Episode 03

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"No, Blaise, don't!" Cecilia yelled over the sound of the rushing waterfall. "You can't go down there, you'll drown!"

"I have to do this," Blaise called back, the water already splashing over his arms and sending up clouds of mist. "You hold off the giants while I cross the ruined bridge to Eden. We have to get the flaming sword from the angel to defeat Wizard Gemnon!"

"No, you can't do it," she cried, the mist soaking through her long black hair. "It's too dangerous!"

"I know," he said, his voice full of determination. "But that is why I must try." He burned the surrounding air in a blazing halo and dove under the water, steam pouring out from the river.

"No…" she said softly, the tears starting to fall from her eyes. The pack of giants was getting closer, but they didn't know what they were about to stumble upon. Because for Cecilia, even her tears were potent weapons…

Cascadia frowned down at the paper. Okay, dramatic cliffhanger, yes, but kind of cheesy. It needed something else. She looked up from her notebook and out the windows, at the branches of the newly budding trees swaying in the slight breeze.

The lecture hall was full of students, most of whom were diligently listening to the professor's words and taking notes. Cascadia was unfortunately not in that group. She set down her pen and rubbed her face with her fingertips, attempting to focus on where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. Higher education, yes. Continuing the next chapter of her story, probably not.

The sun was shining through the windows at the back of the hall, illuminating the flower pattern on her green skirt and her favorite blue hooded sweatshirt. Her attention was drawn back to the projector screen at the front of the room, where the professor had laid out a sheet with the details of the next lesson. The topic of the day in her psychology class was the perception of truth, and how it can be influenced by certain factors, such as authoritative evidence and peer corroboration. The professor would show the class several pictures that were real and verifiable, and others that had been doctored either through photographic tricks or computer editing. They were to vote on which were true and which were fiction, and at the end, she would reveal the actual results.

The first image elicited some chuckles from the class. It depicted a rabbit standing in the middle of a desert landscape, except that a pair of antlers sprouted from its head. Cascadia picked up the voting controller from the arm of her seat and pushed 'B', definitely fake. The next was a large leafless tree, also in an arid scene, except that a herd of goats were standing in the top branches. After recalling that goats were in fact adept climbers, she selected truth.

The third picture didn't cause her to chuckle. It was a photograph taken in a suburban area, of a raised swimming pool in a backyard. The picture showed a young girl standing on the surface of the water, the tops of her feet just visible. A confusing sense of dissonance struck Cascadia like a sudden wave. Had someone surreptitiously photographed one of her escapades when first learning about her powers? Were They watching her?

Her mind took over and settled down her turbulent heart. The girl in the picture definitely was not her; she had never worn her hair like that, and it was entirely the wrong color. The boards that supported the girl above the water were visible, especially to a self-certified expert in looking at things underwater. She breathed a sigh of relief and chose falsehood, after glancing around to see if anyone had noticed her momentary fear.

Cascadia walked up the exterior stairs to the library, still a little shaken after the last class. She dimly noticed the whirring of the automatic doors, the chatter of students at the tables in the entryway. The girl at the front desk talking with a patron looked familiar; she tried to remember which class she'd been in. Opposite the desk were rows of student computers, so the librarians could keep tabs and make sure resources were being used for educational purposes only. She found the table she wanted near the hallway to Special Collections.

The young woman seated there had dark blonde hair curled into ringlets on her back and fair skin. She wore a simple yellow sweater and loose jeans, and had no make-up or other adornment like most other ladies her age. The only jewelry she wore was a brown scapular on the outside of her clothing. An open book was on the table in front of her, and she slowly passed her fingers across each page. A golden retriever sat under the table with a harness on its back, the handle of which rested near her elbow. The dog wagged its tail as Cascadia approached, thumping against the floor, causing the woman to stop reading and turn her head slowly around.

"Hello there, friend," she said.

"Hello Gabrielle," Cascadia said, walking up to stand beside her. "Can I pet Edward?"

"Yes Cascadia, he's been quite calm this morning," she answered, and Cascadia knelt to scratch the placid dog behind his ears.

Cascadia sat down on the opposite side of Edward, so he wouldn't expect any more attention. He let out a sigh and laid back down. "How was your weekend?" Cascadia began, pulling her bag over her head and unzipping it on the table. "I haven't seen you in a while. Oh, how was the concert?"

"It was wonderful. Absolutely stunning. The group this year is terribly skilled."

"That does sound great, I'm sad I didn't get to go."

"Hmm, I believe they'll be holding another one next month, if I recall correctly. We could go together, the three of us." Her face lit up at this idea.

Cascadia smiled as well. "Yeah, that sounds great. I'll see if I can find the schedule."

"And what about you, Cascadia? How has the Lord been treating you lately?"

"Well…" She recalled the past few days: stopping at the thrift store on the way home yesterday, Mass two days in a row, then an exciting point sprang into her mind. "Oh, I got a letter back from the magazine, and they accepted it!" She reached into her notebook for the letter, but stopped.

Gabrielle smiled widely and warmly. "That's fantastic! I'm so glad for you." She made the Sign of the Cross, then clasped her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Lord, for your blessings upon Cascadia. You have given her a wonderful gift, please help her use that gift for your glory. Amen."

Cascadia's hands remained clasped as she pondered the double meaning of Gabrielle's words. God had indeed given her a wonderful gift, but it wasn't the one she had been talking about that had the most impact in Cascadia's life.

Gabrielle continued to look toward her. "Forgive me if I don't recall correctly, but was that your first accepted submission?"

She thought for a second. "Yes, well, at least my first recent one. I was in a kid's literary magazine in grade school, but my teacher coordinated that one."

"Congratulations then. I hope it was fulfilling for you."

"It was," she said, getting her focus off of her primary gift and back to her secondary one. "I've wanted to be published since I was a little kid, so this is just the first step in the journey."

"Indeed. My offer still stands, you know. I would love to listen to any material you have, provided that you can make your own annotations."

"I think I'd like that," Cascadia said. "I typed up a few more pages over the weekend, but I didn't print them out. Next week I'll try to bring in what I have."

"Excellent, it's a date then." Cascadia pulled out her pocket planner and jotted down the reminder.

"So how about you," Cascadia asked. "Do you need anything right now? Can I grab any books for you?"

"That's very kind of you," Gabrielle answered. "But I believe I'm alright."

"Okay," she said, getting out the rest of her books and papers from her bag. "I've got to finish this proofreading assignment first, then can we go over the proposal for the presentation in technical writing?"

"Of course," Gabrielle said, running her finger around the face of her wristwatch. "My next class is not for several more hours, so we have time."

"Great," Cascadia said, and finally got to work.

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A car honked as the bus driver got back into traffic, startling Cascadia as she walked down the sidewalk away from the stop. It would have been a shorter trip to go through the parking lot of the small shopping center, but Cascadia never liked that way. Instead, she continued on the sidewalk, traversing the two legs of her triangular journey, in order to pass under the trees and over the grassy areas beside the road.

Nestled into the corner of the adjacent intersection was a small, short building painted blue and white, with neon lights trimming the eaves and a neon sign atop the roof that read 'Grace's Diner' in yellow and red. Cascadia had never met Grace herself, and when she asked the staff, she got differing opinions on whether the name referred to a person or a state of being. Nevertheless, it was one of the places she enjoyed being the most.

Behind the glass-fronted door was the colorful gumball machine, and the standing sign with a chalked exhortation to 'seat yourselves'. It only took her a moment to find a head of dark hair seasoned with gray; there were only a handful of customers seated in the rows of booths that lined the front windows. She walked past the pictures of old cars and vintage movie posters which lined the walls, enjoying the pieces of the past that were preserved here. In more ways than one, she pondered, as they still served breakfast all day, offered free coffee, and hadn't yet gotten a credit card reader.

"Howdy Cascadia," the lone waitress called, before turning back to her customers. She was tall and lean, moving around the tight corners of the diner with her own kind of grace. Her long, pale blonde hair was done up in a bun, pinned with strategically placed clips. Gentle green eyes were a vivid contrast to her light, smooth skin, framed by laugh lines that didn't seem like they belonged on someone so young. Her usual half-lidded expression made her look like she was weary or tired, but never unkind. She wore a standard waitress uniform, knee-length black skirt and white blouse, with a half apron around her waist, plenty of pens at arm's length.

"Hello, Gayle!" Cascadia waved back.

"Hey hey," Ash said as she reached her seat. She pulled off her bag before seating herself. "How are things?"

"Pretty good," she said, glancing at the tabletop. Ash had been writing names and phone numbers on the free space of one of the children's coloring sheets, but was using a stub of a pencil instead of a crayon. Beside that was a bus route map, the kind that showed the entire city with a spaghetti of colored lines overlaid on it.

Cascadia paused before saying more. She could inquire about what was likely his finally looking into work prospects, or make no comment. If she chose silence, she would lose an opportunity to talk about something which was still a sore spot lately. If she went on, she risked irritating that sore spot further. She said a quick prayer for guidance, but was given a few more moments to deliberate by the arrival of the waitress.

"Hey y'all," Gayle said in her light Southern drawl. Cascadia had always liked Gayle's accent, it was somewhere between cowgirl and Southern belle, but uniquely hers. She set down a cup of coffee in front of Cascadia and refilled Ash's mug with the carafe in her other hand. "Just the usuals today?"

"Yes please," Cascadia said. "Thank you, Gayle."

Ash looked up into her green eyes. "Uh, yeah, thanks."

"Got it," Gayle said. "Say, Ash," she continued, putting her elbow on her hip to support the carafe of coffee. "I hope you don't mind me overhearin' you on the phone, it sounded like you might be interested in a job situation?"

Cascadia became interested in the menu.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I'm only working part-time right now."

"Well, I'll tell you what," Gayle continued. "Ol' Jerry, he's been talkin' about gettin' someone to help out in the back durin' the rush. If'n you wanna, I can give 'im your name."

"Umm…" Ash quailed. He knew what Cascadia was thinking, trying not to seem expectant as she waited for his answer. Gayle probably didn't care one way or the other, but he still decided to delay. "I'll think about it, but thanks for letting me know."

"Sure thing," Gayle said. "I'll get your orders in now," and she sidled off.

Ash wrote 'Grace's, ask for Jerry,' on his impromptu notepad, then set down the pencil.

Cascadia took a breath, still praying for guidance. "Ash, I—"

"Please, Cas," Ash interrupted. "I don't wanna talk about it. I've got this, alright?"

Cascadia took a long breath, closing her eyes. When she got the rolling waves of her heart still again, she found the words she had been looking for shining out at her. "I understand. The last time that we talked about this, it didn't exactly go well. So, I'd like to try the last thing I said over again, if that's alright?"

Ash tried avoiding her imploring blue eyes, but couldn't. "Okay." He had his elbows on the table, his hands clasped.

She smiled to show that she wasn't about to yell again, speaking slowly and carefully with her hands on her lap. "Because of the agreements that we've made, your financial stability is of… high concern to me. I only have two more years of school, after all."

Ash nodded.

"So…" She smiled at him genuinely now, warmly. "I want you to succeed. Not only for your future, but for mine. If I can do anything to help, please let me know." She put her hands on the table now as well. "Thank you for listening to me," and she nodded.

Ash did feel better, the momentary flare-up of his emotions quenched. "I know Cas, I just…" he let out a sigh. "This is just hard, you know?"

She gave him a mischievous look. "I thought you said you didn't wanna talk about it."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe I do. It's like I said last time, the more I'm around… stoves and ovens," he dropped his voice, "the more potential for… trouble."

She shrugged. "Well, this is the reason I don't want a job as a… plumber or anything."

"Or a lifeguard."

"Yeah, definitely not. I guess you just need to decide whether or not you want to be a chef, or just really enjoy cooking."

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I guess so."

Gayle arrived a moment later with Cascadia's cereal bowl and a tiny carton of milk. She addressed Ash. "Yours'll be done in a minute, hon, there ain't a lotta orders right now."

"Great, thanks," Ash said. Gayle returned to the bar near the kitchen.

The companions connected until their food arrived; work had been fine, he had gotten to eat a rejected calzone that was still delicious; her classes were good, she had talked with Gabrielle and wanted to go to a concert with her. She got out her crossword book and asked him if he knew a ten-letter species of mushroom that started with a 'p' and had two 'l's' in it.

As Gayle had predicted, it was only a few minutes before their food arrived. Cascadia had added the milk to her bowl of granola upon obtaining it, but hadn't eaten any since it hadn't achieved its desired level of sogginess. Gayle set a platter down on the edge of the table, serving Cascadia a plate with two eggs sunny-side-up and a glass of orange juice. For Ash, a white plate piled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, slices of bacon, and toast.

"There y'all are," Gayle said, holding the tray in front of her. "I'll be back for your coffee."

Both of them thanked her, then prayed over the meal, Ash again making the joke about saying Grace in Grace's Diner. Cascadia enjoyed the smooth texture of the drowned cereal, while Ash appreciated the simpler flavor profiles of the food compared to the complicated dishes he made all morning. He wanted to make his toast a little crispier, but Gayle was on her way back already.

Their waitress refilled their coffee cups, then set the carafe on the empty table across from them and checked around the room to ensure she wasn't needed, finally leaning against the edge of the table so she faced her customers. "So, what's on tap for your night out after this?"

Cascadia responded excitedly. "Oh, we're going to catch a movie. It's animated, kind of geared toward kids, but I've read the graphic novel it's based on and it sounds like it'll be really good. It's about a brother and sister who live on a farm and find nature spirits living there, they have to help them avoid being exploited by the adults, classic stuff."

"Huh," Gayle said. "I know someone who might like that." She glanced out the windows briefly. "What else've you two been up to lately?" Ash noticed she smelled faintly of cigarettes, she must have just returned from a break.

Cascadia swallowed her sip of orange juice. She knew what good news she wanted to share right away. "And, I sold a story to a magazine, I just got the letter yesterday," she said, beaming.

"Well ain't that somethin'," Gayle said. "Congratulations, hon."

"Thank you," Cascadia said.

Gayle shifted against the table. "So lunch is on you today?"

Ash chuckled. "No, she already treated me yesterday."

"Lucky you, then," Gayle said. "And I'm glad for you, Cascadia. I know how many hours you've spent in here scribblin' away at some story." She clapped her hands softly but suddenly. "Hey, what magazine is it? I could get one and put it up there on the wall near the window."

"Oh come on, Gayle," Cascadia said dismissively. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Well, I think it is."

"I think so too," Ash contributed, looking at Cascadia, who was turning pink, her freckles disappearing. "You've been working really hard at this."

"Alright you two," she said, trying to keep her emotional waves still. "You're both right. It's great, so there."

Ash grinned at Gayle, and she smiled back. Only one corner of her mouth turned up at a time, giving her a sort of lopsided grin. The bell above the door signaled her impromptu break was over.

"Howdy Frank," Gayle called.¹ "Gotta go, chat with y'all later."

Ash returned to his food, but Cascadia didn't, her face dour. "You didn't have to make such a fuss over me," she hissed quietly. "It was embarrassing."

Ash shrugged. "Hey, I didn't start it, it was Gayle's idea. Besides, you deserve some praise, I know how hard it was for you just to send it in to them."

"Yeah." She continued to work through her slurry of granola, attempting to get herself out of the stew of her feelings. It took her a moment to notice the milk in the bowl swirling around even though she wasn't moving the spoon, so she changed the subject. "What time is the movie again?"

He checked his watch. "We still have about forty-five minutes."

"Okay."

Ash glanced across the table at her, but her eyes were out the window on the street again. The rest of their meal was put away in a more subdued mood. Ash managed to bring her spirits up a bit by telling a story from his shift about a server who had nearly dropped a plate of food, but somehow juggled it back up into his hands without spilling any of it.

As Ash was clearing up the table, he was startled by a customer raising their voice. "I've been eating here for fifteen years and paid the same for that plate every time!"

"I'm real sorry, sir," Gayle said soothingly. "I understand, I really do. There've been some changes in prices at the store lately, sometimes we hafta make some adjustments."

"Well, I'd rather eat less food than pay more money for it."

"I would've loved to do that, sir, exceptin' that you've already eaten it all."

Ash and Cascadia tried not to stare and instead packed up their respective bags and put on their coats, pooling their money on the table to pay for their meals and to give Gayle a modest tip for her kindness. Ash felt the few bills remaining in his pocket as he glanced at the upset patron once again. Cascadia smiled at him and headed to the door, while the customer had resolved his issue and left with his wife toward the opposite exit. Ash followed Cascadia, heading past where Gayle was cleaning up the table.

"Hey Gayle," Ash said quietly as he passed her.

"Yeah, hon?"

"Did that guy pay his whole bill?"

Gayle paused for a moment. "If I say no, are you gonna go shake 'im down for the rest?"

Ash froze, embarrassed. "No, nothing like that. I was just wondering."

"He's all taken care of," Gayle said. "Just another loyal customer, is all."

"Alright. Well, see you later Gayle."

"Sure thing," she said, adding the last plate to her bussing tray.

Outside the restaurant, Cascadia couldn't help but satisfy her curiosity. "Were you gonna offer to pay for that guy?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. We've had a lot of customers complaining too about the food prices. The servers get an earful, and they dump it back on us. I understand how he felt."

Cascadia nodded, glancing at him sideways. Ash didn't have enough money to go around donating it to restaurant patrons.

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1. That’ll be Frank