“Make certain you pack your new dolls,” Cassie said, trying to distract her daughter’s anxieties.

Hannah woke her mother up at five o’clock that morning, insisting they had to go home. She told her they had to be there when her daddy came back. Cassie wanted to tell Hannah there was no possible chance Hans was going to be coming home, but she wouldn’t listen to reason. She climbed out of bed and hurriedly gathered her new clothes together, yelling at her mother to get up.

“Come on Mommy,” Hannah argued. “We’re going to be late.”

“Hannah, please calm down. I haven’t heard anything from Uncle Dieter, or the others. We don’t even know if Daddy is…able to come home.”

Cassie hesitated momentarily, though her daughter didn’t seem to notice. She was too busy looking under the bed for her other shoe. She didn’t want to destroy the child’s hopes, but Cassie knew the chances of Dieter finding Hans this soon, would be next to impossible. The last she had heard from the search group, they were on their way to New Delhi. That was weeks ago.

“Uncle Dee-der is bringing him home.”

“Let’s go get some breakfast, and then we’ll finish packing,” Cassie insisted. “Our plane doesn’t leave for two more hours.”

“I’m not hung-ey,” Hannah said with a scowl. “I want to go home.”

“We’re leaving this morning, but you’re going to eat breakfast first. It’s a long trip, and you are not going to be snacking the whole way back.”

Cassie watched the child slip her shoe over her foot, amazed that she got them on the correct way, then took her hand and led her downstairs. Pop was awake, only because Hannah had woken him up after she woke her mother. She had the house buzzing with activity and anxieties.

Pop called Eva shortly after seven and told her Hannah was insisting they leave right away. The woman brought her bags over half an hour ago and told them she was going to make breakfast before they left.

The aroma of bacon and sausages filtered up the stairs, greeting Cassie as she carried her daughter down to eat. Hannah’s mood was growing sour with the delay, but Cassie didn’t know how to explain reality to her. She knew they both had to accept the fact Hans may never come home. It was an idea she didn’t want to consider, but the truth was, hope was growing dimmer with each passing day.

“What’s gotten into her?” Pop asked in a hushed voice as Eva dished up the eggs.

“She’s been like this since dawn,” Cassie answered. “She didn’t sleep very well, and she was tossing and turning all night. Just when I thought she’d settle down, she started calling out for Hans. She woke me up in a panic, saying Dieter found him and we had to get back before he got home. She didn’t want him to go there and not know anyone.”

“I thought you said his guards and staff decided to stay on, after receiving their inheritance?”

“They did. Hans knew everyone. Hell, I don’t even know all their names, other than what I write their payroll checks out for.”

“I believe children have open minds,” Eva said, as she joined the private conversation. “They are not corrupted by the evils of the world. If she says her daddy is coming home, we should give it some thought. What if she’s right? Are you willing to admit you gave up?”

Cassie thought about it for a moment. She didn’t want to give up. Hope was all she had left, but to have her three-year-old daughter talking about a man she hadn’t seen since she was a baby, seemed like something out of the Twilight Zone.

“There’s no harm in letting her dream,” Pop insisted, hugging Cassie’s shoulders. “Let’s eat and finish packing. The sooner we’re home, the sooner she’ll settle down. You’ll see.”

Cassie nodded and followed the older couple back into the dining room. They joined the child at the table and began eating. The conversation was light, but Hannah’s anxieties were starting to affect them. They felt nervous and jumpy.

“Hannah sit still,” Cassie argued when the child wiggled in her seat. “Hannah stop fidgeting,” she told her when the girl began playing with her fork on the table.

“Go upstairs and make sure you have your blankie,” she finally conceded, allowing the child to get down from the table.

She watched Hannah jump down from the stool and run out of the room. She listened to her hard stomping as she ran up the stairs. She felt certain if they didn’t get to the airport soon, Hannah was going to combust.

Cassie struggled to close the suitcase around all the new clothes, and her daughter’s doll collection. If they hadn’t decided to leave a day earlier, she’d have to buy another case just for Hannah.

“Come sit on this for Mommy,” Cassie told her daughter, watching Hannah climb up the side of the large bed.

She crawled onto the black leather case and sat down, wrinkling her face as if struggling to add pressure to her backside. Cassie smiled as she tugged the zipper up and around the side, finally closing it across the child’s new treasures.

“There,” she said, lifting Hannah off the bag and onto the floor. “Check under the bed and in the closet to make sure you have everything. By the time we come back here to visit again, you’ll have outgrown everything we bought this trip.”

She watched Hannah scurry away, crawling across the floor on her hands and knees, looking under furniture and around the floor for any lost items. Cassie knew she’d already packed everything. She made a list of items last night before going to sleep so she wouldn’t forget anything, but it kept the girl busy and gave her something else to focus on besides Hans.

Cassie lifted the two cases to the floor, amazed at how much heavier they were than when they arrived. She was thankful they had Hans’s private plane, otherwise, she’d be spending a fortune on luggage fees.

“Get your baby and your sweater,” Cassie told Hannah as she pulled the handles up on the two largest cases. “It might be cold when we land in Germany, and you don’t want to get sick.”

Pop entered the room, smiling at Hannah as she took her pink sweater and wrapped it around her doll’s body. He listened for a moment as the girl told the inanimate toy that she had to stay warm, then looked to Cassie.

“Let me help you,” he said, taking the heavy bag from her shoulder, then took one of the cases by the handle.

“When will we be home?” Hannah asked, following beside her mother as she carried her doll’s small bag down the stairs.

“Not until after lunch,” she answered. “You’ll be ready for a nap by the time we get there.”

“But I want to stay up until Daddy gets home.”

“I haven’t heard from Uncle Dieter. I don’t know what’s happening yet.”

Cassie sighed as she watched Hannah follow Pop out the front door with the luggage. She fought to keep the tears from filling her eyes. The girl had picked up on her own determination, not to give up on finding Hans, and now…she was so afraid of having to disappoint the child. She didn’t know what it would do to her self-confidence when she told her, her daddy wasn’t coming home.

“Have you told Cassie what we’ve found?” Franz asked Dieter as they stepped into the clearing to the waiting helicopter.

“I wanted to wait until I knew more about what it is we found.”

“You better let her know soon,” Erich told them, turning the screen of his phone around to face them.

The front page of the New York Times was already reporting the discovery of the plane. Dieter took the phone and scrolled through it quickly, reading how the plane was discovered, how there was no sign of the Baron in the wreckage, and how his young bride may have been right to hold out hope.

With a deep sigh, he handed the phone back to Erich and took his out of his pocket. He pressed the button and placed the receiver to his ear, looking around at his comrades with a steady gaze. He knew he had to tell her, he only wished he had more news when he called. At least the paper was right. There was no sign of Hans, and she had been the only one to keep faith that he was alive.

“Hello,” Cassie’s voice said over the small box.

“Cassie, it’s Dieter,” he said with another sigh. “I wanted to let you know what’s going on, before you read it in the papers.”

Cassie froze as she headed down the front hallway to the open door. She found herself bracing for the worse possible news. The tone of the man’s voice wasn’t as hopeful as she would have liked, and her heart seemed to sink into her stomach.

“What is it?” she asked hesitantly, glancing up when Pop and Hannah came back inside.

“We found the plane,” Dieter told her. “It was nearly a hundred and sixty kilometers off course. The fuselage was ripped from the cockpit, but it was intact for the most part. There were two bodies inside.”

“Who?” she said, sounding like a brainless owl as she sat down on the small bench near the front door.

Pop looked at Eva as she came out of the kitchen from cleaning up, frowning as Cassie sat down, her face pale and her hands shaking.

“It was Rolf and Casper,” Dieter told her. “Cassie…there’s more than enough circumstantial evidence to indicate Hans survived the crash. The door had been kicked open from the inside, and there’s no sign of him within twenty kilometers of the wreckage. We haven’t found anything else, but there are a handful of villages at the base of the mountain, we’re going to check out. I’ll let you know if we find anything else.”

“She was right,” Cassie said in a soft voice as she looked at Hannah.

“I’m sorry? What was that?” Dieter asked, the sound of the helicopter’s engines starting, made it difficult for him to hear her whispered comment.

“Nothing,” she said in a firm voice. “We’re heading back to the castle. Let me know the minute you find anything.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be the first one I call.”

Cassie hung up the phone and looked at her daughter, who just stared back at her, with eyes that matched her father’s.

“Honey, what is it?” Pop asked, sitting down beside her.

“Dieter found the plane,” she told him in a distant voice as she continued to stare at the child. “The two agents he was traveling with were killed, but there’s evidence Hans survived the crash.”

“I told you, Mommy,” Hannah said walking over to her mother. “Daddy is coming home.”

“I believe you,” Cassie answered, wrapping her arms around her daughter and hugging her tightly.

Tears fell from Cassie’s eyes as she clung to Hannah, kissing her cheek. Just when she was ready to give up hope, the voice of innocence broke through the confusion and offered a new ray of light. In the back of her mind she heard her Aunt Mazy’s cheerful voice.

Out of the mouths of babes…

“What are your plans?” Raymond asked, watching Landon pack up a small case with bandages and a canteen of water.

“I’m going to hike up to the stream and see if I can catch some fish. At least it’s protein, and a far sight better than watered-down vegetable soup.”

“Want some company?”

“Not really,” Landon said, then turned and smiled a half-grin to the younger man. “No offense, but when a man goes fishing, he wants to be alone with his thoughts. I might not remember where I came from, but I don’t think there were very many people around. I mean, I like my privacy and silence, more than I like chaotic talking.”

“Doesn’t it bother you, not knowing your name, or who you are?” Raymond asked as Landon zipped up the small case.

“It used to, but I’ve just sort of come to terms with it. I mean, if I had a family they would have come looking for me, right? Maybe it’s a good thing I can’t remember. Who knows, maybe I was a monster who liked to beat on women and drink too much.”

“I doubt that. You’re too kind and far more celibate than any man I’ve ever known. If you were a monster, I’m sure someone would have come looking for you, just to put an end to your abuse.”

“Perhaps,” Landon said in a quiet voice as he looked at the gold band on his left hand. “Some nights I lay awake staring at this ring, wondering who she was. I have a strange, gut feeling I was traveling with someone who was killed. Maybe it was her.”

“Or maybe it was him,” Raymond suggested, shrugging his shoulders when Hans turned a narrowed glare to him. “Just saying. In today’s world, who knows what you might have been like in your former life. That may explain why you’ve never taken Leslie up on her offers.”

“I haven’t taken Leslie up on her offers because she’s a tramp. I’d hate to think of how many diseases are growing between her legs.”

“That’s disgusting,” Raymond said as Landon picked up the bag and walked to the door of his hut, taking his fishing pole with him.

“I’d be careful if I was you, and I suggest you get checked as soon as you get home. You don’t want that girl whose been waiting for you to come back, to get anything contagious.”

Landon left his room with a wicked grin. Teasing the boy was payback for accusing him of having a boyfriend. He knew he wasn’t gay, mainly because of the dreams he had about the beautiful blonde. If he could seduce her, and make her scream in ecstasy, then he was far from being a homosexual.

Still, he had to wonder why she’d never come looking for him. From the moment he woke up in the makeshift hospital, he had a feeling he’d been in an accident with other people. Maybe she had been killed, and all he had left were his confusing memories.

The day wore on, but Landon didn’t mind. He’d caught seven decent-sized trout and enjoyed the most relaxing day he’d had in months. He lounged beneath the large tree, his pole in one hand, and an apple in the other. He would have to remember to tell Jepson about the field of apples he’d found, on his way up the hill to the small lake. It would be perfect for the children and offer them something far more substantial than porridge.

He drew a deep breath and looked up to the sky. It would be dark by the time he returned, and supper would be underway. If he left now, he might be able to add the fish to the menu.

Landon reached for the pole when it jerked. Slowly he lifted it and waited for it to jerk again, then flipped his wrist and set the hook. The line tightened, and the end of the pole bent, but Landon was strong enough to fight whatever was on the other end.

He reeled in the line at a steady pace, keeping the tension tight until he saw the fish jump. It was the largest one he’d caught so far, and he was determined to add it to his collection. Struggling for the next few minutes, he finally won out over the beast and pulled it up on the shore. It was a beautiful rainbow trout, nearly two feet long, and at least an eight pounder. That would feed the group by itself, even if he hadn’t already collected its sisters.

Landon picked up the canvas bag he’d brought with him, and tuck the string of fish into it, ignoring the last fish that flipped and thrashed about, trying to fight for its freedom. He knew the creature was done, but it was going to resist him until at last it surrendered.

True, it would soon have his head cut off and his guts pulled out, but that was life. You’re born. You live. You die. The feisty beast had to accept the fact that he was its master, and he’d won.

He stood up and collected his gear, then walked back down the hill towards the little village. The sound of a helicopter passed overhead, and he looked up. There had been a lot of activity on the mountain in the past couple of days, and he couldn’t help but wonder why.

Landon stopped for a few minutes at the orchard he’d found, and picked enough apples to finish filling his bag, then continued down the narrow path. The air was turning cold, and the threat of rain hung heavy in the night sky, but it would be a much-needed reprieve from the heat they’d been enduring the past week.

As he neared the back side of the village, Landon heard an engine echo through the stillness. He looked down over the small incline, expecting to see the delivery truck, but instead watched as a black jeep pulled up behind the storage shed. He paused for a moment and watched, then frowned when he saw Leslie come out of the shed. She turned and locked the door, then walked over to greet two men. Landon stared at them for a few minutes. He had seen them before, but he couldn’t put his finger on where, or when.

Quietly, he walked down and around to the back of the tent where they ate their meals and paused in the shadows. There was no reason for the woman to know men like these, or to meet them in the darkness, alone. A part of him wanted to make his presence known, if for no other reason than to help protect the woman, but another part of him didn’t trust the whore, so he chose to remain silent.

“What’s this?” Leslie asked with a thick, heavy accusation in her usually soft tone. “Where’s the rest of it?”

“Be thankful you’re getting anything at all,” the larger of the two men told her.

“We agreed on twice this much.”

“It’s all you get.”

“How would you like it if I turned you over to the authorities? One word from me and your little organization will be out of work.”

“Don’t threaten us, bitch,” the man growled in a heavy accent. “Be grateful we don’t take you as well.”

“I wouldn’t suggest it, smartass,” Leslie said in a sarcastic tone. “I’ve written a letter explaining your little business, complete with pictures and a list of names, and sent it to three different friends. If anything happens to me, they will turn the letter over to the authorities.”

“You better be bluffing,” the man said with an angry glare as he took a step closer to the woman.

“Oh, I’m completely serious. Either come up with the rest of the money by tomorrow, or the deal is off. You can find your own slaves from here on out.”

“You little…”

“Enough,” the second man said, finding his voice at last. His hand reached out to stop his friend from striking the woman. “You’ll get your money, but it’s going to cost you. I expect double next time, and they better be younger than the last one. We’ll be lucky if she brings enough to cover your share of the profits.”

“Don’t worry, I already have one picked out for you, and you’ll be pleased with my choice. Until then, get the rest of what you owe me, and don’t try and backstab me again. You wouldn’t want me for an enemy.”

The men watched Leslie turn and walk away, as Landon continued to listen. They waited until she had wiggled her way back around the tent, heading toward the hospital.

“You’re not going to give in to her, are you?” the first man asked his voice heavy with anger.

“Relax, Raja. The witch has helped us with our collection, but she isn’t aware that her usefulness is coming to an end. I have two locals who are willing to do what she’s doing, but for a third of the cost. We’ll wait until they are trained and prove themselves to us, then our little supplier is going to find herself on the wrong end of the deal.”

“I want to be the one to teach her,” Raja growled. “I’ll show her how to behave around a man.”

“She’s all yours, but not until we’re ready. We don’t want to cut our throats before we’re sure we don’t need her anymore. A little longer and her tight ass will become useful in other ways.”

“And I’ll make damn sure to use it to my advantage.”

Landon watched the two men climb back into their jeep and turn the vehicle around, keeping their headlights off. He frowned as he considered what he’d just heard, wondering what Leslie had gotten herself involved in. Whatever it was, even though he didn’t care much for the girl, she was in danger, and she had to be warned. He just didn’t know if he wanted to be the one to do it.

Leslie leaned on the narrow counter, her ankles crossed behind her as she wiggled her foot to the tune she was humming. She counted her money again, before tucking it into her pants pocket. They promised her five thousand, and only paid two, but she got the upper hand on them. If they try to double-cross her again, she’ll notify her friends and they’ll take the letter she gave them to the police. It won’t take long, and their little operation will be a thing of the past.

The sound of footsteps echoed up the path towards the hospital, causing her to turn and look at the two large men who opened the rickety door and walked in. They were tall, muscular, and very good looking. Leslie’s heart skipped a beat and she mentally began plotting a way of luring them into her web. With muscles like that, they promised a long night of passion, and she wouldn’t object if they both wanted to share her.

“Can I help you boys?” she asked in a soft, cooing-style voice.

“We’re looking for a friend who may have passed through here a while back,” the dark-haired man said, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a photo.

“He was involved in a plane crash about three years ago, and we’re trying to locate him.”

Leslie took the photo and frowned when she gazed into the smiling face of Landon. He looked happier than she’d ever seen him and ruggedly handsome with the shadow of a beard covering his firm chin. He wore a silk tuxedo, but the picture appeared to have been cut in half. She had a definite impression the man she’d been trying to fuck for three years, was standing next to a woman in the photo. In her mind, she wondered who she was, and what she looked like.

“Why are you looking for him?” Leslie asked, glancing up to the two men again.

“As I said, he’s a friend. We’ve been searching for him for a long time.”

“Well, I can’t say if I’ve seen him or not. Is there a reward?”

“Bed four needs the sheets changed,” Dr. Jepson said, stepping out from behind a canvas drape, across from the counter. “I’ll take care of this.”

“But…” Leslie hesitated with a confused expression.

“Go take care of bed four,” the doctor said in a firm voice, then took the photo from the woman and watched her stomp away like a pouting child.

“I’m sorry about that, gentlemen,” Jepson said, waving a hand to a back part of the building. “She’s a little…zealous at times.”

“Greedy would be more like it,” Franz commented under his breath as they followed the man into a small office.

“So, on the risk of repeating my nurse’s question, why are you looking for this guy?” Jepson asked, motioning for them to sit in the wooden chairs.

“His name is Baron Hans-Claus von Hennhofen,” Dieter answered, watching the doctor move around the back of the small desk, barely larger than a student size. “Maybe you’ve read the papers.”

“I do remember reading something about an aristocrat’s plane disappearing a few years ago. It’s not very often we get newspapers up here.”

Jepson paused for a moment, remembering the article he read, and how his wife refused to give up the search. This may be the link to his past, that helped his friend regain his memories.

“The man you’re looking for, goes by the name Landon,” he continued, handing the picture back to Dieter. “He arrived here at AESM in a state of complete disorientation. A farmer found him wandering the mountain. He’d been walking for days. He was dehydrated, starving, and had a large laceration across his head.”

“What happened to him?” Franz asked with a frown, fighting the excitement that rose inside his gut.

“He was in a coma for nearly four weeks. When he woke, he was confused, his mind was a jumbled mess, and when we asked his name the only thing he could say was Landon.”

“Is he still here?” Dieter asked, fighting the same anxious feelings his friend had.

“Yes, but I have to ask you to go slow and not rush him. I think he’s ready to embrace anything that may lead him back to the person he was, but mentally…I’m not sure how stable his emotions are.”

Jepson paused for a moment, folding his arms across his chest and staring at the men.

“He has, what I believe, is retrograde post-traumatic amnesia, which means that he cannot remember the accident, or anything leading up to it,” the doctor continued a moment later. “I’ve been working with him, giving him the support, he needs, hoping his memory would come back, but I’m not a psychiatrist. He shows some signs of anterograde amnesia, and he may never regain his memories. The fact that he has been having dreams about a young blonde woman is encouraging, but as hard as he tries, he can’t grasp anything about his former life. Perhaps if he were surrounded by familiar people, normal surroundings…”

“We want to take him home,” Dieter said, interrupting the man. “I’ll wager to bet the blonde he’s been dreaming about is his wife. She was the reason behind us looking for him. She refused to give up hope that he survived.”

“What took you so long to track him down?” Jepson asked with a frown. “He’s been here for three years.”

“The last known radar sighting of the plane, was over a hundred kilometers from where we finally found it. The authorities gave up searching, but the Baroness didn’t. She refused to accept that he was dead. Over the past few weeks, we’ve researched every detail of the accident, until we were convinced that we were searching in the wrong location. The Chinese and Indian authorities would only permit us to look once more. They had closed out the case and refused to reopen it unless we found something. And we did.”

“Impressive,” Jepson smiled. “I can see Landon…Hans as you call him, has some very loyal friends.”

“He has a loyal, loving wife and daughter who wants us to bring him home.”

Jepson considered whether to tell them where Landon was. He knew he had to offer the man the chance to find his former life, and perhaps the love he once shared with his wife, would be the link to regaining who he was.

“Landon went fishing earlier,” Jepson said after a long pause. “He wanted to supply the village with something more sustainable than stew and fried bread.”

“That sounds like Hans,” Franz said with a grin.

“Come on. He should be back by now. Let’s see if we can find him.”

“What is AMSE?” Dieter asked as Jepson stood up and walked to the door, followed behind by the two men.

“AESM,” he corrected. “It’s the organization that supports us. 'Attentive Eye Sectors Mission'. They provide us with the money to run the mission and bring in interns who are studying to be physicians, or residents who are trying to get more hours.”

“How long have you been working here?”

“About five years, but the mission has been here a little over ten.”

“What does Hans do?”

“Everything,” the doctor said with a soft chuckle. “He’s a big man, with muscles strong enough to carry heavy loads. He works in the fields and gardens, he helps the children with their lessons, and he volunteers at the hospital. People around here have learned to rely on him. It’s going to be hard to see him leave.”

Jepson led the two men out of the hospital and into the darkness of night. He was anxious to see how Landon responded to the news, and to the men who brought it. Perhaps it was all he needed to snap back to the person he once was.

Landon gave the bag of fruit and fish to Hughes, the man who did most of the cooking. He was a robust man with a hearty laugh, who smiled often and sang through every chore he did. He was pleased to see the feast the man brought him, and patted Landon on the back.

“Good lad,” Hughes said. “I think we can postpone supper long enough to fry these up. What do you think? Fried fish and baked apples?”

“Sounds great,” Landon smiled. “I’m sure the kids will love it.”

Landon turned as Jepson walked in the tent, followed by two large men. They stared at him with a surprised look, and he wondered for a moment if they had come for him, or Leslie. The incident that had occurred a short time ago still bothered him, and he was struggling with the idea of telling her or keeping his mouth shut.

“Landon,” Jepson said with a warm smile. “I brought some men who would like to speak with you.”

“Really? Why?”

“They have something that may be of interest to you. Let’s go to your hut and talk.”

Landon stared at the two for a few moments before nodding. He was sure if anything were to happen, he could at least hold his own against them. He was a big man himself, and the hard labor of clearing the land, and working in the gardens had made him stronger. At the very least, he could put up a decent fight.

The four men walked into the small hut, Landon had been given, when he recovered from his ordeal. Jepson felt it was best to give him some space and privacy to help him discover who he once was. It wasn’t a large or even elaborate space, but it was his. He sat down at the end of the bed and watched while the two visitors pulled out the chairs, that sat next to the small round table. Besides a two-drawer dresser, there was nothing else in the room, except the door that led to the private bathroom.

“So, what can I do for you?” Landon said, looking first at the two visitors, then to Jepson who leaned against the dresser.

The room was silent as Dieter and Franz tried to find the right words to address their friend. They knew the man as Hans, but he didn’t know either of them from Adam.

“Landon,” Jepson began, helping the men out with their ordeal. “These men have come looking for you.”

“Yeah? Why?” he asked.

“They’re a part of your past. They knew you before your accident.”

“Prove it,” Landon said with a look of doubt on his stern face.

Dieter stood up and took the photo he’d shown the doctor and his nurse from his pocket. He walked over to his friend and handed it to him.

Landon stared at his smiling image in the tuxedo, and for a brief moment, almost in a flash, he recognized it. But something was missing. The photo didn’t feel complete.

“Your name is Hans,” Dieter told him, choosing to sit next to him on the end of the bed, rather than return to the chair. “You’re from a small village in Germany called Hennhofen.”

“I can’t speak German,” Landon answered with a shake of his head.

“Erinnerst du dich an irgendwas über dein Leben, vor jetzt?” Dieter asked in his native tongue.

“Nein, nichts. Nur ein Traum,” Landon answered.

“Weißt du, du sprichst Deutsch?” Dieter asked, watching the confused expression across the man’s face.

“What did he say to him?” Jepson asked Franz in a soft whisper.

“He asked if he remembered anything of his past, and he answered him.”

“How is this possible?” Landon asked, standing and walking to the small window that looked out into the night’s darkness.

“Your name is Hans,” Dieter said again. “We’ve been friends for many years. The plane you were on disappeared during a storm. The official search was called off just a few weeks ago, but your wife refused to give up hope.”

Landon turned to look at the man. He had nearly convinced himself that his wife had died in the accident that brought him here.

“My wife?” he asked in a soft voice. “She’s alive?”

“Yes,” Dieter answered, then realized what he was asking. “She wasn’t on the flight with you. She stayed back in Germany with your daughter.”

“Daughter? I have a child?”

“She’s almost four,” Franz told him.

“Does she know about me?”

“Yes. She’s a smart child. Sometimes she surprises us with how much she knows. Her mother has kept your memory alive for her and keeps a photo of you next to her bed.”

“This photo,” Landon said, looking at the picture in his hand. “She should be in it.”

“It was taken at your wedding, it’s the photo used for the newspapers,” Dieter told him, watching the surprised look cross his green eyes.

“What newspaper?” he asked.

“There’s a lot you need to know about yourself, but first…,” Dieter paused for a moment, glancing back to Franz and Jepson. “We need to know if you want to go home with us?”

“Home,” he said repeating the word as if spoken by a stranger.

“Landon…Hans…,” Jepson began, “I’ve done as much for you as I can. You need to be surrounded by familiar faces and things you’re more accustomed to. I think it’s time you went back to your former life and started rebuilding your memories.”

Hans looked at the photo in his hand once more, trying to imagine what that place would be like. That place they called, home.