The girl dragged herself back to the house each morning, still not able to run away from the Being's words. And, she began to doubt them, because when she looked at Quietly, at her home, at her life, she knew she was exactly where she wanted to be. How could the Being suggest she give all that up for the boy? Especially when the boy was in a grinding love over someone else, not to mention completely miserable.

  The girl stomped around the house, staring at projects she should be working on, but those projects always led her back to that big, gloating, smug Being, and she didn't want to talk to It right now.

  The phone rang, and before she answered it, she knew it would be they boy, ready to tell her about his trip. She snarled at the Being to shut up, then answered the phone.

  Before long they were on another conversation about Freely.

  "I've always known that I'd fall in love once, and only once, and I've missed my chance now. Freely was my one true love," the boy repeated as he had a dozen times.

  The girl, already annoyed at the Being, and now annoyed because the Boy had seemingly forgotten all that had passed between them years before said, "Freely was an infatuation!"

  "Infatuation?" the boy echoed. "What's that?"

  "That's what the beginning of true love is, " she said. "But it's not love yet. Love is when you see the other person, and love them exactly as they are. True love is when you love another without needing them, so they can be free to love you back.

  "You and Freely did not have True Love because of two things. First, you never got past the infatuation. You never had any time alone together on a daily basis because she was across the land going to warrior school. You never were able to see her as the adventurer she was, you never wanted to see. You know why? Because you needed her. And that's why it wasn't true love. You needed her to love you and fix your life. Freely came back all those times because infatuation is fun, and it's addictive. But it doesn't last. She's quicker than you. She saw you were a builder, she saw you wanted her to be a part of your contraptions, so she left."

  "But, those weren't important. I wouldn't have had to build them!"

  "Especially if it meant losing her, right?"

  "You don't get it," the boy protested. "I loved Freely like no other, and I've learned a lot about love over the past few months." The boy paused. "Tell me, do you love Quietly?"

  The girl's mouth dropped open.

  The Being said, "That's not what he's really asking, is it."

  "Shut UP!" she shouted at the Being. Into the phone she said, "Yes I love Quietly," her voice sounding offended to her ears.

  "I mean, do you really love Quietly?"

  "Of course I love Quietly!" she shouted. "Do you think I would marry someone I didn't love? Why do you think I don't love him?"

  "OK, OK, don't get upset. I didn't mean to offend you."

  The girl seethed on her end of the line, trying to calm down.

  "But I learned about love on this trip. I learned that sometimes love's so strong that you can't live with it, that you have to settle for someone else instead. That love, real love, can't be lived with."

  The girls anger dissipated into a simple shock of disbelief. "Love isn't like that at all!"

  "No, no, I found out from my friend, Compassionate. That's what love is like for her, too."

  The girl sighed. "It doesn't have to be that way."

  "But, that's the way it is for me and Freely."

  "But, then, that means you'll never have anyone."

  "Oh, no, I'm sure I'll marry someone someday, but it won't really be love."

  The girl sat with her mouth open. She said, "How nice for the lucky girl."

  "Can you believe that?" she shouted at the Being later. "Can you believe how pathetic that boy is? Listen to him! He'll believe anything just so he can justify his actions and his feelings about Freely. Not being able to live with a love so strong. Give me a break!"

  She rounded on the Being who was silent. "And then, then, he tries to use me as evidence for this stupid little theory. He tries to use my past love for him to show that I couldn't stay with him. And now I, doomed never to have him, settle for Quietly! Of all the arrogant, stupid, pathetic ideas! What an idiot the boy is!"

  "You're not being very fair" the Being said. It held up its hands, palms outward. "Yes, I agree with all the reasoning you just gave, but he was led down that line of thinking by what he knows."

  "He sure doesn't know much. And he's forgotten all about me! Says we should have been just friends, said he only loved Freely. And he's saying this to my face!"

  "He does know one things for sure, And that is that you love him."

  "I do not!"

  "Well then, in your own words, you have a big, fat infatuation on him."

  "Would you shut up about that? I love Quietly, not him."

  "Who said it was either or?"

  "I don't want the boy! Stop forcing him down my throat, damn you!"

  Over the next few weeks, the girl grew more and more distressed. She'd look at Quietly, and she knew she loved him, and wanted to be with him. She knew how well she and Quietly worked together, and played together. Why throw something like the Boy into her paradise? Sure, apologizing for ten years ago and putting him in her past was fine. Helping him get over the loss of Freely was fine. But falling in love with him was not fine .

  And how could she be in love with such a pathetic wretch? It couldn't be true. No no no. It wasn't true. She was true. She was true to Quietly, and that was that.

  She began to hold on closer to Quietly, afraid of herself, and her emotions, and she kicked the Being every time it said, "Relax, and trust me." Even at night as she slept, dreaming of fantastic men, she turned the man into Quietly before she could do something compromising.

  "You don't have to feel this way," the Being said

  "Leave me alone!" she cried. Then she hugged Quietly tighter.

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