Lola yawned and leaned back in her small chair.  She glanced over
at the window to watch the snow fall.  Shivering at the thought of going
back out into the cold, she turned her attention to the warm fire ablaze in
the hearth.  Her awareness slowly slipping away, she became lost in the
flickering lights from the fire and began to daydream of Maranda.

        Birds flew through her imagination.  Then she thought of her flower
garden.  Not noticing her outward frown, she sighed and let her mind drift
over each dying plant.  She imagined she could reach one.  Touch one.

        Suddenly, a hand appeared in the vision.  A white furry hand.  She
drew back suddenly, losing her daydream as a voice said, "Lola?  Are you
alright?  You look so sad..."

        Lola tried to focus her eyes on the figure hovering in front of
her.  Gradually, Cecil's hands loomed into view.  "Wha...?"

        Cecil sat down next to her and took her hands into his.  "I said..."

        "Oh!", Lola interrupted suddenly.  "It's you, Cecil."  She looked
down at her lap.  "I was just daydreaming."

        Cecil let go of her hands and stood slowly.  "Yes.  That I can
relate to.  Daydreams... too close to reality, if you ask me."

        Lola looked up at Cecil.  Something inside her forced her not to
press him on the matter.  "I think I understand, dear Cecil.", she said
simply.  She looked forward to look at Kain and Omega.  Nodding to Cecil,
she remarked, "They appear to be doing the same.  Daydreaming, that is."
As she noted the faraway looks on their faces, she became filled with a
mild sense of sadness.  "Is this all that's left?", she demanded to no one
in particular.  "All that's left after our loved ones die, and are lost?"
She took small notice of the stares being placed upon her by Kain and
Omega.  "We all have lost."  She moved her face close to Cecil's.  "Even
you, Cecil.  I can see it in your eyes."  Her gaze was deep unto Cecil.

        Kain glumly nodded, barely visible in the darkness of the room.  "I
guess losing all of your memories is like losing a loved one... or two."

        Omega shook his head in agreement with Kain.  "I think nothing
could be worse than losing an entire existence.  I have lost myself... as
well..."

        The rest of the party gave Omega a few curious looks, but all were
sympathetic.  A moment of silence passed through the room.

        Cecil, still looking into Lola's eyes, whispered, "Well at least we
still have our lives..."  He stood suddenly and turned to Kain and Omega.
"I am very tired.  I shall be going to bed now.  Perhaps what I need is
sleep.  Perhaps what we -all- need is sleep."

        Kain also rose to go to bed.  Nodding to Omega, and smiling at
Lola, he said his good-nights.  "Yes, sleep!  Good notion, Cecil...Good
night all."

        Cecil paused before closing the door to their room behind after
Kain had entered.  He lingered for a moment, looking at Lola softly.  "Good
night my dear lady.", he whispered to himself.  Shaking his head, he closed
the door.

        Omega stood to stretch his legs.  He also glanced at Lola, and
couldn't help but notice the spaced-out, yet glum expression on her face.
Leaning in her direction as he stretched, he ventured, "My lady.  Pardon my
inquiry, but is everything alright?"

        Lola sighed.  Normally, she didn't mind the attention, but she
wanted to be alone.  To think.  To... She turned to face Omega for a
moment.  "Thank you Omega.  I am fine.  We're all fine here..."  Shaking
her head she turned to escape to her room.  "I just need some time to be by
myself."  She sprinted to her room door..  At the last second she stopped,
but did not turn around.  "Please.",  she pleaded to Omega.  "Don't worry
about me.  Good night."  Closing the door softly, she left a confused Omega
standing in the living room area by himself.  "I hope he doesn't think I'm
rude...", she yawned to herself.

        She walked over to her bedroom window.  Her mind playing her
bizarre daydream over and over in her mind.  She tried to focus on... "A
white hand...", she said aloud.  "A furry white..."  Sighing, she gazed out
the window.  "It's no use.  I can't even remember my own daydreams.  Maybe
I'm going crazy..."

        Turning her attention to the weather, outside her window, she
couldn't help but find some beauty in the blindingly white, swirling
snowstorm.  Her eyes widened as a large snowflake landed on the thin glass
of the window.  She giggled excitedly when she realized she could see tiny
intricate patterns throughout the snowflake.  Then, it melted.

        Sighing, as she tried to forget about the pretty snowflake, she
rested her arms on the ledge of the window.  Placing her chin on her hand,
she tried to concentrate on the falling snow.  "I wonder how far I can
see.", she thought to herself.  "Can't be too far.  Only a couple of
meters...."

        While she was staring out the window, she noticed a figure groping
its way through the storm.  She leaned forward, pressing her face against
the window, hoping to get a closer look at the figure.  What she could make
out through the white haze startled her.

        Straining her eyes, she could barely make out a silhouette of a
woman.  She appeared to have a slim build and tall stature.  Lola squished
her face into the window pane a bit harder.  Her breathing had increased,
and she had started to feel a cold sweat begin to take over her body.  "If
I could only see...", she panted, not knowing why she was becoming anxious.

        In the last instant, as Lola viewed her last glimpse of the woman,
she noticed a long, flowing, flowered scarf being beaten by the wind.
Lola's eyes, as if frozen in time, locked their gaze upon the woman's scarf
as it disappeared from view.  "Where have I seen that scarf before...?",
she asked herself frantically.

        Her eyes flew open as an irrational thought came to her mind.  "My
mother had a scarf like that... Could it be..?"  She paused.  "Mother?"
Tired and homesick, she grabbed her bag full of garden tools and her
anti-elemental cloak.  Within seconds she burst out of her room shouting,
"Omega!  Omega...?"  She screeched to a stop in the living room.  "I guess
he went to bed too.  I really shouldn't bother him... or Kain, or..."  Her
mood softened.  "... Cecil.", she whispered.

        Casting a final glance at Cecil's door, she ran through the house
and out the front door.  "I'll be back soon guys.", she said under her
breath.

        As she burst out the door,  the cold air overwhelmed her.  Grabbing
for her cloak, she threw it around her shoulders, silently thanking the old
innkeeper for her unselfish gift.

        She looked in both directions, not sure which way to go.  Turning
around in circles, hoping to find a clue to the mysterious woman, she
closed her eyes and stopped.  "I guess this way is as good as any.", she
thought to herself.  Picking a direction, she ran off into the swirling
blustery night.