I floated out of the darkness once again to the warmth and pleasant smell of nurse Gracie. I snuggled closer, being careful not to squeeze too hard. I lay like that, content and comfortable, looking at her until she woke with a small jump.

“Mary, been awake long?”

I wasn't sure how long long was, though I did have some idea of time. It didn't seem like that long at all to me.

“No.”

She gave me a look; I think it was a calculating look.

“You wouldn't know how long it was, even if it was a long time, would you?”

She was good at this! I smiled.

“No.”

She rolled her eyes at me.

“Of course not.”

I tried to imitate her, but I don't think I did it right. She laughed though, and the sound was a thousand tinkling bells. I wanted to make her laugh like that forever.

“Alright Mary, shower time.”

She grabbed the clothes she had placed in Randolph's chair; she had brought them from her room last night, and added what she wanted me to wear to it. For convenience, she said.

She had gotten a little mad when I went to put it on last night. Apparently I was only supposed to wear other clothes in the morning, when the sun was up but not in the window. Always so much more to learn.

Taking the cloth off by myself was kind of hard; I knew nurse Gracie didn't want me to break it, and it got stuck! nurse Gracie laughed her bell laugh again, and helped.

“You pull it up, Mary. Up gently, like this.”

She got the cloth off me and then set it back on, showing me how to remove it. I was just glad I hadn't broke it. I did remember how to do all the things she showed me yesterday; use of the soap, and shampoo, and conditioner, and how to make the water come out.

Once done we dressed and I followed Nurse Gracie to the kitchen, where she started making food. I was a little hungry, but it wasn't the toothy growling thing it was yesterday. Today, nurse Gracie's hunger was making noises though.

Doctor Reg came in for the weird smelling brown stuff he had started eating with yesterday, while Nurse Gracie made the same food she made yesterday. The eggs. This time she was making something else with them.

“What is that?”

“That's bacon Mary, it goes well with eggs. Doctor Reg likes it that way.”

I turned to doctor Reg.

“What's this?”

“That is coffee Mary. Did we cover coffee yesterday morning? I don't think we got to it.”

No, we didn't cover coffee yesterday morning. What would we cover it with? And why?

“Coffee is a beverage Mary, a drink. Much like your food is currently. While not a good food for you, it works wonders for me.”

Why was it not good for me? I wanted to drink it and find out. But if doctor Reg thought it was not good for me, then it wasn't. He was my friend after all, and wouldn't be wrong about these things.

“Don't worry about it Mary, perhaps in time you can try other foods. But for now, are you hungry?”

I shook my head. I really wasn't. Not like nurse Gracie and doctor Reg are.

“Good, good. Let me know when you are, alright?”

I nodded, and my hair flew everywhere.

“You don't need to shake your head with such... enthusiasm, Mary. Just a little nod works too. Like this.”

Nurse Gracie demonstrated for me, and I mimicked her.

“Much better.”

I looked around, finally noticing something. Fido was missing!

“Fido?”

Nurse Gracie wasted no time in correcting me.

“That's 'where is Fido' Mary.”

Doctor Reg answered the question.

“Fido is busy at the moment, doing his job.”

Fido has a job? I knew what a job was... nurse Gracie had explained them to me yesterday. Like cleaning or cooking. Would I get a job of my own? What was Fido's job, anyway?

“Where is Fido job?”

“That's 'where is Fido's job?' Mary.”

I smiled at nurse Gracie; she hadn't even turned around that time! She was putting doctor Reg's food on a plate. She tries really hard to make sure I'm not making mistakes.

“Fido's job is outside, Mary. Outside the castle. Fido works on...”

Nurse Gracie interrupted.

“Doctor; not now. Not... yet.”

Doctor Reg looked into my face with a weird look, so I smiled at him.

“Alright. Fido works in managing the outside grounds, Mary.”

I looked between them, confused. What had just happened? Oh well, I had my answer. Wait... nurse Gracie got to go outside. Fido got to go outside. Doctor Reg got to go outside! Everybody got to go outside but me!

“Mary wants outside!”

“You want to go outside Mary? If we get all our work done today I'll take you.”

I hugged nurse Gracie. She was the best! Doctor reg made a noise I didn't know how to make.

“Mary, there are people coming to the castle today; would you like to meet them?”

More world AND more people from it all in one day? This was the best today ever! Doctor Reg squirmed a bit in my hug.

“I guess that means yes.”

Nurse Gracie was smiling too.

“Yes it does. So the other doctors are coming in today?”

Doctor reg made another noise I didn't know how to make. He was talented.

“Wild horses couldn't keep them away; when I posted my success they all but accused me of lying and demanded they be able to check, in the same breath.”

“Well that's just how they are. Old unsociable men who wouldn't know polite if it bit them.”

Polite had teeth?

“Anyway you needed their backing, so you have to put up with it. Mary, stop trying to snort, it's not polite.”

Was that was it was called? A snort? And if polite had teeth, why would I want it? Would it get hungry, since teeth were used for eating? Did snorting bring this 'polite' out? I resolved to stop trying to make the noise; after all, there was no telling if polite knew what was right to eat and what wasn't.

I waited and waited, fidgeting and looking for something to do while doctor Reg and nurse Gracie ate. I couldn't go outside until nurse Gracie and I did the work for today, and the first job yesterday had been dishes. Hey, I had a job like Fido! I helped nurse Gracie; surely that counted, right?

Finally they were done, and I took the dishes and put them in the sink.

“Well, someone is in a hurry. What if we wanted more?”

I looked at nurse Gracie with some confusion. Then looked in the dish she cooked food in. There wasn't any more.

Nurse Gracie put her hand on my hair and moved it around. It felt kind of nice but kind of weird.

“It's alright, we don't. But you should wait until we're ready before you start cleaning up, OK?”

I nodded.

“...Sorry?”

There was that bell laugh again; that ready smile.

“But what if I wanted more?” Doctor Reg asked.

“Too bad; I've seen how you're starting to thicken in the middle; you don't need more. Exercise more, then we'll talk.”

“That's pretty cruel, Gracie.”

Doctor Reg looked sad, so I hugged him. But at the same time, I had to correct him.

“Nurse Gracie!”

“Right, right... I'm sorry, nurse Gracie it is.”

Nurse Gracie turned the gear to make water fill the sink, and added soap. I got my towel for drying them. Doctor Reg slunk out of the kitchen to his job. I wasn't sure what his job was today. But I was sure he had one, and it involved the cellar.

But who cared about the cellar? I was going to go outside! Nurse Gracie and I were both going to go, just as soon as we finished cleaning! And maybe we could find Fido, and help him with his job! Then we could all be together, outside!

“Careful Mary, if we break the dishes, we will have more to clean up.”

I slowed down. That wouldn't do at all. Nurse Gracie favored me with a smile I recognized as... indulgent? What was indulgent?

“It's alright Mary, outside will still be there for us no matter how much time it takes. But there is no reason we need to clean more than absolutely necessary today. Say... two rooms? Neither as large as the library?”

She grinned at me again, this one spoke of mischief. Again, I wasn't sure what mischief was, but I knew the grin spoke of it. Something like a joke? I shrugged and grinned back.

The dishes didn't really take long at all, and the first room was nurse Gracie's. It was very clean and decorated with pretty colors. Nurse Gracie kept up the grin throughout, making me think she was up to one long joke.

That grin, if anything, got wider when we cleaned the next room, which was a smaller room where the house soaps were kept. Nurse Gracie called it a closet. With all the cleaning things out of it, it took even less time than nurse Gracie's room, or my room.

Then she led me all the way down the hall, and to a large door. I knew it was old oak, banded in iron, It looked like all the other doors in the castle, only larger. With another bright smile I tried to match, she produced a large oddly shaped piece of metal from her clothes and stuck it in the metal part of the door, below the knob.

The door opened to brightness that was at first, blinding. It soon resolved itself to a garden of stone. Nurse Gracie stood aside and let me through and into the bright warmth, closing the door behind us.

There were other buildings all around, made of the same stone. And stones like the floor of the castle, only a bit more rough under my feet. They made a trail, with dirt on either side. The varied gray seemed to soak up the sun, much as I did. It was warm and wonderful. Around it all, was a large stone wall, composed of large rough stones; some of them were even bigger than the bed in my room!

And there, to one side of the rock trail, there was a car.

It wasn't a car I recognized, but I knew what a car was. One had killed me, after all. It was bigger than the one from my dreams, but looked better; more sleek, and somehow it seemed better made. Nurse Gracie had to tug on my arm to get me past it.

“Come on Mary, it's safe. It's not on, and can't hurt you.”

All the same I was careful as I walked past it. Nurse Gracie continued;

“We don't use any of these buildings. There isn't anyone to occupy them. Most of the people around here... well let's just say they aren't happy with us putting the castle here, so we have to keep it up ourselves, and get people to come from far away when we need something.”

Looking closer with eyes less blind, I saw hints of green here and there among the stones and dirt... plants of some sort. They weren't all that colorful or pretty. We were headed to the wall, and there was a big opening in it. On the other side of that opening I could see a wooden bridge, more old wood with banded metal around it.

Some of the green plants were actually crawling up the side of the castle! I wondered how they did that without legs... They reached pretty far up, and had white heads on them in random places. The outside smelled much different than inside the castle.

Then we reached the wall, and beyond it was a small... stream? Body of water. Something. The bridge lay across it. And on the other side....

Outside was so huge!

Gently rolling hills covered in green and spots of other color, trees off in the distance (I remembered what those were) and more water flowing from the trees to the stream under our feet. There was a smooth stone path from the end of the bridge leading to the forest too.

The smells were wonderful. Less strong and yet more suggestive of heat and... haze? I wasn't sure what they were, but they were so much better than the cleaning soaps.

And everywhere above me there were white clouds and smaller things flying in the sky, and other things moving around in the distance. A glimpse of bright color caught my eye, fluttering around near me.

It was bright yellow and black, and it rose and fell in the air, flapping small wings. It wasn't a bird. The name of it was in my head somewhere, but I didn't know where! Maybe if I could get closer, and see it better...

It was on green plant, twitching the two large colorful parts it had, when I came up. But when I got closer it flew over my head like a bird, but more weird. It kept dropping, then raising, then dropping again. It landed on another plant, twitching itself again.

“That's a butterfly, Mary.”

A butterfly! I remembered now! But what a weird name... it wasn't butter, or a fly. I guess it could be a combination of both... but I would have to get closer to see.

“You don't want to hurt it do you? It's very fragile.”

It was moving. It was alive. I didn't want to hurt it or consign it to the darkness! I stopped, falling down, and put my arms behind me, watching it carefully. It floated off and landed on another plant with a blue head.

When I looked nurse Gracie had her hands on her face.

“Alright, I'll take that as a no. Want me to show you a trick? Help you get a closer look?”

I nodded.

“If I show you, you can't touch, alright? Just look.”

“Yes.”

She walked over and grabbed another plant with a blue head, pulling it out of the ground. She then walked over to where I was and handed me the plant, with the head just above my hand and moving my hand up above my head.

“Now just wait, and stay still.”

I waited. Nurse Gracie backed off, and I waited some more.

It seemed to take forever, but the butterfly came over... and landed on the plant in my hand, it's parts slowly moving up and down. I could see it now! It looked kind of like a worm with brightly colored drapes, and had long thin pieces coming from it's head. It didn't look anything like a fly, or butter. That was now definite.

Perhaps the mixing of the two made the combination different? But could such a combination make the new whole that different... and alive? I think I would have to test this. I was distracted by the butterfly stopping whatever it was doing to the plant, and walking on my finger.

It tickled! I could feel it's little legs, the pressure they exerted! This was great! An entire huge outside, filled with so much other than myself! Despite myself I held back. I wanted very much to touch the butterfly, to pet it; but I remembered nurse Gracie's warning.

I would likely crush it. I was too strong for it. It was made of butter and a fly after all, not stone or wood.

But that didn't mean I couldn't have fun with it. It never said anything, but I considered it a friend!

When it flew off, I was ready. I tried to follow as best I could. I found myself making some weird sounds, but I didn't know what they were. Nurse Gracie didn't seem too concerned; I was sure her smile matched mine; ear to ear.

When I got close, I slowed down and got careful again. But every time it took off, I followed as best I could.

Fido ran up while I was playing; I waved at him and kept going. He turned to nurse Gracie.

“Chasing butterflies. Just like a puppy.”

“It seems to be a right of passage for the young.”

“Is that... is that laughter?”

“Of course it is, she's having fun. She's not even really trying to catch the butterfly. Doesn't want to hurt it.”

So laughter was the sound I was making? A joyous sound, but it sounded nothing like nurse Gracie's laugh. Fido looked at nurse Gracie. I wish I knew how I was doing it.

“...Weird.”

Finally tired of the game, I flopped down into the small green plants. They felt soft and inviting, if not as soft as my bed. I noticed Randolph on the bridge and headed our way and waved to him... as my playmate butterfly landed on my nose.

With a smile I blew it off and watched it fly away.

The sun had walked across the sky, and his (how did I know the sun was a guy? I don't know, I just did.) friendly clouds had too. He was now pouring most of his light on the side of the castle nearest us, on the green plants that crawled up the castle wall.

Then I heard a light but low distant rumbling noise; it took me some time to recognize what it was, but I did know, and the knowledge filled me with dread. The noise got louder as the object of terror resolved itself along the smooth stone path, coming out of the trees with a lurch. It was large and black, and seemed to soak up the sun's light like a shard of darkness itself.

It was a car.