Then, I heard a voice from behind them. It was sweet and true and familiar, but not quite my own. “Perpetually, eternally; always and forever.” Suddenly, I knew what it was. Or, rather, who. Lo and behold, in walked two of the characters which had acquired such a deep closeness to my heart. I had created them from the beginning, and they were meant to be a part of me. In truth, they were so much more. They practically were me. I practically was them. Upon laying my eyes on them, I was more breathless than I was when I saw Seth and Sam for the first time. Could it be? Or was it merely an illusion? There, right in front of my eyes, in front of my soul, were Essie Miracle and Casimir Chrysanthemum. They were from the series I had written on ficlets, with me and myself. It was spectacular beyond explanation to see them come to life in front of me. Now I knew how BernerO must have felt. It took me several minutes to recover from the shock, but when I did, I was immensely estatic.