Chapter Text
When the world began to rebuild, when everything —slowly— started to return to how it used to be, I stayed behind… watching it all be reborn.
I watched my children grow.
I saw my sister graduate, go to university…
And I also witnessed Mildred’s final days.
She passed away at fifty-two.
That day, the world wept.
But I didn’t.
They built a statue in her honor.
I was interviewed countless times — too many…
They asked me what it was like to live with a heroine, what it felt like to save the world.
But I was already tired.
I wished with all my heart to wake up at Cackle’s Academy and for all of this to have been just a bad dream.
I wanted to study again, to run through the halls, to hear HB scold us…
I wanted to be that girl again — the one who believed that everything magical was eternal.
Maybe that was a little selfish.
But the truth is, I had a good life.
I have two wonderful children.
I knew love, even if… even if that love was never meant to be returned.
…
I closed my eyes.
A terrible pain spread through me… I was dying.
And when I opened them again…
I found myself watching the gentle sway of tree leaves.
I slowly sat up.
I heard laughter. Voices.
The students of Cackle’s Academy.
“Sybil? You’re awake?” I heard Clarice’s voice.
I looked at her. Her youthful face. Her same familiar eyes.
“Bia already left. She had to help Miss Tapioca with something. We better head to class or HB’s going to scold us.”
Is this a joke?
That was the first thing I thought.
But then I felt the warmth of Clarice’s hand as it held mine.
And I realized… maybe this wasn’t a joke after all.
“Looked like you were having a nightmare… but I didn’t want to wake you,” she said softly.
We walked together, climbing the hill that led to the main entrance.
Everything was just as I remembered. The scent of the grass, the stone walls, the towers…
But right before crossing the gate, something stopped me.
I looked up at the sky.
Just for a few seconds.
And then I saw it.
A green flash.
Still. Brilliant. Dazzling — like a bad omen frozen in the air.
Why…?
Why is this happening again?