Their father Bear was running himself ragged searching everywhere for Stevie. He’d called every relative he could think of, he’d called all her friends. He’d put up a reward. And nothing had come of it. He’d nearly decided to contact her mother, but he didn’t know just how anymore. He’d known when he was young, when he was so deeply in love with Melanie that he could walk in and out of her world without a care. When he’d been so like her fellows. But now he was much older, more serious. He’d raised two girls on his own. He couldn’t pass into Melanie’s world anymore.

Taylor bit her nails to stubs and twirled hair around her fingers trying not to tell her father. She constantly kept her cell phone on its loudest ringer in her pocket. It didn’t ring for days and days and Taylor began to lose hope.

Then Wednesday at 4:15 it finally rang. She clamored across the room and grabbed it up, the unfamiliar number giving her hope. Stevie had called from a pay phone before, and Taylor prayed that this was her sister.

“Hello?” She was breathless.

“Tay? It’s Stevie. I need you to come and meet me again.”

This time they met in a playground at dusk. They were the only ones swinging but they weren’t enthusiastic. Taylor hugged her sister as if she never wanted to let go. When Stevie wriggled out of the hug they sat down on the swings and swung lightly.

“Where have you been, Stevie? You’ve been gone six weeks!”

“I wish I could tell you Tay, but I left of my own volition and I can’t come home yet.” Taylor noticed a new ring on Stevie’s right middle finger. It was thick, made of black stone, with a rune carved into it. Stevie didn’t seem to notice Taylor looking at it.

“You can at least let me tell Dad you’re alright.”

“You can’t tell Bear anything, Taylor!” Stevie was adamant, her eyes widening and pupils dilating.

“You never call him Bear. Since when do you call Daddy Bear?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed.

“Since now, apparently. You can’t tell him anything Taylor, he can’t know.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s about Mom. She’s why I’m staying away. It would break his heart, Taylor, absolutely break him.”

“What would?”

“What I am about to tell you. If you’d stop interrupting.” Taylor shut her mouth and watched her sister. Stevie’s auburn hair was darker, and it curled like Taylor’s. Stevie’s hair had never curled. “I found Mom. She lives right here in Brooklyn, but she had her reasons for leaving us. She was protecting us. If she hadn’t gone, we would be in a lot of trouble Tay. We’d be damned, basically.”

“Protecting us from what?”

“Her past.”