(The following happens after the Vision Quest, while Rhys is asleep.)

Sleep came like death, quick and painless, dark and foreboding. Rhys wandered alone through the endless maze of jungle that was his dreams. There was no Jaguar here. No Coyote. No Riley. No Niki. No John. No David. No one to guide him. He was utterly and completely alone.

He'd tried to make sense of the vision, if a vision is what it truly was. He had his doubts. Coyote had left a mark upon his flesh. No vision or dream had ever done that.

He'd tried to explain it to Riley. She'd seemed to want to know what had happened, but words had failed him. He was confused. They both were. She didn't understand, and he wasn't sure he could explain. She was his hope in an otherwise hopeless world. His light in the darkness. His candle in the wind.

Without her, he felt alone, desolate, full of despair. He'd tried to explain, but she didn't understand. She was too lost in her own grief, her own confusion. She didn't love him, and he so needed to be loved. He'd never loved anyone like he loved her, and it terrified him.

He'd given so much. He wasn't sure he could give anymore. There had been a price. It seemed there was always a price. Coyote had asked for a memory, nothing more. A memory in exchange for answers, but the answers only begged more questions. Why had this one memory seemed so important' He couldn't even remember what it had been. A memory of a time long ago. So long ago, it no longer seemed real, and yet, he'd clung to that memory like a man clings to a life preserver.

Rhys tossed and turned. Sleep no longer brought peace, only more confusion. He called Riley's name in his dreams, but another name came unbidden to his lips: Jessie.

Tears burned behind his closed eyelids, even in sleep, endless tears clotting his throat, threatening to drown him. It had been over a decade since Jessie had died, but the memory of her still burned like fire in his heart. She had been his sunshine, golden haired with eyes as blue as a summer sky — his first love. The demons had taken her from him, just like they'd taken everyone else, leaving him alone and bereft, bleeding from an invisible wound that would never heal. Dying inside.

And now, it seemed her memory was slowly fading. Their love had been sweet and innocent. The first love of youth. Their love had given him wings and had set his heart on fire for the very first time.

Riley was right. Coyote's price had been too high. He'd lost the one thing he'd clung to through all the long years. The one memory that had kept him going — the memory of their first kiss. He'd bargained it away like it had never meant anything, too precious a thing to have lost, and he wished with all his heart that he could have it back.

"Jessie..." he whispered in his sleep, her name like a prayer upon his lips.

"Rhys..." He heard a voice answer, and at first, he thought it was Riley calling him up out of sleep, back to the world of the living. But, no, it wasn't Riley. He recognized the voice, and his heart leaped in his chest. It was a girl's voice that called him, stirring his memories, igniting his passion.

"I'm here, Rhys," he heard her say, and he turned to face her, his heart leaping into his throat at the sight of her. She was just as he remembered — all of sixteen, long honey-colored hair, eyes of cornflower blue, a sweet smile tugging at her lips. She was like a ray of summer sunshine in the darkest night of winter.

Hadn't Jaguar said that there was hope even in darkness, like stars shining in a blackened sky. Distant, remote, sometimes hidden, but eternally present, even behind the stormiest of clouds. If only he could reach out and touch them, feel their warmth within his heart, know that there was hope even in despair.

"Jessie..." he whispered again, face wet with tears, a painful tightening in his chest. He tried to form words, but failed — afraid to speak, afraid to shatter the moment and be left alone again with nothing but darkness and chaos.

"I've come to give you back what you're missing," she explained. "What you never should have lost."

He watched, frozen in place, as she closed the distance between them, so close he could smell her. He breathed in her scent, like a warm summer breeze. She smelled of green grass and sunshine, buttercups and daisies, hotdogs and ice cream and toasted marshmallows, baseball and bicycles, laughter and joy. Youthful exuberance. Innocent and free. He remembered it all like it was only yesterday.

And then they were there, in their special place — a clearing in the woods near her house, the soft sound of water rippling close by, cool and refreshing and tranquil. The trees gently stirring in the breeze, their boughs bending to and fro providing a green canopy of shelter over their heads.

They were fourteen again. A smattering of freckles dotting both their noses, their eyes bright and sparkling with the joy and innocence of youth. The joyous sound of laughter filled the clearing, as she drew him close. She had been his sunshine on an otherwise stormy day, and when her lips had met his for the very first time, it was like the Fourth of July — fireworks exploding in his heart, burning the memory of her in his brain. It was a sweet kiss, a tender kiss. Warm and gentle and full of the promise of first love.

It had only lasted a moment, but the memory of it burned like fire in his heart. He opened his eyes at last, reluctant to part from her, knowing it was only a dream, could only be a dream.

She traced his cheek with her fingertips, and he was reminded of Riley. Jessie was dead. She'd been dead for over a decade. He felt his heart convulse in pain and turmoil. How could he love Riley when he'd loved Jessie so?

She smiled, as if she was reading his thoughts, and then she was sixteen again, and he was no longer a boy. Sweet sixteen. She looked the same as he remembered her, the same as the last time he'd seen her alive.

He felt the tears come unbidden to his eyes again. This couldn't be happening. She'd died in his arms once before, and he couldn't bear to lose her again. "Don't leave me," he pleaded, choking on tears.

Her eyes locked on his, her hand warm and gentle against his cheek. "I've never left you, Rhys. I've always been here." She laid a hand against his heart, and he felt as though he would melt from her touch. "So long as you remember me, I'll always be here."

"Jessie..." he whispered, tears misting his eyes, clouding his vision.

She laid a finger against his lips, silencing him. "I chose my fate, just as you chose yours. I opened your heart so that you could learn how to love. Don't be afraid to give your heart again. She's the one, Rhys. You're meant to be together. She just doesn't know it yet. Be patient. Give her time. She loves you more than you can imagine. Remember what Jaguar said. You're never alone. We're here with you, and there are others. You belong together. Beware of those who would tear you apart. Remember me, Rhys. Remember that I love you."

And then, she was gone, and he awoke to find himself alone. He wasn't sure how she had done it, but she had given him back the memory that Coyote had taken, and in that moment, he swore that no one would ever take it from him again.