He cleared his throat and took in a deep breath, “Our family has done some things that we are not proud of. I don’t want you to think of anything less about any of your family. That includes your great grandma.” He relaxed his posture just a bit.

Lu remained fixed, she wanted no needed answers. “Will you please tell me?”

She watched as he seemed to zone out for a bit, “I’d prefer not. But I assume you are not going to stop visiting Stalida?”

“No.” Lu’s voice was just as firm as her father’s posture.

He took another deep breath, “Very well.” He fixed his posture as he got comfortable in his chair. “When Stalida disappeared her brothers, Novak and Mavrik, searched for her for years.” Lu was confused, she only knew of Novak and not Mavrik. Novak was her father’s grandpa.

“Our family tree is a bit messed up because of what happened with Stalida.” He watched her facial expression as she tried to piece things together. “Novak, is Stalida’s younger brother and also her father, after she was reborn the second time. This only happened as their parents had already past and Mavrik was gone so that only left Novak to take care of her.”

Lu’s face dropped. What in the world… “Father I-”

He cut her off, “Look, I knew you wouldn’t understand right away. It confuses me some to this day. But Novak, my grandpa, raised Stalida as his own child. Thus, my father, Stalida’s son, is your grandpa. I think.” His face had a brief moment of confusion as, even to this day, his own lineage confused him.

“This is messed up.” Lu scratched her head as she was trying to connect the dots to her family tree.

“That’s why we just tend to have you call Stalida by her name. She is your great grandma but our lineage, well, you said it pretty well.” Her father’s expression un-phased for the most part, he was serious, dead serious.

“Then who is Mavrik?” Lu had still got a full answer from that question.

“Mavrik, is Stalida’s older brother, well was. He died bringing her back. Tut-Man, as she called him, killed him with a spear to the back, as he shoved Stalida through the rift.”

“Was Stalida’s name always Stalida?” Since learning of Stalida’s life, she was curious about everything.

Her father shook his head, “Her name was Violet. So it was, Mavrik, Violet, and Novak, in that birthing order. Stalida was the name Tut-Man gave her and she refused to go by anything else. Stubborn old lady.”

Lu could see a bit of relief start to wash over her father as his voice became more relaxed. Something about revealing family history made him more relaxed. This, she hoped, was permanent.

Lu on the other hand, was confused, her head hurt, and she still felt lost. As if, nothing made sense in her world anymore.

“I think that is enough for tonight father, I need to wrap my head around this.” Lu dared to pause the recorder just in case her father spoke of anything else.

Her father nodded, “I am sorry for keeping such a huge family secret from you daughter, but I didn’t want you to think of anything less than us and I didn't want you to get any crazy ideas from this either.”

Lu watched as his father’s expression shifted to a bit more worried, as she watched him, he watched her. Judging each other's behavior.

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Lu thought about what to say next briefly and for once, she used a word she very seldom used, “It’s alright dad, I understand.” Lu didn’t fully understand, but she understood enough.

A small smile crept on his face. She knew her calling him dad made him happy, so she resorted to calling him father and called him dad when she knew that he needed it the most. “Thank you, daughter.”

Her mother peaked around the corner just as things were settling down, “Can we eat now?” Lu’s father waved her mother in and helped her get the food out of the oven. As soon as the oven was opened, the kitchen was filled with the delicious smell of homemade bread and smothered chicken. The meal was plated and enjoyed with minor conversation.

“So, Lu, how is Stalida?” Lu’s mother asked, after chewing a few bits of food.

Lu swallowed what was in her mouth before answering, “She seems alright, though talking about the past bothers her.” She noted how her great grandma reacted as she was speaking her tale.

“Poor woman,” Lu’s mother shook her head, “She really went through it.”

“That’s for sure.” Her father chimed in, “To die, and to be reborn and to die and be reborn again. Takes a toll on the mind and body.”

“She did seem a bit out of it, but nothing too extreme. Though, that just comes with old age.” Lu pointed out.

“You have no idea how old she really is, Lu.” Her father spoke.

Lu looked at him in confusion, “Isn’t she like one hundred and ten?”

He shook his head, “Stalida, went into the rift when she was sixteen. She came out of it at a Goblin age of thirty. She was reborn into a human, and essentially her life, the third time was started over. Novak wished her to be a baby human. A bit morbid, yes, but he missed growing up with his sister and all of her adulthood milestones. So, technically that would put her around-” she watched as he thought for a moment calculating her age, “around one hundred and thirty or so. Goblins' age is a bit different from humans. It’s hard to calculate.”

Lu dropped her fork. As the clank sound filled the air, silence followed. How is this possible?

“Lu?” Her mother’s voice was that of concern. As Lu remained transfixed in staring into space. Her reality, her world, was crashing around her.

“Lu?” Her father followed suit, sounding just as equally concerned for his daughter.

Lu could hear her parents. Heck, she could even hear her own heart beat as it raced faster and faster. She found herself standing up from the table and as she did, she felt her knees give way as everything went dark.

Lu woke in her bed with an ice pack over her head. “I didn’t want you to swell.” Her mother spoke as she looked over her daughter. “You passed out at dinner and hit your head.”

“I-” Lu began to speak but she still felt a bit off. Her head still felt like it was spinning.

“Shhh, take it easy.” Her mother tucked in her daughter’s sheets more and sat gently beside her. Her father walked in at that point and handed her mother a different ice pack.

“I am sorry.” Lu’s father spoke, “I knew it would be too much for you to hear.” Lu could tell that he seemed a bit shook with what happened to Lu. Lu saw that he felt responsible for his daughter’s injury.

“It’s nothing, father.” Lu spoke, as she eased herself up in bed to a sitting position. “It’s just something I have only read in books.”

“Yes, and that is what worried us in the beginning.” Lu’s father spoke.

Lu looked at him questionably, “What do you mean?”

“We were worried that you would go running off, trying to find these rifts between the worlds and never return. Just like Stalida did all those years ago. On top of what I already told you about our concerns and this information.”

They had a point to be worried about it. A fantasy world crafted of various creatures, beast, and magic? Who wouldn’t want to live there. She and Stalida were more alike than she realized just then. Both had curiosity and an open mind.

Lu cleared her throat and spoke words that eased her parents' worries. If only they were true, “You have nothing to worry about, I have no desire to go into a world like that.”

Both her parents' faces spoke with relief but it was her mother that spoke first, “That’s great news sweetie.”

Then her father, “Get some rest, I can take you to the nursing home tomorrow. I need to visit with Stalida.”

Both her parents left her room so she could rest. Lu thought, if the rifts ever open again, I’ll be exploring them. I have to, for Stalida, for my own curiosity.