In the Midst of the Lonely Sea of Loneliness 11

Just before Neet reached the edge of the forest, she stopped again and looked back on the Igiby cottage in tears. It had struck her hard that her own daughter didn't remember her but she wasn't going to stick around long enough to explain. She ran away just like the times she had before.

Little did Neet know, Leeli became very worried for her and hurried to her uncle's room to see if there was anything to be done to help the strange woman. As soon as she reached his door, she tried the handle and found it was locked, so she knocked.

"Uncle Artham...?" Leeli quietly called through the door. "I just saw a lady in my room..."

There was a thud inside like Artham had fallen out of the bed and some scrambling before he managed to open the door.

"What did you say?" Artham asked hopeful, looking exhausted but also curious.

"Um... Sorry to wake you... but a lady was just in our room..." Leeli yawned. "I don't know who she was but... I think she needs help... I think she's lost. Do you think she's looking for her family?"

His niece's words only served to saddened Artham but he nodded to her, knowing she was innocently ignorant of the situation. He knew the woman was Neet but didn't have the heart to explain that to Leeli. "Yeah... Sounds like she's lost..." He sighed and stretched an arm behind his head in an effort to wake himself up faster.

"That's sad... I hope she finds them." Leeli pouted slightly as she looked at the ground twiddling her fingers. "She was crying when she left..."

Artham looked at his niece for a moment before getting a determined look on his face and grabbing his coat from the back of his door. "Well, we can't have that, can we?" He asked Leeli with a forced small smile. "I'll go look for her so we can help her, okay?"

"Oh!" Leeli smiled brightly. "I'll get my fuzzy blanket grandma made me and wait on the porch. She might be cold out there alone..."

"I'm sure she will appreciate that. Thank you, Leeli." Artham gently patted her head before whisking himself down the stairs and out the front door.

As soon as her uncle left, Leeli ran to her room and pulled a fluffy pink crocheted blanket off her bed.

"Leeli... what are you doing?" Tink could be heard groaning from the top bunk like she had woken him up.

"Just getting a blanket for the lady I saw. Uncle Artham is going to bring her home so we can find her family." Leeli replied, so focused on getting the blanket downstairs that she didn't explain herself. She just left the room, not wanting to be late for Neet to arrive.

"... What??" Tink groaned in confusion before knocking his fist on his headboard to wake up Janner. "Jaaaannner, I want to get up."

Janner turned over in response, not immediately realizing he was back home in his bed. "Get up yourself..."

"Jaaaaaaannnerrrrrrrr, wake up!" Tink kept tapping on the headboard. "I twisted my ankle, remember?"

Janner grumbled and finally gave to his brother's demands. He got up and helped Tink down from the top bunk before becoming very perplexed. He looked around the room like he had never seen it previous to this moment, shocked that he was somehow home after falling asleep in Neet's cottage. "What...? But I was-"

"Great, now you're acting weird too. Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Tink folded his arms.

"What do you mean?" Janner looked back at Tink despite all his own questioning. "Who else is acting weird?"

"Leeli just came in here and took her favorite blanket downstairs for some random lady. She said Uncle Artham was going to find her or something..." Tink's eyes slowly widened as he got the realization. "WAIT! Was she talking about Scarf lady?!"

Janner perplexed, still trying to figure out how he made it home but starting to understand it was Neet who brought him. "She must have carried me... But how did Leeli know she was here... Unless she just left...?"

"Come on, take me downstairs so I can see this!" Tink hopped over to Janner to lean on his shoulder. "I want to see the scarf lady!"

"Alright, alright!" Janner braced Tink before he started out of the room and down the stairs. "And she's our mom, Tink. You shouldn't keep calling her that."

Janner's stern tone took the smile off of Tink's face. "Woof..." Tink murmured, not about to add any tension that his brother was clearly experiencing.

The commotion stirred Podo and Wendolyn before long and the grandparents soon joined the children downstairs in a tired manner.

"What in the blazes are all ya howling at the wee hours of the mornin' for?" Podo grouched, still wearing a sort of night cap on his head.

"Uncle Artham's gone to look for the sad lady that was in our room." Leeli replied, peeking her head into the house. "We think she's lost."

"Leeli, that lady was mom..." Janner sighed as Leeli gasped. "She brought me home."

"What're mean?" Podo raised an eyebrow. "You didn't go sneakin' off last night, did ya?'"

Janner averted his eyes and slowly nodded.

"Janner Igiby!" Wendolyn put her hands on her hips. "You snuck out?! Into Glipwood Forest? At night?!"

"You could have been eaten, laddie." Podo shook his head, unsure of what to do with his grandson. "Those toothy cows hunt at night."

"Wait- you went without me?!" Tink exclaimed in annoyance. "I was gonna do that! If it weren't for this blasted leg-"

"Kalmar Igiby, don't you talk like your grandpa." Wendolyn lectured, sparing no one of her discipline for stirring such trouble. She turned back to Janner. "And young man, what were you thinking going off by yourself like that?"

Janner's eyebrows furrowed. "That mom should be home with us, not out in the cold by herself."

Janner's candid reply silenced everyone present and hung in the air, as though no one had a rebuttal to his reasoning. Both grandparents softened their gaze and looked at one another sadly.

"Um..." Leeli began, still sounding rather confused. "So... The lady in our room was... our mom?"

"Yes..." Janner replied, not taking his eyes off his grandparents. "And she saved a child from the black carriage last night. After that, she kept me safe from toothy cows in the forest... And I talked to her. Did you ever think to ask her to write something for you?"

"Janner... We could never get close enough." Wendolyn replied with surprise. "... How did you manage?"

"... I think she didn't want me to get hurt in the forest... but also really wanted company... She's very lonely... and sad. Very sad. And scared... But she wouldn't tell me what happened to her." Janner shook his head. "She must have been through a lot..."

"Aye, she has..." Podo sighed. "Our Nia..."

Wendolyn walked over to her grandsons and rested a hand on each of their shoulders. "We still hold out hope that one day she'll come home... but you children shouldn't be going out looking for her. Anything could have happened last night.. Understood?"

"Understood..." Janner replied calmly even though he was angry. He knew that his grandparents and uncle had done all they could to bring his mother home but they didn't get as close as he had to actually achieving this. What if he was Neet's only option? What if she never came home unless something drastic happened? Who would want to wait until then? Regardless of how Janner felt, he kept his piece... for now.

"You said your Uncle Artham left to look for her again?" Podo asked, increasingly less hopeful it would be a fruitful task.

"Yeah! And I got my blanket so if she's cold, she won't be anymore." Leeli replied.

"I hope she decides to come home this time..." Wendolyn joined Leeli on the porch to wait for Neet and Artham to return.