LILITH

In less than a minute, someone proved to me that this was as real as it could get.

A new email notification popped up on the screen in front of me.

It was from Freya.

[Hello, Longing Bird, I was informed by the technical team that your account just came online and is currently active. If this is truly you, could you please reply to confirm your identity?]

Driven by curiosity—and a million other questions—I clicked on the message and typed a reply.

[Hello. This is Longing Bird. I’ve read all your previous emails and would like to apologize for any trouble I may have caused during my absence....