Miranda sat in the audience with her family gathered around her to watch her mother graduate. Tears poured down her face as she watched the ceremony, but none of the words seem to make any sense. All she knew was that it was finally time to say goodbye to her mother.

Miranda's husband gave her hand a squeeze and her daughter who sat behind them gave her shoulder a gentle pat before going back to entertaining Miranda's rambunctious granddaughter and namesake. It saddened her that more people didn't come to the graduation, but she could understand why. At least it meant that she and her brothers and all their children and grandchildren could find seats together.

"Look," Jack, her brother said,"Mom's next after this one."

Miranda pulled herself together to watch as a distinguished gentlemen walked across the stage.

"Gerald Thomas Merton," the announcer read, "has had a long and varied life. He has worked and lived on each of the seven continents and even had occasion to visit the colony at Mare Tranquilus. He has been an lawyer and engineer and an author and has received many awards and distinctions. His contributions to society will live on after his graduation." The entire speech was read in a bored monotone, just like all the rest before. It would have been kinder, Miranda thought, if they just left all that out. It was in the program anyway.

"But I'm not ready to graduate." Gerald Thomas Merton said in a firm voice."I have work to do. There is a book that I haven't finished editing yet and I'm consulting on a legal case."

"Did you not appeal to the Graduation Committee?" the announcer said.

"Do you think I'm a fool?"

"No," and for the first time Miranda detected emotion in the announcer's voice. It was irritation. "I think you are graduating."

"I tell you," the old man said, "I'm not ready, I've appealed."

"Your appeal has been denied, or you wouldn't be here."

"No, there's been a mistake!" Two men in black suits stepped up and escorted the old man off the stages. He no longer looked distinguished, just pathetic. They must have slapped a patch on him because he stopped yelling in mid-sentence.

"Well that's it," Miranda heard from a couple of rows behind her, "The old coot's done. I need a drink." She heard the man's footsteps recede up the aisle.

"Marjorie Georgette Mulholland" the announcer said, once more in an emotionless monotone. "has spent her life as wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and regrets nothing except that she didn't have time for one last batch of snickerdoodles." For the second time the announcer's monotone slipped as his voice raised in a question mark.

"Yea Mom!" shouted Jack and Miranda found herself joining the chorus of shouts and whistles even while the tears flowed. One of the men in the black suits pushed her mother's wheelchair onto the stage, and her mother smiled and waved at her cheering family.

"I have to ask," the announcer said, "what is a snickerdoodle?"

"They are my family's favourite cookie." Miranda's mom said, "And call me Georgie, everyone does."

"All right, Grandma Georgie!" Miranda's son yelled. She saw the flash of pictures being taken and knew this would go down in the family history as a proud moment. She smiled through her tears.

The man in the black suit appeared to be grinning as he pushed the wheelchair to the other side of the stage. The announcer went on to the next graduate and the monotone.

The reception, Miranda thought, was not very conducive to the celebration of life it talked about on the brochure. The pictures there were of laughing people surrounding the dignified elders who were graduating. Here there was very little dignity and even less family. Most of the people who did show up were ignoring the graduates and eating. Not that the food was anywhere close to what Mom could have produced in her time. Miranda shrugged, at least Mom was surrounded by her family who were laughing and crying as they said goodbye.

"I put the snickerdoodle recipe in the letter," her Mom said, "along with some other essential information."

"I thought we took care of all the legal stuff."

"Not that boring business," her Mom patted her hand, "The really important things; you'll see when you open it."

Miranda moved to let Jack talk with their mom and noticed that the room was much quieter. Most of the other elders were gone and only two other family groups occupied corners of the room.

"I'm sorry, but it's time." A young woman in a white dress stood beside Miranda.

"I know, you have another group of graduates tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Take care of her."

"We'll love her like she's our own family."

"She has a loving family right here."

"George is waiting patiently for his beloved."

"Dad never waited patiently for anything in his life."

The young woman smiled. "He's learned a great deal since then."

"Who are you talking to, Dear?" Miranda's husband came up and took her hand.

"The young attendant in white," Miranda looked around and the woman was gone. "She was just here."

"All the attendants are wearing black," he said. She nodded, of course they were.

Miranda turned and looked at her family.

"It's time," she said. "Grandpa George is waiting for his Georgie, and you all know how patient he was."

They lined up from youngest to oldest to say farewell. Miranda was last.

"Take care of them," her mom whispered.

"Say hello to Dad for me." Miranda said.

The attendants wheeled her mother through the double doors.

Graduation Day was over.

"Mom left me the snickerdoodle recipe," Miranda said, "I'm thinking we should go home and try it out." She took her husband's hand and led her family away.

He stepped through the heavy door and stopped, slightly disoriented. Gone was his beloved classroom. The diagrams he'd stared at for so many hours, the whiteboard where his lessons were sketched out. Even the anatomical representations. All gone.

The white concrete walls and tile floor reflected the harsh fluorescent lights. Two chairs faced each other across a stainless steel table, dark opponents in a room devoid of color.

One chair held his professor. The other waited for him.

"Are you ready for your final exam?"

The professor's voice echoed through the empty room. The student remembered his first lesson. "Confidence is everything. It's the single thing all animals recognize and respect."

With straight shoulders and papers held casually at his side, he strode across the floor. Each step rang with self-confidence.

The professor nodded his approval. "Very nice start. Many students have failed before they ever began. Congratulations."

The student positioned his papers on the table and waited.

The professor stared at him for a moment. "Do you understand that this constitutes your final exam and is the last step before graduation?"

"Yes."

"A failure at this juncture will not only result in a failure to graduate, but will also result in removal from the program and all associated activities. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"You may begin."

The student took a steadying breath..

"Every successful study begins with solid research and thorough planning. Therefore, my first step was to identify the creature's environment and movements. The basic needs are universal - food, sleep, socialization. However, each individual fulfills those needs in a different way. For example, the eagle hunts during day while the lioness prefers the night. After careful observation, I learned that my chosen subject was most active during the day, preferring its den at night. However, a few simple experiments showed that, with the right incentive or provocation, it could be lured out for brief periods of time, breaking its pattern." He pulled a page of full-color graphs from his folder. "As you can see from Exhibit A, the data supports my conclusions."

"Very impressive. How did it react to your 'experiments'? Did it become more or less cautious?"

Another graph was produced. The student waited as his professor studied the analysis.

"There was little change in its overall level of caution. I was extremely careful keep the environment as neutral as possible. Each incident was deliberately staged to appear random. In addition, I spread the experiment over a period of eight weeks. The trend analysis revealed a slight increase in awareness after each event, but the recovery period was minimal and did not affect the underlying patterns."

"Did you learn anything from this?" the professor asked.

"Yes. Its speed of recovery indicated a resilient nature, easily able to evaluate unexpected occurrences and move past what it determined were minor events. I noted that this ability could be both a strength and a weakness."

"Please elaborate."

"While it demonstrated the ability to quickly adjust to a change in its environment, it did not make lasting behavioral changes to avoid potential risk in the future. This lack of reasoning capability made it vulnerable."

"Any social observations worth noting?

"Yes. It had a strong pack mentality and socialized freely with similar creatures. Study of the social unit revealed an open structure receptive to new members. This was a pivotal point in my study and had a significant influence on Phase II."

The professor leaned forward slightly. "Tell me about it."

"During Phase II, I became familiar to the social unit. To start, I positioned myself in an area where they were known to gather. I kept my distance and made no effort engage them. At first they appeared uneasy, shifting and occasionally glancing at me. This faded over time as they subconsciously accepted my presence. While not part of their unit, I was no longer considered a threat. From that point on, it became a matter of patience and timing until I achieved my ultimate goal."

"Details. I need details," the professor insisted.

"One key element was their perception of me. To influence this, I altered my appearance. I dyed my hair brown, grew a longer style and added brown contact lenses. I was amazed at the difference a dull palette made. A shuffling walk and downcast gaze completed the façade. The social unit as a whole ignored me. I appeared weak and harmless - therefore in their minds, I was."

He paused, letting the tension build.

"One night, the group was preparing to leave the bar when she noticed her necklace was missing. From her reaction it appeared that she had an exceptionally strong attachment to it. The social unit searched but didn't find the missing jewelry. Eventually they gave up and left together, as was their pattern."

"You found the necklace?" the professor asked. His eyes were fever bright with anticipation.

"I didn't need to. When I knocked on her door an hour later, she recognized me as the 'harmless' guy from the bar. I had no trouble convincing her that I'd found her necklace. In her excitement, she informed me that it had been a graduation gift from her grandmother. This sentimental attachment triggered the necessary break in her normal behavior pattern. She opened the door to me without hesitation. That was all I needed."

The professor smiled as he pushed away from the table.

"Congratulations. You've passed with flying colors." He removed a small toolbox from under his chair, placed it on the table and opened it. Spotless surgical tools sparkled like diamonds under the room's bright lights.

"We are ready for your graduation ceremony." He touched the tools lovingly. "We started the day as teacher and student, but we will end it as equals."

"I'll bring her in."

Darian stood at the top of the waterfall. The path behind him had been closed by a locked metal grill in the ceiling above him. The only way left now was forward--and down.

He could barely see the bottom of the falls through the mist that was created from the force of the waterfall striking the pool down below. Standing at the edge, Darian planted his feet carefully in the rushing water. Drawing a deep breath, he pushed off, launching himself into the air, diving downward into the mist.

He hit the pool of water hard, although not as hard as he had anticipated. He was initially pushed downward in the churning water, but quickly got his bearings and fought his way to the surface. Off to one side an unseen light source revealed shallow steps leading out of the water and into a tunnel. He began swimming toward the steps with strong strokes of his arms, but was brought to an abrupt halt by something pulling at his ankles, dragging him back underwater. A man’s torso ending in a large fish tail showed his attacker to be a merman, who could stay underwater indefinitely, while Darian had only a short time to get free or else he would drown. He twisted around forcefully, freeing himself from the grip on his ankles, but then the merman grasped his shoulders to keep him under. Darian reached out and grabbed the merman’s neck, and with a sharp twist, broke it. The grip was released from his shoulders, and he quickly broke the water’s surface. He pushed toward the steps.

The tunnel in front of him had two lights, one torch at the beginning of the tunnel and one in the far distance. He began running toward the farthest torch. As he reached the second torch, he drew to a sudden stop. Right before him was a dark, downward shaft. Across from its opening the wall was solid. Once again, down was the only option.

Taking the nearby torch from its sconce, he leaned over the edge and let it fall. Not far down it revealed a shadowy opening in the wall just beneath him, not far down but enough that he couldn’t just swing around into it. He watched as the torch appeared to be a tiny spark far below. After its light completely disappeared, he heard a faint sound as it struck bottom.

Steeling himself, he turned his back to the shaft and stepped out over the edge. There was no time for thinking now, only reflexes. In freefall, he stretched out his arms, feeling his shoulders pull and his boots slam against the wall of the shaft as he caught the floor of the tunnel opening. He pulled himself up into the opening and eyed the corridor in front of him. The only light came from around a distant turn, not enough to show anything but the faintest outline of the tunnel ahead. He drew himself slowly up into a standing position, poised for an attack from an unknown direction. He took several steps forward, heard a faint click, and threw himself down, rolling over to one side of the tunnel. By now his eyes had adjusted to the gloom enough for him to see a huge weight drop down from the ceiling, the downswing coming right at the place he has just been standing a moment before.

He slipped past the weight and lightly jogged around the corner. Straight ahead was a crooked tree trunk connecting two sides of another drop. From the smell that emanated from that direction, he knew there was a particularly vicious acid below the unstable log.

He reached into a pocket and drew out several razor-sharp disks to have at the ready. Then he stepped up onto the tree trunk and began to inch along it, careful to keep his balance. A sudden movement caught his eye. Looking up, he saw four archers slightly downstream and at a higher elevation, arrows nocked and pointing straight at him. Without stopping his move across the makeshift bridge, he hurled one disk for each archer, throwing off the aim of two and not even letting the other two get a shot off. All four of them tumbled down into the acid pool. Pocketing an unused disk, he finished his crossing and then looked ahead.

Someone was in the tunnel ahead, blocking his path. That same someone hurled a spear straight at him. Darian stood his ground, and at the last second he reached out in front of himself, grasping the spear just before it would have entered his body. He quickly flipped the spear around and threw it back at his attacker, skewering him in the chest.

Darian rounded a corner and found himself in a large cavern, where he was suddenly doused in torchlight. A gray-haired man approached and stood face to face with him.

“Excellent, Darian. Many are called but few survive. Congratulations on completing the graduation ceremony. You are now officially a member of the Assassin’s Guild.”

It returned to the plane. It once had a gender and a name, those were unimportant now, as were its position in life, and the physical items that were left behind. All that mattered now was the gate, and the gate was before it. It traveled the distance separating itself from the gate quickly, at least from its standpoint, in reality time had no meaning on this plane, it was eternal. It pressed itself up against the gate, and found that once again, it could not pass. A sorrow came over it as it moved away from the gate, and watched a steady stream of others like itself try to pass through the portal. Most, like itself, were turned away. A very few were let through, and it felt their joy on joining of the host of beings on the other side, felt the thrill of belonging, the soundless voices of untold billions joining together in unison to sing of togetherness. It was a fleeting glimpse of what was behind the gates, but it made it long even more for passage through them.

It turned its attention to the other beings on its side of the gate. Some wandered aimlessly. Some, embittered, slid towards the dark pit, where a dark caricature of the host behind the gate seethed, packed tightly together in their hate, but unable to join, each lost in their own bitterness both against those beyond the gate, and those still in the mortal realm.

It noticed the steady water-fall of beings descending back into the mortal plane preparing to take part either again or for the first time in birth into a body, as well as beings like itself recently, pouring back from the mortal plane, and trying the test of the gate.

Scattered around the plane were others, like itself, unsure of what to do, neither able to past the gate, unwilling to join the hating throng, but not ready to take on another cycle of birth and death. Some of them wandered aimlessly, it had no idea for how long, it might well be eternity, for that is how much time they had.

The mortal plane beckoned to it, but it wasn't sure it wanted to be born yet again. In the end it decided to move closer to the mortal plane to observe.

- +-+-+-+-

Jimmy was playing with a soccer ball in front of his house. His mother was watching him in a somewhat distracted fashion as he kicked the ball around the yard. The phone rang, and she went into the house to answer it. She came out just in time to see Jimmy running out into the street after the ball, and hear the squealing of brakes. A man stepped out from nowhere at the last minute, pushed the child out of the way, and was hit by the speeding car.

George, 17 had been the one driving the car. He also had been distracted, he was talking to his buddy, and really not paying attention to the road. He saw the child dart out too late to avoid it, he stomped on the brakes, and the car skidded. He saw the man step in front of his car to push the child out of the way just before he struck him. He remembered the look on the mans face. He didn't look scared in those last seconds, he looked at peace, as if he had finally discovered a great truth.

-+-+-+-

It returned to the ethereal plane. It remembered now. It had been a man, a man who had a chance to save a child's life and didn't. That time. It was given another chance, and it took it, forsaking the long life it had been granted, and all that went with it. It had no regrets. The gate loomed before it. It went towards it, pausing momentarily at the brink, then passed through to join in the unified mass of souls who were celebrating its return.

In a long forgotten story there was a girl, a girl just like a story, in a place with no name, in a time with no space. Her house was on a hill and her heart was on a cloud. Her long hair was shining the air around her face and her smile was glittering in the small river flowing lazy under her window. The school she was going to was near a graveyard and every night she was passing with fast steps near the dogs that were wondering on the empty streets. The evening was pleasant, the dark was merging with the light and the air was heavy. She walked along her friends until they met a crossroad and only the two of them were left. The silence was nice, it was rapping them in the worm lights coming from the neighbors windows. The air’s smell was intoxicating, the shadows were sliding and there were whispering soft words. Everything around them was singing.
- What do you think it will happen to us in ten years?
- I don’t know...
- I love you!
The girl smiled shy and kissed him on the cheek.
- I have to go...
- Please stay longer!
- I cannot!
- Please, at least ten minutes more, let me hold you.
- I cannot, i have to hurry!
- Don’t forget i love you, always will
- Your lies are songs to my ears...
Her steps were hurring on the stairs up to her room.
- Why are you late?
- I am not late!
- Don’t argue with me, i know exactly when you walked in the door
- I stopped to talk with a friend.
- About?
- Not your problem!
- Tomorrow i will go to school to talk with your teachers. You aren’t allowed to leave this room until I say so!
The door slammed behind him and the girl was locked in her room. Her room was at the upper floor but the distance was rather small. She took a few things in a backpack, her heart in her teeth and she started descending helping herself with the small holes in the house’s wall. It wasn’t the first time but she knew she is taking a big risk. This time she was decided never to come back. She started running until she got closer to the graveyard. The dogs were barking but she was no longer afraid. She was afraid of nothing. She just wanted to disappear. She jumped over the graveyard fence and the lied down on a tomb of a small child. The wind was blowing faster, announcing the storm. The sound of the leaves was charming her. The dark sky, covered with clouds, didnt allow any starlight to shine.
- Where an i going?
Her question resounded in the night’s silence and the wind stopped for a moment. Small whirls started forming around the grave and the tree’s branches were attracted to that special place, where she was lying. The power of the wind was growing, bringing with him distant whispers.
- Take me with you...if you are my friend...
A shadow started rising from the ground covering her with an inviting warmth
- I am death, you will know only sadness if you join me...
- My world is empty!
- What are you looking for?
- The distance....
Her eyes were closing slowly. She couldn’t feel anything, she was only hearing the wiping wind, going further away and the voice of the shadow, invading her freckles.
- Prepare to say goodby to the world and join the shadows!
- I am ready!
The morning came bringing with it the smile of the sun. The father left home without checking on the girl.
- My daughter will not come to school today. I came to announce her absence and to take her homework.
- I am sorry to hear that. I hope nothing bad happened.
- No, she will join you tomorrow.
- They have no homework because they have only one week until graduation.
- Thank you!
The boy looked at him from the classroom’s window until he left the school.
- Something happened to Anne
- Why?
- I sow her father leaving just now and she did not arrive to school yet.
- Maybe she has a cold.
- She was fine yesterday. I have to find out where she is.
- We will tomorrow.
- I don’t have that patience.
- You cannot go to her home, he will never let you in.
- I’m going!
- What do i tell the teachers?
- I don’t know, make something up!
He ran all the way. The door was wide open and her father crouched on the living’s floor.
- Where is she?
- Kill me! She ran away!
A few clouds were staining the perfect blue sky and the sun’s light was glittering in the small leaf’s dew. Her body was never found.