Welcome back once again to "The Gift", where we start off post 1 of Chapter 6 for Stephanie!

Having made up her mind to go find out everything she could about her brother's death and supposed sacrifice to a water spirit, Stephanie boards a train early in the morning and takes the long trip back home. On the way she has time to talk to her Spirit companions and, upon arrival, faces her parents. It's up to readers to decide how that conversation goes. Here is how Stephanie chose to respond to their question:

d) -- couldn't help but think that I'd been avoiding my family long enough. "Well... how about we go home for starters, and then I'll figure things out from there?"