The spark in my head was nearly overpowering, but I wasn't planning on knocking it away. I had to find Shon. I needed to. Even if it would take years, there was no plan to give up on finding the people who saved my life, even if it may have been a dream.

I trudged back to the house, taking one last look out to the valley with a smile. That beautiful view was back.. But this time it wasn't full of sadness. Instead with relief, almost as if I found the part of me that I had been missing.

Soon, I was standing on the back porch of the cabin. I took in a deep breath, then pushed the door open quietly.

As I tiptoed in, I noticed that the tv was still playing. It brought a small smile to my face as I rolled my eyes. I hadn't the faintest clue of what he was watching, but I guess it didn't matter. My brother was asleep anyways. I walked through the narrow hallway, slipped into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of tea as I waited for the toast to finish. Glancing at the wooden clock above the fridge, I sighed. It roughly read 8:55, which meant I may end up staying up for a while.

I had planned on doing some intense research online. Maybe I'd find the Garrisons.. Or maybe I wouldn't. Impossible to know if I don't do anything and this wasn't something I was willing to wait until morning.

"Evern?" I spun around to see my brother leaning against the door frame, a very tired look on his face. I couldn't help but smile a bit as he yawned and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"How'd you sleep?" I asked, hearing my toast pop up. Timothy just shrugged at the question.

"Fine.. What are you doing awake?"

For a moment I stayed silent. I wanted to make a remark about me being asleep for long enough because of the coma situation.. But then decided against it as I turned around to face him.

"Well.. You know how it is. Once I'm up, I'm up. I've got some things to do anyway." I admitted my voice still hoarse. Timothy just gave me an odd look as if I had spoken an alien language as I stirred honey into my tea.

"Stuff to do? You just woke up from a coma. What could you possibly have to do?" He asked, the confusion evident in his voice. I shot him a meek smile, holding the cup of tea in one hand and the toast in the other.

"It's.. research." I explained, slipping past him. Even though I left him confused, I left the kitchen and headed to my room. It was probably real dirty now due to inactivity.

Slowly, I opened the door and flicked the light on.

It really shouldn't have made me sad.. But the sight of my old room again caused a part of me to crack. Even though I probably wasn't even in a coma for that long,  my empty room brought tears to my eyes. I hadn't even made it a foot into my room yet.

"You going to be okay?"

Startled once again, I flinched and spun around, nearly spilling my tea. Timothy stood in the hallway, a few inches away from the doorframe.

"Oh.. Sorry 'bout that." My brother chuckled slightly, before reaching over me to ruffle up my hair. I rolled my eyes, setting my drink and food on the small desk by the door.

"I'll be fine." I said, hugging him with tight arms. It had been so long since I was able to do this.. Or at least it felt like it.

"You sure..?"

I nodded, pulling away from the hug. Timothy gave me the doubtful look but then sighed before smiling at me.

"Okay, well don't stay up too late. You're still in recovery."

With more nodding and awkward silence, he left. Probably back to the tv.

I picked up the tea and toast, then quickly got situated on my bed. My laptop sat in front of me, so I was definitely ready to start digging for information. As I scoured the internet for any type of information, the time seemed to fly by. From local towns to residents, and even their names. I did get distracted a few times by funny videos.... but that's just the way I work I guess.

Around midnight, I began to meet a dead end. What else could I search for and actually get straight  answers? Names.. Towns.. Locations.. Last names.. I also tried looking in other states, but there was still no luck.

After a few moments of deep thinking, it dawned on me. The school!
Now.. frankly I actually hadn't known the name of it, nor had I gotten a good glance at the words on the building when I was with Shon, but- I really just needed to search for school campus pictures. I knew what the building looked like.. Fairly. If I saw it, I would know.

So the deeper investigation took place and I thought I could've pulled an all nighter.. But the next thing I know was the bright sun shining in my eyes.

Tiredly, I closed my laptop, shifted my feet to the floor, and stood up. I headed out to the kitchen thinking I'd find my brother. When he wasn't there I did a 180 and aimed for the backdoor, knowing I'd probably find him there.

This time I was right.

He was sitting on a beach chair, sunglasses and everything, reading a book that looked like it was about dragons. Of course..

"Sleeping beauty is finally awake I see." He smirked. I rolled my eyes at the remark but smiled anyway.

"You betcha."

Timothy set the book down on his lap and lowered his glasses so he could make eye contact with me.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

I was about to shake my head, but then I remembered last night's breakthrough.

"Well.. kind of. Do you know where any semi-big public schools around here? Or maybe not around here? One possibly with pillar things, words above the main entrance and a giant circle, diamond thing above the door.." I began, realizing that I was probably not making any sense. I was explaining by a faint memory..

"Actually, yes. That sounds a lot like Wando High, but that's in Charleston. A couple hour drive from here. Why? Are you interested in going to school there?" Timothy sat up, stretching a bit as he did so. I quickly searched it up on my phone scrolling madly through the pictures. It was it! The building in all of its glory. Another clue.

"Well.. no. It's complicated. Could you.. Take me there?"

~~~

After explaining my strange predicament and a few days of Timothy making up his mind, we were on our way and pretty soon we were driving through the city of Charleston. The ocean was visible from where we were and glinted in the morning sun. It brought a smile to my face.

"Do you really think you're going to find them here..?" Timothy asked, stopping at a red light. I nodded.

"We've already made it this far. They've gotta be around here somewhere." I explained, smiling at my brother. He seemed unsure of how to respond to that, so he kept quiet and switched the radio on. I let out a small sigh, looking out the window. The buzz of determination had begun to diminish but I was trying hard to keep it. It's hard to have hope in something you are unsure of.

"We're here," Timothy said, parking the car. I spun outta my thoughts and stared up at the school. Butterflies swarmed my stomach as we got out of the car. This was it.

Without wasting another second and ignoring my brother who was calling out to me, I ran straight for the building. I pushed the doors open to be greeted with an empty hallway. Strange.. People are probably in their classes.

It didn't stop me. I had to find them. So, I ran down the hall searching in each class I passed but I soon noticed each one was empty.

"What..? Where is everybody?" I muttered to myself, as I entered another hall. What day was it? Was the school closed? Were people still going here?

"Hey! Miss! You're not supposed to be here."

I quickly turned around to see a middle-aged man, who looked like a janitor, walking down the hall in my direction, mop in hand.

"Could you help me sir..? You work here, right?" I asked. He furrowed and eyebrow, but nodded. I sighed with some relief.

"Do you happen to know who Shon Garrison is?"

The man's expression shifted to a skeptical look. As he leaned against his mop, he rubbed the bottom of his chin as if to think.

"Depends on whose asking and frankly, I've never seen you before. How do I know if you aren't a murderer or something?" He questioned. Honestly, I wasn't sure if he was kidding about the last part or not, but I shook my head regardless.

"Do I look like a killer to you? I need to find him. It's too important to let it slide." I stuttered a tad, feeling slightly nervous.

"Hm. Well. I don't think I can help you, lady." And with that, he walked past me, ignoring me almost completely. At first, sadness and loss of hope stabbed me in the heart, but then I whipped around with a scowl on my face.

"Sir. Please. This is more important than my living breath. Maybe not to you, but to me. This man, Shon. He saved my life. I've been in a flipping coma for who knows how long and now I'm not sure if he even exists or not anymore. Please.. I just need to know where he is." I struggled with finding the right words and a few times I felt like I was going to break into tears. Though, the janitor hadn't said anything. Instead, he just stood there, his back to me. Then he sighed heavily.

"Last I heard he was at the northern docs." The man spoke softly. I was about to take off towards the front entrance but he continued, "But if I find out you hurt my nephew, you'll never hear the end of it."

Then the man began to walk away, his back still turned to me. After a small moment, I pranced for the front door. Uncle..? Shon never told me he had an uncle? Neither did Gage..

I burst from the doors and rushed to the car. The bikes from our trip were still on the back of it and since the docs around here aren't accessible by car, I would have to pedal. Before Timothy could say anything or stop me, I hoisted my bike from the car and hopped on.

"Northern docs! I'll be there!" I shouted behind me as I sped off.

The buildings flew past me and the wind rushed through my hair. This was it. The last place I could find Shon. I could see the docs from where I was, considering I was driving on the sidewalk beside the ocean and I could instantly tell there were at least a few people there.

Just as I pulled up close to the docs, I hopped off the bike and began to run down the wooden planks. I called out their names, Shon and Gage, and got looks from random people who were trying to enjoy their morning. I would've apologized, but I couldn't let the moment pass.

Soon I had reached the end of the doc and hadn't seen the garrisons..

The wind seemed to pick up as I stood at the very edge of the wooden platform. The world seemed to falter around me. I thought I had hope, I thought there was hope.

"Was.. it really just a dream?" I whimpered. I was talking to the sky, hoping maybe it'd give me an answer or a sign. Was it all just my imagination? It couldn't have been. I got all the way here and there is so much evidence stating that they exist. But.. Maybe they aren't the same as I thought. Maybe this was all just a random goose chase.

Then just as a tear slipped down my cheek I heard a voice I was afraid I'd never hear again.

"Evern..?"

It was Shon.

Spinning around on my heels, my eyes locked to his. An overwhelming feeling bubbled in my heart and I didn't waste a second to run straight into his strong arms. He pulled me into a hug. He was human height now, but I didn't question it. I just let myself cry in his arms.

"It was real.. I thought it wasn't.. Why didn't you tell me?"

A moment of silence passed.

"Because.. It wouldn't have made sense then either. I doubt I could explain it now as well." Shon had started to cry, trying to stop himself, but obviously it hadn't worked. I nodded as a response and pulled away from the hug. I stared up into his watery eyes and he looked down into mine.

"I missed you so much, Shon.."

"So did I.."

After another moment of quiet gazing, Shon leaned forward as did I and we had our first kiss.

~~~

The end <3