The Stranger: Redemption and Answers
by angelgirl81
Disclaimer: You all know the drill. Lindsey is not mine (although I wish he was). The Oracles aren’t mine either. Seremela comes from my own mind.

Part 2: Redemption and Answers

For the next three years, Lindsey just survived. He worked day after day, doing whatever he could. He ate, slept, and worked. He began to let himself go. His hair got long, and he grew a big beard. He began to look like a homeless man. Lindsey’s only solace was in his music. During the nights where he was stuck inside, he wrote songs. His guitar became the voice through which he could express his emotions. He became a shell of a man. Everyone in Ashland knew him as only a face; he had no name.

A day came in late August; Lindsey walked into his tiny apartment, and found Seremela sitting in his living room. She looked exactly the same, but different. Her face was the same, and she was wearing the same pure white dress. But, her hair was shorter; she now looked similar to a pixie. Lindsey stood in shock for about ten minutes, then ran to her, and picked her up. “Lindsey! Put me down!” Seremela cried, laughing. Lindsey put her down, and gave her a big hug. “What happened to you?” Lindsey asked. “I was away. I wasn’t allowed to see you. The Powers said that I couldn’t be near you for a while. But, my time was almost up, and I gave them the gift of my hair so that they might shorten my time away from you,” Seremela said. “The Powers? What do the Powers that Be have to do with this?” Lindsey asked. “There is something that I have to tell you. I am not a normal girl. I am actually a daughter of Oracles.” “You’re the daughter of the Oracles?” Lindsey asked. “No, not THE Oracles, just Oracles. There is more than one set of Oracles. I happen to be a daughter from two different Oracles. I was not allowed to be raised by my parents, being that they are Oracles and all. I was given to foster parents so that I could be raised as normally as possible. I was given certain gifts. I can see the potential of redemption in a person’s soul. Therefore, I made sure to place myself on that highway so that you would find me. I was to be the one who would lead you to your redemption.” “Then why did you have to leave me?” Lindsey asked. “I was taken away. The Powers decided that I was growing too emotionally attached to you. They thought that I had done enough, and that you would be fine on your own. When they saw what had happened; that you had been redeemed, but had lost the will to live, I persuaded them to let me come back, and be with you.” “Are you here to be my guide, or…” “I am here with you forever. I had to give them the gift of my hair so that they would let me come back here to be with you, not as your guide, but as your life partner.”

Lindsey was silent for a while. Then, “What is all this about my redemption?” he asked. “Well, the things you did at Wolfram and Hart weren’t honorable,” Seremela started. “That’s the understatement of the century,” Lindsey said. “Yes, well, when you left Wolfram and Hart, you started on your path. I was there to help you. With me, you found your heart, and in doing so, and in helping others, you have been redeemed.” “So, what happens now?” Lindsey asked. “Now, we live. You can continue to do what you have been doing. Help people. I was able to see what you have been doing since I left. I have seen how you have helped people; you have become a champion of the common man.” “Well, what do we do?” “We can be together forever. We don’t have to worry about the Powers taking me away.” Lindsey was ecstatic. He picked her up again, and began to kiss her. Seremela stopped him. “Before we do anything, can I tell you something?” “Anything,” Lindsey said. “You look like a homeless man. What happened to you?” “I kind of let myself go,” Lindsey said sheepishly. “Now that is the understatement of the year,” Seremela said with a smile. “Well, let’s go fix it,” Seremela said.

They returned home after hours outside of the house. Lindsey felt like a new man. He looked like he did when he first met Seremela. They went shopping for food, and then went on a picnic in a nearby park. They spent the day together just catching up. What made Lindsey laugh was that people in town didn’t recognize him. People didn’t believe him when he told them who he was; that he was the man who had helped everyone out at some time or another. The only way to convince them was to give them examples, and then they light went on, and they just stood with their mouths hanging open. People finally began to know him as someone with a name; he was Lindsey, not just a face.


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