Cindy couldn’t hide it anymore. Not after what had happened. She kept her back to her Dad as she waited for him to respond. His hand settles on her, “What’s going on?”

Cindy felt frozen as fear gripped her throat. “You aren’t the first person I asked the goddess to bring to this world to be with me.” CIndy shuddered and felt like the hand on her back wasn’t something she deserved.

“What do you mean? Who else could you have possibly wanted to come here?” She could hear the confusion in Dad’s voice as he continued to rub his thumb along her back.

“I wished…” Cindy choked on her words, “I wished for Mom to be here.” The hand stilled and Cindy curled tighter into herself.

“But she is gone,” Dad said as he held her gently.

“The wish worked, the Goddess made her come back. She is here in this world, in Gaia.” Cindy didn’t dare look at her dad’s face. “She was who I was with for the first week I was here in this world.” Cindy shook at the memories that had been filling her mind the last few days with Dad.

“I don’t think that is possible Badger. You must be wrong.” Dad’s hand wasn’t rubbing Cindy’s back any longer. It was still and full of trepidation.

“Dad, this world is different. I was told I could wish for whatever I wanted. I used it to bring Mom back.” Cindy shuddered more, sadness creeping up her spine and wrapping itself around her throat. “She was different though.”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

“She was mean, cold, she barely let herself touch me.” Cindy curled in on herself even more. “She had this broken power that seemed to break the rules. I haven’t seen another skill like it.” Cindy finally turned and curled her face into her dad’s hand hiding her tears. “I think I made things worse.”

“Badger, your mom is gone. I’m sorry but there is no way she is here. You have to be wrong,” Dad said as he tried to move his hands away and look at her.

“DAD! This world is different! I summoned her like I summoned you and now…” Cindy broke down in sobs as she clutched her face. Dark cracks of energy spread up over her neck towards her eyes and ears. Motes of dark light filtering off her skin.

Dad pushed her hands aside and looked at her closely, “Cindy something is wrong. You are starting to have the same marks as those monsters.”

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“It’s her,” She tried to cover her face again and hide the marks away. “She did something to me, something like she did to the monsters.”

“This must be from the monsters? Maybe its contagious. We need to go find a healer.” Dad tried to keep looking closely at her at the marks. He started to sit up, Cindy lunged and pulled down on his hand as hard as she could but it was like moving a mountain.

“Stop,” She whimpered, “No healer can help, no potion. She did something to me, don’t you understand? Don’t you listen?”

“What did this person do?”

“Mom! Not just some person, Mom… We were arguing and she told me to listen. I could feel her voice in my head, echoing, burying itself inside.” Cindy looked with tear filled eyes at her father, “She forced me to sleep, drained me. Then a few days later she abandoned me… AGAIN!”

“This person can’t be your mom! And how dare you say your mom abandoned you! She couldn’t help what happened! She did everything she possibly could to stay with us, stay with you!” Dad pulled his hand away as anger and hurt filled his voice. “She did everything.”

Cindy looked just as hurt, “Then why wasn’t it enough?”

“Badger,” Dad tried to reach out but Cindy pulled away. “There are just some things that we cannot stop. That was one of them, medicine can only do so much to save someone. I promise you she and I did everything to keep her with us as long as possible.”

“None of that matters now,” Cindy swiped her tears away with the back of her arm. “She is here in this world. She leaves these marks.” Cindy opened her collar and showed the spiderweb of black cracks that seemed to radiate from her heart. “Whenever she commands something, it leaves these marks. Which means she sent those monsters! Mom did…”

“Stop! Your mom would never hurt you,” Dad was sitting up towering over Cindy as he looked down. “We need to go get you healed.”

“I’ve tried! These don’t go away. My hit points are full, my stats are unchanged. Whatever it is, the world doesn’t know what to do about it.” Cindy was shaking as she continued, “But it was Mom! She looked just like her, sounded just like her, smelled just like her! She made me strong enough to be in this world, strong enough that I was able to fight monsters on my own.”

“It wasn’t your mother, she died. Whoever this imposter is, you’ve gotten them confused.” Dad again tried to reach out but Cindy backed away.

“Why aren’t you listening! You’re supposed to listen, you’re supposed to believe me! You’re being just like her! She didn’t listen, she didn’t stop and be with me! We’re all supposed to be adventuring and living together again! That is what I wished for!” Cindy stepped back even closer to the edge of the massive bed.

“Fine, just… calm down. We can talk about all this,” Dad didn’t reach out. “You have me now, we can adventure together. Just, Mom is gone. You have to really think, would your mom act the way this person did?”

“She was different in the end… She already wasn’t acting like herself. She wouldn’t even let my hand go when she… when she…” Cindy collapsed to her knees and was wracked with sobs. “I ruined everything!”

Dad scooped her up and pulled her close, “You didn’t ruin things, the cancer, the doctors said it would change her. This person is just confusing you. You have to remember how she was before the cancer changed her.”

Cindy curled and sobbed more, “I kept telling her not to let me go Dad! I kept making her promise and it made her change! It was me that changed her, and now I ruined her and brought her back. She is a monster now, she sent those things against the town. She killed those people!”

“You’re mother wouldn’t even hurt a spider,” Dad stroked her back gently trying to soothe the sobbing that was taking over Cindy and making her struggle to talk.

“I ruined her! I ruin everything! She would still be here if I listened!” Cindy wailed, “Those people would be alive if I listened! She wouldn’t be like this!” Panic filled her voice, fear, anger, pain all waged war to control her. Then there were no words, nothing that could express it all at the same time.

“Shhhhh…” Soothed Dad as Cindy lost control and collapsed. She couldn’t talk anymore as the black cracks deepened, unseen by either of them.