I start to drift off to sleep, contemplating another Earth and if so, did the other Shayne make different choices. They say love is magic. The only magic we need, because it has the ability to make us happy and I thought loving Shayne would be the only magic he needed, but it turned out I was wrong. If I could do it all over again, I would hold him tighter, so he would be unable to leave.
They left the motel the next morning as soon as they were washed and dressed. They stopped for breakfast and then continued on their journey. They did not stop in any of the cities they passed along the highway and soon Hannah started to think about the family she would soon meet. She did not know any of them. She knew after her mum and dad got married, her dad never saw his family again, which meant in her fifteen years, she had never met them either. With all this family mystery looming ahead of her, Hannah could not help feeling nervous. Hannah wondered why they would now suddenly be going to see her dad's family. It could be because her dad died and now his family was feeling sad and regretted never speaking to him, so now they wanted to meet her. When she asked her mum, she replied dismissively, "It's what your dad would want."
Hannah tried to sleep, but no matter how hard she squeezed her eyelids shut, she could not close out the fears. As they got closer and closer to their destination, Hannah started to see glimpses of the ocean every now and again. The road signs started counting off the miles.
When they reached the seaside village, her mum drove through the narrow streets, past souvenir shops, boutiques, restaurants, hardware shops, and fast-food restaurants. Then they turned into an even narrower road with small houses on both sides.
Her mum mumbled, "It seems like we left a hundred years ago, but nothing has changed."
"Why did you leave?"
"That's not important right now, Hannah."
After a while, Hannah saw a double storey house separated from the others.
Her mum slowed down and said, "There it is."
There were no houses across from this house and Hannah had a clear view of the ocean.
Her mum stopped the car in the driveway, and then with a deep sigh, she said, "Okay, Hannah. It's time to meet your family."
Her mum guided her to the front door. She tapped gently on the door and then after a while, she tapped again, a little harder.
A woman opened the door. She was wiping her hands on a plain white apron tied around her waist. Her snow white hair was cut in a short pixie style, her friendly face was lined deeply with laughing lines.