It has been twelve years since I came to this house, but time has not passed at all. The air feels heavy and it is painful just to be sitting here, exactly as I remember. I looked around nervously until my mother finally returns from the kitchen with a cup of coffee and sits in front of me.

“You must be really brave to return after all these years.”

She does not look at me, making it seem like she is speaking with the cup in front of her.

“Not brave, maybe naïve is the correct word. I would have never thought that I would be sitting in front of you again Nana.”

“I am sorry mother.”

“Didn’t you speak with your father on the phone last month? He arranged everything for you already, so why did you come here?”

During the last year, my whole life was destroyed due to my husband being involved in a disgusting scandal at the school where we worked. I was forced to resign, divorce him and flee the city. The only reason why I am not in jail with him is because I called my father crying last September and he used his influences as a politician to save me. I spent the past week crying myself to sleep in a hotel room, until I was desperate enough to go see my mother.

“I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Don’t you have any friends? At least your brother had the decency to disappear from our lives once he left this house.”

“All my friends worked at the school.”

“I see. I would be surprised if they don’t stab you the next time they see you. I said it the first I met him, marrying that loser won’t get you anywhere.”

She sipped her coffee calmly and waited for my reaction, but I could not do a single thing and just sat there crying. She knows I am the one suffering the most having to come here, she knows I already went through this with my father.

“What do you want?”

I kneeled with my head down trying my best to suppress my screams.

“Please let me stay here. Father is going to get me a few hours as teacher at the academy of one of his benefactors.”

“Then why bother me with this, your father already decided.”

I slightly lifted my head and my mother was already leaving.

“You may stay here, but that doesn’t mean I accept you as my daughter again. Frankly, I am just doing this because your father is hardly at home and having you around is convenient.”

“Thank you.”

…

……

I fell asleep in the old wagon and had that horrible dream again after many years. After crossing the main entrance, we still had to drive half an hour to reach the town and I unwillingly dozed off. Thinking back, that was probably the last time I had a proper conversation with my mother.

I wonder what she felt when she heard about the accident.

“Mister, I’m leaving. Thank you for everything!”

“Good luck!”

I decided to walk the rest of the way to cool my head off.

Listeria , the biggest know city on this world. The sun illuminated my face and I could already feel overwhelmed with the uproar on my surroundings. Big roads, horses, hawkers, massive buildings made of rock and the immense castle standing in the distance.

In this city composed of millions of people, I must find the one coming from earth with just a hardly accurate map. I grabbed my bags and headed for the main road, this is going to be a long quest.