Chapter 11: Home Again, Home Again.

For the second time, Hannah was in disbelief. Surely, she had to be dreaming.

"Home…" She repeated, entranced.

"Do you like it?" Echo asked quietly. Hannah raised her hands to her mouth, not saying anything. Tears once again brimmed in her eyes.

Home. She thought. I am home.

xxx

Uriah finally forced himself to leave the apartment, still in a daze. He wandered to the office like a mindless zombie, noticing for the first time how well he fit in. All the other business people wore grey or black, with minimal color. They all looked the same. All of them wore an unreadable expression.

Uriah drifted in the crowd, lagging behind in the current. He looked around, as if he didn't know where he was. The buildings loomed overhead, blocking out the mountains in the distance. The shuttles darted to and fro on the tracks, all of them in a rush.

What am I doing here? He thought to himself. Why did I ever come to this place?

The once blue sky was tinted with smoke.

Who are these people?

A man bumped past him, not saying a word.

"Meow!"

Uriah stopped, turning. A creamy siamese cat trotted towards him, weaving in and out of hurried feet. His tail was raised like a flag, to keep from getting stepped on.

Charlie.

"Meow!" Went the siamese. "Mr-row!"

Uriah bent down and scooped him up. Not knowing how the cat had managed to follow him.

"What did I do wrong, Charlie?" Uriah asked, lifting the cat to eye level. He didn't care who heard him talking to a cat.

"Mow." Charlie answered, rubbing his blue-grey muzzle against Uriah's nose.

Uriah tucked the cat into his coat, walking up the steps to the office building.

He went to the front desk…

… and filled out the resignation form.

xxx

"I rebuilt it to the best of my ability."

"It's beautiful."

"I could not acquire many torches."

"That's okay."

"Hannah?"

"Yes?"

"What is wrong?"

Hannah was quiet for a moment.

"It's just that…" She paused, sitting down at the re-created kitchen table. She ran her hands over it's surface, as if she would feel the memories come out of the wood. "... It's just… I don't know what to say." She looked back to him.

"Echo… I love it."

"Then will you stay?"

Hannah thought about this. For the past two years, she had dreamed about home. Stared at pictures of the forest, longing to return. At first, she had intended to return to the city. But now…

Now, things had changed. She was back in the farm house. She was home.

This was where she really belonged.

"Yes… of course I'll stay."

xxx

He had to get away. He had to get away from this place.

Uriah finally seemed to understand how Hannah must have felt. He finally realized that Mitzi's death wasn't the only reason she didn't like the city. It was crowded, confined.

Out there, she was free.

They were free.

Uriah didn't bother packing up the apartment. He simply grabbed the essentials.

"Come on, Charlie."

The cat stood up, following Uriah out the door.

"We won't be coming back here." He said, not bothering to lock the door. He dropped the key on the mat.

"Ro-ow." Went Charlie.

"Let's go."

Uriah stopped on the fourth floor platform, looking out over the city for the last time. He never wanted to see it again, so he didn't linger.

Charlie followed close behind as Uriah went down the rest of the stairs, and climbed into the waiting shuttle. The siamese hopped onto his lap, curling up into a ball.

"It's just you and me now." Uriah said as the shuttle started onto the main tracks. He stroked Charlie's short, silky pelt.

"Promise me you'll never forget her, okay?"

Charlie began to purr.