The two of them left the bridge, and Cole lead the way down the trail. He felt as if he needed to help the blind teen down the path somehow, but his past experience with Liana prevented him from it. She was sure and steady in her steps, and was more than capable of taking care of herself. She hardly even used the support cane; feeling the ground with her feet was enough.
   As they walked down the winding trail between the trees, Cole glanced at Liana and saw the book she carried in one hand. “Why do you have a book with you?”
   “To read, of course.” She responded simply.
   He said in surprise. “But—but you’re. . .” His voice trailed off awkwardly.
   She stopped and opened the book, showing him a few pages. Cole was startled to see that instead of letters printed on the paper, hundreds of little round bumps covered the pages.
   “It’s called the Braille System,” Liana stated. “Reading for the blind. We trace our fingers over the the pages and recognize the patterns, which form letters, hence forming words.”
   “Cool.” He fingered one of the pages, then let her slam the book shut. “Reading a good story?”
   “I wish.” Liana continued down the path. “I’ve been studying a lot. I really want to go to college, but my uncle doesn’t have enough money to afford it.” There was a bitter tone to her voice, but he didn’t really notice.
   “What do you want to do for a living?” Cole walked alongside her, happy to talk about something else instead of Philip.
   She sighed. “To be honest. . . I have no idea.” Idly she swung the cane around. “I considered being a teacher, then a lawyer, even a doctor, but none of those things sound very appealing.”
   “I—I want to do something special. I want to do something that will make a difference in the world; something that tests my limits, something active, something challenging. . . Bah, who knows?” She frowned. “My uncle wants me to help him in the grocery store we own back in Stixx.”
   Cole gazed thoughtfully at the bright flowers coloring the beds of mulch along the pathway. “What’s your life like in Stixx? Do you like living there?”
   “Let’s not talk about that.” She shifted her book in her hand. “How about you? What’s your life as a ninja like?”
   “Well. . . Life’s been pretty quiet since Day of the Departed. The others and I usually spend our time training, meditating, tending to the media. . .” Cole tried to find more ways to explain what his life was like.
   “Tell me you guys do more than that,” Liana teased. “Don’t you ever relax and have fun?”
   He smiled. “Oh, we goof off a lot, for sure. We like to play video games, eat, have mock battles, arm-wrestle. . .”
   “Who usually wins those?”
   He flashed her a mischievous grin. “Me.”
   “Ha! That answer doesn’t surprise me.”
   “Why? Because you always knew I’d win?”
   She rolled her eyes playfully. “No!” She then paused, then cocked her head thoughtfully. “You’ve come a long way from the lonely runaway I knew you to be, Cole.”
   The two of them fell silent. Then Cole looked up and said. “We’re here.”
   They stood at a grassy clearing deep into the city park, exquisite flowers surrounding a stone monument. Birds sitting on it had “been gracious”, as Misako would say delicately. Trees lined around the little cemetery. It was a lonely area—a sad, quiet place.
   Cole stepped up to the monument and read out loud. “ ‘In honor of those who gave their lives to help the Elemental Masters defend Ninjago from the New Anacondrai. Never Forget.’ ” His voice was soft; he was afraid of disturbing the sad silence of the cemetery.
   He looked back and saw Liana standing uncertainly at the little gate. “Want me to find Philip’s grave?” He asked quietly.
   She took a breath. “That would be nice.”
   He didn’t have to look long, seeing that there were very few graves in the yard. Cole supposed that he should have felt proud that he and the Masters had saved so many other lives, but he only felt sorrow and regret. “Over here.” He called.
   Liana wordlessly left her spot at the gate and walked over the him. She slowly knelt down by his side and reached out to touch the small gravestone. Her fingers grazed the grass and trailed up the side of the stone. “What does it say?”
   Cole swallowed, then read. “ ‘Philip Green; A loyal brother who perished whilst protecting his sister. A hero. Rest in Peace.’ “
  Liana bit her lip and bowed her head. Her fingers gripped her cane and book until her knuckles turned white.
   “Is that what happened?” He asked gently.
   “Yes.” Her voice quivered, but she looked as if she was forcing herself to not lose control.
   He gazed at his grieving companion. He didn’t know Liana well enough to know what to say, but he also knew her and her brother well enough to feel genuinely stricken about Philip. What could he say?
   “One of the snakes pushed me to the ground,” Liana choked. “We were over the sea, and I was terrified of falling into the water. I. . . I could hear people screaming. Things crashing. Anacondrai hissing. The—the snake had a blade up to my throat.” She took a breath and forced her voice to quit shaking. “Then I heard Philip yelling. I heard the snake fall and groan, and Philip yelling at me to run away. He told me that he would catch up with me.”
   She shut her eyes. “I started to run. . . But then I heard the clash of swords, then Philip crying out. The Anacondrai hissed, and then Philip said my name. He told me to keep running. So I did.” She wrapped herself around the shoulders. “And now he’s gone.”
   They sat in silence for a little while. Cole gazed at the gravestone and the grass beneath it. This was where his friend lay. Philip was buried beneath the surface of this dirt.
   I’m sorry! He wanted to cry out. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you!
   Cole looked at Liana and tried to imagine Nya kneeling there. What would he say to her if something like that happened to Kai?
   Hesitantly, he spoke. “. . . I—I think Philip would have wanted this. To be protecting the person he loved the most. Now—” He struggled for the right words. “Now he’s a hero. Philip will never be forgotten. . . And I think he would have been proud of that.”
   Liana bowed her head. Her hand trailed off the stone and rested on the grass, where beneath the surface her brother rested. A stray lock of hair danced in the breeze by her face. In the distance, a bird’s song faded away, leaving nothing but silence in the graveyard.
   “Yes.” She finally murmured. “He’d be proud the know he smashed as a hero.” She gave a short, bitter laugh. “He probably had a stupid grin on his face when he drew his last breath.”
   Cole didn’t know if Liana wanted him to laugh or something or if she was still feeling sad, so he decided to stay quiet.
   She then sighed and tucked the rogue hair behind her ear. With a shuddering breath she said. “I thought I was over this. This happened so long ago.” She toyed with the weeds in front of her. “I wish I had brought flowers to put at his grave.”
   Liana sat for a minute longer, then stood up. “I’m sorry I dragged you here. You probably didn’t need this extra drama.”
   Cole shrugged as he too stood up. “Don’t be. I’m glad I know where Philip’s grave is, and I’m glad I came with you.”
   She stood for a moment longer, then silently turned and left the cemetery. Cole followed, casting one last look at Philip’s gravestone before following the departed one’s sister down the winding trail.
   The two of them walked together silently for a long while, each lost in their own thoughts and memories. The silence passed by undisturbed. The awkwardness between them began to fade away, replaced by an ache of sorrow that they shared together.
   Something about visiting the grave had done something to the grief, though. Somehow, seeing where Philip lay, the two of them sitting there and remembering him, it, in a way, eased the ache. Now the grief was no longer throbbing painfully, but a cold, almost soothing feeling. Walking together and sharing that made the old friends feel closer to one another.