A distant voice murmured in Sadie's ear. She cracked her eyes open and shut them immediately after she was met with a bright light. The voice continued to grow louder.
"Sadie, honey, wake up." This time, Sadie recognized it as her mother's voice.
"M-mom?" She asked, and coughed. Her throat was dry.
"Oh sweetie, I'm so glad you're awake," She said softly. Sadie blinked and looked into the worried eyes of her mother. Her eyes widened and they filled with tears.
"Oh, mom," She cried, sitting up and throwing her arms around her mother. "Mom, I missed you so much," She croaked, ignoring her pounding headache.
Her mother laughed, and she distantly heard the chuckle of her father. Her eyes widened.
"Dad! You're okay!" She cried, trying to get out of bed. Mrs. Abrams held her in place gently.
"Sadie, you need to stay in bed. And of course your father's okay, what did you think happened?" She asked.
Sadie frowned and looked around the room. Upon inspection, she found that she was in her bedroom. The bright light was simply the sun streaming through her window. Her mother sighed. "Last night was a long night." She said, nodding at her daughter.
Sadie frowned. "Last night?" She asked. Her mom nodded. Sadie looked around her bedroom again, at her mother who sat on her bed, and her father who sat in her desk chair. "W-what...what happened?" She asked.
"You were walking home from school yesterday and tripped and fell. You twisted your leg pretty badly, and hit your head. We were in the hospital for a while, and then home. We had to keep an eye on you last night to make sure you were still conscious. You scared us, honey." She explained. Sadie's heart dropped and her head spun.
"What? No, I was...mom, I was gone for a week!" She cried. Mrs. Abrams frowned and glanced at her husband.
"Honey...no, you left for school yesterday morning, and on your way home, you got hurt. You were home last night." She said softly, slowly. Sadie opened her mouth but nothing came out except a slightly strangled noise. Mrs. Abrams put her arm around Sadie. "Sadie, it's okay, the doctor said you might be a little out of it." She said.
Sadie shook her head. "What's the date today?" She asked. Her mother gave her a look before glancing at her phone.
"The 15th." She said. Sadie gulped. The day after she and Noah had worked on their project in detention. Suddenly, Sadie gasped.
"Wait, where's Noah? Is he okay?!" She cried. Mrs. Abrams looked confused.
"How do you know about Noah?" She asked.
Sadie's breath caught. "What happened to him?" She whispered.
"Well, it was quite strange, you were both found passed out around the same time, on opposite sides of the school. Apparently, he got hit pretty hard during soccer practice the other day and got a concussion without knowing it. Tried to walk home, the poor thing. Passed right out." She explained.
"But he's okay?" Sadie pushed, still on edge.
"I'd assume so. I ran into his mother at the hospital and she said he was doing fine, and would probably be able to go home for the night." Her mother explained. Sadie let out the breath she had been holding and leaned back against the headboard. "I didn't know you and Noah were so close," Mrs. Abrams commented.
Sadie shrugged. "Um, we've been working on a project together." She said quickly. "So, uh, can I go see him? We need to...talk about the project more." She asked eagerly.
Sadie's mother shook her head. "No way, José! You need to rest. The doctor said you could go back to school tomorrow, and I really think you should, if you can. You can see Noah then. Today, you need to rest." She said.
"But-"
"No buts," her mother said sternly. She stood up, and smiled at her daughter. "I'm glad you're doing better, sweetie." She said, kissing her on the head.
"Me too," Her dad said, easing his way over to her. Sadie gave him a sad smile as he kissed her on the forehead as well, and relief flooded through her at the sight of him, still there. Nothing had happened to him while she was away. Her parents left, closing the door behind them.
Sadie jumped out of bed, despite the fact that she was still sore. "Oh no, oh no, oh no." She mumbled, pacing about. "What happened?" She asked herself aloud. The last thing she remembered was Noah getting hit by Entropy's blast, and Constance telling her they could go home. How did they get home? Did she even get to say goodbye to Ella? If she did, she didn't remember. What happened to Entropy? What happened to Ella? She recalled Ella not wishing to marry the prince anymore--what would happen with her story? Beginning to get dizzy, Sadie sat back on her bed. Her mind drifted to Noah, and questions she didn't really want answers to started forming in her mind.
What was going to happen, now that they were back from Utopia? It had been easy being friends when they were all each other had in a strange universe. But now, now that they were back home with regular people and non-talking animals and normal clothes? Anything could happen. Things could go back to the way they were. Sadie's chest tightened at that thought. She didn't know what she would do, if she had to pretend that she and Noah weren't as close as they had become, or as if the small moments between them, that had felt like something special, had never happened.
And then the worst thought of all hit her. What if all of that had been a dream? Apparently, she wasn't gone from this world at all. What if after working on the project with Noah, Sadie had tripped and hit her head on the way home, and that was it? No Ella, no Utopia, and no connection with Noah. What if it was all just a strange dream? Sadie shook her head. It had seemed so real. She couldn't bear to think that it had never even happened. She stood up again, and this time saw herself in the mirror. She gasped. Her hair was still long--as if it had never been cut. Squeezing her eyes shut, Sadie refused to believe that this meant anything.
Sadie laid in her bed most of the day, but in the afternoon, she sat out on her porch, enjoying the fresh air. She wished she knew Noah's cellphone number, so she could at least call him and find out the truth. But then, she was also afraid to talk to him. If Utopia wasn't a dream, would he be the same Noah he had been in Cinderella's world, or would he go back to how he was before this whole fiasco? Sadie gazed out at her neighborhood, deep in thought. A couple children played in the yard next door, and an elderly woman was taking a stroll down the sidewalk. Sadie squinted. The lady looked strangely familiar.
"Hey!" Sadie cried, jumping off the porch. She stumbled a bit, still feeling weak, but sprinted toward the woman. The woman stopped and gave her a familiar grin. "Constance?"
"Surprise, it's me!" The old woman cried, waving her cane in the air. Sadie had never felt so relieved. It wasn't a dream! Here was her proof!
"Constance, what are you doing here?" She asked, leading her back to the porch. They sat on the steps.
"I came to check up on you! Sometimes getting humans back home is a little messy, but I'd say this is one of my best jobs yet." She said, proud of herself. "You're back in one piece, with minimal injuries. Noah too!"
"Constance, I have so many questions. I don't remember anything after you told me we were going home." Sadie explained.
"That's because I zapped you back. Once Entropy was carried off into the woods, the portal re-opened, and the story was put back on track. Entropy's in jail now, by the way. No more powers. Turns out the power she had in the first place, wasn't even hers. She was just a normal Utopian before she started stealing powers. And now she's normal again!" Constance explained. Sadie shook her head.
"But did I say goodbye to Ella?" She asked. Constance pursed her lips.
"Um, no. I got kind of excited. I sent you back right away." She said. Sadie frowned.
"Is Ella okay though? I'd hate if she had to marry that pompous prince and live with him for the rest of her life." Sadie said sadly.
"Oh, she's not Cinderella anymore." Constance said vaguely. At Sadie's expression, she continued quickly. "Ella changed way too much. Cinderella is supposed to be quaint, compliant, and obsessed with the prince. And I'm pretty sure as we speak, Ella is planning a rebellion against the prince to set free all of the creatures he's still keeping in his jails."
Despite being confused, Sadie had to smile at that. "What do you mean?"
"Cinderella is a very popular part to play in Utopia. We simply allowed Ella to step down and someone else to take her place. The character is very replaceable. Ella is a happy villager now. No storyline to follow or prince to marry. She's free to act as she pleases." Constance explained. Sadie beamed.
"I love that," She said, feeling so proud of Ella. She wished she had been able to say goodbye, and tell her how much she was inspired by Ella's actions in the story.
"Yeah yeah, happy ending for all. The prince is still the prince. His castle is rebuilt and he's a happy, oblivious, quite incapable prince once again." Constance said, smiling to herself. Sadie laughed and shook her head.
"So, everything's okay, then?" She asked. Constance nodded.
"For now, until the next villain pops up and the stories get bumped off track again. Don't worry, we won't bother you again." She added. Sadie nodded, but felt somewhat disappointed.
"Oh," she said simply. Constance eyed her.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
Sadie shrugged. "I'm just...sad, I guess, that this is all over. A lot of things happened in Utopia and I...I don't know if it will be the same here." She said softly. Constance smiled knowingly.
"So, I watched the tape from your week in Cinderella's world," She began. Sadie raised an eyebrow. "We record every track," She added, shrugging. "Anyway, I watched the tape, and from what I saw, I wouldn't worry about losing what you had. If there is one thing I learned, it's that you can do anything you put your mind to. You taught Ella that. You taught Noah that. I think you even taught yourself that, a little more. You are capable, Sadie. Nothing can stop you."
Sadie sat quietly for a long while after that. Constance said goodbye and disappeared. Sadie was flattered by the witch's words, but wasn't sure how true they were. Here, in her own world, could she really tell Noah how she felt about him? At the moment, it seemed like an impossible feat. Sighing, Sadie made her way inside to sleep for the rest of the day.