The weather this winter was so bad that even getting back to her little town in Michigan had been a challenge. Summer had been stuck in an airport overnight on her way in. It had turned into a long, miserable trek on top of being one that she had never planned to make again, if she could help it. Of course, death hadn't really been figured into her plans and it had a way of derailing things handily.

An accident, the officer who called her had said. Freak accident. She was well versed in all things 'freak' or so she had thought, but this one had still managed to catch her by surprise. What surprised her more was that the news actually hurt. She had never been close to her parents. She didn't hate them... they were just a vague part of her past that she didn't bother too much with once she reached adulthood. In her mind, they lived in two different worlds even before Summer ever dared utter the word 'mutant' while speaking of herself. Still, the loss was... surprisingly hard.

After the services and once her parents' accounts were all settled, she was amazed to find a small inheritance left for her. It was not much, just maybe enough to buy a small house somewhere, but it was a sign they had thought of her over the years. That revelation had made the trip that much worse. Now, she had guilt to contend with as well as the sadness. It was what had kept her there in that tiny little, one horse town for several months. It never seemed to be the right day to get up and walk away again.

She couldn't stay forever, nor did she want to. Maybe her first departure from her parents' home had been made too soon, but this one was past time. Lingering would only make things harder for herself, and herself was all she had left to care for. There was something freeing in that thought, even though it still made her sad. No family, no home, no real friends, no career... and no limits. It was a trade off, but it was one she thought she could handle. This time.

Tags: return