It certainly was strange. After all, Trixie had expected Jozhir and his family to hate her, but they’d parted on good terms at the hospital. That brought a smile to her face. Maybe things are looking up! Perhaps Trixie can really change… She knew that she’d broken her third-person speech back there in the hospital, as well as that morning. It seemed to only happen with extreme emotion, and so far only sadness or regret. She decided to file that knowledge away for later. However, when Trixie turned the corner, she saw somebody she never expected to see again in her entire lifetime. Over at a bus stop was a woman who seemed to be in her late 30s. She was an imposing figure, with her blazing red hair with black highlights. Her eyes were hazel, and she was of a fair complexion. She wore a gray pantsuit, her favorite pair, if Trixie was recalling correctly. Her high heels were as red as her hair- and the only other true splash of color on her person. It was her mother, Beatrice Karleth. Trixie started to sweat. What is she doing here? Come to torture Dad some more? Trixie shook her head. No, Trixie. You should give her the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she’s come to make amends? It’s best to think positively. She then decided to go up to her, knowing that she wouldn’t be recognized. She tried to hide a grin. I wonder what she’ll think when she finds out? She cleared her throat, and put on her most endearing smile. “Is there something that I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, can help you with, madam?”
Beatrice took a good look at Trixie. She didn’t look very enthused. In fact, she looked rather… annoyed. “Oh great. Another one of those obnoxious ‘Anthros’ I keep running across.” She huffed, crossing her arms. “No, I don’t need your help. I can find who I’m looking for on my own anyway.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Would that person happen to be Lyle Evenlor?”
Beatrice looked shocked. “How-!” she cleared her throat, and gathered herself. “So what if I’m looking for that insufferable fool? It’s none of your business.”
Trixie seemed annoyed. She gathered her magic around her horn. “Insufferable? Well, let see what you have to say after this!” Then, the area was coated in a smoky mist, too thick to see through. She could feel the magic of the Dynamo flow through her, bolstering the spell as it began to play out the intended scene in the illusion.
Beatrice didn’t understand until she saw for herself. The scene before her was so familiar. It had been the final straw, what had caused her to finally break it off with Lyle. She remembered, it was their anniversary. It might seem typical for a guy to forget the anniversary, but it was the final thing she would put up with. She remembered packing up that day, and getting on the plane, despite Lyle trying to get her attention. However, what happened in the illusion next startled her. The Lyle of the illusion pulled out a gift as the illusion Beatrice stepped onto the point of no return, and called out her name. She remembered him calling her name, but she hadn’t bothered looking back. Had that really happened? And, more importantly, how did this anthro know about this? She soon got her answer as a young man stepped through the mist. His green eyes leveled at her, a look of disgust on his face. He spoke. “You didn’t even give Dad one last chance. You left us, never once looking back. Do you have any idea how much you hurt me? I was devastated! Not to mention that Dad can not look at those old pictures with you without going back into his depression! You ruined my life, and all because you couldn’t forgive. One. Small. Mistake!” Tears fell down his face, the face of her son. She understood now. She’d messed up. How could she not have seen it before?
She teared up, and asked a question. “How can I make it up to you? Please, tell me!”
The illusion of her son grinned a smug grin, and faded slowly as he spoke, his voice shifting to be more feminine, the figure before her becoming the anthro that approached her earlier. “You could say just how sorry you are, mother. Tell me that you’ll give us, your family, one. Last. Chance.” Beatrice’s eyes widened as she realized who she’d been talking to the whole time. Trixie held out her hand. “So what do you say? Are you willing to give Dad, and by extension me, another chance? Because I’m willing to give you one.”
The mist cleared as Beatrice took her son’s- no. Her daughter’s- hand. She nodded. “I’m terribly sorry I left all those years ago. Had I just looked back, we wouldn’t be in this mess. I could’ve been there for you the day that you anthrofied. I’m sorry.”
Trixie pulled her mother into a hug. This is what she had missed all these years- the feeling of her mother’s embrace. “It’s okay, mom. I’m certain that if you can explain everything to Dad, it’ll work out.” They pulled apart, and Trixie smirked. “Who knows? Maybe you might actually get him to abandon his beer-binging. It’d certainly take a weight off my mind.”
Beatrice sighed. “So the separation hit him that hard, huh? Well, I’ll see what I can do to straighten him out. Let’s go home.”
The two walked together, an odd serene silence about them. They soon reached home, and Trixie smiled as she saw her father’s reaction to her mother’s return. He was so happy that he insisted that he wasn’t mad about her leaving. He was happy again, happier than he’d been in a very long time. The scene made Trixie smile. Maybe things can really get better after all. It was a nice thought, one that she let flow over her as she slept that night.