In the light of the setting sun, his startling blue eyes looked almost translucent, and I thought that if I looked too long I might see right through to the center of his soul. I’ve never met another person with eyes quite like his. They were almost liquid.

The car lurched along the narrow, bumpy road. Of course we couldn’t vacation in the city. That was much too contemporary…

There was a growing pile of empty soda cans and lunch-sized Doritos bags on the back seat.

I held the map in front of me, and attempted to fold it back into one neat rectangle. I gave up, tossed the map into the back seat, and propped my bare feet up on the dashboard.

Suddenly, he slowed the car down and craned his neck over his shoulder. “Did you see that?” he asked.

He rolled the car to a stop and got out. When he came back, he was carrying a bright blue stone, about the size of a fist. Curious, I went to take it from him, and when my fingers brushed against its cool surface, everything went black.