After much mutual soothing the two children disentangled. Well, one child and one childlike being disentangled. Willow wasn’t sure how old Change was, but judging by his appearance he was likely young by spirit standards. She didn’t know what those standards were, but it hopefully didn’t matter.

  “Sorry once more about, well, everything.” Change said for about the twelfth time now.

  “I already said it’s fine. I’m all better now, or close to it at least, so no harm done.” Comforted the projection of Willow, at this point a little exasperated with her spirit’s constant apologies. Previously, a part of her was annoyed at him for the situation he caused by doing whatever it was that nearly broke her brain and exhausted her core. Yet seeing the state he was in after her spiritual sense was returned to her caused her to not only forgive him, but to feel guilt at the few uncharitable thoughts she had directed his way. However he didn’t seem to want to accept her forgiveness which caused some frustration in the young girl.

  She suddenly realized that there was something she could use to distract him from his pity party. “Wanna check on your sister with me?” The girl asked with a gap toothed grin.

  Personally Willow wanted to check on her candle friend first, but if Harmony was reacting in a similar manner to her brother then it was probably more urgent to check on her. Plus it’s not like she didn’t want to see her. All of her friends were important to her.

  Change became perfectly still in response to the question. His void of an eye widened to alarming levels, covering part of where a nose would be on a normal human face. “Sister!” he cried then vanished completely.

  Willow blinked. Maybe she should have anticipated that reaction considering how averse the two had been to the idea of being separated by the two clans that were chasing them. The girl started the still surprisingly uncomfortable process of shifting her spiritual sense to the internal space located at the crown of her head. The projection in Change’s pocket of space disappeared with a pop, and reappeared in Harmony’s small realm. The space was about the same size as her brother’s, which again meant it was far larger than Willow remembered. However instead of Change’s white void, Harmony’s was instead black.

  What the girl saw when her sense fully encompassed the space confused and baffled her. The sibling spirits looked like they were chasing each other in a tight circle reminiscent of a wheel with energy coming out of the eyes of both and into the bodies of the other. While the sight was certainly bizarre it felt profound in some way to the young girl. Through her still admittedly fuzzy spiritual sense she noticed something that should have been obvious to her the first time they had met.

  The eyes of the siblings held the concept of the other. She likely didn’t notice this before due to the nature of Harmony’s concept making it blend with its surroundings.

  Willow didn’t know the significance of this, or if it even was significant. However what she did now know, or at least suspect, was why the two spirits couldn’t be separated. If one was apart from the other then they couldn’t regulate the opposing concept that dwelled within them. She’d have to ask them if she was right or not of course, but it felt correct on an instinctual level.

  She didn’t know how long her projection stood there waiting for her friends to finish their strange dance of balance, but eventually their movements began to slow along with the cessation of energies between them. The siblings separated from each other and turned to the projection of the girl.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Harmony tilted her head, starry eyes twinkling. “It is good to see you are well, Willow. However I must ask, how are you doing that?”

  Her projection looked down at itself, which didn’t actually change Willow’s view, but felt right in the moment. “I dunno! It just sorta happened while I was checking on Change.” She looked back up at Harmony with a smile. “It’s neat though isn’t it?”

  Change chortled, clearly back to his more jovial self. “It’s quite neat indeed my friend! Sorry for being such a sad sack when you found me, I wasn’t quite in my right mind. And I swear that’s the last apology I’ll be making for quite a while if I have anything to say about it, which I do.” He jittered around as he talked, full of more motion and life then when she had first found him in his space.

  “So that strange dance thing you did helped make you better?” The child asked, eyes bright with curiosity.

  The infant of light did a flip to show off how much better he was feeling. “Yup! I’m right as rain now. No need to worry.”

  Which left a question the child wanted answered. “So, why do the two of you have pieces of each other inside of yourselves?”

  Change winced. “You noticed? Of course you noticed, your perception was part of why we picked you.” He looked to Harmony. “I’m not up to explaining this one, sister, your turn.”

  She sighed while looking at Willow’s projection. “We were hoping to put off this conversation until a later date, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. First I must ask. Are we safe from our pursuers?”

  Both the projection and real Willow nodded. “Uh huh! A member of the Li clan rescued me, but he didn’t seem to know that I had bound you two. Probly thought I was too young to have done it.”

  Harmony’s eyes closed for a moment as she considered the information. “For now I will take your statement at face value, but I will require elaboration later.” She moved a bit closer to Willow, starry eyes bright in the void that was her face. “The first thing you must know of me and my brother’s existence is that we were created by our parent with a purpose in mind. We were to be two halves of a whole, a being of balance and cycles split in twain, and to make sure we stayed together we were given a part of the other so we could not stray. We are not the first they have made in this manner, and we are unlikely to be the last.”

  The girl tilted her head in confusion and her projection followed suit. “Why would a parent do that to their child? It sounds like that would hurt.”

  Change chuckled. “It didn’t, we couldn’t even think back then.”

  Harmony just looked between them, waiting for the interruption to cease. “The why of it is quite simple my friend. Our parent simply wants to understand themself better. As a spirit’s concept grows in complexity, it takes time for it to fully explore all that they are. And Balance contains multitudes. So they take parts of themself and send them out into the world, to explore those facets fully. However, eventually we shall return to them, and become one once more.”

  “Does that mean you’ll have to leave me?” Willow asked softly, afraid of the answer.

  “Of course not, child.” Harmony chided gently. “What I speak of will not happen for many hundreds of years.”

  “Yup! You’ll be long dead before we have to return.” Change chimed in, currently spinning in place.

  His sister shot him a withering look. “No need to phrase it like that brother. Mortals do not like to be reminded of their mortality.” She looked back to the girl's projection with a serious expression on her cherubic face.

  “We do, however, need to discuss your future Willow.”