To Love, Once Again

Chapter 4

With university done and the not-so- shining future as a call center rep ahead of her, Sera decided to tackle one day at a time. Her parents already knew everything and given Sera their blessing. She could go back to him. To Lucien, and their child.
The only problem was, Sera didn't know how to go back..

The last time, it took her getting hit by a truck that magically transported her to that strange world. Magic existed in that world, but not here. On her return trip, the head magician strongly warned her that there was no going back. At that point, she was so worried about her parents, and how they were doing knowing she was gone, that she had just begged him to quickly send her back. The magic that called her there before was a one-time only deal, a round-trip ticket there and back that could be used once every 500 years.

Tapping her pencil on her chin, Sera stared at the spot where she was taken. It was in the middle of the street. Her bad habit of confidently strolling forward while reading a book had been the cause. She remembered a

BEEEP!BEEEEP!BEEEEEEP!!!!

A horn blaring, and glancing up, looking to see what was making that awful noise. The truck, hurtling with forward, the braked broken. The driver looking horrified, waving his arms at her to get out of the way. "Now that's how you don't drive. Why is this guy not having both hands on the wheel?" A bright light enveloped her, and those were Sera's last words.

Lost in her reverie, Sera failed to notice the strange glances people sent her way. It was a little weird to see a girl that stood at the crosswalk with a notepad in hand, staring intensely at the middle of the street while the light turned green, red, and back.

Book. Truck. Weird driver. Bright light? Looking back down at her notebook, the words seemed to mock her. There wasn't enough information.

Wait. Maybe it was the book.

It hadn't come with her to the new world, and when she returned back on that street, it was gone then too. That book was something her mother gave her, saying she had dug it up from storage, and maybe Sera, who was a ravenous bibliophile, would like to read it. Sera didn't even remember the contents of the book, but she knew she had to find it. Packing up her things, she went home to figure out just where in storage her mom had gotten it.

The buildings seem to rush by as Sera ran home, her hair waving behind her. She looked enviously at the cars that sped by her. As a uni student, she didn't have enough money to afford a car. Her bicycle, too she'd outgrown, and she didn't think she would need it as a university student, when she could just take the train. What Sera had was her feet, and she pushed her body to keep going. In the other world, everyone was fit. They had to be, with the only transportation being a horse and carriage. It was common for most large distances to be traveled by foot, and even in the castle,  climbing tall staircases and getting around the many rooms took time. When the war began in earnest, Sera and the other women joined Lucien and his knights in early morning training with the new recruits. Even the women were to be ready to fight. After another long day of walking from barrack to barrack, the look on Lucien's face when she told him about the horseless carriages was priceless, making her laugh till tears leaked from her eyes.

After her return, her sadness turned her into a blubbering baby. Completely broken, she ate, slept and cried. After her return to uni, most of her time was spent sitting in lectures, at the library, and at her desk at home. She was not fit, to say the least.

Still , she kept pushing to get home as quickly as possible. 3 years were too long. How was Lucien? Their baby boy? Her heart hurt, the longing she pressed deep, deep down, exploding out, pushing past the walls she erected to keep herself safe, the walls that weakened at night to torment her.

"Ma! Have you seen the book you gave me? The one you found in storage?" Sera asked when she got home.

"Oh, that one? I thought you put it back in storage? It's still there Sera." replied Ma.
A flash of cold sweat, and goosebumps prickled on Sera's arms. She breathed deeply. This is it. The fact that the disappeared book so randomly or miraculously appeared back in her house's storage room was proof enough. That was the magic catalyst that would take her away.

Seeing her daughter's panicked packing, Ma asked "Are you going now? Here, take this too" as she handed a blanket and a photo album to Sera. There wasn't much to pack. Sera had a small purple knapsack with some energy bars, water, and the blanket and photo album from her Ma. There was no guarantee she could even take these things with her to that world.

Knapsack in hand, she walked to stand in front of  the storage room door. Her parents were both home, since today was a Saturday. Pop, hearing all the commotion, came out of his office to walk with her and Ma. Sera was going to be leaving them again.

Sera took a deep breath, and turned to face her parents. "Father. Mother. Thank you for raising me in a loving and caring family. I love you."

After one long, final hug, she turned to face the door. Holding her breath, she turned the knob, into the storage room where a lone book floating in the middle of the room, releasing a dim light. As she stepped foot into the room, the dim light began to grow brighter and brighter. The a huge flash, and the storage room was still, dust floating in the air. Pop put his arm around Ma. "We love you too, munchkin" whispered Sera's mother into the empty air.