She sits down on her assigned bed. It didn't seem she'd be having to share a room with anyone this time. That would give her a chance to think. Not that she wasn't capable of thinking with others around but often she ended up with some young girl on her first voyage and started to mother her, just like Georgina had helped her on her first trip to Brooklyn. It seems like so long ago that Georgina gave her tips on how to live in Brooklyn or put some make up on her. Eilis smiles fondly at those memories and at the woman Eilis was now. Long gone were the days of the giddy little girl, unsure of herself in the world, unsure of who she was. This wasn't to say that she was now a confident old woman. It wasn't that long ago that she grew out of that young woman. It had only been a few years yet it felt like a lifetime.

She still sent letters to her best friend Nancy. Excitement would always rise in her when she saw a letter from her friend. It reminded her of her true Irish roots. The distance could never tear the two women apart, not even difference in culture.

Ireland was now in full view and Eilis was sure she could smell the grass and feel the whip of the wind that only Ireland could create. The clouds rolled in as if to welcome her. She never thought she would miss the Irish weather but here she was smiling at the grey sky as if that was the piece she was missing in her life.

She is at the front of the ship as it docks and can spot her friend waving vigorously at her. Some things never change. When the two women are together it was as if they were transported back in time to when they were so young and foolish. Eilis still considered herself foolish but the birth of her children took away the young in her. Of course, Tony's smile sometimes made her feel like she hadn't aged a day. It was the same smile he gave her the first time they met. It was the same smile he had for her everyday since that day. It was a smile that warmed the coldest parts in her. Their children had that smile.

Looking down she waves back and gently runs to her friend hugging her fiercely.

"I missed you Nance!" Eilis mutters.

"Oh I missed you too hun." Nancy replies hugging her back.

Eilis bites her lip. She wants to hug George like they used to but she's half sure he hasn't yet forgiven her for how she treated Jim that fateful trip back home all those years ago.

After a lifetime of hugging Nancy, Eilis turns to George and waits for him to initiate the greetings. He smiles at her and gives her a hug. Eilis melts feeling the forgiveness seep through her.

"It's good to see you George." She says.

"And you." He says and lets go.

"Eilis, this is Tommy, Keira, and Conall." Nancy says pointing to her children as she says their names.

"They're beautiful!"

"Of course they are, they're ours." George says proudly and Nancy hits him lightly in the shoulder as all three of them laugh.

"Come on now, we wouldn't to stand here all day. Let's go home."

Eilis' stomach clenches. She could blame it on the sea but she knows it's the thought of going to her old house. It had been a long time and the house brought too many memories. If someone had told her when she was young that she would be a very different woman, living in a different country she would have laughed them off.

"I know you probably want to sleep so we will let you. But we will see you tomorrow yes?" Nancy says.

"Thanks Nance."

As soon as the door closes Eilis falls on the couch. It is eerily quiet after the trip here with three boisterous children and her close friends. If she closed her eyes and took a deep breath she could hear her ma and Rose talking. She tried to suppress a tear but it wasn't easy. She wasn't sure why she should not just let the tear fall. No one was here. There was no one to impress. No Mrs. Kelly to hide from. But the moment she stepped onto the dock in Ireland a part of the old Eilis took over and acted like her old self. It was scary but also a relief in a way.

Walking up the creaky stairs she unpacks her sleepwear and falls asleep the moment she touches her old bed.