Where Thou Art, That Is Home (Hetalia Fanfic, Part 2)

Chapter 136~!

Run! Run!

Run faster!

It's going to catch up with you!

Oooh, but you can't outrun your fate, little Alice... Boo hoo. Nice try. I'll be seeing you soon, Little River...

I opened my eyes with a start and stared for a moment at the bedroom ceiling. That snide, new voice I'd never heard before rang as a fading echo in my ears.

'How... What?' I thought brokenly. Really, that had made no sense whatsoever! 'The first person, urging me to run, sounded familiar... The second voice kind of did, too. But I can't place where I'd heard them before... But how did it know that name?'

A quick glance around the rom proffered this information: Matthew was still asleep, the clock read 5:47 am, it was still dark out, and Perri was sleeping at the foot of the bed. I guess I hadn't woken her up yet-- no, I spoke too soon.

"Come on, let's take you out," I whispered, petting her head to keep her quiet and calm. I got Daisy up as well and let them out in the backyard to relieve themselves, even if it was a little early.

As per the usual, there was snow on the ground and blanketing everything it could touch. I didn't want to stand out on the porch in such a chill and quickly stepped inside to preserve my body heat.

'What day is it...? Oh, right. December 24th.' "Christmas Eve," I murmured, looking out the window as our two Golden Retrievers sniffed around in search of a good toilet spot. A sigh escaped my lips. "I hate late holiday shopping..."

The entire house was as silent as an abandoned graveyard, and almost as dark. 'Maybe I should go for a run, like I did back in that other dimension. It's not a bad habit to hang on to' I thought, and then shook my head. "Not today. It's too cold."

'I feel like I'm forgetting something... What was it, though?' My mind (forever a part of fandoms) immediately jumped back to Neville's Remembrall, and I suddenly realized how useful one would be right now. It was almost like... Like... There was a locked treasure chest in my mind, and the only way to open it was to find the right key.

But where was the key?

Were all of my memories unlocked when Kadi gave them back to me?

That thought brought my hand to my chin thoughtfully, but before I could delve too deep into my dawning suspicions the dogs' barking at the door startled me. I opened the door and shushed them as they filed back inside with their wet paws leaving tracks on the floors, but I didn't care about that at the moment. No, I wanted to go back to bed and sleeeeeep.

~

"Momma, can we make... mewingues?" Evan asked me later that same day, and I translated his baby speak in my head.

"Meringues? I don't know, sweetie... Why meringues?" I inquired of the little boy who looked so much like me.

"I wike them," he replied, climbing up on the couch to sit next to me. "Momma?"

"Yeah, Evie?"

"Why you keep goin' away?" he asked sadly, looking up at me with imploring, big green eyes that almost broke my heart. "I misses you, Momma."

"I missed you too, baby," I answered immediately, gathering him into my lap and hugging him tightly. True, I didn't even know he existed back in that dimension, but that was too complicated for his little toddler mind to understand.

Still, Evan was looking smarter and smarter with every passing day...

I started, eyes widening as a memory came back to me. A sad memory, one that made my heart ache, but still a good one. France and England raising my son in my place, teaching him everything he would need to know to cope with his strange, abnormal life...