Audrey's POV
The conversation with Mia stretched on, and the more we talked, the more the terrifying, surreal edges of my situation began to map into something I could almost understand. It was still insane, but it had a kind of logic.
This was Mia's job. She was, for lack of a better term, a multidimensional civil servant. The idea was somehow comforting.
The most pressing question had come tumbling out. "My body back there… in my real world. Is someone else in it? Is it just… empty?"
Mia had shaken her head, her wings shimmering. "Time doesn't flow in a straight line between connected realities. From the perspective of your original world, you might only be gone for the span of a single night's dream, no matter how long you're here. Your body is likely just… sleeping. Unoccupied but preserved. You're on a kind of extended leave of absence from your own life."
