Apollo's sleep that night once again went deeper than usual. Perhaps it was due to the fact that, just before his conscious mind gave up control to his subconscious, he felt his mind reach once again into the space beyond the confines of his body. For only the briefest of moments he was aware of the change and wondered what would happen if his mind were still reaching out when sleep claimed him.

He was aware of nothing other than normal rest until his mind seemed to snap to wakefulness. Yet, something was very wrong indeed if he was truly awake. He could see nothing but blackness before him. There was no tangible sensation of having a body at all, and yet he could feel the coldness of space all around him. Remembering his recently acquired ability to reach out into the universe with his mind, Apollo began to concentrate.

At first his mind came into contact with nothing solid that it could wrap itself around like an anchor. After a great deal of time and having no way to get a sense of how far out into space his mind had reached, he finally felt the edges of something massive in the distance. Gaining a tight hold on the object, he began to slowly pull himself toward it. At first he thought that reaching out with his mind when on the verge of sleep had propelled him away from the fleet and suspected that the object he was holding onto was likely the Galactica or one of the larger ships of the fleet.

However, as he began to get closer to the object he also took the opportunity to widen his feel in an attempt to find out which ship it really was. Much top his surprise, he soon discovered that the amount of surface area his mind was covering indicated that, whatever it was, it was much more massive than even the Galactica. He began to try to discern what the object was made of, and was again surprised to find that it was organic.

A planet. That was the only thing it could have been. He hoped it was one particular planet above all others. He stretched his mind even further to search for any other planets that might be in the same system. He found two smaller objects orbiting the first planet that he judged to most likely be moons. He was saddened when he did not detect any other planets in the vicinity, but there was something near what he thought to be the center of the system. When he began to get the sensation of heat, he decided it must be the planet's star.

Apollo continued his examination of the planet and the star while he pulled himself closer to the planet. His sense of distance was improving greatly now that he had reference points to home in on, and he guessed that he should be just a short Viper flight from the planet itself

Just then, Apollo's senses were almost blinded as the blackness was replaced with bright white light. The shock of the sudden change almost caused him to lose his hold on the planet and the star altogether. In the next few microns, Apollo began to make out shapes as if he were actually able to view the scene with his own eyes. It took some time for the image before him to come into focus. He had navigated the entire distance to the planet using only his sense of feel, so to suddenly have yet another one of his senses awaken and begin providing visual information took some getting used to.

Once the image had cleared and he was able to study the visual image of the planet, Apollo noticed that the world was one covered with two large land areas and great bodies of water. As his distance from the planet continued to close at a rapid rate, he began to make out individual land features. The land was covered with a variety of ecosystems. He could see snow-covered mountains, grassy plains, and areas that were heavily forested, as well as areas that looked as though they had been cleared and developed by some intelligent race.

Apollo's attention to the different landscapes almost drove the realization that he was rapidly approaching the surface of the planet from him. By the time he became aware of it he found himself almost too close to the ground. He began to concentrate on trying to stop his decent, but the gravity of the planet combined with his own momentum was making his efforts almost undetectable. He knew that he didn’t have to worry about crushing every bone in his body since he didn't have one at the time, but he also did not want to find out what would happen if his consciousness slammed into a solid object at that speed.

Apollo was braced for the worst as the ground came up beneath him, but he was again surprised when he felt himself land softly on the grass of a small hill. Perhaps the greatest shock after finding that he had landed safely, was that he had landed on his own feet. His consciousness, that had just moments before been spread over half of the planet, was suddenly pulled back into a physical body.

After discovering that he once again had a body of his own, Apollo realized that he was holding his breath. After a long exhale, he took in his first breath of the alien air. He found himself savoring that one small bit of air. It carried with it the smell of the grass and flowers of the surrounding area. Apollo had not been off of the Galactica since they had left earth behind and was not surprised to notice how much he preferred the air he was breathing to the recirculated air in every ship in the fleet.

In the back of Apollo’s mind there was a momentary thought that there was something in the air that smelled familiar to him. He tried to dismiss it but, as he took a few steps around his new surroundings, the thought refused to go away. In just a few microns the thought had grown so strong and persistent that it caused Apollo to begin trying to separate all of the scents in the air in order to determine which one it was that was causing such a feeling of recognition. He tried to think of all of the planets that matched the planet’s topography as well as one that was the single planet of its system. Try as he might though, he could not match all of the facts at hand to anything in his own experience.

Then it was before him. Apollo had been so caught up in his own analysis that he almost stepped right on it. At his feet in front of him was a single flower growing amid the grass. Bending down to examine it, Apollo was shocked to recognize it so readily. The Maiden Flower had been his mother’s favorite. She was fond of it because planting only one of them anywhere near a home was enough to have its scent fill the air. None had ever been able to plant two or more near one another. Doing so always resulted in the death of both plants. They were certainly a solitary breed, and very rare as well. No colony other than Caprica had any.

Apollo began to think back to all of the stories his mother told him and tried to remember what she might have said about the flower and why it only grew on Caprica. Unfortunately, he had spent more time daydreaming about being a warrior like his father than he had spent listening to her stories.

Pushing the thoughts about the flower to the back of his mind, Apollo began to try to reach out once again and get a sense of what lay around him. He found that it was surprisingly easy to do even from the confines of his body. His consciousness has only stretched over two other hills similar to the one he was standing on when he found signs of life. Actually, what he found was a fence that was anything but natural. Someone had built the fence, and Apollo set out on foot to try to discover who it was.

He had come to the fence and looked, but beyond it he could see no other signs of intelligent life. He had expected as much since the fence would likely mark the outer boundary of a piece of property. The fence in itself was well constructed and seemed well maintained, so Apollo was hoping that he would find more beyond the fence.

After climbing over the chest high fence, Apollo moved cautiously forward, reaching out ahead of himself so he would not be surprised by anything he might find over the next rise. It didn’t take long for him to find what he was looking for. He had found what appeared to be the main dwelling, and there was at least one person at home out in front. Discovering this, Apollo drew his consciousness back into him. He laid down, flat on the ground, at the crest of the last rise that would let him view what lay beyond.

Apollo could see the home and smell the scent of food being prepared within. The person he had detected before was still in front of the house and looking in his general direction. The girl appeared to be human, and around twenty yahren. The girl herself did not look threatening, but he had no idea who may be inside, and no idea how they would feel about having unexpected company drop in. Apollo realized that he would have to risk a first contact with these people someday soon if he did not do it right away. He had no idea how it was that he had gotten to this planet, and even less of an idea of how to get back to where he came from. Besides, he had not packed any rations for the trip, and the smell of the food being cooked was causing him to get very hungry.

Letting his stomach lead him onward more than his head, Apollo stood and walked over the last rise and started for the house at the bottom of the hill. The girl in the front saw him immediately and ran to the house and yelled something in at whoever was inside. Then she did something Apollo did not expect by running with wild abandon toward him. He would have been afraid if he had not seen the slight skip of joy that seemed to be in her step. It was almost as if she had been waiting for him.

The girl had almost reached him when she looked up at him and stopped dead in her tracks. The look on her face turned to one of surprise mixed with a bit of disappointment. Apparently she had been waiting for someone, but Apollo was evidently not the one she wanted to see in front of her at that moment.

Then she looked at him and said, "Aj ma sry. Aj trote ta vs showen ulsa."

The tone was gentle, but Apollo had never heard the language she spoke. In order to let her know he spoke a different language, Apollo said, "I’m sorry to have disturbed you."

The quizzical look on her face confirmed to him that his language was as new to her as hers was to him. Three others came up the hill behind the girl and asked her a question in their language. She replied to them, and from the looks of things she was trying to explain to them what she had said, and about the strange language the response had come in. The older man in the group, who Apollo guessed was likely the girl’s father, took a long wary look at Apollo. The woman, her mother, also studied him but hers was a softer more compassionate gaze. Apollo saw the last of them as the head of a small girl peeked from behind her mother, only to disappear once again when she noticed that Apollo was looking back at her. The mother said something to the father, and whatever it was it must have caught him off guard. He hesitated and just stared at her before shooting a volley of incomprehensible words at her. Well, she was having none of that as she placed her hands on her hips and leveled a stare at her husband that any married man would be able to identify. It was the look that said "either you do things my way or suffer the consequences", and Apollo was sure that they could be as harsh here as they were among his own people.

The father must have gotten the message as clearly as Apollo had because, after a short hesitation, he said something to Apollo, though without too much enthusiasm. When Apollo gestured that he did not understand, the father motioned for him to follow them back to the house. The family walked toward the house ahead of Apollo, and the little girl never let go of her mom even though she took the chance now and then to steal a look back at Apollo. After a while, the girl seemed to sense that Apollo was not a threat, and she turned looking back at him into a game of 'I see you'. By the time they reached the house, she had added a skip to her walk and was giggling almost uncontrollably as she continued her game.

Upon entering the home, Apollo could see that they were indeed expecting company. The entire house was decorated as if for a celebration, and places were set around the table for the entire family plus three extra spaces. After seeing this, if he had been able to speak their language and make them understand, Apollo would have excused himself and not intruded. The mother seemed to see all of that written on his face, because she came over to him and placed a hand on his arm to lead him over to a chair where he could sit close to the fire. Then the girl who had first seen him on the hill placed a cup in his hand.

Looking down at the cup Apollo was suddenly made aware of just how thirsty his walk over the hills had made him. He gave a nod of thanks to the girl and took a much-needed drink from the cup. When he had drank all of the drink, the girl took the cup back and took it to where she had gotten it from in the first place.

Apollo was about to make another attempt at communication when there was a knock at the door. The entire family turned and looked toward the door while the oldest girl made an excited dash toward it. She flung it open and immediately gave a tight enthusiastic embrace to the young man on the other side. He returned her embrace just as enthusiastically until he looked at Apollo sitting across the room. He then backed away from the girl as they both came inside followed by and older man and woman that Apollo took to be the young man's parents.

The young man never took his eyes off of Apollo as he asked a short question in the strange language. Although Apollo could not understand a word of the girl's response, he imagined that she was relating the story of how he came to be here, as far as she knew anyway. When she was done, the young man and his father both took on the same wary expression that the girls father still wore.

Apollo could see that he had definitely picked a bad time to drop in, so he stood and said, "I am thankful to you for your hospitality, but I don't wish to be a further burden on you so I'll be on my way now."

The others just stared again at him in bewilderment as to what he had just said. Apollo started for the door and the girl's mother must have reasoned out what he had meant because she made a quick move to cut him off before he could get to the door. She knew that he would not understand her so she simply put her hand on his arm and guided him back in and sat him at one of the chairs around the table. She then went and retrieved a chair from against the wall and placed it at the table and had the girls bring another setting for the table. Once that was done, everyone joined Apollo in sitting around the table. Apollo did notice that the men took it upon themselves to revise the seating arrangements so that one of the fathers flanked him on either side. A precaution Apollo could not fault them for.

When the meal was over, Apollo sat back in his chair with his eyes bulging. The other men around the table seemed to be experiencing the same effect. Apollo had no idea what the occasion was that they were celebrating, but the food that had been set before them had been more of a feast than a dinner.

The three other men at the table began to stand and leave the table, but they hesitated and looked directly at Apollo until he got the hint and stood to follow them. All four of them walked outside and stopped a few paces from the house. Night had fallen while they ate, and the two moons hung in the sky just above the horizon in front of them. Apollo could imagine that the house had been built facing the direction it was just for the purpose of looking at the moons right out the front door.

The others were talking amongst one another and a glance at them showed that they still were not taking their eyes off of him. In fact, Apollo imagined that he was the main topic of their conversation.

Taking a brief glance around to his other side, Apollo noticed something he had not realized before. Somehow the little girl had managed to sneak out of the house without him knowing she had done so. She was hiding in the shadows watching him even more closely than the men. He didn't mind that though since her staring was due to innocent curiosity.

Apollo took a deep breath and noticed that once again he could smell the scent of a Maiden Flower. Looking around to try to determine its location, Apollo spotted it growing in a little flower garden off to his right. He began to stroll over in that direction and the men instantly went on their guard until they saw exactly where he was going.

Apollo knelt down and looked at the small patch of flowers with the Maiden Flower in the very center. He had been kneeling there for some time when he saw someone walk up beside him. He though it would be one of the men there to tell him to leave he flowers alone until the person kneeled down next to him. The little girl had come out of the shadows, apparently thinking anyone who liked flowers the way she did must be all right.

Although he knew she couldn't understand him, Apollo said, "I hope you don't mind me looking at your flowers. One of them reminds me of my old home back on Caprica. My mother always had a Maiden Flower planted…."

"Madoon!" the girl exclaimed. She reached out and cupped the flower to make sure it was the one Apollo had been talking about. Apollo nodded in the affirmative and a wide grin spread across the girl's face before she said, "Tamura lees Madoon Loya!"

Apollo was as excited as she was that he had finally been able to communicate if even in such a small way. He was fairly sure of what she had said meant, so he pointed to her and asked, "Tamura?"

"Ka," she responded loud enough to attract the attention of the men who had not noticed she was with the stranger. Tamura was almost unable to contain her joy that the strange man had been able to understand her name.

Apollo looked back at her and a grin spread over his face as well as he said, "Apollo lees Madoon Loya."

The men walking toward the stranger were quite shaken when they saw Tamura leap to her feet and hug the stranger tightly around the neck. It stopped them in their tracks when she let go of him and turned to them to say as she pointed to him, "Apollo lees Madoon Loya!"

The girl grabbed Apollo's hand and urged him to stand. When he had she lead him at a run back to the house where she threw open the door and exclaimed for all to hear that, "Apollo lees Madoon Loya!"

None of those present in the room knew quite what to say. The mother asked the girl a question and she nodded and said, "Apollo." Then she turned and asked Apollo one more time to make sure, "Apollo ka?"

"Ka," Apollo responded in what he had gathered was the affirmative response.

Tamura’s mother blushed slightly as she realized that none of the rest of them had even thought to introduce themselves to him, or to ask what his name might be.

Tamura could see that look on her mother’s face and was very proud that she had been the one to remember such a simple thing. She took it upon herself to introduce everyone else to Apollo, one at a time. Apollo met the girl’s father, Doran, the young man, Kitan, Kitan’s father, Fodran, Kitan’s mother, Kitra, Tamura’s mother, Ilosa, and Tamura’s older sister, Jamira.

After introducing her sister, Tamura turned back to Apollo and said in a tone as if spreading gossip, "Jamira lees Kitan."

Laughter erupted around the room as Tamura had stated what would be plainly obvious even to someone as new to the situation as Apollo. As the laughter died down, Kitan walked over and put his arm around Jamira. Indeed Apollo could see that they were in love. It had not been that long ago that he saw Boxy hold Tala in the same way. That is when it hit him as to what the celebration could have been about. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Apollo kept his suspicion to himself, as if they would have been able to understand him anyway.

It wasn’t long until Apollo’s suspicions were confirmed however. Doran maneuvered everyone to the area around the fire as he went over to a cabinet and took out a very old looking bottle. He brought the bottle over and set it down on the small table in front of the fireplace. He made a comment that Apollo suspected was about needing something to drink it out of, and he then went over to another cabinet and returned with a wrapped package and set it down on the little table and motioned the happy couple toward it.

The couple sat down and started removing the wrapping from their gift. The position they had taken when opening it had blocked Apollo’s view so that he could not see exactly what it was that they had opened, but Apollo was, after all, an uninvited guest so he did not try for a better view. He could, however, tell that whatever it was had been inside of another case since he could tell that Kitan was opening a lid by the movements he made. It was apparently very impressive since a collective gasp of appreciation went up around the room.

Apollo realized he was about to get his first view of the gift when he saw Kitan beginning to lift it out of the box to hold it up and look at it. When it had cleared the top of his shoulder and Apollo got his look at it he nearly fainted. His eyes went wide in disbelief and his mouth went as dry as it had ever been. There before him, and about to be used for the first time, were the very glasses passed down through his family that he had used at the celebration after Boxy and Tala had been sealed and after Starbuck and Cassiopeia made there announcement of a sealing.

Then it all came back to him, the stories about the Maiden Flower that his mother had told him when he was only a child. The Maiden Flower was not native to Caprica, but only grew in their colony because they were the only group to import them in the early days of the settlement. That fact, plus the evidence of the glasses before him told him exactly where he was. Kobol.

That is why he had not been able to identify the planet when he had been approaching it. His only experience with Kobol had come at a time when the entire planet lay in ruins of some cataclysmic disaster. Yet, somehow, he had traveled not only almost all of the way back to the colonies, but back in time so far that the colonies had not even been dreamt of yet.

Before him, stood his ancestors out of time. They were suddenly living, breathing beings that he could see and feel.

Tamura could see that something was wrong with Apollo, so she gave a gentle tug on his hand to draw him back out of his thoughts. It seemed to work as he looked down at her and gave her a small smile, yet she could see that, though his face had returned to normal, there was something in his eyes that told her his mind was working overtime on something.

Fodran was helping to pass out a glass to everyone, while Doran was coming behind and filling the glasses with the drink from the bottle. When all glasses were full, Doran proposed a toast to the couple that Apollo could not understand, but knew the content of anyway. Everyone raised their glasses after the toast and when they came down, everyone placed their glasses on the table and began congratulating the happy couple.

Apollo tried to stay back from the group as much as possible, afraid that his emotions would come spilling out with no one around who would understand why. So, he backed away from the group little by little, and eventually was standing by the door. He was hoping that none of them would even notice that he had left for a while, but, unknown to him, Tamura never took her eye off of him and watched him as he slipped out.

Tamura had never witnessed it before, but she could have sworn that she had seen tears filling Apollo’s eyes just before he went out. She was worried about him. She knew that it must be frustrating for him not to be able to communicate with them very well other than to catch a name or talk about a flower. None of them knew anything about where he had come from, or how he had gotten there. She had a sudden thought that seeing this celebration may have brought back some sad memories for him. He was her new friend, and she was going to help him if she could.

It took a while but Tamura managed to sneak out almost as stealthily as Apollo had. It had taken her so long to get away that she was afraid that Apollo would have left and gone far beyond where she would be able to follow. Her fear was unfounded, however, for as soon as she exited the door she spotted him sitting on the ground in the distance and looking at the sky.

Tamura walked to him slowly and tried to make as much noise as possible as she went. She thought it would not be nice of her to sneak up on him and catch him crying. She gave him plenty of warning that he should be ready for a visitor. To her surprise, when she reached him, she found that he did not make any attempts to hide the fact that tears were streaming down his face. She sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulder the way her mother always did to comfort her when she was sad. She looked over at him to try to think of something she could say to him, but paid more attention to what she could see out of the corner of her eye. The door to the house was open and she could see the backlit figure of her mother standing in the doorway. Her mother watched her for a micron and then backed up and shut the door.

Tamura was surprised. Her mother had detected the sadness in Apollo as well, and was now making a statement that Tamura was the best person to help him.

Looking back to Apollo, Tamura decided that there was nothing that she could say that would comfort him since he wouldn’t understand it anyway, so she just laid her head on his shoulder.

Apollo felt Tamura’s head lay down on his shoulder and it tugged hard at his heartstrings. Boxy used to do the same thing to comfort him at times. Apollo reached his hand up to Tamura’s face and stroked her hair to assure her that what she was doing was indeed welcome.

Apollo wondered if there was any way to explain to her that his tears were tears of joy and not total sadness. He knew it would take a while to explain, but eventually he thought of a way to explain part of it. It would be the hardest thing for her to believe, but if he could make her understand that, then the rest would be much easier.

Apollo sat forward and picked up a twig that he could use to draw in the dirt patch that was just in front of them. What he drew was a family tree starting with his mother and father and ending with Boxy and Tala.

Tamura understood what he was saying and began to draw her own family tree starting with her parents and ending with her. She even included the upcoming sealing of Kitan and Jamira. Then Tamura asked Apollo to tell her the names of everyone on his family tree. She took great care to remember everyone’s name and relationship in case Apollo ever spoke of them in the future.

What Apollo did next would prove to be difficult for Tamura to rationalize. He stood and walked further out into the dirt, where he recreated Tamura’s family tree. She recognized it and wondered why he had placed it so far out. Then Apollo started drawing other lines and continuing her family tree without explaining whom those people were. She began to understand that he was drawing the lines for people who hadn’t even been born yet, but she had no idea why. Curious as to what he could be doing she watched as he drew more and more lines until he once again began writing names on the lines. That was totally confusing to her since there was no way he could know the names of people that far in the future. And if she thought that was bad, her head really began to swim when the new lines Apollo was drawing connected to the ones he had already drawn for his own family tree.

Tamura looked at Apollo with a confused look on her face. Then she went to the top of the drawing where she and her family were drawn out. As she walked slowly down the drawing she looked at the spaces with no names in them. Then over half way down the drawing the names started again and went on all the way to the bottom with every space filled in. She looked up at Apollo with a questioning look.

Apollo just looked back at her and said, "Ka."

Tamura took a moment to try to digest what Apollo was suggesting. Then she decided she wanted to know where Apollo claimed to be from and said, pointing to herself, "Tamura." Then she pointed to the ground around her and Apollo knew what she was asking.

Apollo grabbed stick once again and began to draw. When he was done, he had drawn the planetary system for Kobol as well as the ones that Apollo knew so well on the other side of the magnetic void. He walked over to the area where Caprica was located and pointed to it and said, "Apollo."

No one on her planet had ever know about the existence of any other planets in the universe since they were only able to see the two moons that orbited their planet and the star that provided the planet with its light. Because of that, Tamura had a bit of trouble grasping what the drawing was of. Seeing that, Apollo went over to the drawing of Kobol and pointed to the drawings of the moons. Then he pointed up to the moons on the horizon.

That was all Tamura needed to put the drawing into context. It was a concept so new that it was almost beyond her, but she was willing to give Apollo the benefit of the doubt. After all, he had trusted her enough to share a very private emotion with, and that was enough for her. Still, she did have a couple of questions.

Tamura took Apollo’s stick and drew a line from where his name appeared on the family tree all the way to the top and stopped next to her own name. Then she went over to the drawing of the planets and drew a line from Caprica to Kobol. When she had finished that, she held her hands out to the side with palms up asking him how it was that he had gotten from one place and one time to another.

Apollo put his palms together and then placed then next to his cheek and leaned his head onto them to let her know that he fell asleep. Then he pointed to where his name started on the tree to indicate that it was where he was when he went to sleep. Walking to the top next to her name, he put his hands up with one hand on either side of his head with palms facing her to indicate that he had woken up here. Then he went over to the drawing of Kobol and indicated that he had woken up on the planet.

Apollo had answered her sufficiently as far as she was concerned about that, but she took the stick to the family tree and wiped out what Apollo had drawn in the middle just before the names had started again. Then she drew a line going to the sides from each of the disconnected halves and continued one up and the other down.

Apollo could see that she was asking how he knew that his family line linked with hers. He took the stick from her and drew a very detailed picture of he glasses they had just toasted her sister and future brother-in-law with. Then he walked over to the tree and pointed to the union between Boxy and Tala, and he went through the motions her father had just gone through during the toast. Then he went to where he and Serina had been joined, and he pointed to his father above him before he went through the motions again. Then he pointed to his father before him, and his father before him.

Tamura watched as Apollo went through union after union and then looked up to see the tears forming in his eyes once again. She knew at that moment that she had to believe him. In order to show him that she did, she simply went over to him and wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could. She held on to him for some time, and was about to ask him if he wanted to go back inside when she heard a voice say, Thank you.

The words were in Apollo’s language, but somehow she had understood them as if they had been in her native tongue. The thing that startled her most was that Apollo had never spoken. Her ears had not detected anything other than the gentle breeze that blew through the valley. She had somehow heard the words in her head. She looked up at Apollo as if to ask him how he had done it. What she saw was a surprised look on his face as well.

Can you really hear what I am thinking? Apollo said without speaking.

The look on Tamura’s face was enough to tell she could, but instead of opening her mouth to speak back to him he simply heard her say, yes, in the same way he had spoken to her.

Well, if I had known it was possible to speak with you this way I could have left out all of the drawings, Apollo thought.

How are you doing it? Tamura asked in her thoughts.

To tell you the truth, I don’t know, Apollo responded. This is a first for me as well. I was actually hoping you could tell me. There are some things I recently learned to do with my mind, but this wasn’t one of them.

What else can you do? Tamura asked excitedly.

Apollo took the stick and held it out between them with is hands supporting it from the underside. Then he reached out with his mind and took a firm hold on the stick before lifting it off of his hands and letting it hover in the air.

Tamura’s eyes almost glowed as she watched the amazing thing Apollo was doing. Then she was suddenly disappointed as the stick fell to the ground.

Don’t worry, Apollo thought, someone is about to open the door to check on you and they might not like my tricks very much and they may even become afraid of me.

Your secret is safe with me, Tamura responded as she looked toward the house. Just as predicted, her mother opened the door once again to check on her. Tamura responded by grabbing Apollo’s hand and asking him if he wanted to back in by giving a small tug. Apollo agreed and they both walked happily toward the house, hand in hand.

Once inside, the family listened, and was amazed, at how much information Tamura had been able to gather about Apollo. She made sure not to include any information about where he had come from and how he thought he was a descendant of theirs transported back through time. Apollo had asked her to omit that information while they were walking up to the house.

Tamura did include everything about his family that she could remember, which to Apollo seemed like most of it. And hearing her tell them about his family made Apollo wonder if he would ever see them again. That is when he made the decision that he had to try to get back to them. The big question was how to go about making that happen.

Tamura had asked her mother if Apollo would be spending the night with them, and her mother told her that if she would not turn away someone who was hungry and thirsty then she would never dream of sending someone away to stumble around in the darkness. If he wanted to go when it was light, she said, then that was up to him. Actually, she didn't mind if he wanted to stay on for a while. She thought it was wonderful how he and Tamura had seemed to form a bond with one another. Tamura certainly seemed happy about it, and he seemed to enjoy their relationship as well.

So, a sleeping place was made for Apollo, in Tamura's room at her insistence. Once they had lain down for the night, and everyone else had gone on to their parts of the house, Tamura reached over and touched Apollo on the arm. When he looked over at her she pointed to her head and he knew she wanted to talk with him.

What can I do for you?, Apollo thought.

I was just curious, Tamura responded, about what it looks like between the planets.

Apollo began to concentrate on the many views he had seen out of the cockpit of his viper. Images of stars, planets, dust clouds, and comets raced through his head. He actually began to worry that perhaps he was sending too much information for her to process, but one look at her face told him that she was enjoying every second of what she was seeing. At long last, Apollo stopped sending the images and Tamura smiled.

Your welcome, Apollo thought. Good night.

When Tamura woke up the next morning, she looked over to where Apollo had been sleeping and found that he was gone. She was nearly in a panic as she jumped up and ran into the main room where she was sure she would find her mother.

Ilosa saw her daughter run into the room looking extremely distressed and said to her, "Don't worry child, he's still here. He just didn't want to disturb you. He's out helping your father right now."

The look on Tamura's face was one of a child who had just had a lost pet returned. She skipped back to her room and changed her clothes as quickly as possible so she would be able to go out and get a visual confirmation that Apollo was still there. As she reentered the main room she found that her father had come inside, and was talking to her mother. Even without her saying anything, her father was able to answer her question before she asked it.

Having been told that Apollo was still outside, Tamura rushed out of the door leaving it open behind her without thinking. Her mother had a smile on her face as she went over to close the door. Once in the doorway, Ilosa waited before closing he door as she watched her daughter run straight for Apollo with her arms outstretched. He turned and saw her coming and she leapt into his arms. The she watched as Apollo received an enormous hug from Tamura, and then he lifted her high in the air and began a slow spin. Ilosa could see that there was also a large grin on Apollo’s face.

Ilosa thought it was a shame that Apollo no longer had any small children at home. She could see that he would make a wonderful father. She hoped that perhaps someday he would have a child with the woman Tamura had told them he had been seeing. Then again, she had no idea why he was not with them then. In fact, none of them knew where he was from at all. Then, looking at Apollo and Tamura play, she amended that thought. She suspected that, somehow, there was at least one of them who knew almost everything.

Just before she closed the door, Ilosa took one final look at her daughter as she played. A fraction of a micron before she was about to turn away she noticed something that made her fix her gaze upon her daughter once again. Tamura had been leading Apollo over to the flower garden, and Tamura began to giggle as if Apollo had just told her a joke of some sort. Yet, Ilosa was close enough to know that Apollo had not spoken any of his strange words. As she continued to watch, Ilosa noticed more of the same behavior from the two of them. They were both giving little head nods and changing facial features as if they were having a very colorful conversation, yet not a sound passed between them.

Ilosa began to tremble involuntarily. There were stories passed down since the earliest recorded history of Kobol that some of the first humans to ever walk the face of Kobol had mysterious abilities. There had been horrific rumors of what kinds of things those people had been capable of. It was said that their abilities could be passed on to their children, and a real effort had been made to suppress all of those abilities. The stories had claimed that all of the abilities had eventually been bead out of their race, yet here before her she was possibly seeing someone who harbored those same abilities. And suddenly she was not so comfortable about her daughter being anywhere near Apollo.

It was just as that thought crossed her mind that Apollo looked right at her with a look on his face that looked as though he had just heard her last thought. Then he looked back at Tamura for a couple of microns. Then she turned and saw her mother standing in the doorway. Tamura began walking very calmly toward her mother.

When she had reached her mother, Tamura said, "Yes, mother, he is talking to me with is mind."

"And what has he been telling you," Ilosa asked concerned.

"Stories about silly things he and his brother and sister used to do when they were little like me," Tamura said.

"Tamura, you know some of the old stories about people who could do those sorts of things," Ilosa said.

"Yes," Tamura said. "Apollo isn’t like that though. He didn’t even know he could talk with me that way until last night."

Ilosa wanted to tell her daughter that it was still something to be feared, but could not think of a convincing argument that was likely to sway her daughter’s trust in Apollo.

"He is talking to me now," Tamura said as she listened for a micron. "He says he is going to leave because he doesn’t want to make us uncomfortable. Oh please don’t let him go! He doesn’t have anywhere to go!"

"Why doesn’t he just go home?" Ilosa asked.

"He can’t," Tamura said. "Please! You have to trust me. He can’t go home because he hasn’t found a way to get back there yet, but he really does want to go home though."

"What do you mean he doesn’t know how to get back there?" Ilosa asked. "He found his way here from there didn’t he."

"He would be able to explain it to you much better than I can," Tamura said, "but he is afraid none of the rest of you would believe him."

Ilosa looked up to locate Apollo and found him standing at the edge of a patch of dirt. "I am willing to listen if he will tell me, but I had better go and get your father first," Ilosa said to Tamura. "That way he can explain it to both of us."

Ilosa turned around to go back into the house to explain what had just happened to Doran before bringing him outside for Apollo’s explanation. Tamura meanwhile ran to Apollo and sent a mental message to him about what her mother and father were expecting.

Well, at least now that everything is out in the open I can use my abilities to give them a better picture of everything than I could with my previous drawings, Apollo thought.

What are you going to do? Tamura asked.

Just watch, Apollo thought. I’ll provide the pictures, but I want you to be the one to explain everything to them. I don’t think they would like to suddenly have my voice in their heads considering how they already feel.

I’ll do the best I can, Tamura thought.

Shortly after Ilosa had gone in to the house to retrieve her husband, both of them came back out of the house looking very concerned. They walked over to where Apollo and Tamura stood. Doran motioned for his daughter to stand beside him, and she did so without objection. Apollo backed away slightly from where they all stood to give a bit more space to the nervous couple. As he did so, Tamura explained to them that she would be explaining everything to them and Apollo was going to provide the pictures. Looking over at Apollo, Tamura noticed that he was not holding a stick this time, and wondered if he would use his mind to draw the pictures.

What they all actually saw happen surprised even Tamura, who had been watching for it. Instead of simple lines in the dirt, they watched as a huge cloud of dirt sprang into the air before them. At first it was just a glob of dirt particles hanging in the air, but it soon began to take on a shape that Tamura recognized. Apollo was simply moving his drawings to the vertical plane instead of the horizontal. She also noticed that the planets were complete spheres instead of just circles.

Tamura’s eyes may have been wide with excitement, but both of her parents stood in awe with their jaws hanging low. Tamura noticed their state and tugged on their hands to shake them back into reality. Once she was sure they were listening, she began explaining everything she remembered about what Apollo had said to her the night before. She even supplied the answers to the questions she had asked him since she was sure that they would have many of the same.

When Tamura was done with her entire explanation, she looked at her parents and they looked even more amazed than they had before. Apollo kept the images floating before them as their eyes wondered from one drawing to another in an attempt to better digest all that they had heard.

Tamura, would you please go back into the house for a while, Tamura heard Apollo say in her head. There are some other things I would like to explain to your parents.

Tamura looked at him with a confused look. She thought she had remembered everything. She didn’t understand what it was that Apollo could want to tell them that he had not told her. However, Apollo was her friend, and she trusted him. So, she turned and began walking back to the house.

Doran and Ilosa noticed that Tamura was leaving, and looked at Apollo suspecting he had asked her to go for some reason. Suddenly, Ilosa and Doran both heard Apollo’s voice in their heads.

There are some things about my life and the history of my people that I did not reveal to Tamura because I did not believe a child so young should have to know about such things, Apollo thought. I do believe it is necessary for me to share them with you, however, so that you can better understand how I came to be here and why it is that I must find a way to get back to where I belong.

Doran and Ilosa both looked at one another questioning whether they should allow him to explain any further. They could each see the amazement in one other's eyes at what they had seen and heard so far. Doran looked back at Apollo and nodded in the affirmative.

Apollo began to send images to them of a brief history of how the colonies had come into existence, and progressed slowly all the way through to their final fall to the Cylons and the resulting search for the thirteenth tribe. Apollo provided a narrative to accompany each picture he sent and made sure to give enough time between them for the two to absorb everything.

One of the last images Apollo sent to them was one of the celebration that had taken place after Boxy and Tala's sealing. In it they could plainly see the glasses used for the toast. Seeing that image, Doran and Ilosa suddenly knew why it was that Apollo had been so shaken after seeing Kitan and Jamira open their gift.

Then came the image of and thought documenting Apollo's arrival on Kobol and his meeting with the family. Then the images in their heads ceased and Apollo's voice was silent.

Tears had begun to stream down Ilosa's face when she had received the images of the destruction of the colonies and the death of Apollo's brother and mother at the hands of the Cylons. Since that time, the tears had never stopped as her heart ached for what Apollo and this people had been made to suffer. The truth about all of the things he had shown her was no longer in question. The story he had told was beyond the ability of any other Kobolian to fabricate. The images were too clear and precise to leave any doubt. Ilosa walked over to Apollo and wrapped her arms around him as if he was one of her own children.

Doran saw his wife as she sobbed into Apollo's chest. Then he noticed that the pictures in the air that Apollo had kept there throughout the entire time began to reform themselves into two distinct pictures. A smile came even to his face when he realized that it was a picture of two Maiden Flowers growing side by side. He knew at that moment that Apollo no longer felt quite so alone.

Eventually, all three of them walked back into the house. It was something that Tamura was overjoyed to see. She had been afraid that her parents would send Apollo away before she got to see him again, but her heart lifted once again as she saw him walk through the door.

That night, Jamira came back home with Kitan in tow. They had been at his home for most of the day discussing final details before their sealing. After everyone had eaten, Apollo and Tamura went outside while Doran and Ilosa sat down with Jamira and Kitan to explain to them what they had found out about Apollo and where he had come from. They had a bit of trouble accepting that it could all be true, but decided that whatever evidence he had given that had convinced Ilosa and Doran would also be enough for them. However, not wanting to make Apollo retell what Ilosa had told them caused him so much pain, they were willing to take Jamira's parents words on the matter.

Meanwhile, Apollo was outside with Tamura trying to think of how he might be able to use what abilities he had to get back home. He made several attempts at stretching his consciousness to a point in front of him and trying to separate it totally from his body. He believed that to be the only way to take on the pure consciousness form he had been in during his trip to Kobol in the first place. However, none of his attempts succeeded. He was never able to totally separate himself from his physical body. He was just about ready to give up when he realized that his physical body had not rematerialized until just before he came into contact with the surface of the planet.

Apollo informed Tamura about what he was about to try, much to her disappointment since she was secretly hoping that Apollo could stay with them for much longer. She watched apprehensively as Apollo began to concentrate on projecting his consciousness straight up to a point in the air instead of a point ahead of him near the ground. Her heart twisted when she suddenly saw him disappear. Tears began to form in her eyes as she looked at the space his body had previously occupied only a micron before.

Don't worry little one, Apollo's voice said in Tamura's head. Did you really think I would leave without saying goodbye?

Tamura looked around and saw Apollo standing behind her. The tears that stained her cheeks were tears of joy as she jumped into his arms and gripped him as if she would never let go.

Why don't we go in and tell all of the others the news, Apollo thought.

No protest came from Tamura, so Apollo turned and headed for the house with Tamura still clinging tightly around his neck. Apollo heard a giggle as he sent the image into her mind of the first time he had seen her hiding behind her mother.

Once in the house, Tamura turned and began to tell her family that Apollo may have found a way to get back home, even as she continued to hold on to Apollo refusing to let him put her down. The emotions that washed over the family were, both happiness that he would be able to see his family and friends again, and regret that they were not going to have more time to spend with him.

Later that night, Jamira and Kitan were walking together out in the front as Apollo and Tamura stood just outside the door and watched from the distance.

"Jamira lees Kitan," Tamura said in her own language, knowing that Apollo knew the meaning.

"Ka, " Apollo responded as an idea formed in his head.

Jamira and Kitan were just walking by the patch of dirt when they noticed that the dirt was beginning to swirl into the air. They knew that Apollo must be doing it from what they had been told, but it was the first time that they had actually seen his abilities in action. They watched as the swirling dirt slowly began to take shape until, right in front of them, there own faces stared back at them. Apollo had made perfect three-dimensional representations of them with such skill that any artist on Kobol would be jealous. Then they watched as the faces turned and faced one another and began moving closer until the lips of each picture were touching the other. They both heard Apollo's voice in their heads saying, Jamira lees Kitan. When they turned around they could see Apollo with a wide grin on his face, and Tamura was doubled over in laughter.

Apollo stayed with the family for another night because he to was reluctant to leave his newly discovered relatives. Unlike the morning before, Apollo stayed in his bed until Tamura woke up. She had been up fairly late the night before as Apollo shared more images from his life with her, at her insistence. Watching her sleep, Apollo thought back to the vision he had seen as he slept once in the past. He remembered watching as Boxy and Tala played with a young boy and girl. Serina had been there and informed him that, while the boy was Boxy’s son, the girl was he and Sheba’s. He thought about how much he would enjoy having a young girl like Tamura as a daughter. He was unsure of how much of the dream to believe however, since the entire scene had taken place in a park on Caprica where he had played as a child. The location was certainly false since the colonies would never again see human inhabitants.

Tamura awoke and looked to find Apollo looking back at her. She sat up and rubbed her eyes before leaning over and giving him the first of the many hugs he was sure to get from her that day. He got up and went into the main room to wait on her and give her some time to get dressed in her day clothes.

Later, everyone was seated around the table eating. Even Kitan had come over early that day to eat with them. The talk was cheerful, as everyone seemed to have a question to ask Apollo about some thing or another. Everyone at the table simply spoke their own language and Apollo listened to the words as they thought about them. Then he would respond by putting his reply into everyone’s head. It was Kitan who asked the question that made everyone catch their breath briefly.

So, now that you know how to get back to your home, Kitan thought as he said it out loud, how long are you going to stay with us?

Apollo just looked at him trying to think of a gentle way to say, I’m afraid I can’t afford to stay for too much longer. I have no way of knowing what is happening where I came from. I don’t even know if I still have a body waiting on me there, or whether I brought it along with me and it disappeared from there altogether. There is also no way for me to know how much time has passed there since I left, or perhaps I would be able to return to the exact moment that I left. If I do still have a body there and any sufficient amount of time has passed then someone would have found me and likely would have moved my body to the life station. There is also no way to tell how much my presence here may affect events that are supposed to happen in the future. Too much time spent here could cause irreparable harm on the future.

I can see that you have put more thought into this matter than any of us have considered, Kitan said. If possible, Jamira and I would like for you to stay for a while longer so you won’t miss our sealing.

When is it? Apollo asked.

Tonight, Jamira said.

I think I can be here at least that long, Apollo said.

We were afraid that you might be thinking of leaving sometime today, Jamira said.

Actually, I was, Apollo said, but how often is it that a man gets to attend a sealing ceremony for his ancestors?

They all laughed at that, but in the back of Tamura’s mind, reality was set in place. Apollo was staying for the ceremony, but the next day would be his last with them.

Early in the evening, Apollo went with Doran and Tamura on what they said was a short walk over to Kitan’s home. After a while, Apollo decided that his opinion of what constituted a short walk was much different than what his fellow travelers considered it. Apollo attributed that to the fact that he had spent so many yahren on board the Galactica. There had only been a few times when he had gotten to land on a planet and take the time for a good stretch of the legs. He made a mental note to insert some new exercises into his workout regimen. Perhaps he would have to rejoin the competitive Triad circuit, although such a thing from someone with a rank above captain was almost unheard of.

At long last, they reached Kitan’s home. Apollo estimated that about thirty guests of varying ages were already milling around the grounds. He could also see that food certainly would not be in short supply even if twice as many guests were to suddenly arrive. Ilosa and Jamira had left right after breakfast to begin the work of setting everything in place for the ceremony. Kitan had also left early to stay at the home of a nearby friend until the time of the ceremony.

From the way things were set, Apollo could see that Boxy and Tala had come fairly close to having a ceremony that would rival in style, those done in the early days of Caprica. Apollo imagined that it had changed very little from the time he was in to the time when the colonies were settled. He could also see that by the time the ceremony took place, the couple would have the two Kobolian moons as a backdrop.

Apollo tried to keep a low profile among so many guests who might not understand why he didn’t speak their language or one that they had ever heard. Curiosity about him was running fairly high though, since everyone in the area knew everyone else. Having a strange face around made for a point of interest the like of which they had rarely seen. Fortunately, Tamura never left his side, and intercepted most of the comments directed his way. According to Tamura, many of the unmarried women were asking about him in the hopes that he may be a prospect. Apollo grinned when she told him that she had responded by telling them to go and find another man because he was already taken. She was taking great pleasure in telling anyone who would listen that he was her date. He didn’t mind that though. In fact, there was no one else on the surface of the planet he would rather spend time with.

The ceremony itself was kept very simple in comparison to most of the sealings Apollo had seen in his lifetime. Boxy and Tala’s ceremony was the only one he could think of that came close to rivaling it. Having the moons as a backdrop was something that Apollo wished he could have at the time when he and Sheba finally got their chance. He wondered if the earth’s moon would be a suitable substitute, assuming they were able to find earth by that time.

Apollo suddenly realized that, for the first time since their voyage toward earth had started, the prospect of finding earth did not fill him with anticipation as it had in the past. Perhaps it was because of the earth system that they had observed for the past two yahren. He had thought that it was earth’s lack of advanced technology that had made their arrival at earth so anticlimactic for him, but he had to wonder if there wasn’t more to it than that. It was something within him that he could not pinpoint a cause for, yet it was there none the less.

When the ceremony was over, Jamira and Kitan were maneuvered toward a wagon filled with the gifts that the guest had brought, though they had to almost force their way through those same guests who all wanted to personally congratulate them. Once they had been put into the front of the wagon they both said their goodbyes as they drove off into the darkness.

Apollo asked Tamura where they would go, and she told him that there was a place that was very special to them where they would go and set up camp for the night. Then on the next day, they would go to the area that used to be the adjoining border between Fodran and Doran’s property, which each of the fathers had given to the couple to make their home on. She told Apollo that there was a sight already picked out for the house, and all of the materials had already been taken there to build it. Apollo surprised her a bit when he asked if it would be possible to walk by that sight on the way back to her house, but she said it was very close to where they had walked on the way there so it shouldn’t be a problem if he wanted to.

Ilosa was making the trip with them on the way back. Tamura had told her parents that Apollo wanted to go by the place where the new house was going to be built, so when they got to the place where they would veer off of their original course, Ilosa told Tamura that she could take Apollo to where he wanted to go while she and Doran went on back to their home. It was the ultimate sign of trust to Apollo that they were letting their youngest daughter go somewhere like that alone with him.

When they got to the sight of the house, Apollo spotted all of the construction materials off to one side. He could tell from the amount of material that a fairly large home was planned. When he asked Tamura about it, she told him that both sets of parents were hoping that they would eventually fill the house with grandchildren.

So who is supposed to build the house, Apollo asked.

Well, Kitan and Jamira will work on it some, Tamura said, but I suppose my father and Kitan’s will likely do most of the actual building since they have more experience with that sort of thing.

So there isn’t any customary rule about who can help or how much of the work has to be done by any certain person? Apollo asked.

Not that I know of, Tamura said while looking at him curious as to why it would matter.

Where will Kitan and Jamira live while it is being built? Apollo asked.

Well, Tamura said, they'll live most of the time in the tent shelter they are going to use tonight, but on the days when there is bad weather they'll have fold that up and stay at either of their former homes until it passes.

So it would be better for them to get as much help on this house as possible so that they can live there as soon as possible, Apollo said.

Are you going to stay and help them build it Apollo? Tamura asked excitedly.

I wish I could, Apollo said, but I really do need to get back to my people as soon as possible. I was just trying to think of something I might be able to do for them before I left. You know, I was the only one at their sealing who didn't have a gift to give to them.

I think the picture you made out of the dirt for them was a wonderful gift, Tamura said smiling.

I thought that something a bit more lasting would be a better gift, Apollo said, so they would have a way to remember me after I leave.

Tamura looked sad as she was reminded that Apollo was indeed going to leave very soon. Apollo saw the sad look on her face and said, I think a gift for you may be in order as well. How would you like to get a better view of the land around here on the way back home?

Tamura had a good idea as to what Apollo had in mind and simply smiled and said, I would love it.

Apollo reached out with is consciousness and wrapped it around the both of them. Then he reached out and took a hold of Tamura’s hand as they both began to lift slowly off of the ground. Tamura was nearly unable to contain her excitement. Being the youngest in the family, she had always been the one with the worst view of her world. That was all about to change thanks to Apollo.

Apollo took them up higher than the tallest of the hills around the area before he added the forward motion that would take them toward Tamura’s home. He did not send any thoughts to Tamura at first as he let her take in what she was seeing without any interruptions.

Tamura was learning a whole new respect for the planet she lived on. Being able to step back and take a look at it as a whole instead of in small individual sections made her more aware than she had ever been of how each hill and valley fit together to form something magnificent. Never again would she be able to walk along and see only the ground under her feet as she walked. Kobol itself had suddenly come alive for her in a way it had never been before, and Apollo could be sure it was the best gift he could have given her.

Tamura knew that their flight was nearing its end as she caught sight of her house in the distance. She could also tell that Apollo could see it since he began a gradual decent. As they were about to land, Tamura learned a whole new appreciation for Apollo’s sense of distance. He had continued on the same rate of decent without any major adjustments in their angle. She wondered how he had learned to judge such a thing so well. She thought he must have gotten quite a bit of practice with it even before he came to Kobol, but she had no idea how.

When they landed softly just short of the front door, Tamura ran inside to tell her parents about what she had seen, but discovered that they weren’t home. She was about to say something to Apollo about it when she realized that, by flying home, they had taken a straight path while her parents were walking overland. She smiled as she thought of what a shock it would be to them when they finally arrived and found that she and Apollo had managed to beat them.

They went back outside and Apollo lay down on the ground and looked up at the sky at the two Kobolian moons. Tamura lay perpendicular to Apollo and laid her head back on his chest. They stayed there for some time until Apollo heard the change in Tamura’s breathing that indicated that she had finally given in to her exhaustion and fallen asleep. Apollo moved slowly and carefully and he held her head as he moved to a kneeling position from which he picked her up and carried her off to her bed.

Apollo walked back outside just as Doran and Ilosa came over the top of the hill. They seemed a bit surprised to see Apollo there before them, but the more they thought about it the less surprised they became. They noticed that Tamura was suspiciously absent from his side.

I just put her into bed, Apollo thought sensing their question as he walked toward them. There is something I need to go and do before I leave tomorrow, but if Tamura wakes up tell her I will be back by morning.

Doran and Ilosa had no idea what it was that Apollo might need to do at that time of night, but they supposed it was something having to do with his imminent departure. They both just nodded their heads in acknowledgment and watched as Apollo began walking back in the direction that they had just come from.

A short time after Apollo had put Tamura to bed, he found himself back at the site where Kitan and Jamira were planning to build their home. He had already decided what he wanted to give the couple as a gift, but did not know if he could complete it by the time he had told them he would be leaving.

With that in mind, Apollo began to stretch his consciousness out over the surrounding area. For what he was planning, he would need more materials than what had already been gathered for the house. It was his intention to give the couple a gift not only from him, but from his entire list of family, friends and ancestors all the way back to Kitan and Jamira’s children. It was a daunting task to say the least, but using his newly found abilities was the thing that may make it possible.

The raw materials that Apollo was gathering began to arrive, and the project began with an amazing flourish of multiple activities being done simultaneously. Although his abilities enabled Apollo to do all of the work in a fraction of the time it would take an entire crew of workers, He could already tell that he was in for a long night.

When Doran and Ilosa awoke the next morning, they could smell breakfast being cooked and wondered if Jamira and Kitan had come early to pick them up for the first day of house building. They both dressed quickly and walked into the main room to find Apollo placing two plates full of food on the table. He motioned for them to come and sit at the places where he had just set the food, and they both smiled knowing that he had used his abilities to know the right time to serve the food to them.

After they both sat down, Apollo came to the table with is own plate and sat with them. They could look at Apollo’s eyes and tell that he must have been awake all night long. No sign of it showed anywhere else on his face though. Actually, he seemed quite happy and energetic. They guessed that he was anxious about getting back home and seeing his family.

They had almost finished off their food when Apollo got up from the table and began to prepare more food. He dished it out onto four more plates and sat them at the empty places at the table. Just after he sat down there was a knock at the door. Doran told the person who knocked to come in, and Jamira walked in followed by Kitan and his parents.

Doran asked them all to sit and have something to eat, and they all said they were thankful for that since Jamira and Kitan had picked them up that morning so early that no one had a chance to eat. Doran and Ilosa just smiled knowing that Apollo must have know that even as they were still on their way in the wagon.

Everyone was talking and asking Kitan and Jamira about their first might as a married couple, and Apollo got up and took his empty plate and put it on the counter. Then he began to prepare more food, although in a smaller quantity than he had before. Doran and Ilosa knew why he was doing it, but the others were a bit curious.

Apollo set the plate on the table and then went and kneeled just outside Tamura’s door. He had no more touched his knee to the ground then Tamura hurried through the door. Stopping for only a moment to see that Apollo was waiting on her, she lunged for him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Apollo wrapped his arms around Tamura’s back and carried her over to her seat at the table.

Once everyone had assembled and eaten, they all went outside and began walking toward the site where they were going to begin building Kitan and Jamira’s house. Tamura made most of the trip on Apollo’s shoulders.

Are you going to tell me what the gift is that you have waiting on them? Tamura asked Apollo.

I want it to be a surprise for everyone, Apollo said.

I think I might know what it is anyway, Tamura said.

I thought you might, but keep it to yourself, Apollo said. Besides, I think even you may be surprised once you see it.

The entire party was nearly to the top of the last hill blocking their view of the home site, when Kitan suddenly stopped the wagon he and Jamira were riding on. Both of them just stared ahead of them, eyes wide and jaws hanging low. From their higher position on the wagon, they had been able to see what lay beyond before anyone else. Seeing the look on their faces and the direction they were staring, everyone else ran to the top of the hill to see what could cause such a reaction.

There before them sat a house right on the spot where none had been the day before. It was a house the likes of which had never been seen anywhere on Kobol. It stood two stories high and had a steep sloping roof with rounded solid stone turrets on each end of the font. Both stories were rich in something that houses on Kobol were short on, windows. The windows that were there appeared to have glass in them, something that was unheard. Kobolians had figured out how to form glass into small objects such as the drink glasses that had been given as a sealing gift, but no one had been able to make a flat sheet large enough for a window that could withstand severe storms. A good portion of the house appeared to be comprised of stone, along with more traditional materials like timbers and mud that was applied and then hardened using intense heat. The entire house was like something out of a dream. It was sure to rival the finest homes seen anywhere on Kobol.

Apollo read Kitan's thought as he regained his speech and asked, How is this possible?

Tamura turned to them and said in her own language, "Apollo lees Kitan et Jamira."

Everyone turned to look at Apollo who looked up at Kitan and Jamira and thought, This is my gift to you for your sealing. I hope you like it.

Jamira jumped down from the wagon and ran to Apollo, flinging her arms around his neck the way only Tamura had done before. As her tears flowed and she hugged him tightly, she said to him, Thank you!

Nothing is too good for my ancestors, Apollo said back to her. Now why don't you take your husband and get a closer look.

Jamira smiled at Apollo and gave him a kiss on his cheek before rejoining her husband on the wagon and continuing to the house. Everyone moved along with the wagon also wanting to get a closer look to see if the inside compared to the outside. Tamura hung back from the main crowd just a little along with Apollo as she walked side by side with him the rest of the way.

Well, were you surprised? Apollo asked.

It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, Tamura responded. I don't think anyone in this world could help but be surprised.

Apollo and Tamura finally arrived at the front door of the house and walked in to join the rest of the party inside. As soon as they did, a joyful Jamira ran to Apollo and gave him yet another tearful embrace. She and Kitan had arrived at the house first and had already explored almost all of the first floor. Perhaps the thing that amazed everyone the most was how bright all of the rooms were made due to the large amount of outside light filtering through the windows. Jamira would have no need, as every other household on Kobol did, to light candles during the day to illuminate the inside of her home.

They all found that the home was as grand on the inside as it was on the outside, if not more. All of the rooms were large and the ceilings high. A wide staircase led to the upper story where all of the bedrooms were located. Upon examination of these, everyone could see that the rooms were every bit as large and brightly lit as the ones on the first floor, and they could see that there were a large number of them. There were even more bedrooms than had been planed in the original design. Apparently Apollo planned on Jamira having even more children than her parents did.

When asked about the large number of bedrooms, Apollo said, Well I thought Tamura would like to have her own room for the times when she visited. I was also hoping that there might be a spare room open just in case I decide to come back and visit again sometime.

There will always be a place in this house for you, Apollo, Kitan said with his hand outstretched for a handshake that Apollo gladly accepted.

Kobol’s star was directly overhead by the time everything had been moved from the wagon to its new place in the house. After that was done, Apollo began to make preparations for his departure. They all knew that he had stayed longer with them than he had intended, but none were quite ready to see him go, especially Tamura.

Knowing that he was going to be leaving as soon as the moving of the items in the wagon was complete, Tamura had begged her mom to walk back to their house with her so she could get something she insisted she needed. Her mother was hesitant to do so, but, since she was only helping Jamira to decide where everything should be put, she eventually agreed.

By the time Tamura and her mother returned, Apollo had already said his goodbyes to the other family members. He told them that he was ready to leave, but was not going to leave until he had said his farewells to both of them. Ilosa immediately put her arms around him and embraced him tightly before giving him a kiss on the cheek and sending her best wishes with him.

Tears were in the eyes of most of those present, but none more so that Tamura. She was trying to be brave and hold her tears back not wanting to make Apollo feel bad about leaving, but it was no use. She might as well have been attempting to stop the leak in a dam with her bare hands for all the good it was doing her. Seeing that did indeed make Apollo wish that he could stay, and made the tears flow from his own eyes as he kneeled and took the little girl into his arms.

They kept hugging for so long that everyone began to wonder if she would indeed be able to keep Apollo with her for eternity. Finally, it was Tamura that backed away and held a hand out to Apollo. Dangling from her hand was a necklace made from a thin piece of leather. At the base of the necklace hung a tiny clear tube of glass with one small seed in it.

I want you to take this with you so you can plant it when you get home, Tamura’s voice said in his head as she forced her words in her own language through her sobs. That way you will always have a way to remember me.

Tamura placed the necklace around Apollo’s neck before he reached out and embraced her once again. I could never forget you even if I didn’t have something like it to look at, he said to her by thought. Then, out loud, he said, "Apollo lees Tamura."

Saying that only made Tamura’s tears flow that much harder and caused her to tighten her grip even more before saying, "Tamura lees Apollo."

Tamura only held Apollo for a few microns before she used every once of will at her disposal to tear herself away from him. Once she had let go of Apollo, Tamura ran straight for her mother and jumped into her waiting arms. She buried her head in her mother’s shoulder and tried to muffle her crying, but she was dealing with a level of sorrow she had never know before, so she made the effort in vain.

Apollo was faring little better as he to tried to slow the river of tears flowing from him. He knew that the moment had come. He had to leave right away or Tamura’s cries would hold him there forever. So, he grasped the tube at the end of his necklace with one hand as he raised the other in a parting wave to everyone.

Everyone stood in the yard of the house and suddenly felt as if each had had a piece of them torn away. Apollo had stood before them only a moment before, and then, suddenly, he had given a final wave and completely disappeared. None of them moved as they looked at the spot of ground Apollo had just occupied. There was nothing left in the spot to indicate that he had ever been there at all. The only thing they would ever have was the memory of a displaced relative who had made a home in all of their hearts.