Imagination Crossing, Chapter 4

Theresa had waited for only a few minutes when Ernest led Zander, mom, and dad into the room.
“Let go of me! What did you do to Theresa?” Zander cried.
When he saw Theresa, he broke away from the group and ran to her, hugging her upon impact. Theresa was then swarmed by mom and dad. She heard Ernest's faint whisper, “I'll leave you three alone with Theresa.”
And then, the door shut. Theresa squirmed out of her family's grasp and said, “Guys, listen!”
“Oh, but dear!” mom exclaimed, “We were worried about you! You disappeared while you were jumping on the bed, and we didn't know what else to do than follow your lead. Though I must say, I was very afraid the bed would collapse under all the weight...”
Theresa nodded, “That explains how you got here. Well guys, welcome to the World of the Imaginary! The kind fellow who escorted you here is named Ernest. I'm sure he treated you nicely?”
Zander shrugged and said, “Until he spoke, I was hoping and expecting him to be Rick. Now that's someone I would like to punch right in the nose.”
Zander held up his fist threateningly, as if Rick was right there in the room with them. But, of course, he wasn't. Theresa sighed and sat down, murmuring, “It's going to be really hard to explain this to you guys.”
But she tried anyway. She explained from the time of her disappearance to the time of seeing them approaching the castle. They took it pretty well actually, and Zander even gave up his dream of punching Rick in the nose. As she finished her explanation, Mitchel, Ernest, Harold, and Rick entered the room. Rick grinned at Zander and they fist-bumped like old buddies. Zander turned to Theresa and whispered in amazement, “Theresa, I just fist-bumped your imagination!”
Theresa nodded, “Cool.”
Theresa heard a quiet sniffle and turned to see mom sitting in a corner, crying. Theresa made her way to her and asked, “What's wrong, mom?”
Mom looked up, sniffled again, and whispered, “This is all so dangerous. I don't want you to be killed by this Destructor guy. He sounds dangerous. From what I understand, Rick already almost killed you. He would have, if he had meant to.”
“If I don't fight Destructor, who will? I'm the only kid here with an amazing imagination. I need to do this, to save the World of Imaginary,” Theresa pointed out. “I'll try not to die though.”
Mom hesitated, and Theresa leaned in and whispered, “Don't tell anyone, but...”
Theresa pulled back the sleeve of her sweater, and mom gasped. Theresa flipped her hair back and turned around. She showed mom her shoulder, too.
“Dear, where did you get all these scars?”
“Some were from today,” Theresa admitted. “But others are from my imaginations.”
“You never showed me these before?”
Theresa made calming gestures with her hands and said, “Yeah, but mom, that's mostly because I couldn't. These scars are imaginary. You can only see them now because we are literally in the World of Imaginary. If I could, I'd have showed you my first few scars as soon as I finished my adventures. I was just beaming with pride. It got old pretty fast.”
Mom's face was pale, and Theresa continued, "Back to the point, I handled these, I can handle a few more. And if I do happen to somehow die, it'll be doing what I love. Imagining, and standing up to bullies.”
After a moment, mom sighed. “Alright, you can do this...just so long as you promise me you won't die.”
Theresa grinned, “No promises, but I'll try.”
Mom swiped some strands of Theresa's hair out of her face and said, “There's my brave girl.”
Theresa helped her mom to her feet. Mitchel glanced out the window and announced, “Sorry this took a little longer than intended, but it's getting dark, and we should probably go to sleep.”
Dad frowned and informed her, “I'm not sure I'm comfortable with me, my wife, or my children sleeping in this...realm. Do you think we could return home and come back for the mission tomorrow?”
Mitchel nodded, “That would be fine, Mr...”
“Call me Mr. Yearn, ma'am,” dad said. Mitchel nodded and said, “That would be fine, Mr. Yearn. I'll have Rick escort you to the platform.”
Dad grinned as Ernest held the door open for them. They exited the room, and then the castle. They crossed the gate-bridge and ran through the darkening land. Theresa didn't stop to admire her old imagination buildings but ran straight through the streets to the metal platform she had arrived on. It was no longer glowing blue. As the family and Rick approached, the four family members gathered on the platform. Rick instructed them to do three push-ups and they'd transport back to their realm. They did, and no sooner had they done the last push-up did they appear in push-up position on Theresa's bed. They scrambled up and hurried about the house, getting ready for bed as if nothing had happened. Theresa lay on her bed that night, trying to fall asleep. Terror seized her and she trembled in her pajamas, shaking the covers. She managed to fall asleep to a night of terrible nightmares. She woke in the morning to sweaty covers surrounding her.