While Shane was thinking about how the religions of his dimension used to have a lot in common with the one they just left, they had almost reached the edge of Central Park. 

It had been quite a long walk and both had been looked at strangely by passers-by, probably because of how they looked. They were both smeared with soot and their clothes were dirty. In addition, Shane was still dressed in his police uniform. 

Not really in his full uniform though, his blouse and cap had been left behind somewhere, with his cap being the first thing he lost and it might be in his own dimension. In addition, he still did not feel quite well.

He glanced at Rowan, who didn't look quite well either. She looked very pale, paler than usual. Suddenly she stopped walking and reached for support at the back of a bench. She leaned forward and groaned softly. Her ponytail fell past her face and Shane hurried to her side. 

He hesitated, not knowing what to do or say or what was going on. Comforting people had never been his strongest suit, and Rowan was a whole different story. He leaned forward a little but did not touch her, just in case it would cross a line for her. 

“Are you alright? What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned. 

Rowan brushed off his concerns by waving her free hand at him, as if she was struggling to say something and was just stalling. She placed her free hand next to the other on the bench. 

“No, it's fine. I’m fine,” she answered. “It’s just a side effect of the portal. Can’t you feel it?” 

“What?” He panicked, thinking back to feeling nauseous and dizzy after stepping through the portal earlier. “Side effects? Couldn’t you have told me that before?”  

It just seemed to be much worse for Rowan, probably because she had stepped through the portal so many times before and he hadn't. What if it turned out to be affecting his organs without him realizing it? Or that he would always feel nauseous and dizzy and sick for the rest of his life? He just made his anxiety worse by thinking about it that way. 

Rowan straightened up and let go of the bench before shooting Shane an exasperated look and sighing a tad dramatically. 

“Not from the traveling itself, you dingbat,” she snapped at him, before taking a deep breath and continuing: “The gate wasn't completely done forming when we stepped through it and that has side effects. It wasn't stable yet. The side effects are not permanent, just temporary.” 

“Oh…” Shane muttered, a little embarrassed because of his panicky response. “Why is it bothering you more than me?” 

Rowan shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe you’re more tolerant than I am.” 

Shane simply nodded. Rowan had started to walk again, although it was a bit slower than before. Shane followed her, hoping she was right about the side effects. Still, he kept thinking about it and couldn't let go of the idea that it would be harmful. 

The pressure of the situation seemed to turn him into an overthinker, he usually wasn't keen on jumping to negative conclusions and overthinking everything normally. He liked to think of himself as mostly positive, although he tended to worry about things but nothing like this. Maybe it was because of Rowan's influence,  she was constantly being negative about everything. 

“So… how long have you been doing this for?” Shane asked. 

He was curious about that, if she had been doing this for a while or if she was just starting out. It might reassure him if she had been doing it for a long time and had no obvious symptoms of anything. 

Rowan frowned and seemed to think about his question with some hesitation. Her narrow lips parted slightly, opening her mouth, but closing it soon after before opening again to speak. 

“About eight years, I guess.” 

“Hm.” 

He'd really wanted to say more or at least think about it, but he realized he didn't even have a clue to how old she really was. She didn’t look exactly old, but she also didn’t seem young at all. He found it hard to judge. 

While he was thinking about her age, he stopped walking, his eyes on the tall buildings opposite of them. They were walking towards the exit of Central Park and the buildings were visible from behind the trees. He'd aimed for 5th Avenue, but it didn't look like that at all here. The buildings were all far too modern, and he was sure such buildings didn't line the edge of Central Park anywhere, even though they were constantly building. 

“So, er- how old are you anyway?” Shane asked distractedly. 

“That’s not something you ask a lady!” Rowan argued, but judging by her tone, she wasn't exactly being serious. She didn't consider herself to be a lady either, she'd be surprised if someone else did.

Shane wasn't exactly listening to her answer, however. If he wasn't just about to ask the question before he noticed the buildings, he wouldn't even have asked it at all. Instead, he was just focusing on how wrong everything looked. 

He knew this part of the city like the back of his hand, had lived in different areas all around and would always return here to Central Park, even nowadays when he had the chance. He had seen the skyline change and develop over time. 

He was 100 percent sure this hadn't been here last time and they couldn't have knocked down old buildings and built new ones within the few weeks he hadn't been here. They weren't building any new highrises here at all, were they? 

Suddenly he couldn't remember, maybe he was just wrong and not paying attention and missing things. People just missed things and assumed they were still the same, he knew that. That is what must have happened to him.

“What’s wrong?” Rowan asked. 

She realized something was wrong since he had stopped walking and remained silent while looking around. He had his mouth slightly open, his eyes wide and dumbfounded. She didn't like it at all that he wasn't responding, especially because she didn't like being ignored in the middle of a conversation. 

Rowan hoped he was just euphoric because he was back in his dimension, the lucky bastard, or maybe he just experienced the side effects from the unfinished portal. It took Shane a moment before he finally took his eyes off the buildings and looked at Rowan in an unfocused way. 

“No, nothing is wrong. It’s probably nothing,” he said, mostly to himself. “Let’s go.” 

Rowan shrugged and decided not to worry about it. Shane started to walk again, but he seemed uncomfortable and wasn't leading anymore, as if he was unsure about where they were going and where to go next. 

They were walking towards one of the many entrances and exits of the park, the part where cars were racing down the road next to it. The honking cars ahead made Shane relax slightly. Normal street noise. 

Yet his mind subconsciously began to search for the things that seemed slightly off. His eyes darted from side to side, cold sweat started forming on his forehead. He could see the cars through the trees that lined Central Parks, but as soon as they left the park and stepped onto the sidewalk of 5th Avenue he saw it. The cars weren't the same cars as he was used to, they didn't even have wheels. 

“I don’t recall your dimension having cars without wheels,” Rowan remarked with raised eyebrows. 

“They should have wheels…” 

His voice was barely above a whisper. He felt lightheaded again, stumbled, and almost lost his balance before finding his footing. He tried to take a deep breath to calm down. His whole bubble of euphoria had suddenly burst at the realization, he was still not at home. Rowan noticed it and put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” she said sincerely, but also uncomfortably. “Some dimensions are just really similar…” 

“What now?” he asked.  

He thought he could finally stop asking if they were back in his dimension. He would go home and resume his life as if nothing had happened. He wanted to make a deal with Rowan that she and whatever shady business she was running would no longer come to his dimension or NYC so that the police would no longer go after her and would drop the case. 

His job was at stake now, though. He couldn't call in and he was pretty sure he would be fired when he returned. If they didn't, they would probably send him to some mental institution if he told them what happened or because he was sure he would go crazy if things continued like this. 

He thought about his family and friends. They would wonder where he was and if he ever made it back he could never tell them the truth either.

“Now we just keep going. Let’s go.” 

She no longer sounded mean or sarcastic. She turned around and started walking somewhere, causing Shane to follow her. He felt numb and walked on autopilot along the paths back into the park. He didn't know why they were walking back and didn't want to think about it either. For the first time in a while, his mind was just blank.