MY EYE TWITCHES.
"Ooh, child I'ma slap you! I know you didn't just ditch your ride for me." I tell her.
"Well, kinda, but not completely." My cousin says.
Before she can continue, there is a whimsical sound. I recognize it. It can only be one thing . . . sure enough, Adapearl appears.
"Adapearl!" My little cousin squeals.
"Dorothy Gale, what are you still doin' here?" She asks. I note that she doesn't ask me what I'm still doing. I think she knows what I'm going to do. She's known since the beginning. "You joined the circus?" She points at our motley crew.
"Ay!" I say, offended.
"These are my friends," Dorothy explains.
"I know, I'm just playin' with you." Adapearl says, waving us off. "Well, where's the Wiz?"
"Gone," Dorothy replies, smiling.
"Without you?" Adapearl asks.
"That's what the hell I said!" I say, throwing my hands up.
"You figured it out, didn't you?" Adapearl says, catching me off guard.
"I think so." My cousin responds. "Omaha is where I was born, but where I belong is with Gabrielle and Aunt Em in Kansas. Is that right?"
"Good girl," Adapearl says.
"Bro, what the hell?" I ask, confused.
"Home isn't where you live, it's where you love," my cousin tells me, repeating my words from earlier.
I smile at her, shaking my head.
"I'm so proud of you," Adapearl tells Dorothy seriously.
"Does that mean I could go back home now? Can you take me? Please?"
"Me? Oh, no, no, no. Out of my jurisprudence. But I may know someone who can."
Adapearl waves her wand, and another woman appears with an almost heavenly sound and a shower of glitter. She is wearing a golden dress, and she smiles at us.
"She is beautiful!" My cousin tells Adapearl.
"Did I lie?" Adapearl responds. "Dorothy, Baby," she rushes over to us, "this is my sister, Glinda, the Good Witch of the South."
Glinda reaches her hands out to us, and we each take one of them. "Hello, Dorothy and Baby. Now, it is a pleasure to finally meet you up close and not see you from far away."
"From far away?" Dorothy repeats.
"I've had my eye on you every step of the way." Glinda explains.
"I think I already knew that. I always felt like someone was watchin' over me. Didn't you, Gabrielle?"
"Hell no! That's creepy as hell!" I say, but I'm still smiling.
"Now that's the power of love, sweetheart," Glinda tells Dorothy, "you're never alone. Now your Auntie Em and all the others have been keeping watch over you."
"I'm really tired," my cousin says softly. "Would it be all right if I went home now?"
"Well, you've had the power to go home anytime. Adapearl," Glinda says, looking towards her sister, "why didn't you tell the child?"
"I thought she'd like to meet you first," Adapearl responds, shrugging and smiling sheepishly.
"It's these shoes, right?" My cousin says. "They have the magic to take me home–"
"No," Glinda stops her. "No, Dorothy. The magic is inside you."
Glinda sings a powerful song about believing in yourself, and telling Dorothy how to get home. As she sings, the sun begins to set, and as she finishes, she gives my cousin a hug.
"Oh, thank you!" My cousin says.
"Remember," Glinda tells her, "you click your heels three times, and think of home."
"Okay," Dorothy replies.
"Well, come along, Adapearl," Glinda says, turning to her sister and taking her hand. "We got some catchin' up to do."
"Goodbye, Dorothy," Adapearl says.
"Goodbye, Dorothy," Glinda repeats.
"'Bye, Adapearl," my cousin says. "Thank you, Glinda!"
As they disappear, she turns to me. "That was weird, huh? They didn't say goodbye to you."
"Hmm," I say noncommittally, my heart starting to race.
"So that's all there is to it," the Tinman says, walking up to us. "You just click your heels three times and you get to go home."
"Well, it makes no sense, so it must be so." The Scarecrow says. "You know the truth is like that. Success, fame, and fortune, they're all illusions. All there is that is real is the friendship that two can share."
"That's beautiful, Scarecrow," my cousin tells him, "who said that?"
"I did," he replies, sniffling.
Dorothy gives him a hug.
"Well, if the shoe thing is true, then you never would've had to battle Evillene! Or the Wiz! Or even meet me," The Lion says sadly.
"Or me," the Scarecrow adds.
"Or me," the Tinman sighs.
"Oh, I wouldn't have missed meeting you for anything. Promise you'll remember me?" Dorothy says to the Lion He nods, his eyes filling with tears, and she gives him a kiss on the cheek. "Keep me in your heart," she tells the Tinman, who kisses her knuckles. "And let me now and then come to mind." She tells the Scarecrow, who drags her in for a hug, sniffling. "Come on, Gabrielle," she holds out her hand to me.
I take it and smile at her. "I'm not going with you, Dorothy."
"What? Why not?" She asks.
"Kansas just isn't my home anymore."
"Of course, it is, Gabrielle, come on, you have to come home with me."
I smile again, tears coming to my eyes. "Don't you see, Dorothy? I am home. I've only been here for a week or so, and yet, I've felt more at home here than I ever did in Kansas."
"But . . . what about Aunt Em?" She asks desperately, tears running down her face.
"She'll have you. You have to understand that it'll be okay, Dorothy. You go on without me. And tell Mama it's okay, that I don't blame her. You just tell her I found my yellow brick road, okay?" I say, crying now. "Now, c'mere, cuz." I pull her in for a hug. "You know I love you."
"I love you too, Baby." She says, crying.
I laugh. "You called me 'Baby'!" I tell her.
"I know. I'm gonna miss you, Baby." She responds.
"Stop playin', you know I'm gonna be right there with you." I pull back and rest my forehead against hers, wiping her tears away. "Now go on, mama's waitin' for you."
She pulls away and takes a few steps away from me. "Maybe, just maybe, if I hold on to these shoes, they'll lead me back to you someday."
"Please try," the Scarecrow says.
"You better come and see me, you hear?" I order, tears still running down my face.
"I'll try," she promises. "But right now, I think I hear Aunt Em callin'."
I nod and step back, pulling my group with me.
My cousin sings a song similar to her song about wishing she was home, except now she knows where her real home is. I can't help but notice how much stronger she is since we got here. When she finishes, she clicks her heels three times, and, in a tiny tornado, Dorothy is gone.
"Baby, why'd you do that?" The Tinman asks.
I sigh, shaking my head at him. "Because this is my home. Right here, with you guys." I take the Scarecrows' hand and the Lions' paw. "I love you guys."
"Now, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you decided to stay, but are you sure you made the right choice?" The Tinman asks.
I grab his tin vest and yank him into myself. His hands automatically land on my waist. "Oh, I'm sure," I say, before kissing him on his cold lips. It's sweet, and he cups my face with one hand.
After I break the kiss, I smile at him.
"I've given my heart to you. I've said it since the beginning, it belongs to you." The Tinman says, kissing me again quickly.
"And my heart belongs to you," I respond, before looking up at the sky.
I did it, Daddy, I think to myself, I found my yellow brick road.