₴₮Ɽ₳₦₲ɆⱤ ₮Ⱨ₳₦ ₣ł₵₮łØ₦ | 11 | Epilogue

All night, Gaby's overstimulated mind raced with visions of their battle against the mother plant. In her dreams, they sometimes won and sometimes lost. When she wakes up, it's difficult to believe either outcome is real. The entire experience already feels so surreal and distant, like a scene she watched in a movie rather than one in which she was physically present.

The first thing she does upon waking is check the plumbing to see if those pesky vines have returned. To her immense relief, the sink is just a sink. There are no signs of unnatural plant life anywhere. We really did it, she thinks, gratefully releasing her held breath.

They've been so caught up in solving the mystery of Strangerville that they've lost all sense of time. It's with a bit of a shock that they realize it's Harvestfest morning. Although none of them are related by blood, they've become a sort of chosen family. Even in the brief time they've spent together, circumstances have drawn them closer in many ways than blood could ever account for. Gracie whips up a breakfast feast fit for royalty. As it turns out, there aren't many other people with whom they'd rather spend the holiday.

But Gaby can tell that Gracie misses her real family. She's been sneaking in moments to text with Ana whenever she can, brokering a tentative form of peace that will allow them to move forward, even if uncertainly. She deserves to be home with her children now that nothing is keeping her here.

"Why don't you head home?" Gaby asks through a mouthful of pancakes. "If you leave now, you'll be there just in time for the grand Harvestfest meal you know Ana is preparing."

"I don't know," Gracie says uncertainly. "I wouldn't want to intrude..."

"You wouldn't be intruding! It's your house and your family. You have every right to be there."

"And you?" Gracie asks while packing piles of crumpled clothes into her suitcase. "Are you going to come with me?"

Gaby thinks on the question for a moment then smiles, glancing meaningfully around the trailer. "I think I'd like to stay a little longer, if you guys will have me. Tell the family I love them but I'm not ready to come home just yet. I've got a few things to sort out here."

When Gracie arrives in Oasis Springs that afternoon, Ana is surprisingly enthusiastic to see her. Seeming to momentarily forget all their troubles, she pulls Gracie in for a kiss on the cheek. "I know this isn't going to be easy," she says afterward, "but you mean everything to me and always have. I'll never forgive myself for forgetting that. You don't have to say anything now, but if you gave me the chance to regain your trust, I would be so eternally thankful."

"Now, come inside and say hello to the kids. I think you'll be surprised how much they've grown..."

Ana is right: Ari and Cleo are so much bigger than Gracie remembers. They're actual people now, with personalities and interests all their own. Has she really been gone so long? At first, she's afraid they won't even recognize her, but they greet her immediately, showering her in hugs and overlapping stories about school and their friends.

She was worried she would feel like a stranger in her own home after spending so much time away, but she quickly settles back in, even if things are now so much different than when she first left. She doesn't regret following through on the Strangerville investigation, but she does regret the many firsts she missed out on in her children's lives. Ideally, she would've been able to successfully juggle both, but she couldn't, a fact she will never forget. Instead of looking backwards, though, she will look forward - to the time she can spend being a mother, just like she always wanted to.

While she catches up with the kids, Ana roasts the Harvestfest turkey until it's golden brown and spiced to perfection. She's decided to start being more selective about her acting roles and spend more time on the things that really matter to her, like her family and her rediscovered passion for cooking.

Nothing in the world feels better than to be sitting around the table enjoying a home-cooked meal and each other's company. This year, they're all just thankful to be together, after overcoming the many obstacles that conspired to keep them apart. Against all odds, their family has survived.

Cleo is overflowing with plans for the future to make up for lost time, and Gracie is eager to turn every single one of them into a reality for her. But, at the same time, she's anxious to start organizing all of her notes and photos and recordings into some semblance of a story. In fact, she's got so much content now that she's envisioning something more than a couple thousand words in a newspaper. She thinks she might write an entire book about it, and she already has a title in mind - Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of a Bizarre Small-Town Threat.

Meanwhile, back in Strangerville, for the first time in a long time, 8 Bells isn't swarming with suspicious military personnel. They're likely all leaving town as rumors of the mother plant's defeat spread, hoping to avoid whatever punishment they may face for the parts they played, big or small, in the scandal. Evangeline stays behind, confident she's done the right thing, and they invite both her and Alvin out for a well-deserved night of carefree fun.

It's unclear exactly what the future holds, but they've started making tentative plans after fearing for so long that there might not even be a future left for them to plan for. Now that there are no more secrets between them, Ros and Juniper never want to be apart. They're thinking about moving to the city, the long-delayed endpoint of Juniper's initial journey, where they can hopefully make a life together without all the baggage from their pasts getting in the way.

While Daphne and Evangeline are enjoying getting to know each other, they've decided to explore whatever may be developing between them very slowly. Neither of them has ever been in a real relationship before, so there's a lot to discover before they make anything official. Regardless of what happens between them, Daphne has no desire to leave Strangerville. As painful as some of her memories here are, it's the only home she knows. Besides, maybe one day, if she stays long enough, she'll find her mom... or at least finally figure out what happened to her.

On the opposite side of the bar, Gaby and Alvin are making their relationship #SimstagramOfficial. Sure, he's more than a little eccentric, but she's not exactly "normal" herself and the bonds they've forged over the Strangerville mystery feel strong and lasting. Besides, he cleans up pretty well when he's not sporting conspiracy theorist chic. She's started telling him about her family, but he remains strangely mum on his origins. On one hand, she likes his mysterious, brooding nature; on the other, she wonders what he might be hiding. Almost everyone she's met in Strangerville seems to have a carefully-guarded past they're intent on keeping as deeply buried as possible, so what's his?

Neither she nor Alvin yet realize it, but that question will soon take them on a journey to another unique locale rife with colorful personalities and whispered lore that blurs the lines between what is real and what is only imagined...

Let's just say they'll probably want to pack their bathing suits this time around.