Beatrice looked around the lobby at the crowd, then at Miss One and Tristian, and then at Herman, Lion, Tin Man before stopping her gaze on Scarecrow.

Scarecrow was looking nervous and anxious as he met her gaze.

“So what happens now?” Beatrice asked Glinda when she turned her stare back on her. “Am I meant to stay here in Oz? Is this my purpose?”

Now it seemed as if everyone was holding their breath as they waited for the response.

Glinda answered patiently, “I’m afraid I can’t decide that for you.”

Beatrice frowned. “What do you mean?”

“No one can tell you what to do with your life, Beatrice. You decide what you live for.”

That’s exactly what Beatrice just told everyone a few minutes ago about having a ruler. She then gasped with excitement. “You mean if I wish it, I can stay?”

“Yes, but keep in mind, my dear child, that no matter what you choose, there’s a sacrifice you’ll have to make.”

Beatrice’s smile faded. “Is there any way around it?” Her voice was hopeful.

Glinda shook her head sympathetically. “I’m afraid not. With love comes big sacrifices.”

Beatrice’s heart dropped.

“Beatrice,” Scarecrow called her after a moment. When she turned around to face him, he cupped her face. His eyes were saddened but he smiled at her anyways. “It’s okay. You don’t have to stay to prove that you love me.”

“Scarecrow?” She was bewildered. What was he saying?

“I already know how you feel. And it’s not fair to pressure you. So for that, I’m sorry,” he crooned genuinely.

Her heart felt even heavier than before. “Scarecrow, don’t-”

“Go home, Beatrice.”

Ouch! That had hurt her down to her core.

“I’m not going to make you choose.”

Beatrice took a step back in disbelief. “You’re…sending me away?” A tear had fallen down her cheek.

That seemed to have been Scarecrow’s undoing because his eyes were now watering up too. His took his thumb and swiped at her fallen teardrop. “Please, don’t cry.”

“I…” Beatrice had to get her emotions under control. Otherwise, she was just going to turn into a sobbing mess. “I…thought you wanted me to stay with you.”

“Of course I do,” he breathed. His own tears were finally making their debut. “But more than anything, I crave your happiness. Staying here away from your family would mean a form of heartbreak for you.” He took a deep breath before he continued on. “I couldn’t live with myself if I knew that I was the cause of your pain.”

“But you don’t cause me pain, Scarecrow,” she told him quickly, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You make me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before.”

Scarecrow put his right gloved hand between them in order to palm her heart. “But there will be moments that you’ll feel empty in here.” He looked down at her heart, which was what he was referring to. “Because there will always be something missing from your life. And that’s your family, Beatrice.” Reluctantly, he unwrapped her arms from around his neck.

“But…” she croaked.

He then gave her a small chuckle, despite his sadness. “Besides, what would Dorothy think of me if I kept her daughter away from her?”

“I don’t want to leave you,” she sulked and then looked around at the hundreds of other sad faces surrounding her. “Any of you.”

“Then don’t,” cried Little Tristian with pouted lips. His half purple face was accessorized by tears as well. Miss One was maternally palming his left shoulder as she stood beside him.

“You’ll want to add on to your family one day, Beatrice.” Scarecrow sounded as if he was holding back a sob. “You’ll want to get married and have children.” He gestured at himself helplessly before saying, “What kind of family can you have with a Scarecrow?”

Now Beatrice was really crying. What he was saying was very much true but what Scarecrow didn’t realize was that he had already given her a family. Every munchkin, flying monkey, witch, yellow bikini wearer, crow, and Emerald city resident was now a part of her extended family.

But Beatrice could see that Scarecrow’s mind was made up. No matter how much she would try to argue with him, there would be no changing of his mind.

“Please don’t do this,” she whispered. Several tears were on display.

“I love you, Beatrice. Which is why I have to do what’s right by you.”

Beatrice swallowed back more sobs. Scarecrow had made his decision and she had to respect it. It was now killing her just to even look at him so she diverted her eyes to stare at the ground as she cried silently.

After a moment she turned around to look at Glinda, whose gaze was holding extreme sympathy. “Will I ever be able to come back?”

“Only a rare few are ever able to enter into the world of Oz. And the few who do make it, only arrive to serve a special purpose. And once that purpose is completed, it’s hard to say if they’ll ever be able gain access here again.”

That was SO not what Beatrice wanted to hear. Feeling even more miserable, she turned back to face Scarecrow but still couldn’t look at his face and brought her attention back to her feet. “That means I may never see you again,” she whispered.

“Miss Beatrice?” Tristian had stepped toward her.

She turned to face him and wiped her eyes before trying to smile at him through her tears. She kneeled so that they were at eye level.

“Please, don’t go. I know Mr. Scarecrow really doesn’t want you to leave. Right, Mr. Scarecrow?” Tristian glanced over at Scarecrow with a pleading look in his eyes.

Scarecrow exhaled and hung his head but didn’t answer him.

Beatrice wiped at Tristian’s tears. “I’m afraid I don’t have a choice.” Especially since Scarecrow made the choice for me, she thought to herself. “Besides, he’s right, Tristian. I have a family and a whole other life back in New York waiting for my return.” Despite the fact that it wasn’t nearly as exciting as Oz, it was still where her family dwelt. “Wherever my family is, that’s where my home should be.”

Tristian then hung his head low with disappointment.

Beatrice leaned in and kissed his forehead affectionately. “I’m going to miss you so much.” She then turned her attention down at the FlyMam sitting at her heels. “Come here, Storm.” She picked him up and cuddled him in her arms one final time, which triggered even more tears from her. “Try not to live up to your name so much, while I’m gone,” she told him before kissing the top of his head.

Storm purred against her affectionately and snuggled deeper into her embrace. He must have been sensing her despair and was trying to console her.

Beatrice finally passed him over to Tristian but it was with great reluctance. “Keep him out of trouble for me, will you?”

Tristian nodded once before taking the FlyMam away from her. “Goodbye, Miss Beatrice.”

She rubbed Tristian’s head tenderly before rising up from her kneeling position. She looked around the crowd and said, “Goodbye, everyone.”

Everyone bowed at her with appreciation and respect. Rolin seemed to have been the one speaking on everyone’s behalf when he told her, “You’ve given us all our lives back and so much more, Beatrice. Therefore, your name will always be known here.” He smiled at her with gentleness.

Beatrice returned the expression back to him and then to everyone else. Her gaze then landed on Miss One, who had her arms out for a hug. Beatrice stepped into it without hesitation.

“I’m so proud you, dear,” the gentle witch said as she rubbed her back. “Try not to be too upset with Scarecrow. He’s only trying to make you happy.”

Then why am I feeling so lousy, she silently thought. “Thank you for everything, Miss One.”

After hugging her, she moved over to Herman, who was standing off with his hands inside his robe pocket.

Beatrice approached him with a smile and wet eyes. “You were amazing today, Mr. Smith.”

He smiled modestly. “I should be telling you that.”

Beatrice laughed.

“And friends call me Herman, by the way. Well…they would if I had any friends,” he spoke somberly.

“You do have friends, Herman,” she assured him while gesturing at everyone around them. “Just keep showing people the real you and then you’ll have friends for life.”

“You’re an incredible woman, Beatrice.” He gave her a genuine expression as he brought the back of her left palm to his lips for a kiss. “Farewell.”

She smiled sweetly at him before moving down the line to Tin Man. Before he could say anything to her, Beatrice had jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck.

Without hesitation, he hugged her back lovingly. “You are a remarkable flower, my dear. Never stop blossoming.”

Beatrice pulled back some so she could see his face.

Tin Man’s eyes were red from crying but the smile he gave her had found a way to warm her heart. “And don’t give up on love.” He then whispered. “I believe that if it’s meant to be then it will be.”

She tried to fight back more tears with an unconvincing smile. “I guess we’re just not meant to be then,” she whispered back. After regaining her composure, she finally said, “Take care of yourself, Tin Man.”

Moving on, she was now in front of Lion.

Lion cleared his throat before he told her, “Oz just won’t be the same without you, Beatrice. And you were just getting to the point where you could finally tolerate me.”

They both laughed and so did a few others in the crowd.

Beatrice gently caressed his curly mane. “Believe it or not, you’ve actually taught me something during my time here, Lion.”

He looked surprised by that confession. “What’s that?” he asked curiously.

“You taught me that having courage doesn’t mean to be fearless. It means that despite your fear you still do what needs to be done. You’re the bravest soul I know, Lion.”

They reached for each other at the same time for a parting hug.

Oh so slowly did Beatrice turn around to face Scarecrow. One…Last…Time.

For a good while, the two of them just stared at each other.

Scarecrow was the first one to make a move. He took one step towards her but then Beatrice ran at him.

Once they were within reach of one another, quickly her lips found his.

Their kiss was beyond passionate as it held love, sadness, desperation, frustration, and the unsaid goodbye.

When they finally pulled apart, they remained nose to nose, not ready to let go of one another.

“No matter where you are,” Scarecrow breathed. “You will always feel like mine. No amount of time or distance can stop the flame of true love once it’s been kindled.”

Beatrice blinked at him with amazement. “Scarecrow that was beautiful. Who said that?”

Scarecrow sighed and pressed his forehead against hers. “I did.”

That made her cry even more.

“Beatrice, are you ready?” Glinda’s patient voice called out to her after giving the two of them just a moment to hold each other for a little while longer.

Beatrice closed her eyes, knowing that she had put off the inevitable long enough.

It was time.

She took a deep breath and pulled herself away from the one she loved. “Not really but this is as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Think of home,” Glinda crooned to her as her babies floating in the background gently hummed a beautiful melody.

Beatrice glanced back at Scarecrow and said, “I already am.”

Suddenly the view she was holding of Scarecrow and everyone else behind him was beginning to become foggy as a strong gust of wind started to surround her. The view of them seemed to be getting further and further away from her. She understood that this was a clear sign that she was finally leaving.

The last thing she saw was Scarecrow raising his hand to wave at her weakly—tears shamelessly falling down his cheeks—while Storm had hopped out of Tristian’s arms to start charging after Beatrice full speed.

That sight had really broke her heart because the entire scene had faded away completely before Storm could even catch up to her.

Storm was gone.

Scarecrow was gone.

And Oz was now just a memory.

***
(One Month Later)

It was almost four o’clock in the evening on a Saturday and Beatrice was still in bed.

Dorothy crept into her room and sat on the edge of her bed. “Beatrice?”

She wasn’t asleep but remained silent anyways. She hardly ever felt like talking lately.

The covers were over her head until Dorothy decided to pull them down. “You’ve been in bed all day, baby.”

It’s pretty much been like this since Beatrice came back. She would only get out of bed to go to work five days out of the week and then come right back to bed with hardly any food in her system.

“Come out to dinner with me and your father.”

“Not hungry,” Beatrice mumbled.

“I know you miss him, baby but you can’t just stay in your room just missing out on life.”

Scarecrow was my life, Beatrice said mentally.

“Things will come around for you. Give it time.” Dorothy tenderly smoothed back some of her daughter’s wild curls.

Her hair was a little more intense than usual since she hadn’t been trying to keep herself up lately.

“Even though you’ve been back for a while, your father and I feel like we’ve barely seen you. Won’t you come out to eat with us tonight? We’ll make it fun like we use to.” Dorothy gave Beatrice and pleading and hopeful smile.

Not wanting to crush her mother’s spirits, Beatrice reluctantly nodded. Lord knew all she wanted to do was just lay in bed and dream about the one person she could never have.

Dorothy leaned towards her and kissed her forehead. “Go on and take a shower and get dress.” She rose from the bed in order to give her daughter some privacy. “Oh and when you’re done,” she turned back around to face Beatrice who hadn’t moved from her spot on her bed. “Go on and fetch the mail for us, will you? You can use the fresh air.”

Once her mother was gone, she dragged herself out of bed and did what she was told.

Half an hour later, Beatrice was outside standing in front of the apartment complex’s mailbox station fully dressed in a red sleeveless blouse and blue jeans.

She was currently the only resident around. Perhaps the other neighbors had gotten their mail earlier.

The sun was extremely bright and it was really beginning to annoy her because it was the total opposite of her dark depressing room. The happy weather seemed to have been making fun of her bitter mood and she was not laughing.

Her face was scrunched up as she went through the mail, not looking for anything in particular but just looking. It was way too darn bright out here!

She then noticed in her peripheral vision someone just staring at her. She peered over to her left to show them that they had been caught staring in hopes to get them to look away.

Unfortunately, her plan didn’t work.

A young man with brown skin the color of milk chocolate and a very large afro was standing on the sidewalk a good ten feet away from her and pinning her down with a focused look.

His hard core stare had her feeling something she hadn’t felt in almost a month. Not since she left….him.

Why was he staring at her like that? Did he have a problem? To make things even stranger, Beatrice’s intuition told her that she knew him but she was more than certain that she had never laid eyes on this guy before.

She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly. “Can I help you?”

His lips curled up into a beautiful smile as he said delicately, “Yes.”

Beatrice stilled and gasped quietly. That voice. She knew that voice. This strange man now had her full attention. She turned her whole body to face him. “What can I help you with, sir?”

He stepped closer but Beatrice didn’t move. Her feet were practically rooted in their spot. “I’m looking for someone.” He was giving her a knowing smile.

As he came closer, Beatrice was able to get a better look at his eyes. She had definitely seen those big doe eyes before. Her heart was beginning to beat wildly. “W-Who are you looking for?”

The man was wearing a red and white patterned button down collar shirt and white pants, looking so neat and extremely handsome.

But it was more than just that which had her currently experiencing an emotional roller coaster.

He stopped approaching her when he was just a foot away from her. Still wearing that breathtaking smile, he told her, “My home.”

Beatrice instantly dropped the mail that was in her hands as she gawked at him. “Scarecrow?!!!” she shouted with disbelief.

He answered her with a beautiful laugh.

Beatrice was pretty sure that her jaw was about to start scraping the ground. She had surpassed astonishment. “Scarecrow!!! Is that really you?”

“I’ve missed you so much,” he sighed with relief.

“Oh my goodness!!!” She covered her mouth with her right hand, not taking her eyes off him.

Scarecrow looked down at himself before gazing back up at her with excitement dancing in his eyes. “I a man now, Beatrice.”

“H-How did you…When did you…” Complete sentences were just out of the question right now.

“Glinda was kind enough to grant me one wish for saving the Emerald City.”

After a few moments of processing his new appearance, a big smile was beginning to form on Beatrice’s shocked face. “And you wished to turn human?”

Scarecrow shook his head. “No, I wished to be able to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter where that may be.”

Tears had suddenly started running down her cheek as she beamed at him. “I don’t believe it,” she whispered. She then stepped closer to him and began tracing his face.

It no longer felt like a paper sack stuffed with hay. That was real smooth human skin she was touching. Glinda had really done it.

Finally, Beatrice jumped into his arms, happily wrapping her arms and legs around him. “SCARECROW!!!” she cheered.

They both laughed as he twirled them around.

She kept her arms tightly around his neck, never wanting to ever let him go. When he sat her back on her feet, she was still gazing at him with wonderment. “What about being the leader of the munchkins and people of the Emerald City?”

“I nominated Tin Man and Lion.”

Beatrice frowned. “Won’t you miss them though?”

Scarecrow took her chin between his thumb and index finger. No more white gloves. His hands were visible and felt so delightfully…real! “The lost I feel for them is no comparison to the lost I felt for you, since the first day you’ve been away from me, Beatrice.” His looked turned somewhat saddened as he recalled the memory. “I don’t ever want to go through that again.”

“Me either,” she told him. “I’ve been lost and miserable without you.” She palmed his cheek. “Tin Man was right. If the love is meant to be then it will be.”

Scarecrow grinned at her, which was a beautiful indication that he agreed.

Just as they were closing in for a kiss, Beatrice became distracted by a familiar loud squeal.

Looking over Scarecrow’s shoulder, she noticed a red and black small furry animal running towards them full speed. He was like sixty percent different but Beatrice recognized him immediately.

“Storm!!!” she exclaimed and kneeled so that he could jump in her arms.

He leapt towards her and began purring in that cute way of his once she was hugging on to him tightly.

“Oh, Storm!!! I missed you like crazy.” She started to examine him. “You’re wings are gone.” He was no longer a FlyMam but now appeared to be a full fledge red panda, but he was still just as cute as before.

“He grew sick without you,” Scarecrow told her.

Beatrice frowned at her pet with worry. “Really?”

“FlyMams choose who they belong to,” Scarecrow reminded her as he smiled at them. “And that bond is for life.” He extended his hand to help her off the ground. “Just like mine is with you.”

She took his hand with her free hand, still holding on to Storm with the other.

When she was fully upright, Scarecrow pulled her so close they were chest to chest. “I’m going to love you forever, Beatrice.”

“Kiss me,” she demanded softly.

Cupping her face, he leaned towards her and gently pressed his human lips against hers.

That one radiant kiss was just the beginning for them.

When their lips parted barely an inch, Beatrice beamed against him as she whispered, “There’s no place like home.”