Summon

Lucilla continued telling me her story.

"I was 35 then and Tom was 38 He was 3 years older than I was.", she said.

She told me that after so many years of travel, she finally felt it safe enough to settle down. She loved our town so much that she wanted to live a simple and quiet life here. She didn't go out much or get acquainted with other people because she wanted to keep her identity anonymous in case Tom managed to somehow track her down.

She also knew that she was getting old and thought it best to pass on the ring to someone who will use it well.

So she went on the mission of finding a deserving person for the ring.

"And that was how the ring came to become yours, Ela.", she concluded.

"Thank you for telling me all these, Lucilla. I know it wasn't easy for you to recall

everything and tell me about all that has happened between you and Tom. I'm just wondering what all that has got to do with getting the ring back?", I asked.

"Good question, Ela. I told you all those because I think I will be able to summon the ring on your behalf.", she explained.

"Oh! That's really great news! That simple?", I was astonished at how easy it will be to get the ring back. I shouldn't have been worried at all. I said to myself.

"I'm afraid not.", Lucilla said. "I can summon the ring for you, Ela, only if you are able to fix all the damages that Tom had done with the ring.", she added.

I was speechless for a long moment. I felt like a deflated balloon. For a while there, I thought there was hope and that it was going to be easy. But then again, I should have realized, nothing good comes easy. And it was my own fault that the ring is now back with the very person Lucilla kept it away from.

So I straightened up, pulled myself together, and said bravely, "I'm ready for whatever it is. Please tell me what I have to do."

"That's the spirit, Marcciela. I knew I didn't make a mistake in giving you that ring. Luckily for us, I was able to get the ring away from Tom before he did any more evil deeds. So I think the only damage he did was with Sue and Luis.", Lucilla answered.

"So all I have to do is fix Sue's relationship with Luis?", I asked.

"Yes. But I'm afraid it's not as simple as it sounds. For one thing, all that happened 25 years ago and we don't know where they are now or even if they are still both alive.", Lucilla explained.

"Of course you're right! Silly me! Thinking it was just going to be simple and easy. For all we know, they can both have their own families and we will have no way of fixing things between them.", I exclaimed, tapping myself in the head for being so clueless.

"Don't be frustrated, Ela. I'm sure we'll find a way. Also, don't be too hard on yourself. If I've been open to you from the start, then you would have been wary around Tom or anyone who looked like they wanted the ring. For that, I am to blame. I'm sorry for not telling you about it from the very beginning. I just didn't want to burden you with sibling problems. I really thought I've gotten rid of him for good.", Lucilla assured me, albeit sadly.

"Do you mind if I let my family know about this?", I asked her.

"No. Not at all! I know they've helped you before and we need all the help we can get this time.", she answered me, smiling.

"Thanks Lucilla. And again, I'm sorry I lost the ring.", I apologized again.

Now that I know the whole story, I feel doubly bad about what happened. I asked for any information that can help us track Luis and Sue down. She gave their last names, the town they were at that time, and where they both worked.

"Don't worry, Ela. Things will work out. You'll see.", she assured me. "Well, I better be off. I'm sure I'll see you pretty soon.", she added.

Before she left, Lucilla said that the one advantage we have on our side is that even though I did not have the ring with me, it wouldn't work fully on Tom as well. Because when Lucilla gave me the ring, she bestowed the powers on me when she said "ad imperium tuum est". She said for it to work fully for Tom, I needed to pass on the powers to him the same way and it has to be done willingly. Lucilla said, it was the only thing she added to the ring. She said she learned it from their mother in order to protect their heirlooms. Tom did not know about this bit.

After saying goodbye to the rest of my family, she left. I can see the curiosity in my parents' eyes as well as Yasir's. Which is why I did not lose any time recounting the story to them. We talked about it over dinner of lasagna and baked chicken. Dad cooked this time and it was delicious as usual. Even with my preoccupation on the ring, I still ate a lot.

While letting the dinner settle down in our stomachs, we discussed what the next best step will be.

"I think we first need to find out all possible information on Luis and Sue.", mom suggested.

"Yeah. We can try to use social media. In this case, I really think the slogan social media is your friend might prove to be true.", Yasir added.

"Did you manage to ask Lucilla about anything she may know about Luis and Sue, Ela?", dad asked.

"Yes I did. I wrote it all down so I don't forget." I answered and showed them all the paper.