Realization

It was a long night for Riley Aberdeen. When she finally fell asleep, she couldn't wait to get back to dreaming. Unfortunately, Riley didn't have a good dream that night. She dreamed of her family she had before walking into the mirror. In her dream, her family said "Where are you Erika? We miss you, and we want you back. Why did you walk into that mirror, and why haven't you told us what was upsetting you? We Love you and miss you. Hope you come home soon." As Riley woke up around 3 am, she progressed to find a mirror that can help her get back. She realized that she needed to go back to help her real family get through their challenges. Her parents were asleep in their room which was downstairs, and they couldn't hear if someone was whispering in the living room. Riley found a mirror that was hanging on the wall in the kitchen, and began to do what she did before "I wish I never left. I wish I could go back to help my real family with their challenges. I wish that it was back to the way is was before. I wish i could be the best daughter ever." Riley whispered as she looked at the mirror and her bracelet to try to make it work. Luckily for Riley, the trick worked and the mirror became a portal to her old life. The downside of that was that her father came out to get a late night snack, and spotted Riley trying to walk through the mirror. Todd immediately grabbed Riley by the hand, and said "Darling, I thought you didn't want to go back. I thought you love living like this. Why are you leaving us now after everything we're doing for you?" Riley turned to face her dad while hoping the portal didn't deactivate, and said "First of all, my name is not Riley, it's Erika. Second of all, I do love living this life...but I realized that I have to go back and help more real family get through their challenges. I'm sorry, but I have to go." The two of them cried for a moment, and then Todd responded to his daughter "Please don't go." Riley looked into his eyes, and said "I'm sorry, but a girl has to do what she needs to do." After a hug and a kiss, Riley continued to walk through the portal. She saw tears in her dad's eyes, but she knew what had to be done. Erika gave herself a little self-talk, and she was back to her old life before she knew it. However, she ended up on her bed instead of on the floor in front of the mirror. Her sisters were fast asleep, and didn't realize that their sister had returned from the other side. She pulled out a piece of paper from a notebook as silently as she can, and wrote "Guess what everyone. I'm back. I am here to help you get through your challenges including your debt. I will make things better. Love: Erika Aberdeen." She taped the note onto the dresser where everyone would see it, and went back to sleep. As she was dreaming the night away, she thought to herself "First task tomorrow is to get rid of the bracelet that led me into that mirror. Throw it in the lake, or something needs to be done." Before she knew it, the sun was rising. The sunrise indicated that it was time to go downstairs to dispose of the bracelet. She threw the bracelet into the trash bin outside, and she covered it up with the full trash bag she saw by the front door. As she slept, she remembered her old life and how much she enjoyed it. However, she gave herself a little bit of self-talk to help reduce the pain inside. She remembered how she was living the perfect life, and she didn't want to leave that all behind. Then she told herself that she's doing the right thing by helping her real family get to that point of living the perfect life like what she experienced. Little did she know that instead of the mirror sending her back to the time when she was in second grade, but it only sent her to the point in time where she was in sixth grade. She didn't care though, and she realized that it's okay as long as she's with her real family. A few more hours passed, and then everyone was finally getting up. "Erika! you're finally home!" everyone said as Erika came downstairs. "Yes I'm home. I had a realization that prompted me to come back so I can help you with whatever." She said with a smile. Erika's family hugged her really tight, and they didn't want to lose her again. The young girl hoped the bracelet that sent her to the other side would be picked up by the garbage truck, and sure enough it was. No more going back to the other side.