Sorry to anyone I left hanging!
That was supposed to be the end of the story; having Dib conduct a successful seance and seeing his mother once again was the happy ending I'd been building up to.
However, I have since been contemplating the kind of conversation that would have resulted... and think it's only fair to let you in on it.
All disclaimers still apply, namely, don''t expect any romance, DO NOT try this yourselves, and most important of all, I don''t own Invader Zim or any of these characters. Jhonen Vasquez does.
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"Dib!" cried the ghost. "My little chattermonkey!"
It WAS her!
Dib's mother was as delighted to see him again as he was to see her. She asked him all the usual questions, how he was, and how skool was going, or rather, she tried to. Dib was a neverending fountain of questions about what it felt like to die and what it was like on the other side.
When his mother asked how Gaz was treating him these days, Dib finally got quiet. He just looked away because he knew how little she would enjoy hearing the answer.
And when she asked if he missed her, Dib choked up, looked down and nodded yes vigorously. She softly said, "I miss you too," before reminding him that they'd be together again someday, and finally urging him to enjoy life to the fullest in the meantime.
Then Dib's mother said it was time to go because tomorrow was a skool day and it must be his bedtime by now. She leaned over to kiss him goodbye and Dib felt a breath of cooling air brush across his hair scythe.
One is supposed to close a seance by bidding the ghost to go in peace, but because Dib hadn't had a chance to read that far, his mother was the one to say, "Go in peace."
As the final remnants of the smoke slowly dissolved, Dib released his hold on the mirrors. He would sleep well tonight!
Now THAT'S the end! :)
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