"Mama! Mama, welcome home!"
Three tiny children, each no bigger than the palm of her hand, zipped through the air around Anita, their fairy like wings shimmering faintly as they cheered.
"I hope you guys are alright," Anita said warmly, her voice carrying the tired yet fond tone of someone who had been looking forward to this moment all day. She pulled a small cake box from her bag, carefully setting it on the table. Even though her apartment was cramped, it always felt alive with the three little spirits fluttering about. They filled the silence with laughter, and somehow, she never felt lonely anymore.
"Eat up!" she encouraged, smiling as she headed toward her bedroom to change.
Anita was a plus-size woman, weighing about 95 kilograms, with thick thighs, a soft round chest, and her figure was quite sexy. The body type they call Aphrodite. She wasn't a stunning beauty, but she wasn't plain either, just a normal office lady with a sweet, approachable face. Her tan skin, long curly ginger hair, freckles across her cheeks, and gentle brown eyes gave her a warm charm.
By the time she finished bathing and scrubbing away the scent of gear oil and the stubborn dust from work, the kids had already devoured half the cake. Their tiny hands and faces were smeared with frosting, and they looked as if they'd been caught red-handed.
These spirits were invisible to everyone except her. They had called her Mama ever since she had stumbled upon them five years ago, witnessing their birth in her own apartment. Penny had sprouted from a potted plant in her living room, Victor was born from the flickering fireplace during a cold winter night, and little Kimmie had appeared near the air conditioner on a hot afternoon.
Back then, she had thought they were ghosts and nearly called a priest. But when she leaned in closer, she found tiny, crying babies that needed help. Raising them had been difficult, but she had done it, and she was proud of how far they'd come.
"Mama! Hope your things are ready to travel?!" Penny asked, hovering near Anita's cheek, her green-tinged hair bobbing with excitement.
"Haha, yes!" Anita laughed. "Being a mechanical engineer at the company for so many years finally paid off, they're giving me a fully paid vacation for a whole month!" She threw her arms up.
The three little spirits erupted into cheers of their own.
____
The Next Morning
Anita reached the airport right on time, her suitcases trailing behind her. The spirits clung to the luggage handles and floated near her shoulders, invisible to the other travelers.
On the plane, she couldn't stop smiling. Italy. She had dreamed about it for years.
But halfway into the flight, something bad happened.
The seatbelt sign flicked on, and the plane jolted violently. Overhead compartments rattled, and the air hostesses' cheerful smiles began to falter into pale, panicked expressions.
"Mama!" Kimmie's voice quivered as she flew close, clinging to Anita's cheek.
"What's wrong?" Anita asked, her heart skipping.
Victor's voice was grim. "The people are saying… the engine's broken. The plane… it's going to fall."
A violent tremor ripped through the cabin, the nose of the plane dipping sharply. Screams erupted from every direction, some passengers crying, others praying.
"Mama…" Penny's small voice cracked, her tiny hands clutching Anita's hair.
"Don't worry," Anita whispered with a trembling smile. "You're spirits, you can't die."
"But Mama, you…" Kimmie's words were drowned in sobs. The reality was clear, if the plane went down, Anita wouldn't survive.
Victor's eyes narrowed. "We have to save her."
He darted toward Penny and Kimmie, whispering quickly. Their shocked faces turned into determined nods.
The cabin shook violently again. Anita closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable as the deafening roar of the impact and explosion happened.
_____
When she opened her eyes, there was no burning pain. No crushing weight.
Instead, she was lying in a lush, green forest. The air smelled fresh, almost too fresh to be real. Suitcases, some scorched, were scattered around her.
"What is going on?" she muttered, sitting up.
"Mama! It worked! You're alright!" Kimmie's high-pitched voice rang out as she flung herself onto Anita's cheek.
"What worked?" Anita asked, dazed.
"Teleportation to an alternate reality!" Penny announced proudly. "The old spirit taught us a spell for emergencies like this."
Anita blinked, remembering the crotchety old spirit who visited sometimes. "That grumpy guy? I thought he disliked me," she chuckled.
"Wait. Alternate reality?" she suddenly gasped.
"Yes," Kimmie said softly. "In your real world… you died. We tried to save you with the suitcases, but it wasn't enough. So… we sent you here."
Anita placed a hand on Kimmie's head, smiling gently. "Thank you, all of you. I'm grateful."
Her voice softened. "What about the other passengers?"
Victor's face fell. "…We couldn't save them."
"It's alright," Anita said after a pause, her smile tinged with sadness. "You saved me, and I can't ask for more."
She looked around. "So… where exactly are we?"
"Grandpa said this is a beast world," Kimmie replied.
Anita groaned. "i see, though I wish it was hoping for some magical fantasy world with magic and dungeons."
"That would take too much power," Penny murmured, fiddling with the hem of her dress.
"Don't worry. I'm alive, and I have you three, that's enough," Anita said with a chuckle, though her eyes dimmed. "Still… I'll never see my friends or family again."
Victor floated closer, his small hands clenched. "Then we'll be your family. Always."
"Alright," Anita said, her voice firmer. "Penny, since you're a plant spirit, can you find a safe place for us to stay? We don't know what kind of monsters live here."
"Yes, Mama!" Penny's face lit up. 'I'll be useful to Mama!'
"Mama, look around first," Penny added with an oddly blank expression.
Anita turned, and her eyes widened. They were already standing in a gorgeous, untouched garden. A clear stream ran nearby, with beautiful trees around.
"Wow… This is perfect!" she exclaimed. "But what about shelter? We can't just sleep out here."
"We'll protect you, Mama!" Victor declared, puffing out his tiny chest.
"And we can build a house, Mama!" all three cried at once.
Anita blinked. "Do you kids even know anything about architecture? Still… with your powers, maybe I could build something small."
"No, we'll build it!" Penny insisted.
"Do you still have your phone, Mama?" Kimmie asked suddenly.
"Actually… yes!" Anita pulled it from her pocket. No signal, but it still worked.
"Perfect!" Penny said. "Show us the pictures of houses on it, we can make something from them!"
Anita stared at her little spirits in awe. "Alright then… let's make a super cool home."