Justin sat on the floor with his arms wrapped around his wife, silently comforting her while she wept uncontrollably. Some time later, after what seemed like hours to Justin, Susan lifted her head and turning to face him, asked in a soft voice made husky by spent tears, “Wha … wha … what do we do now?”

He looked down on his wife’s upturned face for several seconds before lifting his hands to cradle it gently. “Well,” he began, as he caressed the lingering moisture from her tear-streaked cheeks with his thumbs. “We’re going to take this whole thing one day at a time until we figure everything out. And I do mean we, Susan. Starting tomorrow morning we are researching your legend together, because somehow those events in 1905 are tied to the events of the last few days.” Justin leaned over and rested his forehead against Susan’s as if by doing so, he could lend his strength to her.

They sat on the floor in silence for several more minutes, until Justin finally straightened his back and stood up. He looked down on his wife’s golden hair, a wife who was in so much emotional distress, she had yet to notice he was no longer sitting next to her. Justin leaned over and slowly brushed his hand through Susan’s tresses. “Susan, baby,” he whispered softly, breaking her revere. Squatting down, Justin gently grasped her hands and pulled her unresisting form up from the floor, so he could look into her eyes. “We need to get you upstairs and into a nice warm bath. Your skin is like ice and I think you might be in emotional shock.”

Faced with her husband’s concerned expression, Susan took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. “Justin, I’m beginning to feel better now. I don’t know what I would do without you; you’re the only thing keeping me sane at this point.” Susan looked down before continuing, her voice soft and distant, reflecting her feelings of overwhelming defeat, “I’ll try not to overreact this way again.”

“Don’t. I don’t want you saying things like that,” Justin said, as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “You didn’t react any differently then anyone else would have in your position.” He gently began leading her toward the stairs. “You go take a hot bath while I lock up down here. Then, after you’re nice and relaxed, I’ll come in and make sure you get off to bed for a good nights sleep.”

Hours later, her body was comfortably warmed and her limbs were pleasantly heavy from the combination of the heated bathwater and the afterglow of her husband’s tender lovemaking. Susan snuggled down into her goose down pillow which was nestled securely in the curve of Justin’s arm and was gently lulled to sleep by the slow rise and fall of his even breathing.

Downstairs, a clock begin to chime the hour, waking Susan with a start. Looking at her watch on the bedside table, she noted it was only three in the morning and rubbed a hand over her eyes, trying to clear away the fog of sleep. As her mind began to function, she realized that they did not own a clock that chimed. Glancing nervously around the room, she became aware of an eerie glow in the air and as her eyes began to focus, she was able to make out the vague shape of a woman standing at the foot of the bed.