See You Later

God, the view here really is great.

Lydia was sitting on a hill. The grass felt wonderful under her hands, the breeze flowing through her jet-black hair. She heard the birds chirping, felt the sunlight on her face. Her eyes caught on the oak tree standing next to her, providing her with shade. On its wood was a tattoo that read L + R; Lane + Rose.

Next to her was Nico. He'd ditched the rock shirts for the day in favor for a deep blue dress shirt that hid a light gray undershirt. His dirty blond hair was, as normal, ruffled wildly. While he still had his sketchbook it was, for once, not in his hand. Rather, Nico had taken to looking at the cloudy sky, his hands firmly on the picnic blanket they had brought.

"Alright, I'll bite," Nico said finally. "What did you want to say that meant coming here of all places to say it?"

Here goes. . .

"You know that LA hasn't really been my favorite place to live," Lydia started, ". . . So I'm moving."

"Where to? San Francisco? Whittier? Or maybe." Nico looked straight in her eyes. "Cachonei."

Lydia sucked in a breath. "You knew?"

"Lydia, you're my best friend," Nico replied, "yet, in all these years, I've never seen you nearly as happy as you are when you talk about the Spirits, the food. . . Jason. I mean, it's kind of obvious that you'd want to go."

"You aren't upset?"

"Upset?" Nico frowned at her. "Why would I be upset?"

"Oh, gee, I don't know," Lydia said dryly, "maybe because your best friend is ditching you for a fantasy world?"

"I don't think it counts as ditching if you specifically take me aside to say goodbye," Nico pointed out. "That is what this is, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Lydia confirmed. "Aren't you going to ask how the switch happened?"

"I'm willing to bet it has something to do with a bird."

"Lorelei told you, then?"

"I mean, given that both you and Lorelei had been having dreams about birds before the swap, it wasn't that hard to figure out."

Shifting, Nico began drumming his fingers against his now bent leg. "If you don't mind, could you tell me what the bird looked like?"

"I mean, it's been a bit, but sure," Lydia said. "It's basically a raven but, where the raven only has normal black wings, this one had rainbow glitter coming off of its body. Its eyes were like a kaleidoscope of colors, not that I paid enough attention to that as a kid. Nico, is everything okay?"

He didn't answer for a while. Instead, he just looked at a nearby plane with a sigh. Picking up his sketchbook, Nico flipped through it for a second then, for the first time in their entire friendship, finally showed her the contents.

On the page was a huge drawing of a bird, one that took up both pages. Its wings were as black as she remembered them. The dust was just as beautiful as Nico had drawn it. Its stance was as proud as it had been before. The rainbow of colors in its eyes had been translated perfectly into the pages.

He's seen the Traveler's Bird.

Taking the notebook from him, she flipped through the pages. Each one had a different animal drawn onto it. One had a dazzling butterfly, deep blue zigzags crossing against the black canvas of its back. Another had an owl of translucent purple, its intelligent eyes staring her down.

The owl won.

"How long have you been drawing these?" Lydia asked, awe painted in her voice.

"Since I first saw the butterfly on a camping trip," Nico said. "Funnily enough, the week before this isekai stuff started, I tried to find one to show you."

"These were the special creatures you were looking for?!"

"Yup."

Nico met her eyes, smiled at her. "Look, Lydia. I know it's gotta be hard to leave this world. I mean, it's our world, even if it is a train wreck just waiting to crash. I know you're wondering whether it's good or even right for you to leave. For this, though, you need to stop worrying about us."

"Us?"

Instead of answering, Nico looked to the spot with the oak tree's tattoo. The marks looked worn out; The result of nature beating at it over the years. The grass at the roots shined brightly, but Lydia didn't really see that. All she saw were the tears that had swam in her eyes before. She saw her hands shaking as she raised them up. She saw herself opening the first jar, then the second, the ashes spilling out at the place where they'd first shared their love.

It was all she'd had left of them.

"I'm not saying goodbye to them," she told Nico.

She turned to him, her voice considerably quieter. "I can't."

"Then don't make it a goodbye," Nico said. "Make it 'see you later.' You're leaving them, but you definitely won't forget them."

Lydia took a deep breath. Hey mom. Hey dad. It's been a while, hasn't it? I just never knew what to say. . . But I have something to tell you. I'm leaving for, well, forever. I guess that means I'm a college dropout, huh? What would you guys think of that?

I met a guy in this new world, mom. He likes me a lot, and I think I like him, too. He looks like one of those guys we saw on our TV shows. You know, the ones you watched with me religiously, even though we both knew you hated them? He's better than any of the guys we saw on TV though, so dad doesn't have to worry about me.

Were you guys worried about me?

It's been so hard since you guys left. I had a panic attack over a peanut the other day. I flinch whenever someone coughs. I can't look in a mirror without seeing you, mom. I can't hear a corny joke without thinking of dad.

God, this is getting all sappy now, huh, dad? I know you don't like seeing me cry. When I was little, you'd throw me those puppet shows to make me happy. When mom died, you kept me together. Even when we couldn't get your pain meds anymore, you still smiled through it. I can do that, too.

See? I'm smiling!

Anyway, I just wanted you guys to know that I love you both. Even though I'm leaving, I'm never going to leave you behind. Every time I see a hot guy, every time I see a puppet, I'll think of you. Every time I hear a lullaby, I'll remember the ones you two used to sing to me.

See you later.

From there, it wasn't too long before Lydia was all set to leave. She'd packed all of her most prized possessions, one of which she twirled in her hand, the blue polyester a necessary comfort. She had packed some other things, as well, but she didn't think of those as she approached the forest where Yasmine had seen the portal. Fortunately for her, it was already there, which meant that Jason had done his part.

The whole area seemed like it was cloaked in a vibrant bubble, something she didn't notice until she was inside it. The clearing seemed brighter than everything else. The portal was at the center, its colors a kaleidoscope that she could barely tear her eyes from.

"You ready?" Nico asked her.

"I think so."

"Alright." Nico grabbed her hand in his. "Lydia, wherever you go, whoever you meet, I know you'll push through. That's what you've always done. Just. . ."

Tears finally misted his eyes. "Promise you won't forget about me?"

"Of course not." Lydia gripped him in a bestie hug. "You'll always be my number one. No fantasy world is gonna change that."

Suddenly, she was facing the portal. From the other side, she thought she could smell the fresh air that could only be found in Cachonei. She hesitated at the door to her new life.

"See you later, Lydia."

"See you later, Nico."

Lydia stepped through the portal.