Do not stay in Eroda alone. When Beth and I first visited, it was together. It was alluring. But then Beth found a relic in the ruins - a book - and clung to it. It became her everything, and she disappeared into Eroda without me. I thought she'd just gone home... #VisitEroda

I was wrong. She'd never left the island.

I never intended to stay in Eroda. I had to go, when she disappeared - I just thought she was ignoring me. I tried reaching out to her after, often, but she never replied. Thankfully... finally... Beth called. She had decided to stay longer, but wanted me to be there with her.

So... I came back. For her.

Beth didn't meet me at the dock, as she said she would. I had hoped she'd agree to come home with me then, but she was nowhere to be found. I had no choice but wander alone in this eerie place where the sun rarely peeks through the enveloping clouds. I couldn't find Beth.

Preparations for the Summoning Festival meant that everyone stayed inside... Eroda was devoid of people, and it seemed, devoid of life. But when I returned to my room at the B&B, the clerk just smiled at me, and told that everything was fine.

Everything was not fine.

The ferry service had been cancelled until after the Summoning Festival was to occur... my phone battery was draining, and my charger was gone. My suitcase had been emptied, and the only thing that remained was the red dress Beth had asked me to bring. I was... afraid.

Morning came, and I tried to pretend the terror I felt that night no longer existed. I tried to convince myself that everything was fine, as I attempted to find my missing friend. The sky even cleared for a moment, and I wanted so desperately to think that it was all ok...

But I still could not find her.

When I returned to my room, I found the book on my bed. Beth's book. Just seeing it scared me, because whatever she read in there... it seemed to bind her to this place. But I knew that if I truly wanted to find her, I would need to understand...

It contained the customs and ceremonies of this place - and I started to understand what Beth intended. In truth, she had visited the island many times before, I think... but this time she intended to stay. Forever. In this place where the light couldn't find her.

I stayed for her. I wore the red dress for her. I continued to read what she had left me. And when I saw her after all this time, at the festival, she was... different. She didn't look, or sound, or act like the person I thought I knew.

She had been so afraid that I would reject her, when she summoned her courage to tell me how she really felt inside. She thought she'd sacrificed her dignity to do so... to reveal her sadness. It cost her so much to tell me her truth.

Through all of it, I listened. And though I didn't know what I could do to help, I promised I would try. She said she would try too.

Together we went to Yuna. And while I was there, I continued to read Beth's book. Gradually, she opened up further, and the world around us seemed to shift. I could see slivers of light peek between the clouds, but Beth could never see them. The ferry service had started again...

But Beth wasn't ready to leave. Not yet. The world was still tinged with grey, in her eyes.

We continued onto Seaview, and the staff there were so kind. They made our stay so welcoming, but this place was still not home. With each move, Beth seemed more open to leaving Eroda, but this place still seemed to claim her. I agreed to stay a little longer still.

I knew there was the possibility that I would have to choose: to stay, if Beth would not go, or to leave the island without her. I hoped so much that it wouldn't come to that. I wanted to feel the sun upon my face again - and I hoped to feel that with my friend by my side.

I bought the tickets for us. I packed our bags, and Beth agreed to at least come to the docks with me, to where the ferry boarded. Looking out towards the horizon, I pointed - and together, we could see a shaft of sun break through the perpetual clouds.

Beth has agreed to join me, on the long journey back home. And when we arrive, there will be others waiting, willing to help where I possibly cannot. I will make sure of that.

Together, we will seek our sunshine.