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Sylvia wanted to talk to Mitzi sometime after the incident at Rob's.

Sylvia sleeps like the dead once she gets home, and when she comes down the stairs at seven o'clock, she's still wearing her jammies.  She sinks into the sofa cushions next to Mitzi and leans up against her mother while a program on hydroponic gardening plays on the DIY network.  When it's over, Sylvia watches the commercials for battery-powered moppers and brands of paint and says, listlessly, "Mommy?  You know those witches?"

"Yes?"  she says, putting an arm around Sylvia.

"They were going to sacrifice Sammy to something called Meno.  Now it's like they're in comas, but there's nothing there.  Their minds are completely gone.  What happened?"

"I don't know kiddo.  I'd have to do some reading.  Sounds pretty serious though.  You guys are all okay though, right?"

Sylvia nods, eyes still fixed on the TV where a glossy golden retriever is chowing down on lamb-and-rice kibble.  "Colin killed somebody.  Is he going to get hit by bad karma?"

"I don't know sweetheart.  It depends on why he did it, and what exactly happened.  Are you afraid he's going to get hurt somehow?"

Sylvia turns her face away from the TV and looks up at Mitzi.  "I'm afraid of what it means.  If the witches can lose their . . . their souls?  Is that what they lost?"

"I don't know.  Maybe.  This is a little beyond my skill level.  I can try to do some reading, maybe help figure it out. "  she rests her hands on Sylvia's shoulders, "this is why I never get too deep.  Thee is a point where you go from being safe in the relative minor magic to being naked in the world of magic.  I always tried to keep myself firmly on the safe side."

It's frightening, the first time you run up against a beloved parent's limitations.  "This whole karma thing is, like, absolute.  If you do something good, good things happen to you.  If you do something bad, bad things happen to you.  Who decides?  Who decides what's good and what's bad?  This Meno guy?"

"No.  That's complicated.  Some people think it's the effect your actions have on others.  The more people that benefit from it, the better the karma.  The more people hurt, the worse.  I'm of the school that there are balancing factors at work all the time in the world, and we tend to believe Karma is all about your intent.  If you do something and you really think it's the right thing, then Karma is likely to follow along.  If you do something, and you're not sure if it's the right thing, but you do it because it'll make you feel better.  That's not so good."

"If it's all about your intentions, then is there any such thing as good and evil?"

"Sure.  If you know something is wrong, like stealing, and you do it solely for you own interests.  That's bad karma."

"So those witches did what they did out of pure self-interest?  And does anyone ever do anything out of pure selflessness?"  Sylvia, having come up for a breath of air, sinks down into the mire of her analysis again.  "Sometimes I don't know if we're good people.  I don't know why we do what we do except in self-defense or for glory or for pride.  Do you think we'll wind up like the witches?"

"Well, the fact that you ask the question suggests you wont.  We're only aware of our faults when we realize we have them.  they're like way points we make up in our head for finding our way to being a good person."

She leans up against Mitzi again, quiet and child-like.  "I want to be a good person, Mommy.  I have a duty to be a good person.  It's just hard to figure out how."

"That's the hardest part about growing up.  Figuring out how to be the person you want to be.  We can give advice as parents, but in the end it's you that has to make the decisions.  Just remember, no matter what  Carolyn and I will always love you."

Sylvia holds to that like it's the only truth she knows.