"Frell? That's a weird name," I said, "I've never heard of Kyrria or Frell."

The knome gave me another funny look.

"!asing hoshi sidgniD" he exclaimed, "!dingl knostit gradgi frellE"

It almost seemed like he said something like, "You're making fun of me! Nobody doesn't know Frell!"

Of course, I was far from certain. That's just what it seemed like - with his tone and everything.

He turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" I called after him. I was still bursting with questions. Was it at all possible that maybe I wasn't dreaming, and this was real? No, of course not.

I shook my head to clear it.

The knome stopped but didn't turn.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

This time he turned partway towards me and there was no mistaking the anger on his face.

"!hisdgn fdjisog sdignG - I sick a' dis attitude toward knomes! I save your life and you go in make fun a me eneeway!!! Din' no bidy tell you that knomes doe-in make good enimies? Don' know Kyrria... [He shook his head.] Do I look like a dimwit? Wa' you name eneeway?"

"Sassandra - or just Sasha, which I definatly prefer. And I promise that I'm not making fun of you."

"Wha' kinda name iz Sasha? Doein you know wehna stop playin? You-" but then he abruptly stopped talking.

His eyes slid out of focus.

I felt panicky again. As much as I didn't like him, I didn't want him die! He looked like he was having a seizure or something!

"I- I promise I'm not lying and- " I started. Hopefully he didn't notice how hysterical I sounded. This was just too weird. I wanted to wake up already!

To my utter and instantaneous relief, the knome's eyes slid back into focus.

I exhaled.

The knome was staring at me strangely.

"You - you aw not from here aw you?" he was speaking so quietly, I could barely hear him.

"NO! I'm not! What - you think I'm crazy, don't you? Don't you? Well, I do too! I thought I was dead or dreaming or in my own personal Oz but that doesn't seem like it's the case - there aren't any munchkins here and no good witches to tell me to tap my heels together or anything and this isn't New York City and I don't know what's happening and I'm scared and I'm exhausted and this could be due to sleep deprivation but I don't thinks so and I'm just really freaking out here and you're not human and that thing back there isn't and I don't know what you are or it is and everything is different and I think I belong in a mental institute and I really don't know what's going on and I haven't found any red slippers and I just want to go home! I mean, this is so not cool!"

Okay - yes, I was definitly going insane. I was hysterical too, to top it all off. None of this made any sense. It was way to real to be a dream, my own Oz. But it couldn't be real - could it?

The knome was staring at me with eyebrows raised and his jaw dropped.

"!wodhgsad teihg gihgG - You talk very different."

"What? Now you're attacking the way I talk, which is totally normal and you think that's wrong with me too? I - " I started. I was definitly having hysteria and I felt the tears coming.

"Never mind - you - you're gonna getta leave, but-" he said hastily.

"What? I'm going home? How? When? What do you mean? But what? And how do you know that?"

He looked at me as if I was missing something very obvious.

"They really don't teach you that in that place you're from?"

"Teach me what?!?

"You mea' you really doein no that knomes see fee-your-ture?"

"Really? You can?!? That's - that's-" Impossible. Further proof that I should be locked up in an insane assylum.

"Can you tell me then - how I can get home?"

"No. I only see bits and-" he stopped because another knome came running torward him.

"!hidgn sdigh fisdgn sdofhj fdsjisotn sdifohJ ?dsidgh dstidfljgi ghojhgiI !digs fmigin ginsiighngi ainingiE" she said angrily.

"!sidgigG !aghidgngi dgsgjgisnM (He turned torward me.) Dis is my wife, sidgigG, my cousin's child was missin' and the prince found 'im. I mus' bid you a Faw-well." He left me standing there and rushed off to follow his wife.

I was stricken. Was he coming back? I needed to know how to get back to a normal frame of mind.

Was it possible that he could really see the future? It seemed unlikely, but this morning it also seemed unlikely that I would lose my mind tonight. It also had seemed unlikely that I would get lost.

I didn't know what to do or where to go.

If that knome really could see the future, that meant that I would get home. I had no idea if I was going to go home in a minute, an hour, a day, a month, or a year - (my throat tightened and a tear almost escaped with the thought of remaining crazy for so long) and so I might need a place to sleep.

Never, never, never, have I ever asked a stranger for a place to say - it made me feel... homeless.

I shuddered with the realization that I was homeless. At least here, for now. I also didn't have any money or anything.

But I was getting desperate.

At least it wasn't winter here.

Maybe Frell was somewhere in the south.

I started looking at the people nearest to me.

I would have to ask someone for directions to the nearest hotel. Even Frell must have hotels, right? I read a book once (Ugh, not willingly, I hate to read-) about an immagrint to the U.S. - she didn't have any money and got a job and worked for her pay... maybe I could do that.

I grimaced.

I'd never been expected to do the slightest bit of chores, and I had no clue what to do.

Nobody would hire me.

And I wouldn't want to work anyway.

I hate working.

Life was so unfair.

I wanted to go home.

"Hey!" I called after a woman who looked friendly enough. She had frizzy gray hair and a double chin. I guess I chose to ask her because she reminded me of Myra, my housekeeper.

She only looked at me and hurried on her way.

She carried carrots in one hand and some wierd-looking plant in the other.

"Please!?!" I called. Hopefully she didn't hear the hysterical edge to my desperate cry.

She turned around.

"Yes M'lady?" she asked, eyeing my clothes suspiciously.

I noticed that I was the only girl that wasn't wearing a dress.

So far, this place was not giving me a good first impression: old-fashioned, discreet, hostile, poverty-stricken, and harboring non-human creatures out of myths. Well, alright, New York City was a lot of those things too, but at least it wasn't old-fashioned and harboring non-human creatures out of myths.

"Um, my name's Sasha," I told her.

"My apologies, miss. I'm Mandy. What is it you wanted?"

"Well, Mandy, I- um, I'm kinda lost and I need a place to stay- sorry, but I was wondering if you-" but she didn't let me finish asking for a hotel.

"I see. Can you cook?" she interrupted.

"Sure! I got straight A's in Home Ec.! Especialy in the cooking part!"

Mandy blinked pointedly.

"And what exactly are Home Ec. and Straight A's?"

"School stuff."

Mandy looked at me like I was crazy. I was starting to get sick of people looking at me like that.

They had school here, right?

"What are you wearing?"

"A sweater, T-shirt, jeans, boots, earrings - "

"Never mind, come along then. We'll see what we can do to help. Lady should be home by now."

She turned and started walking quickly again. Apparently, I was supposed to follow - right?

Whilst following Mandy, I coudn't help but wonder... Who is Lady?