Epilogue
My dreams did not take me back to Asgard, but instead kept me trapped in that hospital bed, my chest feeling like a weight had been set on it and my eyes burning from tears. I rolled over on to my side, curling into the fetal position and clutched my pillow tightly, staring into the darkness at the wall.
I could feel a presence behind me.
"You're not real," I whispered.
"I'm as real as you make me," Loki whispered back.
I inhaled painfully and curled up even tighter. "Is there really no going back now?" I asked.
"Is there?"
I felt the mattress sink beside me, and I closed my eyes, unable to cry any more.
"So this is it then… I'm to decide between facing the truth and living in fantasy."
A long pause.
"Yes."
"Will I know it's fantasy?" I asked.
"At first," Loki answered. "But you have already fooled yourself into thinking it was real once. With time, it might happen again."
I sniffled and opened my eyes, remaining silent for a very long time while my brain processed the decision I had to make.
It must have been a few hours before I finally spoke, still clutching my pillow tightly. "Show me something beautiful."
The sun began to shine through the window, and as the room lit up, the white walls turned into beautiful stone columns. The bed disappeared as stepped out of it, and my hospital gown stretched out in length, shaping itself into my favorite pair of jeans and a dark green v-necked shirt. My long and messy hair tied itself back in a beautiful intricate braid, standing at the balcony ahead of me, was Loki, his back facing me. As I stepped closer, he turned to face me, a warm smile on his face and Emma in his arms, flashing me a wide grin.
I reached out for her, holding her small body tightly as I breathed in her scent and closed my eyes, the hole in my chest healed itself. I felt Loki press his lips to my forehead and whisper in my ear, "Welcome home, Anna."
Outside of my mind, my body lay in the bed, a smile on my face as a tear rolled down my cheek. My mother clung to my hand, her eyes silently pleading my unmoving form, and beside her the doctor sighed.
"I'm sorry…" he whispered. "She's gone."