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* * *
Upon reaching Basel, Jane makes her way to the suburbs, to a house she has never visited before, but an address she has had to previously familiarize herself with. She does not knock on the front door. Instead, she walks around the side, pausing when she hears a voice.
It is hushed, but clearly New Zealand rather than Australian in origin. She really doesn’t see how the Swiss can’t tell the difference.
“You be a good boy, okay? I know they don’t walk you much, but they have a house and they can feed you, and I don’t live anywhere now. If this is the last time we see each other, I just want you to know, you’re the best little guy in the world. The best boy. Such a good boy.”
There’s a quiet sob as Storm tries to get herself under control and fails.
“I don’t want to go,” she confesses. “Feels like I’ve got nowhere to go. But you’ve got somewhere to go. You’ve got a home where you belong. So you be good. I know you will be, you can’t be anything else. Don’t forget me, okay? I won’t ever forget you. Not even when I’m super old. I’ll always remember you. Always.”
There’s a rustling sound compatible with a chunky little dog being carefully lifted over a fence and back into his own garden, and then footsteps, coming directly toward Jane. Storm usually has more situational awareness than this, but she’s crying from saying goodbye to Kravik for what she expects to be the last time, and she is wiping her eyes when she walks straight into Jane.
“Where the hell…” Her expression is one of perfect surprise. She is too shocked, and more likely, too sad to run.
“Come with me,” Jane says, taking her by the hand. She leads Storm away from the house, but not toward the tram station. Instead she takes her out toward the forests behind the house, a quiet place where they will be able to walk and talk.
“How did you know where to find me?” Storm eventually asks the question in a small voice.
“I knew if you were actually running away, you’d return the dog. You care about him. You care about him significantly more than you care about yourself, which is a problem.”
Storm is still wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve, trying not to cry, trying to adjust back to her usual rebellious state and failing.
“You must be so mad at me,” she sniffs.
“I’m not pleased,” Jane agrees. “You have half the country looking for you.”
“God. Why?” Storm looks shocked. “Who cares?”
“I care. And the headmistress cares.”
“Sure, she does. She cares about the reputation of her school for the mindless,” Storm scowls. “I don’t belong at that place, Jane. That’s your kind of place. And I didn’t like the hairbrush, and I didn’t like that woman seeing, and I don’t like the uniform, and…”
Jane lets Storm vent patiently, letting go of her hand to let her pace about and discharge some of the nervous energy she has pent up. It has not been a good day at school, but Jane has found her charge and everybody is safe, and that is all that matters for the moment.
“Do you want to know why you can’t run away?” Jane eventually interjects.
“Because you materialize?”
“No,” Jane smiles. “Because you’ll still be there. Wherever you go, you will be the same, and you will make your life hard for yourself. You don’t want to run because of where you are. You want to run because of who you are.”
Storm pauses in her pacing and considers that for a moment. “Huh,” she says. “That makes sense, now you mention it.”
“Here is what is going to happen. We are going to catch a train back to the school,” Jane says. “And it’s not going to be as bad tomorrow as it was yesterday. Or at least, honestly, tomorrow might be quite unpleasant for you, but the day after will be better.”
“Of course it is going to be bad, you’re going to find some new hard thing to hit me with, and I just gave Kravik back, and…” Storm starts crying all over again, not because of the punishment, but because she already misses the dog so badly it hurts.
“I want to steal him back,” she sobs.
“I know. Come on. We need something to eat, and then we’re catching the train back.”
Storm follows obediently, though Jane suspects it is more out of a general sense of being lost than out of real obedience. For the moment, that will do.
* * *
They get food from one of the many bakeries open around the train station. It is simple fare good for settling the stomach and nerves, and finally a sort of peace reigns.
“So, it was uh, pretty funny when they thought you were me, huh?” Storm smiles, her mood and morale boosted by having eaten for what is probably the first time that day given how much of it she has spent either sulking or running.
