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As James walked away from the funeral, it still felt... off, like it's not real. It felt like a dream, from the moment the grandson sat next to his grandmother, lying on her bed, struggling to even breathe. He held her hand, both of them crying after saying our final goodbyes. He tearfully expressed my regrets on her leaving sooner than he expected, and my grandmother being proud at him for growing into such a fine young man.

"James, my sweet, sweet grandchild. I am... so proud... to have you... as my grandson." She tried her best to smile to calm James down, but the chest pain made it difficult to do so. He hugged her, "Grandma, I love you so much. I'm so sorry that I couldn't visit you as much."

Grandma patted my head, "Shhhh... James... you did enough... by... listening to my stories. Promise me... to open... the box I hid... in the attic... after I'm gone, would you?" He nodded frantically, "I... I will, I promise..." Grandma attempted to laugh, yet she ended up straining herself, coughing. "I love you... James." She closed her eyes after this, never waking up again.

James felt very out of it throughout the funeral. Other family members cried, hugging each other to ease the pain, talking about Grandma did in the past, but he just stayed out of everyone's way. He felt as if he had used all his emotions during that talk on Grandma's deathbed.

Grandma had a very... wild imagination, but her stories were James' favorite. There was one where she woke up in a forest and scolded a towering werewolf, Lannister, for trying to scare her. After a heart-to-heart moment, she discovered that he was just a sweet, adorable fella under all that fur. Grandma told me that it was like giving belly rubs on the pet husky our family have, yet way more muscular and able to talk.

She told him another story where she discovered a land filled with talking griffins. The mythical beings were suspicious when they saw a human, which is considered to be a myth to them. However, she befriended them by talking about her recipes, accidentally figuring out the griffins' love on cooking. She ended the story by saying that it was a very fun experience to fly on the griffin queen's back, Cassandra was her name.

Another story that James really liked was the minotaur. Grandma mentioned that the big lug was very misunderstood, and the other living beings in his world stayed away from his labyrinth whenever possible. Grandmother made some treats to the bull, and helped introduce him to the locals. In the end, Asterion opened up as her efforts got through, and both the locals and him happily hang out with each other. The rumors about a scary, murderous minotaur trapping people in the labyrinth were no more.

"Ah, grandma, even though I kept teasing you that you have a talent for making fairy tales, I miss them already," James sighed. He decided to rip the bandage off the wounds rather than wait, and he entered his grandmother's attic, checking on the cardboard boxes until he found an ornate box and brought it into the living room.

James muttered, "Wonder why she thought this is important..." As he opened the box, he found an assortment of photos. James chuckled on how Grandma went to such measures to hide these until he checked the pictures thoroughly. "Wait a second... Are these... photoshopped? That's just... not possible!"

A picture of a werewolf making a mess as he devoured Grandma's special tiramisu cake she would make when James visited. Another one where the werewolf tossed Grandma up, the picture taking the moment where she was on the verge of getting caught in a hug, smiles featured on both of their faces.

A group picture of the griffins hanging out by the campfire, enjoying an assortment of desserts which James assumed to be made by both Grandma and the griffins.. Another set of photos capturing them doing some sort of an aerial show, and photos where Grandma was hugging the griffin queen.

Under those, James discovered pictures of a smiling bull, most of them taken without him knowing. The minotaur would either sport a very bright smile towards the others, or being bashful over getting caught enjoying the treats Grandma made for him.

James rubbed his eyes frantically, and slapped his hands on his cheeks. He saw the photos still laying on the coffee table. "I-it... The stories... are real?" He couldn't contemplate more about this theory because three large portals suddenly formed in the room.

James grabbed an umbrella as means for defense, too panicked that he just grabbed a random object after seeing... whatever these are. He heard a deep growling voice from one of the portals, and a towering werewolf wearing a suit came out of it.

"Hellooooo there, fresh meat." He snarled, and James whimpered. The wolf suddenly laughed, "Oh, Glenda's right. She just knew that this would be a good prank on you!" James stuttered, "Wh-wh-who are you? Is this... real?"

"As real as it can be." A gentle voice can be heard from the second portal, as a griffin with a cape and crown came out from it. Before James can react, a minotaur walked out of the second portal, wearing a suit as well. "H-h-hello, are you James? T-this is Glenda's world, y-y-yes?" Even though the minotaur is very large in appearance, he seemed to be very shy.

The griffin explained, "I'm sure Glenda told you about us, James. My name's Cassandra, the mutt is Lannister, and the minotaur is Asterion." The werewolf playfully growled over the mutt joke, and nodded. The minotaur did an awkward wave with his hand, and sat down on the couch. "W-w-we're here to show our respects to Glenda. O-of course, we can't be s-s-seen by humans, but Glenda mentioned in her last visit that we should get to k-know her grandson."

After calming down with some deep breaths, James asked, "I-it's nice to meet you all, I'm a fan of her stories about you guys. Though... how did she enter your worlds?" Lannister chuckled, "Ah, you silly goof, that box has more than just photos." James checked on it, noticing that a beautiful jade necklace is lying at the bottom.

Asterion mentioned, "G-glenda mentioned that it's a family heirloom. I-it has m-magical powers allowing f-for its owner to travel between worlds and e-easily go back to their original w-world when needed." Cassandra smiled at James, "Your family line has a responsibility to keep this artifact safe, as I heard from my ancestors. Glenda was... a rebellious one seeking adventure though, so she decided to enter these worlds for a way to relax. That girl sure has a rebellious streak." She chuckled.

Lannister whimpered at this, "I still can't believe she's gone. I know the prophecy was never wrong, but... I miss her already. Not just the food! It's just... been a while to have someone accept me for who I am w-without me having to threaten someone." Asterion snorted on his handkerchief, sobbing. "S-she was... an angel... I was... alone for so, so long... I want to pay her back... for helping me out... fixing my reputation..."

From the realization that the stories are true, and having these mythical beings talk about Glenda, James teared up. He finally cried, the first emotion that came back to him after the funeral. Something about being able to relate through Glenda's stories opened up a dam. The werewolf, griffin, and minotaur sobbed as well, lamenting the loss of a rebellious grandmother, yet having a very kind nature that welcomes beings that were feared upon in their home worlds.

As they were finally able to let go, James asked. "So, what now? Am I the owner of this necklace now?" Lannister nodded, "That's what she wanted us to do. Visit you, show that we're real, and that the family heirloom is passed down to you. Ah, and she told you that it's fine to hang out in our worlds. Hell, in her words, "Go have a blast with these beasts!" Stupid Glenda..." He chuckled.

James smiled, he knew what to do now. "Well, I'm not sure if I can be as good as Grandma, but will you three accept being a part of this world-travelling adventure? I want to continue her pursuits as well."

The three of them smiled brightly and nodded at my offer. Asterion put his hands on James' shoulder, "I-I'm not sure how m-much I can help, but we have our o-own ways to access other worlds too. D-don't know i-if it's because of the c-close contact we had with Glenda, but... I-I want to help other creatures t-treated like me, James, and e-explore other worlds!"

James smiled back, and patted Asterion's head. "Same here, bud. I appreciate your company, and heh... Let's just say that I'm 90% sure I can make Grandma's recipes after all that practice." The minotaur cheered, the griffin smiled brightly and the werewolf howled over this. Lannister's tail thumping rapidly, "Hell yeah, sign me up for more of Glenda's treats!"

Glenda had sparked some hope on the four with her actions. She befriended creatures from different worlds, and she passed it along to his grandson, James. Sure, the four makes for an... interesting combination, but this day marks the start of their fun-filled adventures across the worlds. In fact, that team miiiiight just have even more members signing up in years to come.