"I'm going to talk to that guy," Hank said to Odeya as she lay in his lap. "The one who took the black from me."

She moaned as if in rapture, almost half asleep. "Again, you are forbidden," she said.

He ran his fingers through the kinks of her hair, helping remove snarls. "Yeah. I know."

She turned her head and looked up, to cast dispersion at him. "And you doubt my word."

He looked down at her in kind. "It's something we have in common. You often do the same."

Odeya rose to a seated position as her mood changed from disdain to dread. She looked out window on Hank's side of the car, at a point just past his head. The dark of night offered no comfort.

"You are correct," she said in agreement about herself. "But I've seen your soul and, for our sake, now I fear you." She allowed Hank time only to blink before carrying on. "I often walk in the shadow of Death, for I show no fear. A light more blinding than all the angels keeps the black at bay." She placed a hand upon his thigh. "You saw how I was not consumed when it left you seeking refuge. I offered no home."

"And that diver did."

"He welcomed it with open arms and seeks to gain its might. If you show him who we are, it will use him to strike us."

Hank stared at Odeya, firming with resolve. He forced her to look at his face. "I am not afraid of the black. I saved Rio from it. I can save him too."

The strength of his conviction caused Odeya further dread. "No. You… you aren't afraid, are you? Not for your safety."

Hank found himself at a rare moment, where Odeya cast her eyes to the floor. Sadness seemed to engulf her.

He came to a realization. "You're afraid he'll come after you."

Her eyes rose. "Does that not cause concern? You saw it consume Rio, and she is very strong. She has a good soul."

Odeya fell silent as her eyes again cast down. "What?" Hank asked, wanting more.

She snuggled up to him, to lay her head on his chest. The scent of her hair was intoxicating, and he could do nothing more than hug her, burying his nose in her waves.

"Keep me safe, my Lord," she said as he inhaled her scent. She spoke to his navel. "With your shield, I shall not falter. The bad outweigh the good, more so than grains of sand, but you stand tall, unwavered. You rod and staff, they comfort me."

"I'm not a fighter," he reminded her, kissing the top of her head. "I only know how to love."

She rubbed her hair against his face to demand more kisses. "You manifest your love in us. To better serve, we grow strong in kind." He could feel her smile as she nuzzled his tummy. "And with your love having no bounds…"

"It doesn't," Hank confirmed through her hair.

"Then we too shall be boundless." She brought her face to his. "My Lord," she said, showing deference. "You may kiss me now."

She presented her lips to him, full and with more passion than he thought a person could muster. Her mouth melded onto his, with teeth and tongue to follow. She pressed the embrace further by using her hands, gently ticking her fingernails at crevasses and folds of skin not covered by their buss. The confines of her small car faded, and the unending cosmos swarmed. Now a giant the size of a galaxy, Hank bent over the world to better present his mouth to the Dreamwatcher who lay in his lap. She willingly let him enter, accepting his tongue the way a flower craves pollen from its stamen.

Unlike melding with Aika, which worked best in a tub of water, Odeya required only the wetness of her lips to deliver Hank to her world. Also unlike Aika, where he led her around as if she were a pet, Odeya's presence felt like gravity, a heavy hand steering the stars. He no more could resist her pull than he could break free from their kiss.

The puny Earth where Aika frolicked as a butterfly was too small to be seen at the scale in which Odeya wielded her craft. So too, unseen were the mountainous demons who deforested the land. Still, as Hank swung around Odeya's orbit, the specks of blue again appeared. Like stars now instead of islands, each was a soul worth saving. But she forbade him to harvest them and instead, as they zoomed by, she gently touched each speck, causing it to glow.

Save this one, she commanded. And this one, and this one, and this.

She forced him to remember the location of each, and gave each one a name, until all had passed. Six hundred thousand more still shone, not needing her touch to glow.

The giant implored his cosmos, seeking wisdom from her. What of them? he asked. Shall they be saved?

Iced coffee eyes opened pretty. "No," Odeya tut-tutted. "They are us."

The return to Reality with Odeya was so sudden that Hank thought sure he'd fallen out of her car, straight through the floor at his feet and to the pavement below. "That was impressive," he said once he'd regained his composure.

She gave him another kiss, this one for pure pleasure. "Danken," she said. "As are you."

Odeya dropped Hank off at Rio's well past anyone's normal bedtime. He again found Rio's purse on the dining table alongside Leanne's. Also like before, Rio's bed was empty and Leanne's door was closed. After having spent hours snuggling and petting Odeya, Hank was happy to have a bed all to himself. After washing up and stripping naked, he climbed in and fell asleep.

He drove Rio and Bumbles to the park the next morning, as the day was pleasant enough to enjoy before the chill of winter set in. She sucked on a bidi while craning her neck to blow smoke out her partly open window.

"Bumbles wants to go," she announced, noticing the dog's behavior. "Now."

As Hank drove the Bentley at a snail's pace while looking for a place to park, Rio opened the door and got out. The dog bailed soon after, squeezing past her seat to exit through her door. He bounded into the park on his own.

"Hey!" Hank exclaimed. "I'm still driving!"

Rio closed the door and smiled through the cracked open window. "So park and come find me." She flicked the butt of her bidi at the curb and took off after the dog.

"It's hard to believe I like her," he grumbled, thinking for a moment about ditching them both.

It didn't take long to figure out where they were. The only thing louder than Bumbles' barks were Rio's hoots and hollers. She mixed English with Japanese, pretty much talking gibbersh.

"Is here? Dame? Yes! Kirisuto! Hank-sama! He is here!"

Hank called out while scrambling through the brush. "Where are you?"

"Goshujin! De na? Perfection! Kore wa kanpeki!"

Bumbles came crashing through the brush and almost bowled Hank over. After jumping and running in circles, he barreled back towards Rio. Hank found her in a clearing, twirling in long grass. She held her hands over her head and hooted at the sun, expressing more joy than Hank thought she had the ability to harbor in her whole body.

She's got full nuts bananas he thought, hoping she wasn't tuned in.

She beamed him a beautiful smile. "Oh my God! He is here!"

"Ah… okay. Who?"

"Papa bear! He is here!"

Carefully, Hank looked around. All he saw a crazy woman, and an equally crazy dog.

Rio sensed his contempt. "Koko mite!" she said with love. "My sweet! Look up!"

She pointed to the sky with both hands, her arms fully extended. About seven meters above her, swirling for hundreds more, were two columns of blue butterflies.

Uncountable, by the thousands. Many hundreds of thousands.

"He is here!"

The columns twirled with Rio as if guided by her motion. They entwined themselves like a corkscrew as she spun in rapid circles. Bumbles ran around and barked, herding the few that strayed back to their proper places.

Hank surveyed the swarm, twirling around once himself. "I've seen them before," he said. "You can see this park from the window in Anna's kitchen."

Rio grew slightly angry. She stopped twirling and placed her fists on her hips. "Oh. And so, they are hers?"

The butterflies also stopped twirling and jumbled into a mass. Bumbles gave up the chase and sat down, his tongue lolling out globs of spit.

Hank held Rio by her elbows. "No, Honey Cup," he said tenderly. "They're for everyone."

Without taking his eyes off hers, he raised his arms above his head, commanding the swarm with his hands. They again corkscrewed together, until he brought his hands down to hold Rio. The swarm descended and swirled around them, stirring the air with their tiny wings. Their numbers were so great that Rio smelled their nectar.

Her eyes could not widen any further, their size magnified by her big red glasses. Hank commanded a butterfly to perch on each hinge of her eyeglass frames, tickling her bangs with their wings. As she giggled, he directed another to perch on Bumbles' nose.

His attention returned to Rio. "You see? They're for all of us. Each one brings good news."

Rio remembered words Milton had spoken. "Be strong. Have faith. Persevere."

"That's right."

Rio bowed her head low. "Goshujin," she said with honor. "I swear to you. We will."

The sun headed towards its zenith, warming the grass in the clearing. So long as Rio lay upon him, Hank could spread his hoodie out on the ground to use as a blanket without getting cold. While he stared at the sky, she had eyes only for him.

"At first you were my student," she said, tracing patterns on his chest with a finger. "Chosen for me by my Milton."

"And Anna," Hank reminded her. "She chose you for me too."

"Hai. And also Aika. But you've called to me for much longer." She placed her head on his heart. "Do you remember calling from the far corner of the world? An ocean away your light shone, bright as a thousand beacons, in a place where I knew only black."

To better see Rio as she lay on him, Hank propped himself up on his elbows. She spoke to a blade of grass.

"Until then I'd known only fear," she confessed. "Fear and undying hate."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "Don't be afraid," he said. "You're not alone anymore."

"I no longer am. You have strengthened me."

She clasped her fingers together and placed her chin in their center, resting her head on his sternum as he continued petting her hair. "Ikatteiru hito ga tsuihō sa yō ni," she said as her eyes slowly closed. "Hantai suru mono wa haji o kanji."

Hank purred with confusion. "Hmm?"

"May those who show anger be banished. Those who oppose you feel shame."

"Uh-huh. And does that include you?"

She snuggled deep, embarrassed. "Oh dōzo. Don't banish me yet. You may need me, you see."

He laughed. "Oh, I see, all right."

She sought to prove her worth, scratching Bumbles on the head as she pondered. "Okay," she offered after a while. "So that big ball of yarn I see as the world?"

"The one made out of Realities?"

"Hai. Sometimes it is more like worms."

Hank sat up in alarm, so much so that Rio's head slid down to his crotch. She enjoyed her new location.

"Yeah," she smirked. "It's gross."

"I'll say!"

"It's why bad guys stink. They're filthy fucking worms."

"Let's keep that image to yourself."

She played with the inseams of his pants, acting as if talking to herself. "So these Realities stick out all around, like nightcrawlers in wet grass. I pull at one, and poke it to make it come to the light where I can better see it."

Hank looked around to see if they were surrounded by worms. Rio kept her attention on where her hands were roaming.

"In my mind," she chastised with mirth. "They're not really real worms. But pulling them out is hard work. If I'm not careful, they break. At times I must leave them be, not knowing if they're good or bad. I just let them stay in the big hard-packed mud ball of the world."

"I can see that," Hank said after a while. He resumed stroking her hair as she continued stroking him.

"I've been coaxing out your big Realities. Not the little ones you toss at everyone." She nuzzled her cheek on his thigh, working her head to make him pet her harder. "The big fat ones you pack deep inside."

His arousal became apparent. "And what have you found in there?"

She played until his loins ached. "Oh nothing. They too tight for me to pull out. I'm just happy not to have a bunch of stinking bad guy worms crawling up my skirt trying to fuck me."

He twisted a lock of her hair around his finger. "So you want my worms up your skirt?"

She clicked her tongue and waggled, making him pull her hair. "Don't talk dirty to me. We may start something I won't stop."

With speed, he rolled her over to lay on top of her. He pinned her shoulders to the ground and pressed down on her with what she had hardened. She spread her legs wide, making sure it pressed down in the right place.

"What if I start something anyway?" he asked.

Her dark eyes never shone brighter. "Perhaps I will let you."

After noodling with Rio a while longer, Hank put his hoodie on while still seated in the grass. He had her scoot up to him on her butt so he could wrap his arms and legs around her, keeping them both warm a while longer. But the shortness of the day soon forced them back in the car.

"So you see the world as worms," he teased before starting the engine, "and Milton sees it as butterflies. No wonder why he's more fun than you."

Rio responded by poking Hank's ribs, then thought better of starting a tickle fight she knew she'd lose inside a car. "Aika sees the world as woodland creatures," Hank furthered as he pulled out of the parking space. "And Odeya sees galaxies and stars."

"What do you see?" Rio asked.

"I don't know. It's still very new." He thought about his answer. "I mean, I see us for what we are, but now I know there's a curtain, where who we are watches the show."

"So you see us as puppets? Like actors on stage?"

"Hmm. No. I see us as far removed. A chasm lies between who we are and where we're going. Odeya says it's like a boat making its way across a river."

"And you must skipper the boat," Rio said.

"Why must it always be me?"

"Hank-sama, listen good. When I was young I thought it was me. I killed so many bad guys I lost count."

"I'm not killing anyone."

"What about the one who looked like me?"

"She killed herself. With grenades."

Rio became apologetic. "Gomenasai. You are right. Yurushite kudasai."

He pursed his lips, showing concern. "Did it ever do any good? Killing all those people?"

"All it did was blacken me. I rotted from underneath."

He put a reassuring hand on her. "Well, you're all right now. You are safe with me."

"Arigatō. We must find a way to make them leave. Sort the good from bad."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I know you can."

Hank thought again for a while. I suppose I do.

It was the answer Rio'd been searching for her entire life. She sat as close to him as she could in the sedan's massive front seat.

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Sensei. I am counting on you."

Back home, Hank puttered in the kitchen, making dinner for his roommates. Leanne had taken over the dining table with her work, always doing more than one thing at a time. Typically she talked into a headset she had attached to her cell phone while typing memos and emails on her computer. Sometimes she wrote notes to herself using a pen and paper. Rio sat in a corner with her face towards a wall, no doubt bolstered by Hank's presence to feel safe wreaking havoc with bad guy worms.

Now and then, Leanne entered the kitchen to pester Hank with love, showing hunger for both his body and his food. They couldn't speak for she was always on the phone, but they playfuly jostled one another, and occassionally she'd peck his cheek or sample what he was cooking.

At one point she presented him with a note. I can't find Anna, it said. Call Fuji. After hamming it up a bit with how much her sore butt hurt, Fuji confessed to Hank what the real matter was.

"Oh ijufō," she said, quelling panic. "Anna's gone!"

"We can't get a hold of her either," Hank said. "She isn't answering her phone."

"She left two days ago, saying she had work to do. But our PEP Center's only minimally staffed, so after a few phone calls, I found they hadn't heard from her either."

"What about Sue Marie? Does she know what's going on?"

Fuji sighed. "Oh, Sue-san is always busy, it seems, doing her own things."

"I'm very sorry you've been alone. Is there anything I can do?"

"Well, I called a few colleagues I know who work at centers nearby that are staffed. I pulled some strings and got my hands on the documents."

"Documents?" Hank asked with concern.

"Anna checked out a car from our center and drove to one that's not in town." Fuji's voice showed real pain, not from her hip but from her heart. "She took her second PEP Test and found out she's a Dot. That was almost three days ago! No one has seen her since.

"She disappeared, Hank! She is gone!"

The END of The Book of PATIENCE