“That’s it?” Sylvie demanded. “You gave in and let him have his way?”

“Well, sweetheart, please understand that I have the same ability with people that I do with animals. I could tell that little bear wasn’t dangerous, and I could tell that George was. He meant every word of it. He was convinced that I had put our son in danger and anything I said on the subject—anything—he would have left. With the boys. I couldn’t risk that, even if Asafel hadn’t told me my life depended on staying married.”

“Well, Mom, you have to admit, it must have looked pretty crazy to Dad,” Sylvie said. “It would have to any normal person. I mean, Carl was only four, and you let him approach a bear. I mean, duh, you know?”

“I didn’t mean to do it in front of your Dad. He wasn’t supposed to be coming home for two more days. Breakup started early, he said, and we didn’t have a telephone. I wouldn’t have done it in front of him, not unless he had been prepared first. Of course, I didn’t know, yet, how he felt…and you have to realize, I grew up in the woods, with Asafel… I didn’t know how normal people felt…” Adele’s voice trailed away. “God, I was so naïve!” She fumbled in her purse with trembling fingers.

“Is it all right if I smoke in here, Sylvie?” she asked.

Sylvie was shocked. “No, Mom, it’s not, this is a non-smoking house. But I thought you quit smoking, like, years ago!”

“Well, I started again after Carl left, but I tried to hide it. I guess I hid it pretty well.” Adele’s smile was twitchy. “But now… sweetie, I really need a cigarette.”

“We’ll have to take a walk, then.”

“In this neighbourhood? Isn’t it, you know, dangerous?”

“Nah. It’s fine. Come on, Mom.” Sylvie went ahead, not looking back to see if her mother had followed. Her head was spinning with implications she couldn’t sort through. That Asafel character gave her the creeps. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss at not having had the chance to know him. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad, having a real ‘invisible friend’. After her own recent experiences, she didn’t question whether or not Asafel was real, or whether her mother might have made the whole thing up or been deluded in some way. Anything was possible in this new world she had returned to.

They went out the front door just as Squid and Julie were returning. “Hey, dude!” Squid said enthusiastically, high-fiving Sylvie. “This your mom? Hey, Sylvie’s mom, dude, how’s it goin’?”

Adele removed her hand from Squid’s eager grip and slipped quickly past the two street kids, nodding and smiling frozenly. Squid’s high-energy puppydog friendliness made her nervous, not to mention his tattoos and piercings.

“Dear,” she whispered to Sylvie when they had successfully made their escape, “Am I mistaken, or was his tongue, you know…” she trailed off, gesturing vaguely.

“Yeah, his tongue is pierced with a skull. I don’t get it, but he’s into it.” She shrugged. After only a few days in the city, plus a timeless span on the other side of things, she felt like a veteran of the strange. “Squid’s cool Mom,” she said. “Really, he’s just sweet and totally harmless.”

“Yes, I suppose he is,” Adele murmured. As soon as they reached the outdoors she fished in her purse for a cigarette. She lit it with a tiny pink disposable lighter then exhaled a streamer of smoke with a long sigh.

“That’s better.”

Sylvie glanced at her but said nothing. Now was not the time to protest her mother’s smoking habit.

“Mom,” she began. “What happened next? Did Asafel go away?”

“Oh, no, of course he didn’t. He can’t, you know. He’s a part of us, part of our family really. No, he’s still here, right now. All we have to do is call on him.”

“Us? You mean, I could…” The thought chilled her.

“Oh, yes, he’d love it if you did,” Adele said. “He was very upset with me for not introducing you to him while you were growing up. It was too late for Carl, of course, but it seemed the best thing for you and Scotty. The simplest, anyway.”

Sylvie walked in silence for a while. The came to a small barren park; a stretch of grass with a few scrubby trees. Homeless people were huddled here and there with their bundles and blankets. She supposed they had to go somewhere.

“Want to sit here?” She pointed to an empty park bench.

“All right,” her mother agreed, after glancing furtively around. Satisfied that there were no potential attackers lurking near, she carefully brushed loose grit from the seat with a grimace of distaste, then sat.

“Tell me more, Mom. I really want to know. How did Carl manage to keep Asafel a secret from Dad for so long? And did you still talk to him? Asafel, I mean.”

“Yes, I still talked to him, whenever I had that chance, that is. It wasn’t very often though, because things changed after that. Your Dad quit logging and got a job at the mill so he could be home more often. I might have had the opportunity while he was at work, but then we moved in to town because he thought it would be safer there. I didn’t care for it much. I missed our cabin in the woods. I missed the woods, the privacy.” Tears rose in Adele’s eyes as she puffed on her second cigarette.

“What about Carl?”

“I spoke to Carl. I explained to him that Daddy didn’t like magic and it would be better for him not to talk to Asafel or fly or anything like that where Daddy could see or hear him The poor little guy was so terrified by what he’d seen happen to the bear that I think he believed George would shoot him if he caught him behaving against his rules, so he was very careful. It was easier for him after your Dad built his bedroom down in the basement when he was eight. He was a very private boy and Scotty’s wildness in the same room was hard for him. I encouraged George to build the room, of course.”

“Of course,” Sylvie murmured. In her mind, she could feel Snowpepper’s churning excitement. I want to meet Asafel, she urged. Please, Sylvie, let me meet him!

No, Snow. No! I can’t explain why. Sylvie shuddered. He gives me the crawling horrors. Maybe later. Not now.

Sylvie! It could be important! He’s been with your family for so long! Aren’t you even the tiniest bit curious?

Not now!! At Sylvie’s imperative tone, Snowpepper subsided sulkily.

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