes before. Part of him wanted to recommend that Grace go to a doctor or a psychologist to try to figure all this out. But if magic was real, and if her memories really were taken from her by a magical amulet, then he didn't think doctors would be able to do much.

Grace sat up. "I have to go to Oregon," she said. "Can you watch the boys for a few days?"

"Wait, what?" said Edward, sitting up as well. "You're just going to go?"

"Yes. I'll take a plane, or rent a car, and stay at a hotel." Grace hadn't learned to drive until after she and Edward were married, and Edward knew she didn't like getting behind the wheel of a car for long periods of time. But her face was determined.

"This — this is really sudden," Edward said.

"So is my hometown disappearing," Grace said. Her tone was a bit snappish. Realizing this, she dropped her gaze. "Sorry," she whispered.

"No, you have a point," Edward said. "Will you be safe?"

"I should be." Grace got up, and Edward followed her out to the family computer in the living room. She logged in and started looking up information about flights. "I'm sorry to spring this on you," she told Edward. "Will you be okay with the boys?"

"I'll talk to Becky about watching them while I'm at work," Edward said, "and I'll see if I can get a few days off. We'll be okay. I wish I could come with you."

"Me too," Grace said. "I've missed having you home, and now I'm the one leaving."

He put his hands on her shoulders. "I'll miss you." But he knew he had to let her go.

Grace got her plane tickets. Tomorrow, she would fly to Boise, Idaho, and then rent a car to drive to Baker City, Oregon, where she'd get a hotel room. She would visit Gravity Rises — or, the crater that used to be Gravity Rises — during the day with the rental car. The trip would likely use up the family's vacation fund, but Edward agreed that this was enough of an emergency to warrant that. Once the travel plans were finalized, Grace went to get started on packing. Edward wasn't sure why she felt the need to pack today, since she was leaving tomorrow, but some girls were like that for whatever reason.

The boys came home from Becky's house a few hours later, and Grace made lunch for everyone. Then Edward and Grace spent the afternoon with their boys, and Grace explained that she was leaving for a few days, and you two will be good for Daddy, right?

That night, after putting the boys to bed, Edward read aloud to Grace and the baby in her belly. The fantasy novel he read felt overwhelming now that he knew real magic existed. But he read it anyway, and Grace curled up against him to listen. When he finished the chapter, he asked Grace if she could tell him more about Gravity Rises and her family and the Order of the Crescent Eye.

They stayed up talking for hours. Grace told Edward about the Order, about the Northwests' involvement in it, and about her brother, Gideon, and his awful situation. Her memories were still somewhat choppy, and she often had to pause to think through details, but she was able to remember most of it. She and Edward talked about what they could do to help Gideon when he and the rest of the town came back. "I used to fantasize about taking him with me when I left," Grace said, "and taking care of him myself. If. . . I don't know what will happen, but if he needs to move in with us, would you be okay with that?"

Absolutely, Edward told her. Anything they could do to help him.

This cheered her up immensely. Grace fell asleep in Edward's arms.

Edward lay awake for a while longer, processing everything he'd learned. There was a lot to think about, though, and eventually his brain gave up and fell asleep. Edward had strange dreams that night — not nightmares, just really weird dreams.

When he woke up the next day, he was half convinced that the entire day before had also been a dream.

But it wasn't. Grace got up, made breakfast for Edward and the boys, fed Duke, and got ready to leave. Then they all drove to the airport together. With hugs for her boys and a kiss for Edward, Grace left.

Just like that, she was on her way to Oregon.