Home Again

We move for a long time in something called a car. Mom tells me about a reoccurring dream she'd been having every year like clockwork around this time. In the dream, she would wake up in a cold sweat and look around her room. Her eyes would fall on the crib where I was sleeping and she would breathe a sigh of relief. Then a sudden rush of cold wind would hit her and she'd turn toward the window where a little, bird-like woman held a baby in her arms. With a smile, the woman and the baby would disappear in a rush of black feathers and Mom would feel like she'd been punched in the gut and a piece of her had been ripped out. Then I would start screaming and she would go check on me and right as she got to the crib she'd wake up. She hadn't had the dream that night and wondered what could have changed.

The winter air bites at my face as we head through the giant, wooden door that leads into "home."

It's so warm inside! I could never get warm enough with Mother in the winter, but here, it feels perfect!

Mom is looking at me apprehensively. She gently reaches over and rests her hand on my forehead before leaning in to give me a kiss on top of my head.

"Are you too hot, hon?" she asks. Her eyes never leave my face.

"No, it feels perfect in here. It's like a perfect summer day in the middle of winter!"

Her sigh is the definition of relief and she smiles at me again.

"Okay, well, why don't you go up to your room and relax for a bit while I make dinner? I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

She walks over to some steps with iron bars sticking out of them.

I instinctively recoil behind her back. The Fae cannot touch iron as it burns more than even fire. But, if I am not Fae, then it shouldn't affect me... right?

Only one way to find out.

Mom gestures up the steps and then turns and disappears through another door. I close my eyes, brace myself and tentatively reach out my hand toward the bars. My fingers touch cool metal and I yank my hand back before I realize that there was no pain at all. I touch it again to be sure. Nothing. I ascend the steps in a giddy whirl.

There are several doors at the top but only one catches my eye. My name is written in beautifully curled, green letters on a piece of purple painted wood on the door.

I walk over to it and gently press on the door. Inside is the most beautiful room I've ever seen. It's all purple and green and there are plants by the window that are blooming vibrantly, giving the room a floral and earthy scent. It smells like home and Mother.

I suddenly miss her so much. I want to see her so badly that I forget where I am for a moment and reach under the bed for my sketchbook.

The book I pull out is not my sketchbook at all. My name is written across the front in the same, elegant scrawl as the sign on the door. I gently fan through the pages. Words nearly fill the entire book. It was the Changeling's life written out for me. This would be so useful. Maybe I could fit in where she didn't.

Before I can read through the journal, a delicious scent meets my nose. I drop the book on the bed and am halfway down the steps before I realize what I'm doing. I follow the scent until I hear Mom moving around. I open a door and find, what I assume to be, the "kitchen."

"Oh, there you are! I was just about to call you down!" says Mom as she places a steaming dish on the table.

My mouth waters and I can't take my eyes off the food. I sit down in a tall chair and breathe it in.

"And there you go! Your favorite salad!"

I take my eyes off the steaming dish in the center of the table and glance down at the bowl that Mom placed in front of me.

"Um, can I have some of that instead?" I asked.

Mom gives me the weirdest look and nearly drops the cup of water she'd just gotten for herself.

"In all the sixteen years I've known you, you've never once wanted anything with meat in it. I just assumed you were a closet vegetarian because you never formally said anything about it. But I guess you can have some of this lasagna if you want."

Minutes later, half the lasagna is gone and my stomach is protruding noticeably. I am the happiest I've ever been.

Mom sighs and looks up from her half-eaten dinner.

"You know, honey? You've been different ever since you woke up in the hospital earlier today. But I think it's a good thing. I feel like you're finally here, like the world is somehow right again. I can't put my finger on what changed, exactly, but I'm glad it did."

I knew what she meant, but explaining it to her would have to wait for another day.

For now, I'm just happy to be home.

Author's Note:

This final installment of the story was based on a very short tale called "The Underground People Try to Steal a Child" in which a peasant woman is lying in bed with her unbaptized child. It's too bright in the room with the candle and the moonlight so she blows out the candle and suddenly notices that a strange little woman is standing at her door. The little woman comes over to the bed and tries to take the child. The peasant woman barely manages to hold on as the little woman pulls with all her might. Eventually, the peasant woman calls for her husband who comes in and strikes a light, making the little woman disappear.

I wanted to use that particular story to give the reader an idea of how the switch actually happened, but I used it in the form of a nightmare. Mom knows what happened subconsciously but never really figures it out. She just has a feeling that something was wrong and now it's right again. I included a little more Fae trivia (which is pretty standard for fairy-type beings in general, in my opinion, with the iron and dietary preferences) that is hopefully helpful to the reader.

Our Ana is finally home where she belongs!

This has been such a fun journey! Thank you for reading my story, I hope you enjoyed it!

Story Source: The Underground People Try to Steal a Child

Image Source: Home