Ember quietly watched the man.  The man turned to her and offered the pen.  She had questions.  She began to ask what would have been the first of many questions when the man raised his eyebrows above his glasses and spoke to her as if he could hear her thoughts.<br/><br/><em>"This is not the time for questions, Ember Brantley.  This is a time for action."</em><br/><br/>He held out the pen.  She narrowed her eyes.<em>He thought he was stubborn did he?  He didn't even know from stubborn if he thought he could get Ember to do something she didn't want to do.</em><br/><br/>She opened her mouth and his look softened a little.<br/><br/>Then he spoke, "Hazel said it would be you.  Very well."  He looked at all three of the cousins before resting his eyes on Ember.  Then he spoke again.<br/><br/>"The house is yours if you choose it… and it chooses you.<em>That</em>is what I will be checking for when I visit."  Ember again opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he continued, "I will know the answer on my final visit once the solstice has ended and that is all there is to say right now."<br/><br/>He held out the pen again and, surprising herself, Ember took it.  As she gripped the pen, the air seemed to get warmer and there was an almost staticy feeling of energy surrounding her.  She was still hesitant, but the longer she held the pen, the more the feeling grew.  She reluctantly signed her name where the man indicated and gave him back the pen.<br/><br/>He then turned to Gale who took the pen.  Gale lightly stroked his finger along the feather and a warm breeze blew onto the porch where they stood.  He made quick work of his signature and handed the pen over to Raine.<br/><br/>Raine took the pen and the air turned moist and expectant, like a spring shower was about to begin.  She added her signature to the document and thunder rolled in the distance.  The cousins all looked up.  It was an otherwise clear and cloudless day and the thunder seemed wrong, but also right?  The man did not seem fazed at all.<br/><br/>He tucked the pen and clipboard into his jacket.  He gave them a small smile and told them he would see them soon.  Then he turned, got into his car and drove away.<br/><br/>The cousins watched him go then turned to each other.  Almost simultaneously, they erupted into a chorus of "that was bizarre," "what the fuck was that?" and "holy shit."  Then they laughed and looked at each other fondly.  Ember looked at Gale and Raine and said what they were all thinking, "I missed you guys.  Man, I wish Grandma was here."  Another cousin hug ensued until Gale broke it with, "I guess we need to open the door and check out this shit show we inherited.  You realize there's probably been no one keeping up the place over the last year."  They looked around and saw the neat yard and well maintained flower beds.  Maybe someone was hired to keep the place from looking abandoned?<br/><br/>They all turned to the door.  Gale put his key in the lock and the door opened easily.  They all moved into the entryway and stared.  They expected dust.  They expected sheets covering the furniture.  They expected the place to feel desolate and empty, but that was not what they encountered.<br/><br/>It was the same as it had always been.  The sitting room looked cozy and ready for them to play games when it rained.  The air was clean and smelled like trees and the lake with just a hint of something else.  Was it…. cookies baking?  Snickerdoodles?  The banister leading upstairs was devoid of dust and shined like it had been polished that morning.  It was almost as if Grandma Hazel could step around the corner, out of the kitchen and welcome them home.<br/>