A/N: So a few weeks ago, this chick who used to be in my karate class came to regester her brother. She left because she had a messy break-up with another kid who goes there or something, but I remembered last time she saw me I was, like, 9 and now I'm teaching some of the classes. I thought, "It must be wierd for someone who was here for so long and knew everything, come back and see everything's changed". Thus, this was born.
Disclaimer: I doubt MB teaches karate.
RLM: I Keep Coming Back, Josh Gracin
"Whoa, whoa, haven't seen you 'round,"
~Ahslee Simpson, Boyfriend
"Next stop, Ferryport Landing!"
The girl sighed, and put down the magazine she was reading. She normally wasn't one for celebrity trash magazines, but she needed to get her mind off the current situation, and, halfway through the train ride, decided that it was desperate enough to flip through an old issue of National Inquirer.
The mere fact that she was here after almost twelve years of staying far, far away, showed just how serious this was. Her sister had called her, frantic, for the first time in seven or eight years, explaining if she didn't get down here right now there would be no waiting for her. The twenty-four year old had began packing her bags immediately after the call, and booked a ticket to Ferryport the next day. She had been dreading this day for years, ever since she left this horrid place. She never wanted to come back or even visit, so her simple solution was taking a job as a buyer*, so she was never in the same place for more than a month, and was rarely reachable. Of course, somewhere, deep inside her conscious, she realized she would have to come back eventually, when this very thing happened. The girl supposed she should have seen it coming, you only live for so long after all, but she always hopelessly wished that somehow death would be avoided, and she'd never have to deal with all the pain this place- and the situation at hand- had for her.
The train slowed to a stop, and as the young beauty got off, she wondered if she should've come back sooner.
There was, of course, the obvious fact that her sister surprise, surprise had decided to stay here. The fact they lived hours away from each other was hard enough without the fact that, for four years, they depended on each other. Then, when the time came, they just broke apart. She didn't blame her sister for staying, her reasons were good and it was her choice, it was just the mere fact she had left without her sister that she found regrettable. They had once been practically joined at the hip, and now they had gone far too ling without seeing, talking, without even emailing each other! For all she knew, her sister could have four kids and no husband by now!
Her sister alone wasn't the only thing she missed. The Everafters, the magic, the millions of books in a average sized house, she missed it all. She was, quite literally, living in a fairy tale. But as most fairy tales (and she's not talking sappy Disney crap, she's talking Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm.) do, it didn't have a happy ending. She had left, surprising everyone and hurting Relda greatly. And although there were Everafters in New York, it wasn't a fairy tale hotbed like Ferryport Landing. It wasn't just Everafters, anyway. It was the magic, the quirky shops, the crazy spells, the pure impossibility of it all. Where else was there a river with a magical fish that grants wishes, or a four-thousand-year-old fairy who looked like he was twelve? It was the fact that Ferryport Landing was a town of impossible's that she missed.
Pulling up to the Grimm household, the NYU graduate could hardly believe her eyes. The house seemed to have doubled in size, and she could just tell it was much more... clean. The rusty old pice of junk Granny had considered a car was gone, replaced by a blue Prius and green truck parked in the driveway. Walking up the pathway, she also noticed the once- rickety house had been re-painted white, and the porch. The grass was a deep shade of green- the color grass is supposed to be, but never is anymore. To put it shortly, the once-scary Grimm household had been transformed into something out of Better Homes & Gardens.
Bracing herself, she rung the doorbell. It wasn't the normal "ding-dong" most doorbells had. Instead, it played music, sounding like it came from a flute. The tune sounded familiar, but she couldn't tell why...
The door swung open, and, at first, saw nothing. Then she looked down a little further, and suddenly found herself looking into dark blue eyes, large and curious. The pair of eyes belonged to a little girl, looking about four, with long blond pigtails and full pink lips. The little girl looked up at the older girl for a moment, before,
"Mooooommmmyyyyyy! There's a strange lady at the doooooorrrrr!"
The girl looked up at her for a moment, before scurrying away. The next thing she knew, she heard footsteps and felt her sister's embrace.
"Thank you, Eris!"
Sabrina let go of Daphne and sighed. She had changed so much! Her raven hair now reached to almost her waist, and the laid-back blouse and jeans were much better than the crazy ensemble she had last seen the brunette.
"How's Relda doing?"
She frowned, her eyes filling with sorrow.
"Sleeping. I'll go wake her. In the meantime, Puck and the kids are in the parlor, if you want to catch up and stuff."
Daphne wandered the house until she found the parlor. She found Puck and a small heard of children, ranging from ages four to ten, watching television. She recognized the little blonde from earlier, a set of twins that were a spitting image of Puck, around the age of seven, and a blonde boy who seemed to have taken Sabrina's place as the rebel.
She cleared her throat, catching Puck's attention. He glanced up and, seeing who it was, jumped up from the couch and strolled over to her.
"Marshmallow? That you? You're all... old."
Daphne rolled her eyes, noting Puck didn't seem to get any smarter with age.
"Of course I'm old, Puck. You don't stop aging when you leave a town. And anyway, look who's talking. Last time I saw you, you were what? Twelve? And you had been for the past year and a half."
She nodded to the group of children, who were now all staring at her with curiosity and- dare she say it- a little fear.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely children?"
Puck nodded and gestured to the kids.
"This is Eris, the twins; Roslyn and Josh, and Terrance. Kid's, this is your Aunt Daphne."
Josh's eyes widened.
"We have an aunt?"
Sabrina entered the room and glanced at the little group.
"Well, I see we've all met. Daphne, Relda's awake now. You can see her."
On the way up the stairs, Daphne questioned Sabrina.
"Do they think she's going to make it?"
Sabrina shook her head, tears welling up. From the outside, the young woman looked fine, with her hair up in a messy up-do and her outfit very put-together. But if you looked close, you could see the circle's under her eyes and the drag in her step as she walked.
"No. The doctors wanted to move her here so she's comfortable and at home when she leaves. She wanted to say goodbye to you before... passing. Don't worry, we already said good-bye. She's waiting on you."
They reached the bedroom and Sabrina nodded.
"Go on. She's ready."
Relda's bedroom was the only room in the house that didn't look like it had changed a bit. The same photos were on the walls, the same masks and other odd decor was in the exact same place it had been a year ago.
"Hello, Granny."
The frail old woman turned her head to face Daphne and smiled, lighting up her whole face. Her eyes still looked twenty.
"Liebling! It's so good to see you again. Oh, look how much you've grown..."
"I've come to say good-bye, Granny."
"Oh, liebling. I've missed you so much. You're sister's been so good, but you don't know how much she misses you. Everyone here misses you so. Please, Daphne, stay."
Daphne was quiet, looking around the room and at all the photos on the walls. There were some from her own childhood, old ones from her father and uncle's time, and now new ones of Sabrina's kids. She had missed so much over the past years, how was she supposed to come NOW? But it was really now or never. Daphne knew if she didn't stay now, she never would. It seemed to be a decision that would take her months to decide on. But she already knew what she wanted.
"I love you Granny. Good-bye."
"Good-bye, liebling. I'll see you someday... I promise."
She walked down the stairs, Sabrina's entire family standing in the hall. Even the kids were solemn. When Daphne was a kid, she always saw Sabrina traveling the world, or living back in the city being an important person at an important place. She never saw her living in a small town with three kids and a husband. That was what Daphne saw herself being. But Sabrina had changed, all because of one person. Daphne looked at Puck, remembering them as kids, planning their wedding. But Daphne hadn't even been at her wedding. She had missed so much...
"I'm going back to New York City,"
Sabrina looked sad but expectant. She hadn't expected Daphne to just drop her job and life and move back.
"I'm going back... to pack and quit my job. I'm moving back."
"Oh, Daphne..."
Sabrina pulled her little sister into a hug, crying from pain and joy and surprise.
Impossible just became possible
A/N: That ending really... wow. It kinda came out of nowhere. Actually, the whole thing except the generall kind of came out of nowhere. This fic was brought to you by Project PULL, which is about posting something every other Friday. For more information, go to Bookaholic711's profile. Normally I give a more detailed description, but I'm on a time crunch here, so...
~Queen
P.S. A buyer, by the way, is someone who travels around the world and choses things for a store to sell. I thought it would be a interesting job for Daphne.