-----

Author's Note: Here's Ch.17. I kind of surprised myself on how quickly I was able to get this out.I guess there some good things about staying up and writing real late. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

-----

SEVENTEEN:

The stairway and the hallway it led to were dark and narrow, much like everything in this place. I was still utterly amazed at the vastness of Crowley Manor. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary house. A large house, but a house nonetheless. Now every time I went into it, there was some new secret it was waiting to reveal. I wonder if the Wilkes even knew such a place existed. Besides the level on top---the house---and the second level where the Coven kept their mysterious tribunal room, this new hall made a third. Three levels, how rich was this Crowley guy anyway. Last week on a whim, a day or so after becoming male for the second time, I did some research in the library on the mysterious Mr. Crowley. I was actually pretty surprised on how little there was about him.

I only found one book and it was a biography on Jacob Ravencrest. In the book, it mentions that Mortimer Crowley was a colleague of his and together the two of them founded the town. There was some mentioned about Crowley’s superstitious nature---how he built his home outside of town but nothing more than that. It was like whoever had written it deliberately left him out of the book. I asked the librarian about it and she told me Mr. Crowley was a very secretive man who cherished his privacy. The only close friend he had besides Ravencrest was Martin Wilkes, Maggie’s ancestor. The lack of information kind of baffled me, especially considering how extensive his house truly was. Why did it have two secret floors? Why were there so many secret passages and things? Why did no one know anything about him?

I was bound and determined to find the answer.

Of course, that would have to wait. Right now, I had my own questions to be answered. Chief among them at the moment was how long this tunnel went and when was it going to stop.

“Is it supposed to be this dark?” I asked.

Melissa laughed, the sound echoing back at me. She was hidden somewhere in the inky black in front of me. How she was able to see where she was going was beyond me.

“There’s no electricity down here.”

“What about a flashlight?”

“Not likely. This far underground, things like that don’t do well.”

“Why not?”

She laughed. “You’ll see.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

I couldn’t exactly argue though because without any lights, I’m not sure I’d know how to get back. I’m sure it was just a straight line but I swore there was a turn or two in there. We’d been down here for about two hours now and walking in the dark that long was enough to get anyone disoriented. My legs were starting to ache and my feet had gone numb a long time ago. The worst part was that I still had no idea where we were going. I thought for sure that spooky staircase was going to lead to some place exciting, instead, it led to more spooky. It wasn’t even the good kind of spooky either; it was the dull and boring kind. The kind of spooky that disappoints at the end of a modern horror movie, something some creative hack like M. Night Shyamalan might pull off.

I wanted to whine like a child. I almost did.

Instead, I trudged on in more silence.

Another twenty minutes passed. My legs were like jello, I couldn’t even begin to describe what my feet felt like. I’m not sure there was such a description for it, actually. All I know was that they were beyond numb if that was even possible.

“We’re just about there,” said Melissa, I think I sensed glee in her voice.

“About where?” I groaned, at least I think I did.

“”You’ll see.”

No I wouldn’t, it was too dark.

Another ten minutes or so later, that didn’t really matter. I’m not sure when I started to see the light but I know that one minute it wasn’t there and the next it just appeared. It was kind of small at first, like the light at the end of a tunnel. Then very slowly, it got closer and closer. It never got any brighter though. The light became a guiding voice for me, urging me on. I wanted to get to the light, I want to stand in its brilliance and be amazed by it. I got invigorated by the light. I’m not sure what came over me but the closer I got to it the less my legs started to hurt. In fact, I felt no pain at all, as I pushed myself onward.

I got closer and closer. The closer I got, the more of the tunnel seemed to light up before me. I saw the moldy stonewalls, the grimy stone floors and Melissa. I was surprised to see that she was mere inches in front of me. The whole time I actually thought she was several feet ahead of me. I guess I felt a little more secure knowing that she hadn’t strayed too far ahead. I paid her little attention though because all I cared about was the light. I nearly pushed her out of the way to get to it. I said nearly because if I had, I think my teaching lessons would be over. Instead I impatiently waited as she led me closer and closer to it, one small step at a time.

When we were right on top of it, the light seemed to vanish.

My feeling of elation went with it. The pain in my legs didn’t return but a hollowness in my body replaced it.

The tunnel had opened up though. We were now standing in a large dome shaped room,. It looked as if it was carved right out of the stone around it. The room was vacant save for a two foot by two-foot hole in the center. A shaft of light dropped down into the hole from above and I could see a rippling reflection dance on the far water probably from the water that was at the bottom of it. I approached the hole cautiously. Had this been the light I’d seen, the one that kept pushing me toward it? As I got closer, I didn’t feel like I wanted it anymore but I did feel something else. There was a pull to the hole, a strange energy I couldn’t describe. It tugged at my clothes, caused all my hair to stand on end. I looked over at Melissa; it appeared to be doing the same to her as well.

I reached my hand toward the light, letting my fingertips barely touch it. When they did, the tips sparked with a blue light. It tingled then burned. I pulled my hand away quickly.

“What is it?” I asked, my hand started to throb.

Melissa stepped around on the other side of the light. “What did you feel when you touched it?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure?”

She smiled. “How much do you know about Jacob Ravencrest?”

I shrugged. “He founded the town didn’t he?”

“That’s what they tell tourists and school children.” She said, reaching her hand out toward the light.

She didn’t touch it though. Instead, she let it stop a few inches away. An arch of blue sparked from it and hit her in the palm. Instead of pulling her hand away, she twisted it, pulling the spark with her. She let it dance along her fingers, weaving it between them like a live piece of thread. Then very slowly, she turned her hand and let the spark return back to the light.

“When Jacob and Mortimer Crowley set out for this land they weren’t seeking a place to settle like the story says, they were actually seeking something much more important” She pulled her hand away from the light. “They were seeking a vortex, a Nexus of magical energy if you will. There are only so many of these Nexi left in the world. Jacob studied his whole life and traveled the whole world in hopes of discovering one. No one knows what led him here but everyone knows what he found.”

I looked at the light and the hole. I think I understood. “Are you saying this is the Nexus?”

She shook her head. “This is merely a portal to it, a hole made to let some of the energy of the Nexus to seep out into the land. In his diary, Jacob wrote how he’d found such a hole and how he was led to it by a brilliant being all bathed in white. At first he thought it was an angel, so he called it a Sacred One.”

I nodded. I knew about the Sacred Ones. They were the Fae. I just never realized that Jacob Ravencrest had coined the term.

“It was one of the Sacred, a Fae Prince by the name of Orin. Orin brought Jacob to this hole, this well and shared its secrets with Jacob. In return, Jacob promised to protect the Well and the Nexus. So he built a town on it, building his home on where the well broke the surface above.”

I looked up, flabbergasted. That meant we were currently under Ravencrest Manor, currently under the grounds of the university. How was that possible? It felt like we’d been walking for hours but I knew Crowley Manor wasn’t that far out of town. I groaned, it was another one of Ravencrest’s mysterious time things. I turned back to look at the Nexus, wondering if perhaps It might have something to do with all that.

“So what is this then?” I asked, pointing to the hole.

She smiled. “The Well of Orin. Of course, the Norms don’t know its name or purpose. Most of them think Jacob built it. Up above it looks like a normal well. In fact if you look down into it, you can see all the coins people have thrown into it over the years.”
I got as close to the light as I could without touching it. I took a quick look down into the water below. Way at the bottom, I could see the glint of silver and copper. I could also see something else; it looked like rubies, emeralds and amethysts. Precious stones. So there was a lot more down there than a fortune in coins.

“So if he was supposed to protect this place like he promised, why did he leave?”

Melissa shrugged. “No one knows. One day, one of his servants went to fetch him from his bed but Jacob was gone. For three days they searched but no one ever found a single sign of him.”

“What about Crowley?”

“What about him?”

I shrugged. “Did he know about this place?”

“If he did, he never wrote about it. Jacob and Mortimer kept a lot of diaries but sadly after founding the town, their friendship seemed to cease. Mortimer became more reclusive and Jacob couldn’t be bothered with him. No one really knows how much the two men shared. After Jacob disappeared, Mortimer grew more reclusive. He died a few years later, his man servant Martin Wilkes by his side. The last word he was said to have uttered was Jacob’s name.”

It was kind of sad in a way. The two of them were friends and it sounded like secrets kind of kept them apart.
“And Crowley Manor was left to the Wilkes right?”

She nodded. “Caused quite a stir. Mortimer had an estranged daughter, Jocelyn. The estate should have been hers but she was a bit of shrewd woman. She only ever cared for her father’s money. When the house and estate were left to Martin, she threw quite the tantrum. She fled back to Germany with her new husband. A couple of decades later, some of her family returned but….well it didn’t last long.”

I smiled. “What about Ravencrest? Did he have any kids?”

She laughed. “You’re joking right?”

I was confused. “Am I missing something?”

She laughed some more. “Your grandmother never told you?” I shook my head, even more confused. Melissa shook her head. “Ravencrest brought his young wife with him. After settling here, they had three children. All girls. Two of them grew up here but left when they married. The third one stayed. She never married but to hide from her famous last name, she took up her mother’s maiden name of Crawford.”

“Holy crap.”

Melissa nodded. “Jacob Ravencrest’s blood flows through your veins.”

I touched my chest. I felt prouder somehow. I didn’t realize just how important this place was to my family.

Melissa fell silent for a few minutes before seemingly looking at a watch that wasn’t actually there. She groaned. “Crap, I didn’t realize it was getting this late.”

Ok a little weird but I’m not going to argue.

“I think that was a very good first lesson,” she added with a smile.

“How did I do?”

“Good, save for the whole wandering in the dark bit.”

She laughed. “You should have seen the first time I did this with my Mom. My aunt did it with Darcy, she bawled like a baby the whole time.” Melissa laughed. “I hear your cousin kind of scoffed and stomped on through.”

That sounded like Mary.

“So all Novices are brought down here then?”

“Yep, it’s the first lesson. It’s meant to show them just how important things really are. It’s by far the coolest thing about all of this.”

I groaned. “And the rest of it?”

“It gets easier eventually.”

That didn’t sound promising at all.

“C’mon” she said, turning away from me. “The exit is this way.”

I stepped around the hole and the stinging light. I felt the tugging the whole time I followed her. There was another tunnel at the other end of the room. When I got to it, it took every bit of will power I had to drag myself from the room. Melissa even gave me a little push. I’m not sure what the Nexus was made of but it was sure powerful stuff. As we walked along the tunnel leading away, I felt it tugging at me for quite awhile. Eventually the feeling stopped but not before we got to another set of stone stairs. I was a bit surprised how quickly they came up. I was even more surprised when we got to the top of them and found a simple door. When Melissa opened it and we stepped through, I got another surprise:

We were in a closet.

Melissa laughed. “Too Narnia for you?”

I turned toward the door we came through as Melissa closed it. As soon as it was shut, the door seemed to blend into the wall. It was cool and freaky at the same time.

“Where are we?”

“Ravencrest Manor, the north wing I believe. This part of the house is mainly administrative offices for the college now. My mother has an office here actually.”

I followed Melissa as she opened the closet door and led me out into a dark hallway. We wasted no time leaving. It didn’t take us long before we were outside in the crisp, night air. I shivered, rubbing my bare arms. I was never going to get used to how cold it got around here in December. Melissa laughed which didn’t help matters. She made a comment about a coat next time. Then she took out her cell to call me a cab.

“Tomorrow I want you to meet me at this address after school” she took a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to me.

I looked and nodded. I knew the street; it was a few blocks from my house.

The cab arrived about ten minutes later. Melissa gave me a great big hug.

“This is going to be so much fun,” she said happily.

I smiled as I climbed into the cab and watched her from the window as it slowly pulled away.

I think I was getting a little sick and tired of being handed a slip of paper with an address on it. At least this time I wasn’t looking up at a foreboding house, fearing what might happen inside. Instead it was a pleasant looking blue one with a white picket fence, bright flowers and the feeling that there was a lot of love inside. It was like one of those homes you saw in those old black and white TV shows. I half expected the door to open and for Donna Reed to be standing there. Unlike the Crowley Manor, I wasn’t afraid to approach this place. I was a little apprehensive about things, though. I knew everything was going to be Ok in there but I couldn’t help but feel like there was something really fundamental that I was going to learn today.

Not as big as yesterday but still life changing.

I was still reeling from yesterday though.

After I got home last night, it was all I could think about. I went straight to my room, having missed dinner by an hour or so. I took out my books to do homework but I found myself daydreaming. The main thing on my mind was the Nexus. It was so damn powerful, so amazing. It shocked me that something like that could be under the town and that no one seemed to know about it. Sure, I’d only seen a little fraction of it but it was enough. I had so many questions and no answers. Instead of doing my work like I should of, I spent all night writing down my questions so I wouldn’t forget. I filled up three pages in my notebook about them, bound and determined to get some answers. This morning I tried asking my grandmother them but she told me that not even they knew all the answers.

“The Nexus is a mystery” she said “and sadly Ravencrest didn’t leave an owner’s manual behind for us to follow.”

He was another mystery all onto itself. Who was he exactly? How did he know so much? I thought he was a Norm but it was hard to believe that a Norm could know all he knew about the Unseen. I’d heard stories about what happened to Norms that knew the truth and it never ended well for them. Is that what happened to him, did some Unseen kill him to keep the truth? Was he even dead? I knew enough to know that Ravencrest just disappeared one morning, vanished without a trace. Most believed he went off on one of his adventures and never returned---that’s the story the Norms liked to tell but I couldn’t help but think there was more to it.
More to him. More to them.

Crowley interested me now more than ever. It was strange, really. A month ago, the only thing I’d been interested about was video games and comic books and now I couldn’t stop thinking about all this crazy stuff. It’s amazing what a month and a change of gender could do to a person. I felt more focused now, more whole if that was possible. I was more confident too. I’m not sure when I noticed that, but in class the other day I was actually raising my hand and talking to people. I never talked to people back home. I kind of liked it now, liked the attention. It was like life suddenly opened up for me and I had a passion for it.

I never thought I could ever be passionate about anything.

I let that passion drive me across the lawn and up the walkway to the front door. I took a deep breath and rang the bell. It didn’t take long before the door was opened. What I saw on the other side was probably going to scar me for the rest of my life. Ok, not scar me but it was really something I was never going to forget. There was a girl standing there, probably about twelve or so. She was dripping wet from head to toe and completely naked. She had a goofy, innocent look in those doe eyes of her.

“Hi, I’m all wet” she said happily.

I averted my eyes as fast possible but not before blushing severely.

Holy crap.

“Amanda” gasped a voice, followed by rapid footfall.

I turned just in time to see a girl that looked a lot like Melissa---same brown hair, same facial features. The girl or young woman I guess, grabbed the twelve year old and wrapped her in a towel quickly, pulling away from the door.

“I’m really sorry about that,” said the girl as she pulled the younger girl into the house.

I watched as she pushed her down a hallway and into a room, pulling it closed. When she turned around, she giggled. She walked toward me and I could definitely tell she was related to Melissa.

“You’re Kelly right? I’m Darcy, Melissa’s sister. Welcome to Casa de Williams.”

She waved her hands about in a grand gesture.

“Thanks” I said, still blushing slightly.

If Darcy noticed, she didn’t draw attention to it. “Mel should be around here somewhere. You want me to get her for you?”
I nodded.

“MEL” she shouted up a flight of stairs nearby.

I jumped.

Melissa appeared a moment or two later but not from the top of the stairs. She came walking out of a room that I think was the kitchen.

“Darcy” she said, drawing her sister’s attention.

Darcy turned to me. “See, I got her.” She turned to look down the hall. “Well I gotta get back to my…ummm…well I’m busy.”

Just like that, Darcy was gone.

Melissa sighed. “Sorry about her, mom didn’t socialize her enough when she was younger.”

I laughed. “I didn’t know you had two sisters?”

“I don’t” said Melissa, sounding a bit annoyed. “It’s kind of complicated.”

What wasn’t complicated in this town?

I didn’t press the matter though, it wasn’t my place. Instead, I followed as she beckoned. She led me down the very same hall her sister disappeared too. Instead of stopping at the door, Darcy and the strange girl went through, we continued. We walked exactly two doors down before we stopped. Melissa took a key from her pocket and unlocked it. Once again, I was standing before a flight of stairs leading down. I was never going to get used to that. Melissa wasted no time going down so I obediently followed. When I got to the bottom, I found myself in a spacious room, brimming to the ceiling with books. They weren’t the typical paperbacks you find in someone’s house either. These were old leather bound ones, like the ones back at the Crowley Manor library. Like Crowley Manor, there was also a small reading table. Unlike the Manor though, there was a wooden pedestal in the center of the room.

Resting on it was a large leather bound book just like the one in the secret room my grandmother had.

It was a Book of Shadows.

“Each family has their own Book of Shadows, some date back centuries, while others can be as fairly recent as a couple of decades.” Melissa was in teacher mode again like last night.

“How long has this one been in your family?”

“Long before we were the Williams,” she said. “In fact, this book is over five hundred years old. It’s not nearly as old or extensive as the Crawford one but it’s still pretty darn impressive. My great great grandmother on my father’s side passed it to my grandmother before she died.”

That surprised me. “Your father was a Dud?”

She nodded. “My mother’s Warden, too.”

“Do a lot of witches marry Duds?”

“It’s not mandatory but it happens a lot.” She smiled. “You and Jack thinking about tying the knot?”

I blushed. “We haven’t even gone on a date yet.”

She laughed. “A Crawford and a Pratchett, I suppose you could do worse,” she teased.

I bit my lip, a question forcing itself to be asked hopped from my mouth a second later. “Where’s your Dad?”

Please don’t say dead or else I’m going to feel horrible.

She shrugged. “Currently I don’t know. Two days ago, he was in New Delhi tracking down a rare tome. Before that it was Mumbai.” At my strange look, she elaborated. “Dad’s a rare book dealer. He specializes in the ancient texts mostly.”

I looked around the room. That’s why there were so many books down here. The room was practically exploding with them. The wall shelves were jammed pack to full and those on the floor were stacked so high and so close together it was hard to move. I was surprised anyone could even take a breath in here without knocking one of them over.

“Are all these books about the Unseen?”

“Most of them.”

“Have you read any?”

“Some” she walked over to one of the shelves, pulling off a book. “Here, catch.”

She caught me off guard as she threw the book at me. I barely caught it. When I did, I gave her a cross look. If I had dropped the book, I was going to feel real bad. After getting over that bit of shock, I slowly opened the book. The first thing I noticed was how old and yellow the pages were. The second thing I noticed was that it was written in some crazy language I’d never seen before. Staring at the scribbles hurt my eyes so I had to stop.

Melissa laughed when she noticed. “It’s Gnomish. One of many Fae languages.”

I closed the book quickly. “How many Fae languages are there?”

She shrugged. “Too many.”

I wove my way through the stacks and handed the book to her. She put it gently back into its place.

“You don’t expect me to learn all of them, do you?”

She laughed out loud. “If you did that would be a real feat. No, I’m just showing you some of what the world has to offer. Duds and Norms are drastically different and the same. Duds may know about the world of the Unseen but they don’t really get the chance to interact with it. Unless, of course, if they become Wardens. It’s a shame, really. For years we’ve been trying to change the rules but they’re old and have been set down for centuries, it’s really hard to change things that have been around for so long.”

I nodded. “My mother says my grandmother is a bit of a traditionalist.”

“Each witch has her own way.”

I looked around the room. “So is this lesson number two then?”

Melissa laughed. “No, this is a bit of me showing off. Lesson number two as you call it will begin as soon as I get you a spell book. Sit right here and I’ll be right back.”

Melissa left after that, leaving me alone in the big room of books. I tried to stay patient but curiosity got the better of me. I absently started pulling books from the shelves and opening them. Most of them were written in crazy languages that I couldn’t understand. As soon as I pulled one of them, I quickly put it back. There were a few though that were in English, but I wasn’t sure if I understood their contents. As I was browsing, I suddenly realized I wasn’t alone anymore. I turned quickly and sure enough, I saw Phoenix sitting there. The sneaky little spy was watching me like a hawk, those beady eyes of his following me about.

“Don’t you have a mouse or something to chase?”

Of course, the cat said nothing back.

It kind of freaked me out a bit. Here I was being watched at home all this time and completely oblivious. I’d actually changed in front of Diamond, multiple times. Was he some kind of perv or worse, did he report that to my mother as well? I shuddered at the thought. I shuddered even more when I realized the bastard had probably been in the room when my mother and sister were changing too. It made me wonder if all Familiars were perverts.

I turned back to the books, Phoenix’s eyes on me as I did so. I didn’t pull any more off the shelves in case he ratted me out. Instead, I just looked at the spines, trying to see if I could make sense of some of the names written on them. I couldn’t. Discouraged I turned around and found myself drawn to the Book of Shadows in the center of the room. I’d only seen one of them before. The one in my grandmother’s basement had been big and foreboding but I never actually got the chance to touch it. I licked my lips, tasting the lip-gloss. Strawberry Orange, Maggie bought it for me. After the lick, I took a few cautious steps toward it. Just a peek, what’s the harm in a simple peek. After all, Mary opened our Book and got to look so what says I can’t do the same.

I was inches from it, my fingers almost touching the cover when…

“I have my old book from when I was a Novice” Melissa’s voice trailed happily into the room with her. “It’s a little battered but---DON’T TOUCH THAT!”

I nearly tumbled backwards at her shout. I slammed abruptly into a stack of books, sending them scattered all over the place. Phoenix let out a giant squawk as one of them landed on his tail. He pulled out of the trap and scurried off, hissing at me as he went. Melissa rushed into the room, looking concerned.

“Are you Ok?” I nodded. She sighed. “You didn’t touch it did you?”

I shook my head. She let out another sigh.

There was a moment or two of silence.

“My fault” she said “that should have been lesson number two. I was so preoccupied with showing off; I forgot you didn’t know basic witchcraft 101”

“There’s a 101?”

She laughed. “Well not really but it’s something every witch should know. One of the first is to never touch another witch’s Book of Shadows. They’re very powerful tomes, encoded to the family that owns them. If you were to touch the Book of another family, well you’d be in rough shape.”

I looked at the Book then my hands. Shit, that was close.

Melissa pulled me into a hug. I didn’t know I was crying until I felt the tears on my cheeks.

“Its Ok, you didn’t know. No harm done.”

“I almost screwed up again” I sobbed into her shoulder.

She laughed. “One of the first things I did was turn my mother’s cat blue. My mother was furious. It was all because I got impatient and tried to do something I wasn’t ready for. Impatience is one of the witch’s worst Creeds.”

“Creeds?”

She nodded. “There are Creeds that we follow or rather that we try to avoid. Number One is Impatience. Number 2 is Intolerance and Number 3 is Ignorance. They’re called the Three Eyes for short. Every witch is taught to avoid the Eyes as much as possible. Often times those witches who can’t avoid them tend to burn up real quick. You understand?”

I nodded. “The Black Cross.”

“Exactly”.

I looked at the book and shuddered.

Melissa let me go. “Now as I was saying” She had a happy tone again. “This is the book that my mother gave to me. It’s a bit old and battered but it should get the job done.”

She held out the old, palm-sized book to me. I didn’t grab it though.

“I can’t take your book, its important right?”

Melissa laughed. “It’s the first book of the Witch. A Novice’s training spell tome but it’s Ok, my mother understands your situation. She wanted you to have it.”

I still hesitated. “Shouldn’t you give this to your daughter?”

Melissa nodded. “In time I will, right now I’m giving it to you. When the time comes and you’re finished, the book will return to where it belongs.”

I smiled and nodded, gently taking the book.

“With this Book, I, Melissa Anne Williams formally declare you a Novice Witch in the Ravencrest Order. Do you accept?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Then Blessed Be.”

She gave me another hug. I was crying a bit again but they were tears of joy this time. We held the hug for a whole minute before we separated. I felt excitement flow through me as I looked at the little book in my hand. I used to see my sister doing all her spells from her little book and always used to be so jealous of her. All my life I’d wanted to be just like her, a Witch that could use magic. I knew it was a pipe dream though. I was a Dud and Duds couldn’t do magic. Then the miracle happened and here I was now, holding my very own spell book, one step closer to being the Witch I’d always dreamed to be.

I opened the book, feeling a rush of emotions as I did. All of those emotions ebbed away as soon as I looked at the first page.

“Its blank” I said with a frown.

Melissa laughed. “Of course it is. You didn’t think we actually gave new Novices a fully loaded spell book did you?”

She laughed aloud for quite a while.

Ok, so small steps.

I closed the book and pressed it gently to my chest. There was a slight tingle and I couldn’t help but smile.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF