What if it All Happened Differently?

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Lydia looked around the large empty space she was in. It was just an infinite abyss of nothingness. "MUM!" she screamed, her voice echoing off the walls as she collapsed to the floor. She'd managed to lose the dead football players and jockey and shrunken head guy chasing her, but she'd also lost her way and had given the chalk to her dad. "What am I doing?" she whispered to herself.

"Mama I could use some help here" she looked around and yelled "I'm tired of talking to myself!" she took a deep breath and sighed, going back to whispering "back at home you don't exist, so here I am in the abyss"

"Are you really in this place? It's like as empty as space" she sighed and muttered the sad truth "I could search for all eternity and never see your face" she wrapped her arms around her legs "Help me out... I'm lost without you"

"Standing. Stuck on this impossible road, no idea which way to go" she looked around "whichever path I choose I lost y'know. And I dunno which ways home" she let out a small sob as the reality hit her "I don't know which ways home"

She wiped her eyes and let out a shaky sigh "Ma, you always saw life as a game, but since you left it sucks to play" she pushed her short hair out of her face "I'm beaten up and bruised confused by rules that alter everyday. Where to next?" she shakily got to her feet and took a step "You left but I'm still standing, spinning on this infinite road. Terrified of letting you go" she looked upwards "no light above and there's definitely no hope below" she kicked a stray rock in front of her "and I dunno which way home. Ma I got my heart in my hand. Please speak to me and I'll understand. One little word to know I'm not alone"

The silence that greeted her was deafening

"And show me the way back home" she wiped another stray tear "is there a way back home?" she asked helplessly. She took a few steps forward and looked into the darkness beyond "The nothingness ahead of me, is this the end you meant for me? Every living minute, there's no home without you in it" she stomped in frustration "I'm falling, quit stalling your daughter is calling your name!" she yelled, kicking the stone "I've burned all my bridges... please end this game"

"Lydia!" yelled Charles, appearing out of the darkness and spotting his daughter "Oh thank god you're alright" he ran over to her "come on, we have to go home"

"I don't have a home" mumbled Lydia, collapsing onto the floor
"Don't say that" said Charles in an anguished voice "I know these past few months have been tough-"

"-but we're moving forward" said Lydia, looking at the ground "That's all you ever say dad. Move forward, feel nothing. Well you've got what you wanted dad, an infinite abyss of nothing"

"Lydia! You think this is what I wanted?"

"You never say her name"

"Because it hurts too much" said Charles

"She was my whole world" whispered Lydia "and she left us"

"She was my world too Lydia" said Charles "she told me, a few nights before... the end... she said that I'd want to fix it but I just had to hold onto what we had. I thought she was talking about her and me, but she was talking about you and me"

"I don't want to forget her" whispered Lydia

"Neither do I" said Charles, he took a deep breath "but this isn't what... Emily would've wanted for us, she'd want us to be happy"

"I'm so scared I'm gonna forget her" whispered Lydia

"I won't let you," said Charles. He pulled Lydia into a tight hug. "We can talk about her whenever you want, bring out all the photos of her..."

"Let's go home" said Lydia, pulling away from the hug with tears and a small smile on her face.

"The demon with the stupid hair will be waiting for us" said Charles, wiping his own eyes, horrified to be crying infront of his daughter again. Lydia smiled and told her father all about her plan to get Beetlejuice. Charles nodded and raced off to go find the chalk he'd hidden from the singing and dancing football players.

"Mama" Lydia decided to have one final 'chat' with her mum before she went back home "I'm gonna go back home" she smiled "Adam, Barbara, Delia and Dad... they're messy but they're all that I have" she tucked her hair behind her ear "I'll make the best of being flesh and bone" Charles appeared with the chalk and drew a door. He stepped through and Lydia followed, turning once more to yell "Mama I'm going home!" before stepping through into the human world with a smile on her face.