They were to meet Carl at a coffeeshop in Kitsilano near the all-night bagel shop where he worked. He had only an hour’s break and had to work late into the night, so Sylvie and Adele took the bus out to visit him. Sylvie hadn’t talked to him yet; Adele had called him from a pay phone and made the arrangements. Sylvie was so nervous she couldn’t stop fidgeting on the bus, though in her Snowpepper self she felt thrilled and distracted by the novelty of the bus and the people who rode it. She had never imagined that there could be so many different kinds of people! Many of them reminded her of familiar faces from the other side of things. Once she was certain she glimpsed Mother Maples in a chocolate-brown face, but her excited gasp was stifled on a closer look, when she realized it was only a resemblance.

She saw Barkley’s gnarled face in that of one old man who seemed at least a hundred years old, yet agile as a youth. As she watched him spring to his feet and dash out the bus, she noticed her mother watching him as well. “Some people never grow old,” Adele mused. “Asifel says it’s because they keep the fountain of youth within them.”

“What does that mean?” Sylvieasked. “Asifel, can you talk here?”

I can whisper in your ear, he replied. The fountain of youth is magic in some form. Call it faith but it’s more than that. People need something to believe in beyond the mundane everydayness of their lives that they can be excited about. You won’t have to worry about that. You have me, now.

Asifel’s tone made Sylvie feel warm. She smiled at him, and then changed the subject, addressing her mother.

“Mom, was Carl happy to hear from you? Did he seem glad to find out I was coming?"

She felt anxious about seeing her brother. As hard as she had worked to find him, now she feared that he really didn’t want her. Her memories, retrieved from the world of dreams beyond the other side of things, made her writhe in shame. Of course he must hate her. She should consider herself lucky that he was willing to see her at all. Even as Adele responded with vague uninformative reassurances, she fretted. Within, Snowpepper became impatient. Stop thinking like this! she demanded. It hurts the rest of us! You’re making it feel really bad in here!

Sylvie sighed. Snowpepper was right. Such thoughts made her feel even more anxious, stimulating the release of adrenalin and other stress hormones. That couldn’t be good for her. She decided to let her faerie self enjoy the rest of the ride and tried to keep her thoughts to a minimum. Let the meeting with her brother take care of itself.

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