Step after step, Joanne struggled to push herself further. With each one though, her homesickness began to grow. Looking back over her shoulder, she could still see the village back there, those lights twinkling so welcoming. By now the fire would likely have gone out, but the house would still have been nice and warm, as compared to the brisk night air she was walking through.

On any other night, she could be sleeping soundly, knowing that a nice, warm meal would be waiting for her. Her Mom would be there in the morning, probably to scold her for something or other, but she knew it was done in love. After all, they only had each other after her Mother's death...

Tears began to spring to her eyes as she came to a halt, standing in the road and gazing out into the blackness that surrounded her before turning again to see those little pricks of light gleaming behind. Her resolve faltered and crumbled and she turned, making her way back home, walking at first but slowly increasing in pace until she was running down the road.

Entering back into the village, she made her way home, slowing only to try and keep quiet as she snuck back into the house, not wanting to wake anyone. Somehow, she managed to make it back to her bed, undressing and discarding her bag to snuggle into her warm bed. Those feelings of wanting to leave had faded and she wondered how she could have managed to pull herself away in the first place...

The dream returned that night, worse than before. She woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath and shaking with a fear she couldn't place. Gradually she began to calm down again, reminding herself that it was just a nightmare. Just as she was starting to drift off to sleep again, panicked noises below startled her awake, stumbling out of bed to go see what was going on.

She had forgotten to hide the note she had left, telling everyone that she had gone and not to worry about her. Her Mom had found it upon waking and had, well, worried. After showing herself and the fact that she had come back, Joanne had received a thorough chewing out that ended with both her and her Mom in tears, holding each other close.

The rest of the day had gone... well, just like any other. As if nothing had happened, though she could swear her Mom had asked people around town to keep an eye on her. There was never a moment when she was truly alone, someone always happened to be around. She didn't really mind though, after the stunt she had pulled...

Night came again and with it the nightmares. They seemed to be get worse with each night that passed and, by the third day after her return, she was starting to remember why she had left in the first place. Fatigue had begun to settle in after losing out on sleep due to the dreams, and people had started to notice and ask her if everything was okay. She just shrugged it off, saying she was having trouble sleeping, because what else could she say.

Still, as yet another night descended and she found herself being woken up with a choked cry, she curled up on herself, closing her eyes. Her bag was still packed, hidden beneath the bed. She could leave again, try and put the nightmares behind her and set out on her journey. But where would that put her? Perhaps it was best to tough it out and hope the nightmares went away eventually...