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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: I do not own the fairy tale. It is an old tale from Sweden which seemed to suit my story too well so I dared to use it. The characters of tP don't belong to me, I'll give them back as soon as I'm finished. The title refers to an old Negro Spiritual I do not own either. The poem belongs to me.
Title: Sinner, you know you have to pretend!
By: Chris
Rated: G
10.
I’m living in a dream world
Dreaming all night long
Of the man I love
Dreaming all day long
Of the man I love
Dreaming constantly
Always far from
this cruel reality
Where he doesn’t
Love me.
Parker was drawn towards the voice that seemed to be walking away from her. he walked faster and saw someone walking in the distance. It was a girl of about ten years with long blond hair. She was wearing a white dress and had something of an angel. When Parker reached her she found herself the same size as the girl. She had shrunk again, just like Alice in Wonderland, she had become a little girl again.
"Why is everybody invading my private space?" the girl asked with a voice that wasn't more than a whisper.
"Where am I?" the Parker girl asked.
"You are inside my dream world. What do you want?" the Angel girl answered.
"This dream world is wonderful. Can I be your friend?"
"You don't want to haul me back into another reality?"
"What other reality? No, I really like it here," the little Parker said.
"OK then, let's find a place where we can play."
The angel girl took Miss Parker by the hand and together they walked through the green grass which changed color without the girls noticing. It turned from bright green into a dirty green and then to grey. The sun disappeared where the girls had passed and the world disappeared behind them. They didn't look back so they didn't see that their paradise was in danger of disintegrating.
Jarod was still standing in the doorframe, staring at the three persons in the room. He knew that it would be best for him to leave now but there was something about Jane that held him. He decided to stay another day or two hoping that Lyle would still need some time to track him down. He took his phone and went outside. He dialed Sydney's number.
"Sydney?"
"This is Jarod. How's Miss Parker?"
"Her condition hasn't changed. But I'm worried about Angelo. He seems to be in contact with her."
"How so?"
"He seems to be reading her thoughts and somehow their minds are connected. He's asked for paper and a pen and said he had to write something. He wrote in Miss Parker's handwriting. Page after page. I don't know what it means. He said something like 'Daughter needs help -- find back'."
"Can you send those pages to me? Maybe I know what they mean. Read the first lines to me."
"It sounds like a fairy tale. It's called 'The castle east of the sun and west of the moon'."
"You don't have to read more, I know that. It's a fairy tale from Sweden. And Angelo wrote it?"
"Yes, until the last sentence, and they lived happily ever after. I'll scan it and send it to you via email. How are you doing, Jarod?"
"I know that Lyle's near but I'm no further with my latest pretend. I will have to stay longer. I hope that Lyle won't find me."
"We'll distract him. I'll order Broots to set up some traps and wrong traces. I'm sure he'll be successful."
"Thank you Syd."
He came back into the room only to find the three still in the same position. Ms Ryan was smiling at Michael while they were talking to each other. She was holding Jane's hand and they seemed like a family.
"Sorry to disturb you", he said in a low voice, "but you'll have to leave now."
"Can't I stay?" Ms Ryan said. "Please. Parents are allowed to stay with their children over night."
"You're not her mother and she's 21. I'm sure she can take care of herself. You can come again tomorrow morning if you like to."
"Please, just a few more minutes."
"Alright, but when I'm back in 10 minutes I don't want to see you here", Jarod said and mentioned Michael to come outside with him.
"I'm sorry to say it but I don't think that she will recover any time soon. Feel free to share this information with Ms Ryan but it would be better if she didn't know. My shift ends in 10 minutes. Would you mind to have a drink with me somewhere? I'd like to know a little more about Jane than I know right now."
"I don't think that I will be of much help, but I will try to enlighten you as far as I can. I'll be with Jane and Ms Ryan until then. I think she deserves to know about Jane's condition."
Jarod nodded and went to his office. The familiar "You have mail" sign blinked on his computer screen. Sydney had sent him the pages Angelo had written. It really looked like Parker's handwriting. He printed the pages and went back to Jane's room after locking the door behind him. On the way he started reading the first lines:
"Once upon a time there was a young miller who found to his dismay that someone was stealing corn from his parent's mill in regular intervals. To catch the thief in the act he hid himself behind the sacks with corn.
Several nights he had to wait with nothing happening. But one night 3 doves came flying through a small window and started picking from one of the sacks. He realized that they were hungry and tired. They must have flown a long way."
It was the exact fairy tale Jarod had thought it was after hearing the first words. But he had no idea what this meant or how it could be related to Miss Parker. He nearly ran into Michael who came out of Jane's room. The sheets fell out of his hands and glided to the ground. Michael picked them up and started reading the first passage. His face went pale.
"Where did you get that? I remember that Jane told me about that."
"Jane knew it as well? It is a Swedish fairy tale and -- well, I'll tell you later when I'm finished reading. Have you told Ms Ryan?"
"Yes, she didn't look shocked, just as if she knew before. She just left."
They sat together in a small café around the corner where Jarod usually had his morning coffee. Michael who had looked quite uncomfortable in his presence seemed to have relaxed in the last hours and sat quite casually in front of him.
"Would you mind if I had a look at the pages you had earlier? That handwriting looked quite familiar to me. Who wrote it?"
"A woman named Parker. You don't know her."
"Well, you don't look comfortable mentioning her. I am someone who can listen. If you would like to talk feel free to do so."
Jarod nodded and looked down at the pages in his hands. The waitress brought a coffee for him and a hot chocolate for Michael and smiled down on them before she left them again.
"If you don't mind I'd like to read the pages first before I'll give them to you. They have some deeper meaning I have to find out yet."
"Sure, whatever's fine with you. Right now I have enough to think about," Michael said and started to spoon the whipped cream from his chocolate.
Jarod stared down at the pages and started reading again. He felt almost as if he could hear Miss Parker reading the words out loud:
"When their hunger was stilled something wonderful happened: Their plumage fell to the ground and the flabbergasted miller saw three wonderful women instead of the doves. They sat down on the sacks of corn and began talking. The miller crept towards the women and hid one of their plumages.
After an hour the girls got up and went to the place where they had left their plumages. To their horror they realized that one of the plumages was missing. Even though they searched hard it stayed gone. Eventually two of the women took on their plumages and flew through the window. The woman who had to stay behind sat down on a corn sack and started to cry bitterly. The miller went to her and said:
"Don't be sad. Stay with me and become my wife."
"I can't do that," the woman answered, "As much as I would like to. When I'm not home by the time the sun rises I will die. Be a good man and help me find my plumage."
"I will help you, but first you must promise to marry me."
"I promise, but you have to come the castle east of the sun and west of the moon in the enchanted forest where I live."
The miller agreed and then gave the woman her plumage. As soon as she had taken it on she transformed into a dove and disappeared through the window. Only when she was gone the miller realized that he had not asked where the castle was.
Many days he tried not to think of the woman who had promised to become his wife. But with the time his desire became too strong. He packed his bag and kissed his parents farewell.
He walked and walked. Wherever he was he asked for the castle east of the sun and west of the moon but nobody had ever heard of it."
"Jarod?" Michael asked who had picked up the pages Jarod had already laid onto the table. Jarod looked up trying to focus on his surroundings.
"Jarod, the handwriting, it looks exactly like Jane's."
Jarod had no idea what to say. There had to be a connection between the two. He knew that as soon as he would find the connection between them he could solve the mystery. The Centre was good in creating mysteries but Jarod wasn't sure if the Centre was responsible for this one. Cloning was something the Centre had started to do on a regular basis and maybe Jane was an outcome of this. But he had to be extra cautious if this was the case because they would have surveillance teams on her. He couldn't tell Michael about his thoughts and started to concentrate on the story again:
"After some weeks of walking through the world he came to a little cabin at the ocean. He knocked and an elderly woman came outside. He asked her for a place to stay at night and she asked him in. The castle he was asking her about was unknown to her but she promised to try something. She was the empress over the animals of the sea. Maybe on of her subservients knew where the castle east of the sun and west of the moon was.
Early the next morning she went down to the beach and blew a horn. Immediately hundreds and thousands of fish and other animals of the sea came from the waves. But when the woman asked them for the castle east of the sun and west of the moon none of the animals knew of it.
"I am sorry for you, but you can try asking my mother. She's living ten days from here on a large plateau and is empress over all animals of the land. Maybe she can help you."
The miller thanked her and continued his arduous voyage. One evening he came to the large plateau. At the very end near a forest he saw a small cabin. He knocked and an old woman asked him in.
The miller told her his story and asked her if she knew of the castle east of the sun and west of the moon. But she didn't know as well. But she promised to ask the animals of the land which she would call early in the morning. Maybe one of them had heard of the castle.
Early the next morning they went out onto the plateau. The old woman blew her horn. From every direction the animals came: wolves, bears, elks, deer, rabbits, bunnies, rats and mice and many animals he had never before seen in his live. The old woman asked them if they had heard from a castle situated east of the sun and west of the moon. But none of them knew of it.
"I know no other alternative than asking my mother. She's empress over all birds in this world. Her cabin is on the highest mountain in this land. When she can't help you then there's no one who knows of the castle you're talking about."
The miller wondered how an old woman could still have a mother and such a powerful one but he thanked her and went on walking. He walked many weeks. Then he saw the mountain and on the very top her small cabin. When he arrived there it was dark.
"Jarod, where does this story come from? You said that this Miss Parker wrote it, why?"
"Do you really want to hear the story?"
"Yes, please."
"She once was a very good friend of mine. We were separated and now she thinks I'm her enemy. I'm in contact with her, though, and a friend of mine is working with her. The problem is, she's suffering from the same unknown thing as Jane and it is possible that they fell unconscious at the exact same time. I'm not sure about that one. But I know that her condition is the same. But there's someone who has been able to contact her. He is a wonderful person and he somehow had contact with her like I had with Jane."
"What do you mean, you had contact with Jane?"
"I have been talking to her. Somehow I was inside her head."
"Are you something like Spock? Mind-melding and things like that?"
"Well, you could use this term to explain what happened but I'm not sure if it was really that. I know that it can be possible but humans aren't supposed to do it. Sorry, I might sound like an alien to you, but I' fully human, I promise."
"Did I say something?"
Jarod shook his head and smiled. Michael was great guy. He thought that he understood why Jane liked him so much.
"Maybe we find something in the fairy tale that might help us reaching them again. The sound of your voice tells me that you miss and love that Miss Parker, do you?"
Jarod only nodded and ended the discussion by picking up the sheets again and reading. He hoped that Michael understood that he wasn't ready to talk about this subject yet.
"He knocked at the door and a very old woman opened the door and asked him in. The miller asked her if she had heard from a castle east of the sun and west of the moon. She had not. But if he would like to stay the night she would ask all the birds in this world if they knew of the castle.
The next morning they went outside and the very old woman blew her horn. The birds cam from the north, the east, the south and the west and sat down on every tree on the mountain. But none of then had heard of a castle east of the sun and west of the moon.
The old woman looked very disappointed. But then she realized that a huge old eagle was missing who was living very far away. She blew her horn again waiting for the old eagle to appear. It took a while but then one saw a black dot at the horizon that came nearer. It was the old eagle. The old woman asked him in a harsh tone why it had taken him so long.
"I come from the castle east of the sun and west of the moon in the enchanted forest which lies at the end of the world," the eagle answered, "That's why it's taken so long. I have flown as fast as I could."
"It's late, Jarod. I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow if you don't mind. Would you mind to send me those pages?"
They exchanged email addresses and Michael got up.
"I'm sure we'll find a way to help them both," he said and left the café. Jarod looked after him. Hadn't Ms Ryan said that he had a girl-friend? He sounded very much in love with Jane. Maybe he wasn't ready to admit it yet, like he wasn't ready to admit his love for Miss Parker. He decided to finish the story and his now cold coffee and then move on to his apartment to pack his things in case Lyle would be back soon to catch him.
"The very old woman ordered the eagle to take the miller to the castle east of the sun and west of the moon. And when the eagle had rested for a while the miller climbed onto its back and they flew as fast as the wind. Before the sun touched the horizon they were at the castle and landed on a huge plaza in front of the castle doors.
The castle looked more like a huge mountain of glass than a building and the doors were so huge and impressive that the miller, even though he was no small man, had problems in reaching the handle which was build as a ring.
The miller asked the eagle what to do to get inside the castle.
"Do you see the little bottle next to the door? Take it and drink from it. It makes you three times as strong as you are now and you'll be able to lift the spear leaning at the wall. Put it through the ring and turn it around then the door s will open."
The miller did as he was told and the doors opened. But there was only one room inside. He saw the three dove-women who greeted him cheerfully. They were enchanted princesses!
The princess whose plumage he had hidden asked him to go into the forest with him. He followed her to a wonderful rose tree, which was standing in full bloom.
"If you really love me like you say," she said, "take the ax leaning at the tree-trunk and fell it."
"You don't want me to fell that wonderful tree. I have never seen a tree like this. This is like murder."
But the princess didn't stop begging and finally he fulfilled her wish. As soon as the tree fell a dreadful noise was heard and the earth began to shake.
When the miller woke again the princess was sitting at his side. Everything had changed. The mountain had changed into a huge castle, the forest had disappeared and instead there were fields of corn and green.
"I can't thank you enough for what you have done for us," the princess said. "You have saved me and my sisters from a horrible enchantment. And not only us but the whole country."
The wedding was supposed to be one week later. But the miller wasn't happy. He had to think of his parents who didn't know where he was and would have to live without him from now on. So he asked his wife-to-be if he could visit them.
"I can understand your wish but I fear that your journey will be our misfortune. The journey is long and hart. You can have a horse that is faster than the wind so you'll be back in time. But you have to promise me one thing. Whatever happens - do never dismount your horse. If you do we'll never see each other again."
The miller promised to take good care and swung himself into the saddle. The horse was really faster than the wind and he reached his home before nightfall."
Jarod couldn't stop thinking about the thing that Michael had said, that this was supposed to be Jane's handwriting. There had to be a connection between Miss Parker and Jane. Whatever it was, he had to find it out soon.
He got up and left the café as well. He was told that Michael had already paid for him and Jarod had to smile. At first he had wanted to go straight to his apartment but decided to stop by the hospital to look after Jane.
She was still unconscious. He didn't turn on the light, there was enough light left outside on the hallway. He looked at Jane's face intently and after a while he saw some similarities to Miss Parker. The nose was the same and the shape of her lips had something of Parker's as well. There was something else that he didn't see at first. The form of her eyes had something of Lyle, her hands looked like his own. What was she? An experiment from the Centre that had gone wrong? A clone? Or just a trick of his own eyes that wanted to see those similarities? He didn't know and decided it would be best just to go home and finish packing. Maybe he had to leave earlier than he had intended to. He closed the door behind him but didn't see the figure standing in the darkness with the sad look in the eyes, he hadn't even heard that someone had entered the room while he had been sitting beside Jane's bed.
His apartment was cold and empty. He had to finish packing the things for the charity, finish his red scrapbook for Miss Parker to find -- Well, not for Miss Parker but the sweeper team that would be here instead of her. Some habit he had to keep up even though he had no plans for the future, except saving two lives, and there had been nothing in the newspaper about the things that had happened recently. Maybe they wouldn't even notice, they would just see the scrapbook and conclude that he had been here.
He sighed heavily and let himself fall onto the bed which would still be here when he would have left. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on something. But there was nothing inside his head than the thoughts about Miss Parker and Jane and how they were connected. He decided to finish reading and then go to bed so he would be able to get up early the next morning. He prepared himself a hot chocolate with heaps of marshmallows and sat down on the bed again.
"As the parents heard the hoofbeats they immediately asked their son in to tell of his journey.
"You have to excuse me but I have to return immediately and am not allowed to dismount my horse or great misfortune will find me."
But his mother held him by the arm and wouldn't let go of her son. Suddenly a hen flew up from the den. The horse shied and the miller was thrown from the saddle. The horse raced from their view.
The miller was desperate and so were his parents. Several weeks passed. The miller didn’t know what to do.
One day when he was standing by the road a carriage with six black horses came down the road and stopped beside him. Inside the carriage was his wife-to-be.
She asked him inside immediately and the carriage gained speed again.
"When your horse came into the courtyard," the princess said, "I saw that the girth was torn and I realized that you didn't dismount your horse voluntarily and that something had happened. Because of that I was able to come here and get you."
"I nearly died of longing for you," the miller said, "but what will happen to my parents without me? How shall they live?"
"You're lucky that you've asked. That was your last test. If had forgotten about them, everything would have been over. Now they will be coming to the castle with us and tomorrow will be our wedding."
She held this promise and they lived happily ever after."
There had to be something about this story that would help them to solve the problem. He knew that he hadn't enough time to solve Jane's mystery. He had to rely on Michael for some time. Maybe he could ask Broots for help, to set up some false tracks very far from here. And when the sweeper teams would have left the city he would return and finish his job. That could work, but he was afraid that it would be too late by then.
Title: Sinner, you know you have to pretend!
By: Chris
Rated: G
10.
I’m living in a dream world
Dreaming all night long
Of the man I love
Dreaming all day long
Of the man I love
Dreaming constantly
Always far from
this cruel reality
Where he doesn’t
Love me.
Parker was drawn towards the voice that seemed to be walking away from her. he walked faster and saw someone walking in the distance. It was a girl of about ten years with long blond hair. She was wearing a white dress and had something of an angel. When Parker reached her she found herself the same size as the girl. She had shrunk again, just like Alice in Wonderland, she had become a little girl again.
"Why is everybody invading my private space?" the girl asked with a voice that wasn't more than a whisper.
"Where am I?" the Parker girl asked.
"You are inside my dream world. What do you want?" the Angel girl answered.
"This dream world is wonderful. Can I be your friend?"
"You don't want to haul me back into another reality?"
"What other reality? No, I really like it here," the little Parker said.
"OK then, let's find a place where we can play."
The angel girl took Miss Parker by the hand and together they walked through the green grass which changed color without the girls noticing. It turned from bright green into a dirty green and then to grey. The sun disappeared where the girls had passed and the world disappeared behind them. They didn't look back so they didn't see that their paradise was in danger of disintegrating.
Jarod was still standing in the doorframe, staring at the three persons in the room. He knew that it would be best for him to leave now but there was something about Jane that held him. He decided to stay another day or two hoping that Lyle would still need some time to track him down. He took his phone and went outside. He dialed Sydney's number.
"Sydney?"
"This is Jarod. How's Miss Parker?"
"Her condition hasn't changed. But I'm worried about Angelo. He seems to be in contact with her."
"How so?"
"He seems to be reading her thoughts and somehow their minds are connected. He's asked for paper and a pen and said he had to write something. He wrote in Miss Parker's handwriting. Page after page. I don't know what it means. He said something like 'Daughter needs help -- find back'."
"Can you send those pages to me? Maybe I know what they mean. Read the first lines to me."
"It sounds like a fairy tale. It's called 'The castle east of the sun and west of the moon'."
"You don't have to read more, I know that. It's a fairy tale from Sweden. And Angelo wrote it?"
"Yes, until the last sentence, and they lived happily ever after. I'll scan it and send it to you via email. How are you doing, Jarod?"
"I know that Lyle's near but I'm no further with my latest pretend. I will have to stay longer. I hope that Lyle won't find me."
"We'll distract him. I'll order Broots to set up some traps and wrong traces. I'm sure he'll be successful."
"Thank you Syd."
He came back into the room only to find the three still in the same position. Ms Ryan was smiling at Michael while they were talking to each other. She was holding Jane's hand and they seemed like a family.
"Sorry to disturb you", he said in a low voice, "but you'll have to leave now."
"Can't I stay?" Ms Ryan said. "Please. Parents are allowed to stay with their children over night."
"You're not her mother and she's 21. I'm sure she can take care of herself. You can come again tomorrow morning if you like to."
"Please, just a few more minutes."
"Alright, but when I'm back in 10 minutes I don't want to see you here", Jarod said and mentioned Michael to come outside with him.
"I'm sorry to say it but I don't think that she will recover any time soon. Feel free to share this information with Ms Ryan but it would be better if she didn't know. My shift ends in 10 minutes. Would you mind to have a drink with me somewhere? I'd like to know a little more about Jane than I know right now."
"I don't think that I will be of much help, but I will try to enlighten you as far as I can. I'll be with Jane and Ms Ryan until then. I think she deserves to know about Jane's condition."
Jarod nodded and went to his office. The familiar "You have mail" sign blinked on his computer screen. Sydney had sent him the pages Angelo had written. It really looked like Parker's handwriting. He printed the pages and went back to Jane's room after locking the door behind him. On the way he started reading the first lines:
"Once upon a time there was a young miller who found to his dismay that someone was stealing corn from his parent's mill in regular intervals. To catch the thief in the act he hid himself behind the sacks with corn.
Several nights he had to wait with nothing happening. But one night 3 doves came flying through a small window and started picking from one of the sacks. He realized that they were hungry and tired. They must have flown a long way."
It was the exact fairy tale Jarod had thought it was after hearing the first words. But he had no idea what this meant or how it could be related to Miss Parker. He nearly ran into Michael who came out of Jane's room. The sheets fell out of his hands and glided to the ground. Michael picked them up and started reading the first passage. His face went pale.
"Where did you get that? I remember that Jane told me about that."
"Jane knew it as well? It is a Swedish fairy tale and -- well, I'll tell you later when I'm finished reading. Have you told Ms Ryan?"
"Yes, she didn't look shocked, just as if she knew before. She just left."
They sat together in a small café around the corner where Jarod usually had his morning coffee. Michael who had looked quite uncomfortable in his presence seemed to have relaxed in the last hours and sat quite casually in front of him.
"Would you mind if I had a look at the pages you had earlier? That handwriting looked quite familiar to me. Who wrote it?"
"A woman named Parker. You don't know her."
"Well, you don't look comfortable mentioning her. I am someone who can listen. If you would like to talk feel free to do so."
Jarod nodded and looked down at the pages in his hands. The waitress brought a coffee for him and a hot chocolate for Michael and smiled down on them before she left them again.
"If you don't mind I'd like to read the pages first before I'll give them to you. They have some deeper meaning I have to find out yet."
"Sure, whatever's fine with you. Right now I have enough to think about," Michael said and started to spoon the whipped cream from his chocolate.
Jarod stared down at the pages and started reading again. He felt almost as if he could hear Miss Parker reading the words out loud:
"When their hunger was stilled something wonderful happened: Their plumage fell to the ground and the flabbergasted miller saw three wonderful women instead of the doves. They sat down on the sacks of corn and began talking. The miller crept towards the women and hid one of their plumages.
After an hour the girls got up and went to the place where they had left their plumages. To their horror they realized that one of the plumages was missing. Even though they searched hard it stayed gone. Eventually two of the women took on their plumages and flew through the window. The woman who had to stay behind sat down on a corn sack and started to cry bitterly. The miller went to her and said:
"Don't be sad. Stay with me and become my wife."
"I can't do that," the woman answered, "As much as I would like to. When I'm not home by the time the sun rises I will die. Be a good man and help me find my plumage."
"I will help you, but first you must promise to marry me."
"I promise, but you have to come the castle east of the sun and west of the moon in the enchanted forest where I live."
The miller agreed and then gave the woman her plumage. As soon as she had taken it on she transformed into a dove and disappeared through the window. Only when she was gone the miller realized that he had not asked where the castle was.
Many days he tried not to think of the woman who had promised to become his wife. But with the time his desire became too strong. He packed his bag and kissed his parents farewell.
He walked and walked. Wherever he was he asked for the castle east of the sun and west of the moon but nobody had ever heard of it."
"Jarod?" Michael asked who had picked up the pages Jarod had already laid onto the table. Jarod looked up trying to focus on his surroundings.
"Jarod, the handwriting, it looks exactly like Jane's."
Jarod had no idea what to say. There had to be a connection between the two. He knew that as soon as he would find the connection between them he could solve the mystery. The Centre was good in creating mysteries but Jarod wasn't sure if the Centre was responsible for this one. Cloning was something the Centre had started to do on a regular basis and maybe Jane was an outcome of this. But he had to be extra cautious if this was the case because they would have surveillance teams on her. He couldn't tell Michael about his thoughts and started to concentrate on the story again:
"After some weeks of walking through the world he came to a little cabin at the ocean. He knocked and an elderly woman came outside. He asked her for a place to stay at night and she asked him in. The castle he was asking her about was unknown to her but she promised to try something. She was the empress over the animals of the sea. Maybe on of her subservients knew where the castle east of the sun and west of the moon was.
Early the next morning she went down to the beach and blew a horn. Immediately hundreds and thousands of fish and other animals of the sea came from the waves. But when the woman asked them for the castle east of the sun and west of the moon none of the animals knew of it.
"I am sorry for you, but you can try asking my mother. She's living ten days from here on a large plateau and is empress over all animals of the land. Maybe she can help you."
The miller thanked her and continued his arduous voyage. One evening he came to the large plateau. At the very end near a forest he saw a small cabin. He knocked and an old woman asked him in.
The miller told her his story and asked her if she knew of the castle east of the sun and west of the moon. But she didn't know as well. But she promised to ask the animals of the land which she would call early in the morning. Maybe one of them had heard of the castle.
Early the next morning they went out onto the plateau. The old woman blew her horn. From every direction the animals came: wolves, bears, elks, deer, rabbits, bunnies, rats and mice and many animals he had never before seen in his live. The old woman asked them if they had heard from a castle situated east of the sun and west of the moon. But none of them knew of it.
"I know no other alternative than asking my mother. She's empress over all birds in this world. Her cabin is on the highest mountain in this land. When she can't help you then there's no one who knows of the castle you're talking about."
The miller wondered how an old woman could still have a mother and such a powerful one but he thanked her and went on walking. He walked many weeks. Then he saw the mountain and on the very top her small cabin. When he arrived there it was dark.
"Jarod, where does this story come from? You said that this Miss Parker wrote it, why?"
"Do you really want to hear the story?"
"Yes, please."
"She once was a very good friend of mine. We were separated and now she thinks I'm her enemy. I'm in contact with her, though, and a friend of mine is working with her. The problem is, she's suffering from the same unknown thing as Jane and it is possible that they fell unconscious at the exact same time. I'm not sure about that one. But I know that her condition is the same. But there's someone who has been able to contact her. He is a wonderful person and he somehow had contact with her like I had with Jane."
"What do you mean, you had contact with Jane?"
"I have been talking to her. Somehow I was inside her head."
"Are you something like Spock? Mind-melding and things like that?"
"Well, you could use this term to explain what happened but I'm not sure if it was really that. I know that it can be possible but humans aren't supposed to do it. Sorry, I might sound like an alien to you, but I' fully human, I promise."
"Did I say something?"
Jarod shook his head and smiled. Michael was great guy. He thought that he understood why Jane liked him so much.
"Maybe we find something in the fairy tale that might help us reaching them again. The sound of your voice tells me that you miss and love that Miss Parker, do you?"
Jarod only nodded and ended the discussion by picking up the sheets again and reading. He hoped that Michael understood that he wasn't ready to talk about this subject yet.
"He knocked at the door and a very old woman opened the door and asked him in. The miller asked her if she had heard from a castle east of the sun and west of the moon. She had not. But if he would like to stay the night she would ask all the birds in this world if they knew of the castle.
The next morning they went outside and the very old woman blew her horn. The birds cam from the north, the east, the south and the west and sat down on every tree on the mountain. But none of then had heard of a castle east of the sun and west of the moon.
The old woman looked very disappointed. But then she realized that a huge old eagle was missing who was living very far away. She blew her horn again waiting for the old eagle to appear. It took a while but then one saw a black dot at the horizon that came nearer. It was the old eagle. The old woman asked him in a harsh tone why it had taken him so long.
"I come from the castle east of the sun and west of the moon in the enchanted forest which lies at the end of the world," the eagle answered, "That's why it's taken so long. I have flown as fast as I could."
"It's late, Jarod. I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow if you don't mind. Would you mind to send me those pages?"
They exchanged email addresses and Michael got up.
"I'm sure we'll find a way to help them both," he said and left the café. Jarod looked after him. Hadn't Ms Ryan said that he had a girl-friend? He sounded very much in love with Jane. Maybe he wasn't ready to admit it yet, like he wasn't ready to admit his love for Miss Parker. He decided to finish the story and his now cold coffee and then move on to his apartment to pack his things in case Lyle would be back soon to catch him.
"The very old woman ordered the eagle to take the miller to the castle east of the sun and west of the moon. And when the eagle had rested for a while the miller climbed onto its back and they flew as fast as the wind. Before the sun touched the horizon they were at the castle and landed on a huge plaza in front of the castle doors.
The castle looked more like a huge mountain of glass than a building and the doors were so huge and impressive that the miller, even though he was no small man, had problems in reaching the handle which was build as a ring.
The miller asked the eagle what to do to get inside the castle.
"Do you see the little bottle next to the door? Take it and drink from it. It makes you three times as strong as you are now and you'll be able to lift the spear leaning at the wall. Put it through the ring and turn it around then the door s will open."
The miller did as he was told and the doors opened. But there was only one room inside. He saw the three dove-women who greeted him cheerfully. They were enchanted princesses!
The princess whose plumage he had hidden asked him to go into the forest with him. He followed her to a wonderful rose tree, which was standing in full bloom.
"If you really love me like you say," she said, "take the ax leaning at the tree-trunk and fell it."
"You don't want me to fell that wonderful tree. I have never seen a tree like this. This is like murder."
But the princess didn't stop begging and finally he fulfilled her wish. As soon as the tree fell a dreadful noise was heard and the earth began to shake.
When the miller woke again the princess was sitting at his side. Everything had changed. The mountain had changed into a huge castle, the forest had disappeared and instead there were fields of corn and green.
"I can't thank you enough for what you have done for us," the princess said. "You have saved me and my sisters from a horrible enchantment. And not only us but the whole country."
The wedding was supposed to be one week later. But the miller wasn't happy. He had to think of his parents who didn't know where he was and would have to live without him from now on. So he asked his wife-to-be if he could visit them.
"I can understand your wish but I fear that your journey will be our misfortune. The journey is long and hart. You can have a horse that is faster than the wind so you'll be back in time. But you have to promise me one thing. Whatever happens - do never dismount your horse. If you do we'll never see each other again."
The miller promised to take good care and swung himself into the saddle. The horse was really faster than the wind and he reached his home before nightfall."
Jarod couldn't stop thinking about the thing that Michael had said, that this was supposed to be Jane's handwriting. There had to be a connection between Miss Parker and Jane. Whatever it was, he had to find it out soon.
He got up and left the café as well. He was told that Michael had already paid for him and Jarod had to smile. At first he had wanted to go straight to his apartment but decided to stop by the hospital to look after Jane.
She was still unconscious. He didn't turn on the light, there was enough light left outside on the hallway. He looked at Jane's face intently and after a while he saw some similarities to Miss Parker. The nose was the same and the shape of her lips had something of Parker's as well. There was something else that he didn't see at first. The form of her eyes had something of Lyle, her hands looked like his own. What was she? An experiment from the Centre that had gone wrong? A clone? Or just a trick of his own eyes that wanted to see those similarities? He didn't know and decided it would be best just to go home and finish packing. Maybe he had to leave earlier than he had intended to. He closed the door behind him but didn't see the figure standing in the darkness with the sad look in the eyes, he hadn't even heard that someone had entered the room while he had been sitting beside Jane's bed.
His apartment was cold and empty. He had to finish packing the things for the charity, finish his red scrapbook for Miss Parker to find -- Well, not for Miss Parker but the sweeper team that would be here instead of her. Some habit he had to keep up even though he had no plans for the future, except saving two lives, and there had been nothing in the newspaper about the things that had happened recently. Maybe they wouldn't even notice, they would just see the scrapbook and conclude that he had been here.
He sighed heavily and let himself fall onto the bed which would still be here when he would have left. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on something. But there was nothing inside his head than the thoughts about Miss Parker and Jane and how they were connected. He decided to finish reading and then go to bed so he would be able to get up early the next morning. He prepared himself a hot chocolate with heaps of marshmallows and sat down on the bed again.
"As the parents heard the hoofbeats they immediately asked their son in to tell of his journey.
"You have to excuse me but I have to return immediately and am not allowed to dismount my horse or great misfortune will find me."
But his mother held him by the arm and wouldn't let go of her son. Suddenly a hen flew up from the den. The horse shied and the miller was thrown from the saddle. The horse raced from their view.
The miller was desperate and so were his parents. Several weeks passed. The miller didn’t know what to do.
One day when he was standing by the road a carriage with six black horses came down the road and stopped beside him. Inside the carriage was his wife-to-be.
She asked him inside immediately and the carriage gained speed again.
"When your horse came into the courtyard," the princess said, "I saw that the girth was torn and I realized that you didn't dismount your horse voluntarily and that something had happened. Because of that I was able to come here and get you."
"I nearly died of longing for you," the miller said, "but what will happen to my parents without me? How shall they live?"
"You're lucky that you've asked. That was your last test. If had forgotten about them, everything would have been over. Now they will be coming to the castle with us and tomorrow will be our wedding."
She held this promise and they lived happily ever after."
There had to be something about this story that would help them to solve the problem. He knew that he hadn't enough time to solve Jane's mystery. He had to rely on Michael for some time. Maybe he could ask Broots for help, to set up some false tracks very far from here. And when the sweeper teams would have left the city he would return and finish his job. That could work, but he was afraid that it would be too late by then.
