The Laws of Paxia

32. Bright Light

Chapter Thirty-Two

Bright light.

  I had forgotten how much it hurts my eyes. It wasn’t my meaning to actually visit Earth yet, but I felt that I needed to make sure if it was possible. I hope that my eyes will adjust quicker this time since I have learned so much about adaption. I also felt a huge need to see my Mom and sisters again.

  I’m not sure why I feel the need to explain myself. The pressure has been too much to handle and I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore. I hope going here will put perspective into things. It doesn’t help that I feel like an alien on my home-planet!

  I cover my eyes for a few seconds and concentrate on connecting to this planet. I’m instantly struck by a feeling I haven’t felt before. This planet is claimed!

  It takes a few minutes for me to understand that it must be my Dad’s claim. It feels like I’m standing outside a house peeping in. I’m no peeper! My Dad would never shut me out. This planet is so big compared to the other ones I’ve been to so it’s harder to get a clear picture of it. I see a huge difference from this world and the other. Earth isn’t anything like I pictured it to be. It’s strong and beautiful, but still a baby.

  I shake away the strange feeling and plaster a smile on my face. Grandma’s small house is in front of me. It’s in a sleepy neighbourhood and I estimate it to be early morning as the sun is rising.This is home and I have every right to be here. Screw that other feeling!

  I walk up to the door and use my soul-walking to unlock it from inside. I open the old heavy door and close it quietly after myself.

  It smells just like I remember it; roses and citrus from her flowers and endless cleaning. Grandma takes great pride in her home and I always loved coming here. She hasn’t seen me since before the accident and I wonder how she will think of me now that I have changed far beyond previously impossible.

  “Grandma, it is Meryl!” I call out to her and walk to the kitchen where she’s eating breakfast and listening to the morning radio.

  “How did you get in?” She looks surprised but doesn’t take long before she’s up on her feet and giving me a hug. “I’m so happy to see you again.”

  She smiles at me and gesture for me to sit down and join her breakfast. I thought she would have looked older after two years, but she seems to have gotten younger. She always lights up when Mom and her grandchildren are around. She just retired from her nursing job so she’s not that old.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been around.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I hear you’ve been out on your own adventure. Dawn and the kids came here buzzing about aliens and other worlds. Why don’t you tell me your story? That kid I gave birth to just fled the scene without all the juicy details.”

  That’s my grandma; a real gossip queen and the best listener I’ve ever met. Everything just pours out of me, mostly about how I felt after the accident and before I was brought to Paxia. My whole family was a mess and now it’s barely a family anymore. Grandma just listens to me while stitching.

  I devour her homemade scones with marmalade, cheese and tea. This is my home. I don’t want to go back to that world where I am supposed to be someone. I wish someone else could take over the mess I’ve been tangled into.

  “You do want to be someone,” Grandma says, not at all shocked or surprised over what I have been through. “Remember how you always struggled to be the best out of everyone? You wanted to be known and seen. That Meryl wasn’t scared of anything. You are scared now because you faced an obstacle that you thought would change everything. You’re given a new chance now and you are too afraid to meet that obstacle again. You must choose to go around it.”