There she was. The love of my life. My wife, with her long, beautiful hair and purple aura. I had built an entire town for this woman. I loved her, and she loved me.

But this wasn't her.

"I'm sorry sir, do I know you?" The words felt like a slap. No, I take that back. No physical pain could amount to what I felt at that moment. All of my hopes of ever seeing her again crashed and burned. At that moment, I couldn't move or say a word. What would I do now? My life had no meaning without Ianite.

"I'm... I'm sorry, spark." The priest's words echoed in my ears. "She's not the goddess you know."

Other Ianite's eyes were filled with pity and regret. "I apologize. As much as I would like to say that I remember you, I must tell the painful truth. But is your name really Spark? Like CaptainSparklez? You look very much like him... except for the age difference."

"He is my alternate self," I answered, my voice weak. "I'm sorry for confusing you. I knew the Ianite in my dimension... very well." I saw Jeriah and Mot look at their feet.

She seemed to get it. "Oh. Well, I'd love to chat sometime. We can compare realms, if you'd like. Anyway, this is my pirate follower, Redbeard. You arrived here on his old ship."

We greeted him. I tried to act like I was over the situation, but I couldn't possibly lighten my heavy heart.

"Why do you live here?" Alyssa piped up, "Why would you leave the overworld? It's nicer..." Mot covered her mouth and shushed her, but it was too late. Pain filled the pirate's eyes, and I already knew what he was going to say, even before he spoke.

"I had a sister," he said quietly. "Her name was Captain Capsize. Best pirate the world had ever seen. She and Ianite were captured and locked up. Ianite was fine, being a strong goddess and all. Capsize, on the other hand, was too weak to handle it. When we tried to rescue her, she... she was practically gone already." He couldn't meet our eyes. "I have to stay here and remember her. I don't know if I'll ever be able to go on."

Ianite sighed, staring at her hands. "The loveliest woman to ever come to this land." She looked up at me. "She meant the world to CaptainSparklez, you know. It must have been devastating for him. The reason they made the journey here in the first place was for him. His goddess and his... girlfriend... were locked up." She said "girlfriend" in a weird way, as if their relationship was a bit more complicated than that. I decided it wouldn't be wise to ask.

Redbeard walked over to the glass grave and sat in front of it. "She... she wasn't herself when she appeared. Sparklez refused to accept it, the poor thing. I had to... I had to put her out of her misery." He buried his face in his hands. A long silence followed, in which we all stared at him with horror and pity.

"Anyways," Ianite said after what seemed like hours. "I should be honest with you. We aren't safe here. Gods don't die, as you probably know. I'm afraid that Dianite will make a return soon. Or that his former assistant, Furia, who was even more evil than the god of evil himself, isn't actually gone. There are many threats to this land. We don't want you to be frightened, especially not the child..." She met Alyssa's eyes and sighed. "But unfortunately I must warn you of the dangers here if you are to live here for a long time."

"I know Dianite," Alyssa said. "He's my friend."

Ianite looked alarmed, but Mot quickly explained. "Back in our realm, Mianite was evil and Dianite was the, well, 'good' god. She still isn't fully aware of that, I apologize."

"It must be overwhelming, especially for a six year old," the priest said, patting the little girl on the shoulder. "I don't blame her in the slightest."

"Would you like me to show you around the island?" Redbeard asked. "While you're here, you might as well enjoy your stay." We all started following him, when Ianite called me back.

spark, why don't we talk a bit? I'm not sure how often I'll be able to see you." Ianite gestured for me to come closer. I stood in front of her throne and gazed into her glowing eyes. It was so difficult for me to believe that this wasn't the Ianite I knew and loved.

"Hello... Lady." I desperately tried not to make things awkward between us. "Do you have any idea why we switched realms? Or why we have alternate selves? It's a bit confusing to me."

She shook her head. "I have no clue. The fact that there is another Ianite both scares and amazes me. What was she like?"

"She... she was very kind to all, except the ones who angered her. She was a very good listener, and loved nothing more than having a nice chat with someone she was close to." I turned away and closed my eyes. "She had a way of calming people down. Whenever there was a fight, she was the one to settle it. She managed to keep her older brothers from fighting... every time. She... I... loved her." I couldn't continue. Tears filled my eyes.

"No, no, no, I didn't mean...." she sounded panicked, and I heard her leap onto the floor. "I'm really sorry. I just wanted to talk with someone like this. I can't believe I messed up right from the start." She placed her hand on my shoulder.

"It's not your fault," I said weakly, wiping my eyes. "I... I just can't believe I'll never see her again."

"We don't know that!" I could tell that she was trying to make me feel better, but I didn't need to be lied to. "We don't know how or why the switch took place. It could be reversed one day. You must have hope."

"Okay." I sighed and looked out at a building in the distance, where the others were. "I really should join them, though. Farewell, Ianite." I started jogging towards the building before Ianite could stop me.

"Oh... okay. Farewell, Spark." She sounded hurt, but I didn't turn around. I'd come back and talk to her another time, when I wasn't so emotional.

Well, I guess I discovered the way not to deal with loss- to talk to the person who looks exactly like the person you lost.