My mom is crazy. Dad was right. I knew it later that evening, after our reunion and a nap in the room she’d prepared for me.

“They used to come into the villages, you know, steal the young women for breeding and kill off the men so they couldn’t try to get the women back. They were terrible creatures, those dragons.”

I watched her as she went through her normal routine whilst preparing dinner and wondered how a woman that looked so normal could be so damn crazy. From the way she chopped onions, to the careful way she measured out spices, you’d think she was as normal as the next person. She carefully went through each step as she prepared the sauce for a spaghetti dinner, and she looked fine. Clean and tidy with no weird expressions on her face. In fact, I remembered doing this every night before Dad took me away, poring over my homework as she cooked. Everything she did as she cooked brought back a memory of a stable mother I loved. It was her chatter that gave her away.

“Back in the old days, dragons were everywhere. There were werewolves and other kinds of shifters too. You know, people that can change into animals at will? Well it’s not so common now, but back in the day, they were all over the place. Our family have always been dragon hunters. It’s passed down the female line, you know?” I watched her, my mouth hanging open, as she went on.

“I don’t know how it turned out that the women were the hunters. Maybe because the dragons kept killing off the men so the women had to find a way to defend themselves. Whatever happened, some of the women started to be born with powers. Great strength and the like. Like you, my darlin’, with your strength. There were entire areas where women ruled, kind of like those Amazons, I reckon.”

She added her chopped vegetables to some heated oil as if she was having a normal conversation.

“That’s why you’re sick, I suppose, my darlin’. You’ve not been home, and this is where you belong. Our family came over here hundreds of years ago, after the dragons disappeared in England, and we’ve been in this area ever since. Your cousin, Willow, is ill too, did you know?” She glanced to where I was sat at the round pine table, and all I could do was shake my head in answer.

“Well, poor little thing, she’s just as bad off as you are, Arista.” She paused to put fresh pasta into boiling water. “I reckon it’s some illness going around our kind. She and her mother will be here shortly, they couldn’t wait to see you. You’ll see for yourself that you aren’t alone in this sickness business. Maybe the dragons have something to do with it. I wonder…” She tapped her chin before she picked up the spoon to stir the sauce.

After all these years, she was still going on about the dragons? I would have thought she’d have learned to stop talking about them when she lost me. At least she wasn’t dangerous and unstable, she just seemed to believe in dragons like other people believed in fairies or religion. I wasn’t like that. I lived my life in the real world, put my faith in things I could see and touch.

Maybe Dad had been right though, maybe my problem was mental. Maybe I’d inherited it from her.

The arrival of another car distracted me from my line of thought and I pushed myself up from the table in Mom’s large open kitchen to go and greet the arrivals. I hadn’t seen Willow since I was nine, and I was eager to see her despite how exhausted I felt. I made my way to the door and saw a young woman very similar to me in many ways, right down to the weary smile and tired lines around her eyes.

I held my arms out and we embraced softly, two sisters reunited after being separated for far too long. I held her close, but soon felt her mother’s arms going around us both, then my own mother’s. This is how it’s supposed to be, I thought, as my family welcomed me home. Love, acceptance, no questions asked, just love. Even if we are all crazy.

“It’s so good to have you home, Arista,” Willow gushed as she pulled away at last. “I sure have missed you!”

I could only smile through more tears. Willow was my favorite and I’d missed her terribly. The whole day had seemed surreal and now was no different. I couldn’t believe they were really here, any of them.

“I’m glad I finally came back to find you! I’ve just, well, I was busy and kept putting it off once I got out of school. I’m here now, though.” I didn’t want to get into it all, but I’d been afraid of coming back and being disappointed to find out Dad was right about Mom. I’d been right to wait, but I was concerned with how I’d found her.

At least now I could accept it.

“Come on through, ladies, dinner is almost ready.” Mom waved us all toward her kitchen and we followed.

“How long are you staying? Have you come back for good?” Willow asked, her tired eyes still managing to shine with happiness.

“I’m not sure. I—”

Anne came in through the front door and interrupted, giving me an excuse not to finish. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to stay, or if I even would.

Mom was crazy after all, and perhaps Dad was right. I still hadn’t called him either, but Anne coming in stole my train of thought.

“I’ve found that drink you wanted, Eve. Took some doing, but I managed to order it.” Anne handed over a glass bottle of some kind and put down a huge pack of bottled water. “This should keep you going for a while too.”

Anne was gruff, as I already knew, and thick around the middle where Mom and my aunt Rachel were thin and delicate looking. She must have taken after her dad’s side of the family because the rest of us all looked fairly similar. She was kind though, and despite my initial wariness of her, she’d won me over with gleaming blue eyes and her smile. I knew if I ever needed a defender or a friend, she’d be right there for me as she was for Mom.

“Thanks, Anne. I don’t know what I’d do without you! I wish I’d learned to drive, but it was always so frightening to me, being in charge of something that could kill somebody else.” Mom was stirring the pasta, testing whether it was time to come out, and her focus was on that.

“It’s alright, Eve. I don’t mind fetching for you, you know that. Now, did you make some garlic bread to go with that or am I going to have to slather some butter on some bread?” The older women gathered around, Rachel building a salad in a bowl, Anne checking the garlic bread in the oven, and Mom straining the pasta, while Willow and I watched them.

“They’ve done this their whole lives you know,” Willow murmured, just loud enough for me to hear. “At least once a week, they get together over here. Your mom never did like to drive so they always came here.”

“Did you know she’d kept a room for me?” It slipped out, I hadn’t even been thinking about it, but the words came out anyway.

“She’s waited a long time for you to come home, Arista, we all have. I’m just glad you’re finally here.” Her words ended with a sigh, and I could see the day was taking a toll on her as well.

I gripped her hand in mine, our bond still there after all the years that had separated us. “I’m glad I’m back too.”

I didn’t tell her I was worried about Mom, or that I was now afraid my dad might be right. I just held her hand and basked in the familial awesomeness taking place in front of me. Dinner went quickly enough, and we spent an hour catching up. Willow finished high school and got her cosmetology license. I told them about my job, and they all stared at me in wonder.

“So, you own your own business?” Mom asked, pride making her eyes shine.

“I do, yes. Speaking of, is there Internet up here now?” I looked around but didn’t see anything like a computer or a router.

“No, we just use our phones up here.” Aunt Rachel showed me her phone. “Although, I don’t think your mom ever turns her’s on.”

They all laughed, and I saw Mom’s cheeks go pink. “I just don’t like those things. I’ll call down to Collette tomorrow if you need something like that, Arista. Whatever you need to keep you working, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I was curious what she did for a living, but I didn’t ask. She might get some kind of public assistance and I didn’t want to embarrass her. I’d pay for whatever I needed, though.

“I’m going to get Willow home, ladies. Her eyes are drooping.” Aunt Rachel put the dish towel she’d been using over a hook and turned to the table.

“Arista looks like that nap of hers wasn’t long enough. Anne, are you staying for coffee?” Mom kept chattering as we all got up from the table.

“I believe I will, Eve, if you don’t mind. Rachel, it was good to see you again.”

We all said our goodbyes and I went back to my room and pulled a set of pajamas out of my bag. Mom had decorated the room with a double bed, a chest of drawers to accompany the closet, two pine end tables with white ceramic lamps, and a desk. My desk from when I was little. All my things were there, and I knew she’d brought everything from the old house with care. It was sweet and touched me deeply.

I was tired, exhausted even after my nap, and wanted to get into the bed quickly. A noise outside drew my attention, and I walked over to the white linen curtain hanging over my bedroom window. It sounded like a woman screaming but even after all these years, I knew it was a mountain lion. I glanced out of my window and quickly shut the curtain again.

That didn’t just happen. I didn’t just see a woman turn into a wolf out there. Did I? I glanced back out of the window again but there was nothing there. It was my imagination! It had to be.

I walked away from the window and went to the bed. I was going to have to face facts, I might just be losing my mind. If it runs in the family, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Imagine, thinking you saw a woman turn into a wolf! I’ll be blathering on about dragons with Mom next.

I tucked the covers under my chin and closed my eyes, not letting myself think about my imagination. I was worried I’d keep myself awake, but I was asleep soon enough. A long morning of driving, the emotional roller coaster of meeting so many people again, and my illness won out over my brain. I’d call Dad tomorrow, I thought, before sleep took me. Maybe I’d even tell him he was right. Not right to take me away from Mom, but definitely right about her being crazy. Dragons, indeed.