Diane came out of the house in behind the store and instead of going through the store, she walked around it to come over to me. Her arms were full of tiny books and different things that I couldn't make sense of.

“I've had these things in a pile in my room since Spencer was too old to use them.” Diane said. “I always meant to get rid of them or sell them, and I never got around to it.”

I just stared at them all and she laughed.

“Take some, will you? We can head over to Gail's and I'll grab us something to eat.”

I took some of the bigger things she had in her arms and she thanked me, then we walked down the road to a large house that I had looked in and was told to keep moving.

“I'm not allowed in there.” I said.

Diane gave me a disbelieving look for a second, then she sighed. “I don't see John going around and telling everyone the truth, either.”

“It doesn't matter.” I said. “No one trusts me, anyway.”

“I do.” Diane said.

“You're special, though.” I said and her face went red.

“I'll be right back.” Diane said and went inside the house.

I listened and I heard a lot of loud voices. They were all speaking at once and I couldn't make out what anyone was saying. It died down and I didn't hear anything for several minutes, then Diane came out with an angry face and a partially filled burlap bag.

“She won't make you anything, even though I told her.” Diane said and opened the bag for me to put the other things into it. “She said she won't make anything for me either, because I would share it with you.”

“I told you that it didn't matter.” I said. “I have stew with me and I bet if you told her, she would accuse you of lying.”

“You have stew?” Diane asked and I nodded. “We can share that.”

“No, we can't.” I said and she raised her eyebrows at me. “It's got stuff in it that will poison you.”

Diane opened her mouth to laugh and she saw the serious look on my face. “You're not joking?”

I shook my head. “The Hag said it took me almost ten years to build up enough resistance to eat it without getting sick.”

“Oh, dear.” Diane whispered. “What... what are you eating out there in the marsh?”

“Usually diamond snake, marsh frog, an occasional boar, and near-deer when I go looking for ingredients.” I said and pat the water skin on my hip. “This has marsh panther in it.”

“You ATE it?!?” Diane asked loudly.

“Only some of it.” I said and she relaxed. “The rest I'm smoking to save for later.”

Diane looked a little pale and I moved beside her to let her rest against me. It took her a minute to regain her composure. “Please tell me you don't eat anything else that can kill you if you try to catch it.”

I kept my mouth shut and she stared into my eyes and waited for me to speak. I didn't.

“I think I need to sit down for a while.” Diane said and nodded down the road. “Let's go sit in the spot where my store would have been built.”

We walked down the road and up the main one a short ways and there was a small field there with old stumps of trees all over it.

“This is it.” Diane said walked over to one of the larger stumps. “John cleared this out years ago for my husband. I thought he was preparing a home for us to live in and instead he decided that the army was better than finding a job here.”

“He left you and Spencer.” I said and took out my knife and quickly sliced off the jagged part of the stump for her to sit down on.

“Yes, and I cursed at him so much that day.” Diane sat and her face crunched up as she fought to not cry. “Why would he leave, David? Wasn't I a good wife? A loving mother?”

_______________

You have a minor choice to make.

A) Agree. B) Disagree. C) Stay silent. D) Kiss her. E) It doesn't matter. F) Tell her she's nice.

I think most of those would just invite a lot of extra stuff that neither of us needs right now. I thought and read everything again. I'm playing it safe this time and choosing C.

_______________

I wasn't sure what to say, so I stayed quiet and sat on the ground in front of her.

Diane looked at my blank face and nodded. “No, you're right. You wouldn't have an opinion of him, since you've never met.” She said and looked at the bag in her hands. “At least Gail gave me this to carry Spencer's old things in.”

I kept my mouth shut and she gave me another searching look.

“You know she's just scared of you right now, don't you?” Diane asked.

“Just now?” I asked and it was Diane's turn to stay silent.

We sat there for several minutes without saying anything.

“We need a table or something.” Diane said and looked around.

_______________

You have another minor choice to make.

A) Make a table. B) Stay on the ground. C) Sit beside her. D) Ask to go somewhere else.

I think it would be good for her to see me show John up. I thought with a smile. I'll choose A.

_______________

“If there's an old piece of tree around that's big enough, we could use that.” I said.

“I think there's an old tree over there.” Diane pointed off to the back of the property. “I think John said it was too big to move.”

I smiled and ran over to the back of the property and past where the house was supposed to be and easily found the large jagged trunk. It was about four feet wide and would make a perfect table. The fallen tree wasn't that far away and was only about thirty feet long. When I walked over and looked at the other end, it had been cut off. The saddest part was that it was a wildwood tree.

He took the parts he could and left the rest. I looked at the old dark grey and weathered tree that had been there for as long as Spencer's dad had been gone. Can you imagine how many wood coins this thing could have made?

I shook my head at the utter waste and went back to the stump. I used my knife to slice at the jagged top of it and made quick work cutting away the pieces of wood. I kept them right there in a pile, because I could use them as firewood that would burn for days. I did my best to make a flat surface out of part of the trunk, since it was still attached to the roots and hadn't died, then cut it out.

With that done, I made four more slices that were the right size for legs and used drops of number ten potion to attach them to the flat piece I had already cut out. I used a bit of fortifying potion to age it and strengthen it, then carried the table across the property and over to Diane. She stared at the thing like I had just made it appear out of nothing.

“How in the world did you do that?” Diane asked, shocked.

“Magic.” I said and put the perfectly sized table in front of her. It came up to her elbows and she easily rested her arms on it and the bag of items.

“D-David, this... how did you...” Diane's hands roamed over the aged wood that looked very strong. She finished rubbing the table top and looked at me. “You need to sit right beside me to learn properly.”

I ran back to the large stump and cut out a smaller flat piece and legs for it, attached them together, then ran back.

“That looks brand new and more like an end table than a chair.” Diane observed.

“I came back as soon as I made it.” I said and sat down beside her. “What's an end table?”

Diane chuckled and dug into the bag for a minute, then pulled out a couple of small books. “We'll start with the very basic of basic.” She said and showed me a book with something written on the cover. When she opened it, the very first page had a picture of an apple on it.

“Apple.” I said and pointed.

“Very good.” Diane said and pointed to the odd shape on the other page. “This is the letter A. It's the very first letter in the alphabet. Can you say 'A'?”

“Eh.” I said and she smiled.

“If you remember this shape, like a triangle with a line through it, you will know that anything you read with a large A in the front is this letter.”

“What's the circle with a tail?” I asked.

“That's the small 'a'. Those you find inside words that you read.”

“This sounds hard.” I said with a frown.

Diane laughed and pat my hand. “It's all right. It will be a little hard as you start to learn, then it will get a little harder.”

I gave her a disbelieving look and she smiled.

“I'm not going to lie to you, David. You're pretty old to start learning to read.” Diane said and I sighed. “No, don't get discouraged.” She said and took my hand and held it. “When we get through the book, I'll teach you the song for it.”

“There's a song, too?” I asked, surprised.

Diane laughed again. “Trust me. Once you get the song in your head, you will be singing it for the rest of your life.”

_______________

Montage mode engaged. Speeding up learning process. Done.

_______________

“Oh, look! The sun's starting to go down.” Diane said and stretched her sore arms. “I can't believe we've been here all day already.”

“We didn't eat.” I said and she nodded as she put everything back into the bag.

“I've got to get home and make supper for dad.” Diane said and stood, then she looked at the table. “I don't think we should leave this out here.”

“I'll bring it along.” I said and stood, flipped the chair over on top of the table, then picked both up.

“You're really strong, aren't you?” Diane asked as she carried the bag and we walked over to the road.

“Only for another day. The boost wears off then.”

Diane looked confused and I didn't say anything else. We walked down the road to the store and then went behind it to the house. I put the table and chair inside for her and she said she would see me in the morning after she helped open up her father's store.

I left her there and went down the road to the dock.

_______________

You have a choice to make.

A) Go home. B) Float around. C) Sleep in the boat. D) Sleep on the shore. E) Go to the inn.

You know what? Let's see if Rebecca has heard John's story about me. I'll choose E.

_______________

I looked at my flat bottomed boat and thought about tucking myself under the tarp to sleep. I realized that would be a bad idea, especially with my potions bandoleer on, so I decided to head to the inn and see if they had a room for the Marsh Man. I chuckled at myself, because I was actually getting used to calling myself that. I went inside the inn and Rebecca didn't say anything, even when I asked for a room.

“I want a bath and a bed.” I said and she took in a sharp breath. “I need new clothes for tomorrow, too.”

“It's f-five silver.” Rebecca said, nervously.

I pulled out the money from my pocket and put it on the counter.

“I'll have the tub filled in half an hour.”

“Make it warm if you can.” I said and she nodded.

“Room three. On the left.” Rebecca said.

I went over to the hallway and went to the room where I had stayed with the Hag years ago. I know she knows this is the same room that I almost died in. I thought and entered it. I looked around and couldn't do anything, so I sat down on the chair and started singing the alphabet song under my breath.

It really was a catchy tune.