When Mari asked if she smelled bad during the rest of the day, Dumas opened his mouth to protest, desperately afraid that he’d accidentally offended her.  Then he realized that she was teasing him.  Grinning sheepishly, he shook his head and chuckled.  It seemed that she could always make him smile, no matter what.<br/><br/>He smiled again when he heard her wish, although this time there was sadness underneath it.  “DEE told me it could do that.  Make all the horrible memories vanish.  But there’s too much good tangled up in the bad, too much of me that I’d lose.”  Dumas closed his eyes, remembering the light brush of chin stubble as a voice whispered in his ear.<span style="font-style: italic">Shh, Baby.  It’s okay.  I’m here now.</span>Davy.  To keep the memory of him, Dumas would endure a lifetime of mental hell.<br/><br/>As if sensing Dumas’s grief, Mari hugged him.  Even though he towered over her, Dumas still sensed remarkable power in her embrace -- the power of a kind heart.  Sighing softly, Dumas wrapped one arm around Mari’s petite waist.  “I suppose that’s our doom, Bunny Girl.  We’ve both got too much dark mixed with the light.  We’ll always be shadows.”<br/><br/>With his free hand, Dumas stroked the top of Mari’s head, watching her blonde hair tangle around his fingers like slivers of sunlight.  “But I do know that you’re always there for me.  And I’m always here for you.”