It didn't look like hell to me. It was bright. And white. Slowly, I sat up. I was in a field, of white daisies. I plowed down the hill, and to the cottage, where I knew Maisie was. I cried. I laughed. We sat together.
"You have to go back." She said. I shook my head. "I don't want to. Dads dying. You're gone. What would I do?" I said.
"Live." Another voice said. I still don't know how, but I knew who she was immediately. Esther. The Original Witch. "You're still needed. I need you specifically to find my other children. I know where they are." I sighed, and stood to meet her. "Do I have to?" She sent me a reprimanding look. So I closed my eyes, and waited to be sent back. But she wasn't done. "One more thing."
"We've all agreed to give you a reward. My son was out of control, and you helped restore the balance. So, you may have anything you wish. We are extremely grateful." I pondered, and thought of Maisie. But it wasn't right. She was gone, and it would upset the balance. But there was another. Smiling, I nodded.
~~~
I walk across the stage with a smile, and receive my high school diploma. In the audience, the smiling faces of Elijah and his siblings greet me. Also followed by newly turned Jenna, and Elena. And my father, perfectly healthy. No one knows why, but he'd "mysteriously" gotten better overnight. And my mother, Josette. After learning I was no longer a candidate to be Matriarch, she came out of hiding. Which turned out to be a nurse at Whittemore College.
All the time, she'd been a mere few hours away from me. Maisie had gotten a proper funeral. I don't know what the future holds, and I don't claim to. But I do know this. This is a strange world.
And its stories? Untold.
Fin.