“Norman,” said a familiar voice somewhere in the distance. “Norman! Wake up, it’s time to get up.”

  My eyes fluttered open, then quickly closed when the morning light shined directly on my face. I was in the barn, sleeping on a pile of hay reserved for the cows. Not the most comfortable spot, but I was used to it by now. I turned over, out of the way of the light, and looked for the source of the sound.

  My beautiful wife, Beth, stood over me. Her curly, brown hair hung over her face as she frowned. It’d been a few weeks since we got married, and already she was showing signs of new life inside.

  “This is the third time this week I’ve found you sleeping out here. Why can’t you sleep in the house with the rest of us?” she asked.

  “Beth, you know as well as I do that I’m not choosing to sleep out here. It’s thrust upon me,” I replied, getting up and brushing the straw off.

  “Thrust upon you? By who? Is this about your drinking again?”

  I winced. “This has nothing to do with my drinking. I can stop whenever I want.”

  Since Zadona left Xalir, I hadn’t been able to stop drinking. It was easy to get free drinks when you performed every night at a tavern. Even if my performances never drew a crowd. The hangovers I could do without, but at least it helped me forget. Being able to forget was nice, even if it was only for a bit. I could tell it was hurting Beth, but I figured part of her could understand. She was hurt by Zadona as well.

  “But will you stop? Every night you stumble into the house smelling like you dunked yourself in ale. What are the rest of us to do? Put up with your stench while you parade around complaining? You could at least open a window.”

  I shrugged. “It doesn’t smell bad to me.”

  Beth sighed as she looked down at me, she held her hand to her head and muttered, “What did I get myself into.”

  My vision blurred. Suddenly, I stood up and grasped her hands. “Hey, what if I stopped right now? No more drinking. I promise.”

  She looked into my eyes, looking for some sign I was lying. “You mean it?”

  “I do.”

  “Alright.” She smiled faintly. “You know that I love you Norman, but you have to change. All this drinking and partying, it’s not good for you. For us.” Her hand fell to her belly.

  “I know, I love you too,” I said, kissing her cheek. “Now, why did you wake me?”

  “Oh yes!” Beth walked over to a rack built onto the barn wall. Hoes, pitchforks, shovels and other various tools were hung neatly. She grabbed a shovel and handed it to me.

  “Henry wants you to help him dig the foundation for a new outhouse,” said Beth.

  “Another one?” I replied. “What happened to the other one? Did it break?”

  “No, but he said it’s starting to get bad. About time to start building the next one.”

  Something was wrong, this wasn’t how it happened. “Guess he’s right.” I kissed my wife again before heading out of the barn. The rays of sunlight that hit me blinded me for a second. I looked around for my hat, only to see Beth holding it behind me.

  “Forget something?” she asked with a smile.

  “What would I ever do without you?”

  Maybe I was living a lie, but was that so wrong? Was it wrong to dream? To pretend that I’d been a better person, a better husband? The farm blinked in and out of existence. Focusing harder, I managed to stabilize my vision. For a few minutes, I wanted to escape reality. Just for a few minutes.

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  We walked back to the house, chatting about various things. I always enjoyed spending these quiet moments with Beth. She had a different way of looking at the world that I could never see. To me, the world seemed dim and colorless, only music could lift my spirits. But when she was around, color filled the universe. The grass was greener, the air sweeter, and even the dirt became a more pleasing color.

  It felt like we were still kids wandering through the world with little care for anyone else. Beth would stop and point out some tiny detail that I could never notice, and I would use that detail in a song, just for her. Life was good, though I still had a thought in the back of my mind. Could life be better? Would it have been better if I left too?

  No, it was better to hold on.

  But…

  As much as I enjoyed life on the farm, and spending time with my wife, there had to be something more. Before Zadona left, she asked me to go with her. To see the world that Piopus sang about during my lessons. Discover treasure and fight dragons whilst adventuring side-by-side. Zadona always had a way of making the world seem huge. Like every road was without end.

  I looked at my wife and smiled at the small bump growing from her stomach. How could it ever be better than this?

  Beth went back to the house, and I made my way to my brother. Henry was a good man, but once he set his mind on doing something, there was no stopping him. He did the most work out of anyone on the farm. If a new field needed to be plowed, Henry was there. If house repairs were needed, Henry had already done it. It was nice to have a hard worker on the farm.

  The outhouse needed to be dug a good distance away from the house, thanks to the smell. We were lucky our property was so big. I found Henry measuring out the area a couple of yards away from the old outhouse. Already the stench started to reach my nose, making me gag. Henry noticed me walking closer and called me over.

  “Morning! Pleasant day for digging, am I right?”

  I smiled at my younger brother. “Would be better if I was still sleeping.”

  “You sleep too much. Need to work to grow some muscles on those sorry bones.”

  I grasped his hand in mine and firmly shook it. He squeezed my hand so hard it felt like it was going to pop. I was used to this by now, so I didn’t even flinch. Taking this as a challenge, he squeezed harder. Our normal greeting ritual. Finally pulling my hand out from his, I used my other hand to massage the pain away.

  He grabbed his shovel and we got to work stabbing the earth and putting it in a pile off to the side. Henry worked much faster than I did, but that was expected. I blamed it on the sun, but the truth was that he had always worked harder than me. Still, by the time the sun was high in the sky, we’d made a sizable dent in the ground.

  Henry wiped his brow with the back of his hand and looked up at the sky. He blocked the bright light with his other hand. I waited, gasping for breath, as he calculated the time. He looked back at me and tutted softly.

  “Getting tired?” he said, all too happily.

  “Speak for yourself.” I threw down my shovel and plopped onto a pile of dirt near the edge of the hole.

  Henry laughed and took a seat next to me. A few seconds later, Beth walked over with some refreshments: fresh lemonade and sandwiches. She had put on a straw hat like the one I wore. After placing the food between me and Henry, she surveyed the hole we dug.

  “Looks good, boys,” she said, nodding. “How much longer till you’re done?”

  “Just need to get this one to finish his half,” Henry jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow as he talked.

  “Ouch! I could dig faster if you stopped throwing dirt on my half!”

  “As if,” Henry replied. “You’ve been tossing dirt on my back since we started.”

  Beth laughed at the sight of us. Two brothers who never grew out of starting fights with each other. Her laughter broke up our play fighting, causing us to laugh as well.

  Beth said her goodbyes as we promised to finish before sundown. As she left, Henry jabbed me in the side again. I flinched and almost reciprocated, but something in his expression stopped me. He was looking off toward the house in the direction of Beth.

  “You lucked out, Norman. You get the farm, a beautiful wife, and you’re a great musician to boot,” Henry said, turning to me. “Don’t throw it all away. If not for me, if not for Beth, if not for our parents, do it for your future kid. They’ll need you to guide them.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked, confused.

  Henry shrugged and turned back toward the house. “I feel like you’re forgetting why this is all worth it. Zadona was a good friend, but you need to move on.”

  I focused on the blue sky. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

  “You must.”

  The world seemed to fall away, growing darker and darker until I could see nothing. I didn’t panic, I knew it was a dream. Even so, I wished to go back. Living on the farm, working with Henry, and watching Arienne and Charlie grow. Why had I ever wanted to leave?

  Beth shook me awake. “Norman, it’s time.”

  Today was the opening ceremony of Trafford’s tournament. Groaning, I rolled out of bed and stretched. Training with Nia had helped me prepare, but I was still walking into the unknown. My back ached, my arms hurt, and I felt a strange pulsing pain emanating from my head. Oh yes, I missed Xalir.