The journey back home feels strange. I do not recognize any of the forests I pass by, and I recognize the city of Britwal only by name. After a night's sleep in one of the city inns at the expense of a sympathetic innkeeper, I continue walking until I finally reach my home town of Maplefall.
The town is eerily quiet, aside from the occasional sound of rustling leaves. At the edge of town, I can see a schoolhouse. Behind the schoolhouse, I see the unmistakable canopy of the giant oak tree I used to stand under during study breaks.
As I walk along the road, I catch a glimpse of the schoolhouse windows and attempt to gaze beyond them. I expect to see children writing trite schoolbook problems in their notebooks, but there is no one inside.
I continue to walk up the road, and assorted houses pass me one by one. Not a single home looks familiar. All these years, I have tried to shove my parents out of my mind, resenting them for holding me back. But now that I am here, I wonder if they will ever forgive me for abandoning them. I hate to admit it... but I miss them.
Eventually, as if by instinct, I stop at the end of the street I am on, where the roads meet in three directions. In front of me is a house with a quaint porch, the paint on the railings worn thin by countless scratches. The porch seems older and more draped in shadow than it ought to be.
I tiptoe up the stairs and lift my knuckles up to the door. I hesitate for a moment, but then knock on the door.
The door opens. A tiny girl's face peeks out meekly.
"Rose, get away from the door please," I hear a female voice nag.
Is Rose my sister?
The face of the little girl pops back in, and a hand grasps around the door and pulls it open. I see my mother's face appear. Her eyes widen in shock.
"Iris? Is that you?" she asks.
I nod quietly. I can feel tears collecting in my eyes as I look at her, in spite of myself.
But when my mother opens her arms toward me, I cannot hold it in any longer. I fall into her arms and cry.
"I thought I would never see you again!" my mom says, her voice soured by her own tears. "What happened to you? Where have you been? You've hardly grown!"
Giving my mother an explanation for why I left Maplefall without warning turns out to be difficult. I tell her that an Arch-Mage came to the village and invited me to become his apprentice, and due to the circumstances, I did not have time to say goodbye. She does not believe me at first, so I have to come up with some magical bureaucratic reason. She asks for the Arch-Mage's name. I tell her my master's name is Waystream. He was the Arch-Mage who died during Kenneth's dimensional thesis. I hope that particular lie does not come back to haunt me.
At this point, I can tell my mother does not believe my story, but she seems to give up her questioning. She looks at me with cautious curiosity, and asks what I have done all these years.
I tell my mom many things I have learned during my apprenticeship: spellcasting, channeling, alchemy, and all the rest. She nods along eagerly even though she does not understand much. I also mention the beautiful sights of nature I saw, being careful not to mention I visited most of them alone.
Most importantly, I conceal the ways in which Kenneth punished me, my friendship with Sarah, and the real reason why I left Maplefall in the first place. If my mother knew these things, she would never treat me the same way again.
When my story is over, my Mom looks at me with a mix of joy and sadness.
"I'm very happy for you, Iris. But I'm also worried about you," my mother says.
But then, her expression softens, as if she is at peace. I turn around and see that she is looking at Rose, the younger child. Something about Rose's presence makes me feel unwelcome here... as if I have been replaced.
"How long are you going to stay here?" Mom asks.
"I do not know," I tell her, trying to craft up a lie that does not constrain me to stay. "My master had to report for some paperwork for the war. He might be gone a few weeks. Or he might get drafted and not be back until the war is over."
"I suppose even the land of magic has to be responsible for the war," Mom says. "Your father has been working long hours at the bakery to help feed the soldiers. I wish he didn't have work so hard, but I suppose that's the way it is. Back here, Maplefall is becoming a ghost town. Some households have left town because of the advancing front. Others were drafted with only the kids left behind. That's why I'm taking care of Rose."
"Oh. I thought she was my sister."
Mom smiles sadly. "No, she's just the Carlsons' youngest daughter. I promised to the Carlsons that I would take good care of her while they are gone, but don't worry, she could never replace you."
I feel my shoulders sink in relief. It would have been strange if my parents had another child when I was gone.
My mother sighs and gazes longingly toward the front door.
"I wish the war would end soon," my mother says. "That would be the optimal outcome."
"You know it will not end soon unless we surrender," I say.
"I know," my mother says. "That's what I meant. We don't stand a chance against them. The least we can do is save the lives we still have."
The colors of the sunset shine and fade into darkness. Rose, my mother, and I sit at the dining room table eating soup. When the meal is over, my mother shows me to my bedroom. It looks exactly like I remember it. I never realized I still had the memories of my room. Because the house only has two bedrooms, I will have to share my bedroom with Rose. My mother assures me Rose is a quiet sleeper.
The bed creaks loudly as I lean into it, and its mattress is perfectly soft. The moonlight shines through the windows brightly, but something about the haze on the windows gives the moonlight a sleepy quality.
Rose is already asleep, her breath rising and falling faintly. I hold my eyes open one last time, not focusing on anything in particular, just appreciating the shapes of the shadows on the familiar silhouette of my childhood bedroom. I feel profoundly calm. I am not sure I remember the last time I felt this way.
Just as my mind drifts halfway into darkness, the door creaks open. A pair of leather boots walks across the old wood. I feel a hand gently curl around my shoulder. It rests there for a moment, just enough to warm my skin, then lifts away. The pair of boots walks out of the room behind a closing door.