Beyond the Veil

Chapter 21

Sera woke up in her childhood bedroom. It was uncanny how little things have changed. Sera felt as though she had changed so much since being gone, but she realized her parents have been living the same lives that they were before, just without her in them.

Sera spent the whole day by herself, sitting on a barstool in the kitchen working on her schoolwork. She couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness at how distant she had become from her own family. She knew it was partly her fault for not making an effort to connect with them. But at the same time, she couldn't shake off the feeling that they were all living different lives and were growing further apart with each passing day. This was nothing if not a wake up call to how perfectly fine they are with her being gone.

After most of the day had already passed, Sera briefly said goodbye to her parents, she barely lived a town over, but it felt like she was leaving for a lot longer than that, and she didn't know when she'd be back next. There were no tears shed on either side, only an exchange of pleasantries.

As Sera got into her car, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. It felt strange to leave her childhood home and her parents behind. She turned on the ignition, adjusted her rearview mirror, and backed out of the driveway.

The roads were quiet, and the sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow over the suburban landscape. Sera drove in silence, lost in her thoughts, replaying the events of the past few days in her mind. She didn't listen to any music on the ride home, so many thoughts were running through her mind that the outside noise was more distracting than anything else.

She couldn't believe how much had changed in such a short amount of time. She had gone from living a mundane life in a dull town to solving mysteries, encountering a ghost, and fighting off a monster. It was all so surreal.

As she drove, she felt a sense of nostalgia for her childhood. She thought about the summers she spent playing with her friends, riding bikes, and reading behind the bookshelves in the shoddy school library. She realized how much she missed those carefree days.

But at the same time, she knew she couldn't go back. She had grown up and moved on. She had a life in the city and a future she was working towards. She couldn't let her past hold her back.

As she pulled into her apartment complex, she let out a sigh of relief. It was good to be home. Still sitting in the parking lot, she decided to call Quinn. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey Sera, what's up?" Quinn asked.

"Not much, just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out tonight," Sera said.

"Duh. What do you want to do?" Quinn replied.

Sera thought for a moment before suggesting they go to the park and take a walk. Quinn agreed, and they made plans to meet up in an hour.

When they arrived at the park, they strolled down the path, chatting about everything they could think of. Sera was grateful for Quinn.

As they walked, Quinn smirked at her and deviously unsheathed a frisbee from her backpack. Sera hesitated at first, but relented, what did it matter if the people around her thought she looked stupid? There weren't many people at the park this late anyway.

They played for a while, laughing and joking around. Sera felt carefree and happy, forgetting all her troubles for a moment. She felt like eyes were on her, but that was reasonable, since she knew she did not fit the part of an athletic 22 year old college girl.

When the sunlight had fully disappeared, they decided to call it a night. Sera hugged Quinn and thanked her for coming out with her.

Sera pulled into her apartment building and lugged her suitcase into the house after her. Sera entered her house, feeling exhausted from the drive home. She kicked off her shoes and made her way to her bedroom, looking forward to getting some rest.