Word Count: 1627

Bifröst thought of home, she thought of her chair, her room, her parents and closed her eyes just once.

She didn't know how she knew, but she knew she was no longer in the Surrounding. Lilac eyes opened and she stared at her closed computer, the little light on the side blinking, telling her it was in sleep mode. She scanned the room, feeling her glamour fade from her. Her bed was neatly made, all of her stuffed animals all aligned in a row. Her blinds were drawn, but not completely shut. The room was much cleaner than then she'd left.

Mary turned her attention to her laptop and opened it. The fan hummed and the screen lit up, blinding her for a moment. Almost instantly, her screen was awash with IMs.

Arga! Arga! Are you alive?! TALK TO ME PLEASE!

Mary! Where have you been?! We've been so worried!

Argabauth! We had to move the plot along without you... but are you okay?!

And still more flooded in. For a moment Mary was stunned; she didn't realize that her missing would make such a fuss. She typed to each of her online friends and roleplayers that she was home safe now, and that she'd explain the last six weeks soon. As much as she wanted to gush to them about space and the whales and dragons, she felt as though they wouldn't believe her. Besides, thinking about her death made her rub her neck instinctively, and flex her toes, and shudder. It wasn't something she wanted to tell them about.

She did, though, clue them in that she was well and home, and that her schedule would probably be a little random for a few days. Why she said this, she wasn't sure. But she figured she'd be going back to the Surrounding in the future.

An hour later found her hitting submit on a catchup post for Argabauth in the major RP. She shut the laptop, telling her friends she had a few things to do. Mary took a breath and made her way out of her room and downstairs. The sound of sports reached her ears, and the tap tap of her mother's calculator. She hung back for a moment. Could she do this? What would her parents say? What would her mother say? Would they jump up and hug her until she passed out? Would they yell and scold her and throw her out? Or would they not react at all? She didn't know, but it wasn't going to be pleasant on her mother's side of things.

Mary stepped into the doorway into the living room and knocked on the door frame.

"Mom... Dad... I'm home," she said to them. At first nothing happened. Mary's mom Beth looked up and looked through her before looking down at her spreadsheets again. Her father Derek almost didn't even look over. She says his lilac eyes shift over to her and then the T.V and then back to her a split second later, eyes widening. She gave him a smile and waved awkwardly.

"Beth... Beth... for the love of God would you stop burying yourself in your numbers and pay attention. Mary's home," said Derek as he muted the T.V and all but flew from his chair. Her father crashed into her, picking her up and spinning her around. Mary let out a soft laugh and hugged him back hard. "Mary, Mary, Mary..."

"I'm home Da--"

"Put her down Derek." The voice was sharp, tense, and Mary heard the controlled anger behind it. She was put down and heard her father mutter something about "can't you be happy for her for once in your life" under his breath. Mary turned to her mother.

Beth stared at Mary, eyes apprassing her, almost judging. "Where have you been for six weeks? You weren't at my mother's so who's house were you camped out at? Why did you not call and inform us? By the way, you've been kicked out of the Seminary," said her mother, voice hard. Mary had been expecting this; her mother didn't approve of most of what Mary did (or all of it, really) and had a hard time accepting that Mary did not believe the same things she did. So Mary wasn't surprised when her mother drilled her. The sole benefit to Beth's drilling was that she never interrupted Mary, only passing judgement at the end.

"I and fifty some odd people from Destiny City were taken to a place in space called the Surrounding. It is a gigantic rainbow road. We were attacked by a very large space whale and scattered around the road for a time. I met a boy with cat ears, one who is obsessed with squirrels, a girl who loves books and has a whole library up there. People started going missing and I took a trip into the basement of the library, only to be turned away by my lack luster art skills.

"A giant dragon came yesterday with a bunch of other people on it. There was a massive battle and I was killed. Then brought back to life by my... rage I supposed. All of the civilians died and gave their life to surround us "good" guys with a barrier when the fighting got too heetic. We blasted the dragon and its friends out of space and resorted the road.

"And then I wished for home and here I am." Mary took a moment to let it sink it. She left out the part about becoming a Page of Chronos; this was going to enough of a unbelievable story as it was.

"That is impossible Mary. Stop creating stories and tells us the truth. Where were you for six weeks?" Her mother snapped at her, as Mary expected she would.

"Beth, calm down and be happy for yo--'

"Derek, the child is sprouting a story so she can cover up whatever the heck she's been doing, probably something involving drugs."

Her father glared at his wife. "And so you assume she's been doing God knows what? If you paid attention to our daughter you'd know she woul-"

"Derek, be silent." Derek shut his mouth and glared at his wife for a moment longer before moving his eyes to Mary. Mary shifted only slightly under the gaze of them both.

"This is the truth. I have witnesses, and I can even tell you how I died if you really want it," she said calmly, though a spark of anger lit in her words. "I'm not expecting you to believe me because you never do. So if you can handle it better then just assume I was hiding out at Grandmother's and swore her to secrecy." There was a crispness to her voice that surprised everyone in the room. Mary usually didn't speak out so much.

Beth stood up, carefully taking her glasses off and placing them on her pad of paper. She stepped around the desk, smacking at Derek's hand as he tried to stop her. Beth stood in front of her daughter, blue eyes hard. Mary looked back, her eyes slightly sad for a moment.

Her head whipped to the side and she tasted blood in her mouth. Her mother grabbed her roughly by the chin and yanked her face to hers.

"You utter one more word about magic, space, gryphons, roleplay, or anything that is not normal, I will throw you out of here. Understand me?" snarled Beth at her daughter. Mary's face held no emotion, just that same brief glance of sadness.

"I understand," she said softly. Her mother jerked her hand away from Mary's chin and walked back to her desk. She sat down, put on her glasses and went back to work.

Mary gave her parents a small smile and disappeared back upstairs.

"... I should have put her in a institution long ago. That girl is nothing but a mess of delusions..." her mother's voice stopped her as she went to close her door. She slipped back out of it and closed it normally.

"What the hell Beth? She's your daughter."

"That girl is not my daughter. My daughter died whenever that... that... came into being. My Mary isn't absorbed by fictional things so much it consumes her life. My Mary is proper, plays violin, gets straight As in school and is well liked by everyone. That girl is not my daughter, Derek, and hasn't been since she was nine." Mary flinched, clenching a hand in her shirt over her heart. Hearing it said out loud, instead of reading it in her mother's eyes, hurt much worse.

"... think what you will Beth, but that Mary is our Mary.... God sometimes I don't know why I married you..."

"Where are you going?"

"To see if I can't enroll Mary in school. She needs a high school education... or what? Are you going to lock her up in her room for the rest of her life just because she's different?"

"You think she's crazy too." Mary's eyes widened slightly. What?

"Off her rocker? Yes. Possibly schizophrenic? Yes. But that doesn't mean I love her any less. She's just different." The girl squeezed her eyes shut and opened her door silently and crept inside.

Mary sank onto her bed, pulling her gryphon plushy into her arms. She didn't want to think about what would happen now.

She just wanted to sleep and wake up as though it was all a bad dream...