Learning to Be Happy Again

Prelude

Keefe Sencen is asleep. He has been for a month. Friends shuffle in and out. Elwin checks him periodically. Three times a day maybe.

A blonde girl sits in a chair about fifteen feet from Keefe's bed. Her name is Sophie Foster and she is tired. Dark circles ring her eyes. Another girl walks in, Biana, and whispers something to Sophie.

"You've gotta take a break, okay?" Sophie nods slowly, but doesn't move. Biana pulls her up. "C'mon. Let's get you some mallowmelt, okay?" Sophie follows her out.

A boy with silver tinged bangs comes in half an hour later. His body is surrounded by a thin layer of shadows and he walks slowly. Tam Song slumps in the chair Sophie was sitting in and sighs loudly.

Elwin looks over. "It's not your fault, you know. You had to do it." Tam doesn't respond, but the shadows thicken. "Tam." Tam looks over at Elwin. "It's not. And he'll be okay." They both know that those words mean nothing. The black swirls on Keefe's shoulders and neck haven't stopped creeping up to his face. Right now they stop about half way up his neck, and Elwin is worried. Tam walks over to Keefe's bed and touches the swirls on his collar bone. He shudders and sits down, his arms wrapping around his knees. Elwin kneels down beside Tam and embraces him.

"Really. You shouldn't beat yourself up over it. It's not good to do that." Tam nods.

"But it is, isn't it? I joined."

"Yeah, and you did it to keep your friends and sister safe. That's valiant."

After a while, Tam gets up and walks out of the room.

It's nighttime, and so Keefe is alone, still sleeping.

Two weeks later, Keefe Sencen is still sleeping. The swirls have stopped moving, and so Elwin is less worried. Biana and Dex are in the room, talking quietly.

"Has Sophie been sleeping lately?" Dex wonders.

"I got her to sleep yesterday, but I don't know how long she was actually sleeping." Biana sighs.

"Well, she didn't fall asleep at lunch today, so that's good." They both laugh. Three days ago, Sophie fell asleep in her soup. She woke up suddenly because of the heat and flung soup with her hair. It was quite a sight.

"I wish she could take sedatives," Biana says. Dex gives her a look.

"You know she can't. And it's perfectly reasonable. The idea of sedatives scares me too."

"Yeah, I know. I don't mean to diminish that, but, like, she's gonna fall asleep walking pretty soon."

Elwin walks over to them.

"Hey you two. I'm going to leave soon, so you should go. Can't have unsupervised prodigies here after dark." Dex and Biana nod.

***

The next day Sophie and Tam are sitting in the room, both slightly slumped in their chairs. There's no noise except for Elwin's shuffling feet as he helps a Foxfire prodigy with a headache.

Keefe shifts in his bed.

Sophie jumps up, but stays where she is, ready. Elwin notices this and tells the prodigy to wait a moment.

"Why? He's just sleeping. Let him sleep, I gotta go to class soon."

"He's been asleep for over a month. I've got to make sure he's okay." The prodigy sighs heavily as Elwin walks over to Keefe's bed.

Elwin flashes some lights around, and hums. "He's still stable, but I can't really tell anything else." Sophie's face falls.

"Well I can tell you something," Keefe whispers, eyes barely open. "Hey, Doc."