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It had been so long that no one sat waiting around the phone anymore, but when it rang, they all scrambled for it. Teagan was the first to reach it, snatching it up off the cradle, "Hello?" He wouldn't have admitted it if he'd been asked, but he loved his little sisters, and this whole thing with them going missing had him worrying more than anything ever had. His heart sunk a bit when the voice on the other end wasn't that of Ilori or Isaura, but of his older brother, Roscoe. "Tea!" Roscoe said, sounding a bit out of breath, "Where's Mom?" Teagan glanced around, noting Jack, Mora, and Ariannie all standing watch, but no Ul, "Don't know." Roscoe sighed, but still sounded a bit cheerful, "Well, I've got a surprise. I'll be home in about twenty minutes, ok? Make some biscuits ok?" Tea started to ask why, the the older Reli hung up on him, leaving him confused standing in the kitchen. Shrugging, he hung the phone up, relayed the message he'd been given, and got to work on the biscuits. Buttermilk, Roscoe's favorite.

Just as he'd said, twenty minutes later Roscoe showed up at the door, just as the biscuits were being taken out of the oven. He left the door open after walking in, and stopped Mora as she tried to close it. "No, I'm not alone." He walked back over to the door with Teagan in tow, "Come on in girls." Ilori and Isaura, somewhat different, strode in, greeted by hugs and kisses from the rest of the family. Teagan was crying, but he would never accept it if any of them ever told his friends. He wasn't a sissy. But it was so good to have his little, well, not so little, sisters back.

Stopping with her bike Tyyne checked if nobody was around. Just a small girl was playing on the street, but otherwise the gardens seemed pretty empty. Very slowly the Eden extended her hand into her pocket and her golden eyes focused on a well-known house.

Her pale hand revealed a small envelope which was decorated with lots of flowers. As if she supported herself a shy smile was conjured onto her face as she moved towards the mailbox and entered the letter with a sigh.

After that she dashed off as quickly as possible.

The usual sound of clinking metal and loud music from Teagan's room had ceased, and as days went by, it didn't return. He was coming out of his room less and less, and spent more time with the door locked. The little time he did spend with the family however, he was not himself. He was quiet, red eyed, and seemed distracted, certainly not the usual for the hyperactive teenager. Ul was concerned at first, but she backed off, figuring it was just his version of a rebellious stage. Every kid went through one at some point, didn't they? But when she had told him he could have a party and he hadn't seemed excited, it was too much. She tried talking to him, but he refused to tell her what was wrong, no matter how many times she asked.

This was something he'd have to figure out on his own.

The dreams were back again, full force. Teagan would wake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, blankets long since kicked onto the ground in a fit. He would feel as if he had a fever, and no matter what he did, it wouldn't go away. Stranger than that though, he would cry. He couldn't let him family see him, that would make them worry too much, so he stayed in his room. Some times were better than others and he would be able to walk around, but often he would just stay curled up in his bed, crying for hours on end without explanation. The dreams, though they had returned, were not the same he had had through the rest of his life. He remembered Eden, every color, every sound, every smell. Every little detail that made it so appealing, and then, everything was black. He rarely remembered what had happened the night before, and so the few pieces he did remember were all the more precious, but feared all the same. Though he was desperate for an answer, some key to why he'd been feeling so strange, he had trouble forcing himself to do anything.

As the days passed and spring faded into summer something odd seemed to happen to Teagan. His new worried disposition faded to a more thoughtful one, and for the first time he really seemed to be acting his age. He doesn't associate much now with his old gymnastics buddies, I think he may have had a falling out with one of them, but as he says that's behind him. He's been spending a lot of time at the library, which I thought was weird until I found one of the books he brought home. He's been studying all sorts of religious material, about Genesis and the Garden of Eden. I mentioned it to him and he told me that he was just trying to draw a line. He doesn't think the Eden they found is the same as the Garden of Eden, and says that even if it is it's hardly a shade of what it once was. He's growing older before my eyes, maturing and adapting. Pretty soon I think he'll want to move away. I'm not worried though, I know he's a good boy, and I know that he's been making the right choices. Some things he needs to do on his own I suppose, and as much as I want to help him figure this out this is his journey.

Whether he finds the real Eden or not I only hope that he'll find the answers to his questions. He's been taking a lot of notes and spending time near the project house. He says he's tried to reach Eden once since the incident, but he hasn't been successful. I told him I wish he wouldn't go looking for trouble like that, and he said he'd be careful, but I know despite that he'll do what he feels he needs to, even if that means endangering himself. I once asked him why he was doing this, when he was reading late at night. He said that since there were so many new Edens he just wanted to be sure that they were safe. He said that even though he and Ty might have been made stronger by seeing Eden that it is far too dangerous to risk any of the younger Edens finding it. He said something about trying to block the pond by the project house, but I'm not so sure that that's the only way to reach it. Either way I'm sure he'll keep working toward what he's looking for, doing both things I advise and don't along the way. But it's time for me to step back. He's finding his own way in the world, and that's all a mother can ask for.

It's been a while since I could look in the mirror and be proud of what I saw. I haven't done anything to get my gymnastics career back, if anything I've been doing things to prevent it. I can't run as far as I could before I started smoking, and when I do run I end up feeling terrible. Mom says she's woried but she's not doing anything but yelling at me about it. I'm not sure what I want to do anymore. I've had so much trouble coping since Eden, I've trying to contact Tyyne but we haven't really spoken in a while. It seems that everyone has grown apart, but I guess that's part of growing up. Still, I can't help feeling a little depressed. Everyone had such a good plan for their life. But me, I've hit a wall and I don't know how to get around it. Maybe it would be best for me to get my own place. I'm not doing anything here but making trouble for my family. At least on my own I'd be able to hear myself think. Who knows, maybe I'll go back to school someday.