​     Hand in hand, the Azurian couples had all but left the dance circle, headed for the stairway that led to the grotto.

     "Bye-bye, everybody!" Skip said as he headed back for the grotto himself.

     He passed Alison and Winston on the stairs, who descended, but tentatively, as if each step down brought them closer to an uncertain dimension.

     "Do we want to be the only ones left dancing?" Helen asked.

     "I'm curious more than anything else."

     "Please. Who do you think you're talking to?"

     Anne looked around to find Gramps no longer there. She'd hoped he'd be her partner through this whole wonderfully impossible experience, and now a very small part of her felt vaguely abandoned, and that annoyed her. Negative feelings never sat right with her. 

     Someone touched her shoulder. She turned.

     "You look a little lost," Xerxes said. "Would you like someone to help find you?"

​CONTINUE