"Erik! Erik! Wake up!" Someone called. Erik could feel hands, not his 
own, on his cheeks. Erik opened his eyes, surfacing from his dream like he 
would from water. Erik took a deep breath. The first things he saw were two 
blue eyes staring back at him. He surpressed a gasp when he realized it was 
Sally. The next thing he saw was the light streaming in through the windows. 
It was morning. Sally gave him a concerned look.
	"Did you have a bad dream?" Sally asked. Erik thought back. All he 
could remember dreaming about was a dark, evil-looking figure and a metal ball 
with a keyhole. Erik sighed.
	"I don't remember. I must have... Why?" He glanced back at Sally. She 
took her hands off his face and stood up. 
	"I... I heard you yelling something." she said. "You were saying, 
'Don't go where I can't follow.' And you seemed sad." Erik thought back. Now 
that she mentioned it, he did remember feeling like he was losing something 
important to him. He fell silent. Sally sighed.
	"Was it awful? Losing that person?" She asked. Erik looked up at Sally. 
She gave him a pitied look. Erik didn't like being pitied.
	"I don't know. I can't remember." He stood up. He felt his room key in 
his pocket. He stopped. "Um... How did you get in here?" he asked. Sally held 
up a red key.
	"Master key." she answered. "When I heard you yelling, I thought 
something terrible must've happened!" Erik nodded. He took a deep breath and 
combed his hands through his hair. He looked out the window. The streets of 
Firo were filled with people. Erik suddenly felt lost. What was he supposed to 
do? He felt purposeless. Sally opened the door.
	"Come on. Breakfast is being served." She led him out to the main room 
where he had first woken up. Now it was filled with people. Sally pushed a 
glass bowl full of freshly cut fruit into his hands. He picked up a strawberry 
and ate it. The sweetness filled his mouth and lifted his spirits. He smiled. 
Sally greeted her adopted family with a cheerful smile. She sat down at a 
table and gestured for Erik to sit next to her. Erik set the bowl in between 
them so they could share the delicious food. Sally smiled and picked up a 
purplish slice of fruit. 
	"This is my favorite fruit. You have to try some. It's called a 
grapple. It's a mix between a grape and an apple. It has the sweetness of an 
apple and the tang of a grape! They grow on trees. They looke like purple 
apples!" She popped the piece of fruit in her mouth and closed her eyes. "Mmmm! 
Delicious!" she sighed. Erik obeyed. He picked up a piece. It looked similar 
to the inside of a grape, but had the stiffness of an apple. He ate it. It was 
juicy and had an exquisite taste. Erik smiled.
	"It's strange, but wonderful!" he said, picking up another piece and 
eating it.
	"There's an orchard full of these not too far from here!" Sally said. 
There was a silence in which they ate. After all the fruit of the bowl was 
gone. Erik asked the question he'd wanted to ask since last night.
	"Um, Sally?" Erik asked.
	"Yes?" Sally said, turning her blue eyes on him. Erik was caught
momentarily off guard. Had she always been that pretty? He cleared his throat.
	"Uh, so, do you believe that I really am from the past? That I've had 
my memory wiped and all that?" His voice got quieter the more he talked. Sally 
was leaning close to him. Did she want him to keep his voice down? Or did she 
even realize she was that close? Sally smiled.
	"I have no reason not to!" She replied. Erik sat in amazement. Sally 
was willing to give someone she found off the riverbank free food and housing. 
And then be willing to accept such a shaky and outrageous explination of a past 
from someone who claimed they couldn't remember it. Sally touched the silver 
cuff on Erik's wrist.
	"I've heard heard that there's a dimensionist who lives here in Firo. 
Mayber while we're out today we can ask around and see if we can find him!" 
Erik lifted his eyes to her. 
	"While we're out?" he asked.
	"Well, I realized the only posessions you own are the clothes you have 
on and your gold watch. So I figured I'd show you around the town, help you get 
some basic necesities and hopefully find someone who can help you do whatever 
you came here to do!" Sally said. Erik watched her while she talked. She 
smiled as she counted  the things to do off on her fingers. She talked so 
freely. Like she had known Erik for years. He watched the way she'd carelessly 
comb back her bangs as she talked.
	"You understand that I'm going to earn my keep, right?" Erik said when 
Sally finished. Sally blinked.
	"What do you mean?" she asked.
	"I have to pay you back somehow! You've done so much for me already!" 
Erik answered. There was a deep laughter from behind.
	"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that, Felton! I have some things I've 
been needing to get done around here, but it seems like I never have the 
time!" Mr. Kibling said. Erik and Sally turned in thier seats to face him. 
Erik nodded his head enthusiastically.
	"Of course! I'll do whatever you need me to!" he aswered. Mr. Kibling 
nodded.
	"Good man. Now, you two hurry along with your errands. I have plenty 
for young Erik to do when he returns."
	"Okay!" Sally said. Then she turned to Erik. "Just let me get my 
purse!" she said to him. Then she walked off to her room. Erik waited at the 
table for her. A boy that looked about the same age as Erik came up. He had a 
tray full of dirty dishes in one hand and a rag over his arm. As he picked up 
the empty glass bowl and wiped off the table, he talked to Erik.
	"Take care of her while you're out, will you?" he said. Erik 
recognised him as Hyrum from the night before. Erik nodded.
	"Of course I will!" he said. Hyrum smiled grimly.
	"Good. As friendly as this town is, it has its share of bad people too.
I've heard talk of a secret organization that kidnaps people to do scientific 
expiraments on them. Keep an eye on her." And then he shuffled off. Erik sat 
in confusion. Scientific expiraments on humans? But what for? Sally came back 
with her purse.
	"Alright! Let's go!" she said, grabbing Erik by the wrist and taking 
him out into the town.
	Main Street bustled with people. It was lined with shops on both 
sides. People smiled and waved at Sally.
	"Hey there, Miss Kibling!" A store owner said. He was a big, friendly-
looking guy. His store was filled with freshly caught fish. Sally smiled.
	"Hello there, Mr. Fredrikson!" she replied. People that greeted Sally 
gave Erik a friendly smile. He smiled back, but kept his mouth shut. Suddenly, 
Sally gasped.
	"Oh, Erik! We have to stop at the flower shop! It's my favorite shop 
in Firo!" she said excitedly. Erik nodded with as smile. As they walked 
towards the flower shop, Sally talked. 
	"The flower shop is owned by  a man named Mr. Perry. He's one of the 
best-known people in the town. Everyone goes to his place to hear the latest 
gossip. If we ask around, we might be able to find out more about the 
dimensionist who lives here!" Sally walked up to the store owner. He was a 
short man with kind eyes and a wrinkled face. He had whilte hair on top of his 
head and white eyebrows to match. He saw Sally and smiled kindly.
	"Why, if it isn't little Miss Sally! It's been a while since I've seen 
you around!" he said. Sally smiled.
	"The inn's been keeping us busy lately!" She replied. She turned to a 
rack filled with potted flowers. "Do you have any snapdragons in stock?" she 
asked. Mr. Perry winked at her.
	"I have just the thing." He stooped behing his counter and emerged 
with an exotic looking flower. "This is a summer snapdragon. They blossom all 
summer long." Sally's eyes lit with interest.
	"It's beautiful! How much is it?" she asked. Mr. Perry lowered his 
voice.
	"For this? It's usually two cabers, but for my valued customer, one 
will suffice." he said with a smile. Sally returned his smile and bought the 
snapdragon. Then Mr. Perry's eyes turned to Erik.
	"Now what do we have here? A freind of yours, Sally?" he asked. Sally 
nodded.
	"Erik Felton, sir." Erik held out his hand. Mr. Perry shook it and 
grinned.
	"Ah! A good, strong grip! Where'd you find this fine young man?" he 
asked Sally. To Erik's relief, Sally quickly said,
	"He's a friend of mine visiting from Shiko Valley. I'm showing him 
around the town." Mr. Perry nodded. He looked Erik up and down.
	"Those clothes you're wearing. You're a dimensionist, are you not?" he 
asked. Erik mouth hung uselessly open for a few seconds in surprise.
	"Why, yes!" Erik said once he found his voice. Mr. Perry smiled.
	"It's been a while since I've seen a rouge dimensionist! Most of the 
ones we see belong to Ziff's Army! It's good to see one that hasn't fallen 
into Banbay City's claws!" He patted Erik on the back. So Ziff's Army still 
exsisted? Erik wondered if the him that wrote himself the letter had been 
expecting this. 
	"I'm actually looking for someone." Erik said. "Another dimensionist. 
I've heard that one lives in this town. Can you tell me anything?" he asked 
earnestly. The old man smiled kindly.
	"Ah, just as the dimensionist way. Always looking for more of their 
kind. Dimensionists don't usually like being alone, see. Like to be in groups. 
It's only natural that you'd wat to find more of your kind. As it happens, I 
do have a bit of information for you!" Mr. Perry leaned on his counter as he 
spoke. "Rumor has it that a few years ago, an old dimensionist moved into this 
town. He came here with a woman, probably his daughter. It's said they live on 
the outskirts of town. They live privately. Never come into the more public 
parts of town. It's only natural they'd want to live quietly. Ziff's Army is 
always trying to drag dimensionsits into Bambay City to be recruited." he 
said. Erik waited to see if Mr. Perry would say more, but he seemed to be 
finished.
	"Can you tell me where he lives?" Erik asked anxiously. Mr. Perry
smiled sadly.
	"I'm afraid not. But I'm sure if you ask around, you'll find out!" he 
replied. Erik bowed to the old man.
	"Thank you so much for your information." he said politely. Mr. Perry 
smiled. 
	"Always glad to be of assistance!" he answered. Sally stepped forward.
	"Any news on Thunder?" she asked. Mr. Perry's smile faded.
	"I was talking to a poliece officer about it a few days ago. Still 
missing, I'm afraid. But they might have a lead on how to find the underground 
science lab!" he said. Erik perked up.
	"What happened?" he asked. Mr. Perry explained.
	"About a week ago, a teeneger by the name of Theodore Rayborn went 
missing. He was mostly known as 'Thunder' however. Anyways, after he went 
missing, there was a real scare amongst the older folks of this town. See, 
he's not the first to have gone missing. Teenagers have been disappearing 
increasingly since the beginning of last year. And not just teenagers. Old 
folks, kids, people's pets, you name it!
	"A few months ago, one of the teenagers who had gone missing suddenly 
showed up. His name was Richard. Poor kid was half crazy. Ranted on about an 
underground science lab that did expiraments on kidnapped people and animals 
from Firo. Unnatural things, he said. Most of the subjects didn't survive. And 
the ones that did were locked away. He claimed he had been a sucessful 
expirament and than he had escaped. Said he could hear and smell with the 
accuracy of a dog. 
	"A few days after that, some people showed up. The poliece caught them 
and Richard recognised them as scientists from the underground lab. The 
scientists were thrown in jail, but not before they scared the whole town 
silly. They said they were working on something big. Combining animals with 
humans to make humans more superior. Improving the human species, or something 
like that. A few days later, the scientists were gone, and so was Richard. 
People say the scientists escaped and took Richard back with them.
	"A few days ago, Thunder said he was going to help the poliece uncover 
the science lab and put a stop to them. He used himself as bait. The 
scientists came and got him, and the poliece followed them. But somehow, the 
scientists gave them the slip. But one of the officers told me that Thunder 
might've left them some clues. Maybe the end of this tragedy is near." Mr. 
Perry finished. Sally nodded.
	"Hopefully." she said.
	"That's terrible!" Erik said. He looked around the town. It was
colorful, and delicious smells wafted through the air. It was hard to imagine 
that all these people were in constant fear of another dissappearance.
	"Any other news?" Sally asked, trying to brighten the conversation. 
Mr. Perry smiled.
	"Well, ther Robertsons finally had their baby! It's a boy. Had him 
last Thursday. Shayla and the baby are both doing well!" he said. Sally 
bubbled over this bit of news. Erik's mind returned to the dimensionist. He'd 
have to find out where the old dimensionist lived. Why did the old 
dimensionist and the woman that accompanied him sound familiar? Suddenly, a 
face flashed through his mind. A kind, soft face of a woman. She had black 
hair and green eyes, like Erik's. One word flowed through Erik's mind.
	'Mother...' Erik blinked. Was he remembering his own mother? He
strained to remember more, but his mind went blank.
	"I'm so happy for the Robertsons!" Sally said.
	'Robert!" Erik's mind screamed. A new face surfaced in Erik's mind. 
Long bangs, the rest of his hair cropped short... Just like Erik's! But there 
were diffrences. The black bangs... instead of blonde. Black hair, like his 
mother. And blue eyes. Briliantly blue. Robert! Robert was his brother! And 
that woman was his mother! Suddenly, Robert's face began to dissappear. Erik 
could hear his own voice in his head.
	'Robert! Don't... don't go where I can't follow!'
	"Erik?"
	Erik jumped slightly, emerging from his thoughts. Sally had finished 
talking to Mr. Perry and was looking at him with concern.
	"Are you alright? You look pale." she said. Erik held his breath,
afraid that he wouldn't be able to speak. He waited several minutes before 
gaining control of himself. He looked at Sally. Sally truly cared about him. 
He wanted to tell her everything he had remembered. He wanted to confide in 
her, the despair he felt. But he held back.
	"I'll- I'll tell you later, okay?" he finally muttered. Sally nodded 
and gently grabbed his wrist, just above his silver cuff. She led him through 
the town. eventually they walked into a fabric store. Erik finally swollowed 
the sadness he felt.
	"Hey, I could make clothes out of fabric!" he said. Sally looked
surprised.
	"You can sew?" she asked. Erik shook his head.
	"I could do it using dimensionism! Just manipulate the thread with the 
fabric into any shape I want!" Sally looked at him in amazement.
	"Wow! That's great! What kind of fabric do you want?" she asked. Erik 
shrugged.
	"Well, dimensionists pretty much wear the same style of clothes." He 
gestured to himself. "Jeans, a black undershirt, and a dimsnsionist jacket. 
I'll probably just make a few of these jackest using different colors."
	"Then I'll get you some different colors of this type of fabric," she 
said, feeling his jacket. "and some pairs of jeans and some black undershirts! 
Oh!" She skipped over to a flower-patterned fabric. "And this for myself. I 
could use another dress!" She smiled.
	"I could make it for you." Erik offered. Sally looked flattered.
	"You would? Oh, thank you!" she said. Erik shrugged.
	"You've done so much for me. I have to repay you somehow!" he said. 
Sally's smile changed momentarily. She looked touched. Then she quickly turned 
around and told the shopkeeper what she wanted. They left the store soon 
after. Erik insisted he carry everything. Sally looked up at the sky.
	"It's almost lunchtime. Maybe we should head back." she said.
	"Okay!" Erik agreed. He was eager to be put to work by Mr. Kibling so 
he could begin paying this kind family back for their generocity. As they 
walked back, Sally sighed.
	"I'm sorry you couldn't find out more about the dimensionist." she
said. Erik shrugged.
	"It's alright. We can find out more later. I think your father has
some plans for me when we get back!" he smiled. Sally laughed. When they 
returned to the inn, Mr. Kibling was at the front desk.
	"Ah! Thank goodness you're here, Felton! The roof in room 303 has a 
hole in it, and Hyrum and I have our hands full! I need you to see to it!" he 
said. Erik readlily agreed. Mr. Kibling supplied him with a hammer, nails, and 
replacement wood. Sally showed him to room 303. Erik climbed up to the hole 
and set to work. Sally stayed and talked with him. She sat down on the bed.
	"Erik, why don't you just use dimensionism to fix it?" she asked.
	"Because dimensionism uses my physical energy to manipulate things. We 
save dimensionism for special occasions. The bigger the manipulation, the more 
physical energy it takes." he explained. It felt good to be talking about 
dimensionism. It was something he knew about, and he didn't know much. Not 
with his memory gone. Erik's thoughts turned back to his mother and brother.
	"Sally?" he said quietly. Sally looked up at him.
	"What is it, Erik? Is something wrong?" she asked. Erik returned to 
fixing the roof. 
	"Um... while we were at the flower shop, I... I remembered something. 
I got some of my memory back." he said. 
	"Really? What was it about?" Sally asked. 
	"My mother. And my brother." Erik said quietly. "I think... I think I 
lost them somehow. Every time I think of my brother, a part of me wants to 
shout, 'Don't go where I can't follow!' I can't remember much of my mother. 
Just her hair and her eyes." Erik said. It was quiet for a while.
	"I'm sorry." Sally finally said. Erik blinked in surprise.
	"Why are you sorry?" He asked. Sally didn't answer. Erik turned to
look at her. She had her head bowed and her hands were clenched into fists on 
her lap. Erik was surprised to see a tear trickle down her cheek. He climbed 
down and set the hammer on the floor. Then he sat next to Sally on the bed.
	"Sally? What's wrong?" he asked. Sally bit her lip and shook her head. 
Erik sat there for a moment. Had he said something wrong to make her cry? 
Sally was always such a happy person. It was disheartening to see her cry. 
Erik put an arm around her. She leaned into him and sniffed.
	"It's- it's just..." Sally finally stuttered. "You can't remember much 
of your true family... and it sounds like something terrible must've happened 
to them! But- but you're 100 years away from them which means you'll never see 
them again!" she cried. Erik felt touched. She was crying for him. He put his 
other arm around her and pulled her into a hug. They sat like that for a 
while. Then Erik whispered,
	"Sally it's true that I'll probably never see them again, but that
doesn't mean I don't have a family. Family is people who care about you. And I 
have you! And the Kiblings! You guys are my family now. So please don't cry 
anymore." Sally's sniffs and sobs slowly stopped.
	"Y- you want to know who I want to help you so much?" Sally asked.
"Because... because you had no one. And you couldn't remember your family. You 
reminded me of myself. I don't remember who my real parents are. I have no 
memories before I was 11 years old, when Mrs. Kibling found me wandering the 
streets. I didn't feel lost anymore. I want this to be your home, Erik. I 
don't want you to feel lost because if you ever need a family, we're here for 
you. I know you have to go and fix the problems from your letter, but when you 
come back, this can be your home." Sally said. Erik could feel Sally playing 
with the big zipper on his dimensionist jacket. He could feel her breathing. 
Erik had never felt this way before. Not that he could remember, anyway. He 
hugged Sally tighter and said,
	"Thank you, Sally." Then he sighed. "Well, if this is going to be my 
home, I want it in the best shape possible!" Sally lifted her head and smiled. 
Erik got up, picked back up his hammer, and began fixing the roof again.
	By the time the day was finished, Erik had repaired the roof in four 
places, fixed the oven and the sink in the main kitchen, made a book case for 
all of Mrs. Kibling's cookbooks, helped Mr. Kibling carry in three new tables 
to replace some old ones, and made it so the windows in several of the rooms 
could open again. With a sigh, Erik sat back on the couch in front of the fire 
in the main room. Mr. Kibling grinned.
	"You've done well, Erik! I gotta hand it to you. You're a very handy 
guy to have around!" Erik smiled back. 
	"Thanks, Mr. Kibling." he replied. That night, Erik reflected on his 
day as he streached out on his bed. A lot had happened. All things concidered, 
Erik decided he rather liked this way of life. He smiled to himself as he 
drifted slowly off to sleep.

	The next few days went on in a similar fashion. Erik accompanied Sally 
as she went about in the town. He began to be aquainted with the people and 
the streets of Firo. Erik even began making money of his own by being a handy 
man and repairing things people would bring to him. Slowly, Erik began to 
forget about the letter he had presumably written himself. And about the 
golden pocketwatch that didn't tell the time. He only used it to make his 
clothes and the occasional dress for Sally. The memories of his mother and 
brother slowly began to ebb. As the weeks rolled into months, he himself began 
to believe that he had lived here in Firo all his life with the Kiblings and 
Sally. The desire to search for his past disappeared completely. Until one 
day...