Standing in the oval-shaped courtyard, next to the Eternal Clock with its one hand now bordering between winter and spring, Daniel felt like breaking down and crying. Winter and his creatures had caused colossal damage to the glorious city. There was nothing left of that wondrous and colorful garden that was once full of life; everything had been trampled and stepped on mercilessly.
Summer’s fountains had almost all been destroyed, but thankfully there were still a few left and their water was being used to restore health to all the wounded from the battle. The land was covered with the remains of the unnatural birds and animals that were being moved away to designated burning sites. Swords, spears, knives and arrows were everywhere and Daniel felt sick at the very sight of them.
The sky was still empty and dark, looking very strange without the usual host of stars to brighten it up. Heli and the rest of the celestial army were still busy helping out on the ground with the wounded and the fallen. The air buzzed with the flapping of their fiery wings and those of the remaining wingmen, who worked tirelessly to restore order in the aftermath of the battle.
Their sorrows however were not over yet. As Daniel watched, a group of six wingmen, led by Séraphin and followed by hundreds more, flew in, carrying with them the body of their fallen queen. Word spread and songs were already being sung of her bravery and fierce courage. So many had fallen in the battlefield, and despite the final victory, this was indeed a sad day for all of Endërland.
The wingmen sat their queen’s body down on the cold pavement of the royal courtyard, at the feet of her tall ivory throne. They improvised out of the blue a bed of beautiful flowers, which Daniel wondered where they got. Two wingmen sat on their knees opposite each other, at her head and feet. They unfolded their beautiful blue and white wings, covering her entire lifeless body, in the likeness of an image not unfamiliar to Daniel. They stayed that way for the remainder of the ceremony, which was about to begin.
With the help of the celestial army under Heli’s lead, all the bodies of the fallen heroes were placed on the side, until the ceremony was over and it was decided on the best way to honor them. When all was done, everyone gathered before the Silver Throne, waiting for the Lords to appear. Hëna and Damien had gone together into Winter’s tower to release them, and were now walking behind them as Autumn, Spring and Summer entered the royal courtyard, heading towards Daniel. There was indescribable pain and horror in their eyes, as they were finally confronted with the consequences of war.
The three approached Daniel and kneeled before him, pledging their loyalty and allegiance. After that, they stood up again and headed towards their thrones, but did not sit down. Behind him, Diane took her own place standing before her throne, with Íro as always by her side, while to his left Séraphin stood by his mother’s throne. To his far right Eleanor appeared from the water, with her left arm and shoulder wrapped up in bandages. Nemo was by her side, now back in his merman form, his smiley eyes shifting between Daniel and the lovely Íro.
Daniel heart was instantly uplifted to see his friend alive and well. He wanted to run towards him and give him a big hug, public or not, but it would have to wait. Everyone was here, and they were all once again waiting for him.
He turned to face the whole army gathered before him, men and wingmen grouped on the ground behind their leaders, and mermaids in the sea behind their queen and prince. Heli and his friends continued to populate the air above them, organized in their own quadrants of thousands. Their collective light made the whole city look even brighter than the sunniest day.
Everyone looked tired and worn out, but gone was from their faces the fear and dread of the impending doom. The war was over and they had won; now it was time to rebuild whatever was destroyed and start over again. And they were all looking to him once more, to lead them back into the life they knew before all of this.
Yet, after all that was done and everything that had taken place, Daniel still felt uncomfortable and ill equipped to stand before an entire kingdom, and tell them what they needed to hear. He might be the Great Lord, but he still felt like he was just Daniel, an average city boy, who had just been through an extraordinary experience. Still, he had already accepted this responsibility and honor, and he would not shy away from it now. Trying to come up with words appropriate for this moment, he looked at the crowds before him and began to speak.
‘Today we rejoice, for we have claimed back our kingdom, our lives, our freedom. Evil was conquered and we are free once again; though the price we paid for this is indeed high, for we lost many of our loved ones. Do not hold back your tears, we will miss them all dearly; but as we say goodbye, let us celebrate the life they gave so that we may continue to live. We owe it to them to make the most out of it and live it to the fullest.’
Daniel stopped for a moment, an idea forming in his mind. Looking at Heli and all the celestial warriors before him, he now knew the best way to honor the fallen ones.
‘As we welcome the start of the new season, and the Silver Scepter is passed on to Spring, we will honor our fallen heroes by lifting them up into the sky, where they will continue to watch over us, just like our brothers and sisters here always have. And each time this day comes, we will gather in this place to celebrate and remember them, and I promise you that on that day, they will all come down and celebrate with us.’
With everyone staring and wondering what he meant, Daniel raised both his hands over his head, with his palms up and eyes closed. In his mind he imagined the bodies of every single one of the fallen heroes levitate from the ground and rise slowly towards the sky. As they continued to ascend, they began to transform into radiant light that kept growing brighter and more powerful as they joined together.
Sounds of awe echoed through all of Arba, as Daniel opened his eyes, and found that this was exactly what was happening. The two wingmen covering the body of the Sky-Queen, were still sitting in the same position, looking up with their mouths and eyes wide open. He watched as she slowly ascended and joined with the rest of the fallen, flesh and bone glittering out of existence before the stunned eyes of the entire congregation. Slowly, thousands of beams of light rising up from the ground came together, ultimately forming a single heavenly structure. Once it finally reached the roof of the sky, it flickered, stopped and became a permanent member of the celestial family. Daniel smiled; a bigger and brighter version of the Milky Way now stretched across all the visible sky.
Applauds and cheers erupted from everyone around him, with tears freely falling as goodbyes were said. From somewhere behind him, among the mermaids of the sea, a very clear and powerful voice arose above the noise of the waves and the exclamations of everyone else. It was a voice that defied all other voices with a beautiful song of bravery and strength, and gratitude, and love.
From the seashell where he was sitting next to his mother, Nemo turned around and saw that it was the voice of Agnes, the older mermaid he had met before, and understood now why they called her, “the loud one”. He smiled as it dawned on him that she was very likely the legendary mermaid of the well, and could not wait to share this little fact with Daniel. Soon, the old mermaid was joined by her sisters and then everyone else, and thus the song grew louder, echoing throughout all of Endërland.
As the singing continued, with everyone’s eyes glued to the sky, Daniel spotted Heli approaching him, accompanied by another striking young man, with a look just as jolly as his.
‘My lord, may I introduce you to a very good friend of mine; you know him as the Northern Star.’
The young man flew closer to Daniel and bowed in respect.
‘We are all very happy you have returned, my lord. It was about time you called on us; we were getting quite a bit restless up there. If it weren’t for this guy,’ he motioned at Heli, ‘some of us would have come down on our own. But he insisted on waiting on your call; he knew you’d come through.’
‘Thank you,’ Daniel said, smiling fondly at Heli who returned the gesture. T
hen, he remembered something and turned to the man again. ‘So, you’re the funny one then, the one with all the jokes?’ Right then he wished he hadn’t said anything.
‘I see my reputation precedes me,’ the man said, looking at Heli. ‘Well, I haven’t prepared anything for the occasion, but here, maybe you haven’t heard this one.’ He then proceeded to tell a joke before Daniel could stop him.
‘Guy meets girl at a feast, guy tells girl: “Did it hurt?” Girl says: “Did what hurt?” Guy says: “When you fell down from heaven?” Girl starts going: “Aww…,” but guy continues: “Because your face is all messed up.” Ha ha ha…’
The man ended the joke, laughing hysterically, as if it was the funniest thing he had ever heard, or told. Daniel could not help but laugh along with them, more at him than at the joke. For a while there, he’d thought they’d never laugh this way again. But this felt good, really good.
When they were done laughing, the young man bowed once again.
‘It really was an honor, my lord; you know where to find us, should you ever need us again.’
Smiling, he put his beautiful fiery wings to use, and signaled the rest of his friends to follow him back up towards the sky. People continued to thank them and wave them goodbye, while thousands of singing voices still soared above them.
Only Heli stayed behind, and now it was just the two of them. Daniel looked into the eyes of his big friend, with indescribable longing and a little sadness.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, Hel. You’ve no idea how much we’ve missed you.’
‘I’m not,’ Heli said, the smile never fading from his handsome face. His blonde hair seemed to have been set ablaze like his fiery wings, and contrasted beautifully with his big black eyes, which, as far as Daniel was concerned, were no longer the only thing he had in common with Hëna. ‘I would do it all over again, if it meant helping you find your way.’
‘But how did you know?’ Daniel asked. He had always wondered why Heli had believed in him from the start. Heli kept smiling, but did not answer. Instead, he looked behind Daniel, where Hëna and his parents could be seen approaching. Daniel saw them as well, and knew it was now their time. He stretched his hand out to Heli, who extended his in return.
‘Until next time, my friend.’
‘Until next time,’ Heli replied and flew in the direction of his family.
Daniel watched them from a distance. Hëna’s tears at the joy of seeing her brother again somehow gave him closure, and he felt happy for her. For all of them. But then, for a single moment their eyes met, and he felt uneasy again, so he turned and headed towards his own family. He found his mother holding Damien in her embrace, and the two of them watched the stars taking their place back into the night sky. Daniel threw his arms around both of them, and they continued watching together. He wished he could freeze this amazing moment in time and they could stay like this forever.
Diane seemed to be feeling the same way. She smiled and kissed both of them on the side of their heads.
‘I love you, boys. I’m so proud of both of you. If only daddy was here to see you now.’
‘Dad,’ Daniel said, remembering. And just as if on cue, the oracle appeared by his side.
‘Alfie, where did you disappear to? I haven’t seen you since the battle ended.’
‘I was minding some other business, which I need to talk to you about.’
‘What is it?’ Daniel asked. The oracle glanced at Diane and Damien, not sure if he should speak in front of them.
‘Alfie,’ Daniel insisted.
‘I have news from your world, and it’s not all good, I’m afraid.’
‘Are dad and Sam alright?’ Daniel asked right away.
‘They’re fine. They managed to get to you in time, before Butler could kill you, and they’ve taken your body to the hospital.’
‘What’s the bad news?’
The oracle paused for a moment, not too eager to be the bearer of bad news, but he knew there was no way around this. So he finally answered.
‘Butler is dead.’
Daniel looked at him with horror in his eyes. He knew what this meant; his brother would never be able to return to his own body and the life he was robbed of so long ago. He would remain here forever and would never get to see their dad again. He looked at Damien, who lowered his head in despair, while Diane tried to comfort him.
‘I’m sorry,’ the oracle continued, ‘that’s not all, however. Your body has grown very week, and if you do not return now, you will surely die too. You need to go back Daniel, now.’
Daniel slowly turned away and looked at everything and everyone around him. The people were now safe, but there was still a lot that he had to do here. Would they judge him, if he left them now, even if only for a little while?
He turned to his mother.
‘I have to go back, mom. I don’t know how long I’ve been gone for, or if my body can survive any longer.’
‘The portal,’ Diane said, ‘we have to go right now.’
‘But mom, what about everything here? There’s still so much I need to do.’
‘It will all be here when you get back, sweetheart. Right now you have to go and take care of yourself, Sam and your dad.’
Sam.
Thinking of her, inadvertently led his thoughts to Hëna, and he knew that whatever happened between him and the moon girl, he and Sam could only ever be friends.
He looked over to where Hëna was, and saw Heli rise up and take his place once again as the brightest star above Arba. She looked peaceful, almost happy. He felt relieved seeing her like that. He still heard her words in his ear, telling her that she didn’t want him, and it still hurt, but he knew time would heal that wound too. She was alright, and that was all that mattered.
He headed towards the three of them, with Diane and Damien following him. He stopped in front of Autumn and his wife, making every effort not to look at Hëna.
‘My Lord Autumn, I’m afraid I have to go away for a little while; there is something I must see to, before I can do anything else here. May I ask you and your sisters to look after everything in my absence?’
Autumn appeared puzzled, but he did not ask.
‘Of course, my lord. As always, we are here to serve.’
Hëna looked at Daniel, but he did not meet her gaze.
‘Thank you,’ he replied. ‘I will be back soon.’
He bowed his head in respect and turned away from them, while Hëna’s eyes followed him, wondering. For a moment, he thought she would chase after him and stop him, and part of him really wanted her to, but she didn’t. So he just kept walking away, leaving her and everything else behind.
With the help of Séraphin and his wingmen, Daniel arranged for all three of them to be airlifted to his mother’s castle in the shortest time possible. The journey didn’t last long - the wingmen flew fast - and the sight was definitely an improvement from the battle worn site of Arba and the surrounding areas. Snow and ice seemed to be melting quickly in the kingdom, and the land was once again regaining its colorful face. Seeing this, Daniel finally felt signs of relief kicking in; they had done it, they had actually saved Endërland.
Once at the castle, they thanked the wingmen and made their way up to his bedroom, without delay. There were signs of pillaging and sacking all over the place, but these were more evident as they entered his bedroom. With a trembling heart, Daniel headed towards the secret room, which he had never visited a second time. As the door opened to let them in, he was relieved to find that it had not been discovered, and thus the portal had remained hidden.
He gave his mother a thankful look and stepped inside. Gazing over the bed he had slept in, the portal appeared in the form of an image of the room he was being kept in, back in London. He recognized right away the two people he saw through the image. Sitting on the far end of the bed where he was resting, was his dad. He had one hand holding his.
‘Dad,’ Daniel whispered, a lump forming
in his throat. His dad looked tired and sad.
‘You can see dad?’ he heard Damien from behind him. Turning around, Daniel looked at the longing faces of his mother and brother, and knew that they missed him just as much as he did, if not more.
‘Come,’ he said and stretched out both arms, taking their hands. As their fingers touched, the image from the other world became visible to all three of them, allowing Diane and Damien to see David for the first time in a very long time.
‘That’s dad,’ Damien kept repeating and crying. ‘Mom look, it’s dad.’
‘I see him, my love. I see him,’ Diane replied, too overwhelmed by emotion to hold her own tears back. ‘Oh, thank you, Daniel; I never thought I would get to see him again.’
They stood there for an endless moment, looking through the portal and crying. In a weird way this family had been made whole once again, and that was more than they had ever hoped for.
After a little while, Damien asked.
‘Is that Sam?’
Daniel nodded with his head, smiling. She was sitting on a chair right next to his bed and to his surprise she seemed to be sleeping, tucked under a hospital blanket.
‘She’s alive,’ he said and couldn’t stop smiling.
A few more moments passed, after which Diane dried her eyes and said.
‘You need to go, sweetheart; they’re clearly very worried about you. You’ve risked your health for far too long; it’s time.’
Daniel looked at her and then shifted his gaze to his brother. He thought of the evening before his first dream, and how he had complained that he couldn’t even remember their faces. Now, they were both here, he had found them again; he could see them, touch them and hold them close. He knew that he would be back with them soon enough, but Damien would be stuck here forever and he and their dad might never meet again.
He shook his brother’s right hand, which he was still holding in his and looked at him straight in the eyes.
‘Would you like to go? That is, if you don’t mind living in my body.’
Damien gasped, staring back at him, not sure what to say.
‘Daniel, what are you doing?’ Diane asked.
‘It’s ok, mom; my place is here, I know that now. But I want Damien to have a chance to live the life he was deprived of, to be with dad. We will see him again, I promise you.’
He turned to Damien again.
‘So, what do you say, big brother, wanna get back to the real world?’
‘Are you sure, Dan?’ Damien managed to ask, clearly wanting this. Daniel nodded again, smiling.
‘Yes,’ Damien almost jumped from joy, ‘yes, I’d like that very much.’
‘Very well, then.’ Daniel took something out of his pocket and placed it in his hand, closing his fingers around it. He then let go of his hand and stepped away from him. Damien opened his hand and found a small white plastic watch, old and worn out. It seemed to have stopped working a long time ago. His face grew brighter as he recognized the item.
‘This was mine,’ he said, barely believing it. ‘You’ve had it all this time?’
‘Yes,’ Daniel replied, ‘it was all I had of you. Now look over the bed; can you see the portal?’
Damien turned and nodded with his head.
‘I see it.’
‘Great. Now go, all you have to do is walk through it and you’ll awake on the other side.’
Damien took them both in his arms one more time, before heading towards the portal.
‘Tell dad that we miss him and we love him,’ Daniel said for both himself and his mother, who affirmed through teary eyes.
‘I will,’ Damien said and climbed on the bed. ‘See you soon. Love you.’
Those were the last words he said as he went through the invisible portal and over to the other side.
Opening his eyes, Damien found that they hurt. His eyelids felt heavy, and at first he struggled to keep them open. He shifted his gaze away from the ceiling light that felt too bright for him, and tried to look down at the end of the bed, where he knew his father was sitting. David was still holding his hand, but seemed to have dozed off, his head hanging down on his chest. Damien looked at him for a moment, barely believing it. His dad had changed so much over the years.
He tried to move, but felt too weak, and found his whole body and even his arms to be too heavy. So he gave that up and tried instead to squeeze his father’s hand. That proved much easier to do; his fingers obeyed his control and the sensation caused David to wake up.
‘Hi, dad,’ he managed to whisper, as the stunned David looked into the open eyes of his loving son.
In a heartbeat, David leaned over and embraced him, careful not to pull out any of the tubes connected to him.
‘Danny, you’re awake. Oh, thank God, I was beginning to lose hope. I love you so much, son; I will never let you go again; do you hear me? Never.’
‘Love you too, dad,’ Damien replied, happy to be in his father’s arms once again. ‘I’ve missed you so much, dad.’
‘I’ve missed you too, Danny. How’re you feeling, son?’
‘A little week,’ Damien answered, as his father released him from his embrace. ‘I…, I can’t move, dad.’
‘I know, son; you’ve been asleep for over a month now, and have been in a coma for the past week. The doctors said it was your body’s way of protecting itself by shutting down. They could do nothing else but keep you well fed and exercised, and hope that you’d wake up eventually. But now that you’re awake, everything will be alright; with a little therapy you will be up and out of here in no time.
‘Oh, Danny, I was so afraid you’d never come back to me.’
‘I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all that, dad,’ Damien said, looking at his father much clearly now that his eyes had adjusted to the light in the room. ‘You’re so much older than I remember.’
‘What are you talking about, Danny? It’s only been three months son; I couldn’t have gotten that old.’
Damien knew he had to tell him; he couldn’t hide the truth from his dad, not after being apart from him for so long.
‘Actually dad, it’s been almost 16 years, well, for you at least.’
David looked puzzled.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Daniel stayed behind with mom, dad; he let me come back instead.’
It took David more than a moment to understand what he was hearing. His eyes filled up once again, as his fingers reached for the face of his son.
‘Damien?’ he asked unsure.
‘Yes, dad, it’s me,’ Damien answered, now crying a river.
‘But how could this be? How is this possible? Where have you been all this time?’
‘It’s a very long story, dad, but I will tell you everything in due time.’
‘I cannot believe this. What about Daniel? Is he alright?’
‘He’s fine, dad. He and mom send their love and want you to know that they miss you very much.’
David felt this was all too surreal.
‘Mom is there with him?’
‘Yes, dad. You should see her now; she is even more strong and beautiful than when she was here with us. And she has a mean throwing arm, too;’ Damien chuckled through the tears. ‘You would be so proud of her.’
David leaned back, not knowing what to make of all of this. Every human sense told him that the boy before him was his youngest, Daniel. But he had learned enough by now to doubt his son’s words. He did not get how this whole dreamworld thing worked, but he didn’t have to; he knew in his heart it was all true. He looked at his son again and smiled.
‘I cannot believe this, you’re back, and now I have both my sons here with me. Damien,’ he repeated his name, as if trying to get used to it again. ‘This is all so weird.’
‘I know, dad,’ Damien smiled again, ‘don’t worry, we’ll get there.’
From the corner of his eye he saw Sam move and turn in her chair.
‘Sh
e’s still here,’ he said, not really asking.
‘She never leaves.’ David looked fondly at the blonde girl. ‘She eats here, she sleeps here, she even takes showers here. She keeps waiting for you to wake up. She saved both our lives, Dan…, Damien. Without her, none of us would be alive today.’
As if sensing that they were talking about her, Sam woke up and her blue eyes met straight away with Damien's.
‘You’re awake,’ she almost yelled, throwing away the blanket and being by his side in an instant. David got up and gave her some space.
“Why didn’t you wake me?’ she rebuked him.
‘I’m going to get the doctor,’ David simply said, winking at her, and then leaving the room.
Damien looked at Sam’s beautiful face hovering a bit too close above his, but he did not feel uncomfortable. He remembered her from that night in Endërland; she was the same proud and beautiful girl, yet there was something different about her now.
‘Hi, Sam,’ he whispered, happiness brightening up his smile. ‘Did you sleep well?’
Sam kept staring at him as if trying to convince herself that he was real. He was finally back, awake, and now she would be able to do this again.
‘Like a baby,’ she answered and reached down with her lips, kissing him passionately.
She smelled so nice and her lips felt so good and soft against his, that Damien did not protest. Something deep inside of him told him that he wanted this apparently just as much as she did. So he kissed her back, and he kissed her again that day, and the next day, and the day after…
The days that followed were all about restoring Endërland to its former glory. The first thing that Daniel had to do, was appoint replacements for Heli and Hëna in the sky. Summer volunteered her own son and daughter for the job, and he gladly accepted. He held no grudge for the part she had played during the council meeting; her heart had been in the right place.
Next one to be replaced was Winter. The position of the White Lord had to be filled, if things were to return to normal as much as possible. Daniel offered it to Andres, Ari’s eldest son and firstborn in this world. He had proven invaluable during the battle and had earned Daniel’s and everyone else’s respect from day one. Andres graciously accepted the position, and took over the role of the Lord of winter. Together with his family he moved into Winter’s tower and helped rebuild Arba with the rest of the Lords.
It took no time for Spring to restore the garden and make it even more stunning than it was before. The surrounding sequoia trees were as healthy as ever, and with Summer’s help, the healing water was once again springing all over the city.
Under Autumn’s supervision, all weapons in the kingdom were destroyed, including Winter’s gifts to the three queens, until no trace or even memory of them was left. There was no image of them recorded in the Chronicles, nor instructions on how to make them.
As for the new Lord of winter, he decided to dedicate his gift not to the city, but to the Great Lord himself. Out of ice that would never melt, he sculpted a life-size replica of Lightning, the bravest stallion the kingdom had ever known. This was then placed on top of the grave where Lightning was buried. Daniel wept the first time he saw it, feeling forever grateful for this.
Things changed in the sea world as well. Eleanor finally decided that time had come for her to leave, and thus her successor was elected. However, unlike tradition required, this time there was no competition to determine which one of the candidates would replace her. Much to Vanessa's dismay, everyone agreed that Nemo had proven to be the wisest, strongest and most courageous of them all, and he was crowned King of the Seas in front of all the mer-people. Daniel couldn’t be prouder and happier for his friend. In time, Eleanor said her goodbyes and took her last journey into the open sea, never to be seen again.
As for the sky-people, they had lost more than half of their wingmen during the battle, including their beloved queen. In their own tradition, they mourned their loss for forty days and nights, after which the crown was passed on to Séraphin in a great ceremony. Daniel welcomed the decision, knowing this was the right choice, and gave the new Sky-King his blessing.
Gabriel’s position as Chieftain of the Northern tribe was filled by his young wife for a time, until their unborn child grew old enough to take over, as agreed by both Séraphin and Daniel.
With the Lords’ help, the Shadow Forest was transformed from a dark and desolate place, into a forest full of life and all kinds of living creatures. Abundant sunshine and moonlight fell on it all the time, and soon the old name was forgotten and stricken from the record. It was now called, Brightwood.
As all of these changes took place, life in Endërland gradually returned to normal, without much excitement or anything out of the ordinary happening. Ari’s sons returned to New Sotira and continued their life there much like before. The oracle returned to his little house in Tálas, where Veronica awaited him. Diane continued to serve as Queen of Endër, while Damien returned to visit them every day, always bringing news from the other world.
For some reason, Sam never came back to Endërland, and Daniel never saw her again. He was very happy for her and Damien though, knowing that in a weird way, she got together with the man she loved, and his brother found the best girl there ever was.
Feeling that everything was as perfect as it could be in the kingdom, Daniel eventually found himself with very little to do. Everyone had their own place in either world, only he felt like he did not belong anywhere. He loved to live in the castle with his mom, just like he loved spending time in Arba with the Lords. But as seasons passed, there weren’t that many things that required his attention, and the castle was his mother’s place, not his. So, he decided to go to the one place he knew he would never tire of, the seaside.
With Garret and Sarah’s help, he built a small house, not too far from theirs, so that he could live next to the sea and his best friend. He spent a lot of time under the sea with the new king, whenever his duties and the lovely Íro would spare him. It was one of those things he could never get enough of. At nights, he would still stay up until late and stare at the big beautiful moon traveling through the sky and lighting up the kingdom. Even the stars seemed to shine brighter than before, as if they were happy that the moon was back amongst them. To Daniel, however, it no longer felt the same; this was not his moon. But it was the next best thing, and it was all he had.