As the shock dies down

Dear Mother and Father,

In case you were curious, the locomotive took me to a house for sale and a large garden. I have not seen any people yet. I've been here for a day and a half but not yet seen any people. It serves me right, really, to be alone after abandoning everyone in the whole Grid who thinks more of me than of a heap of dirt. I can't believe how pathetic I am. Why did I do that? I certainly didn't increase their odds of survival by taking off like that. What was I thinking? No, I suppose I wasn't thinking. I was feeling. I do that constantly. Looking over past letters I have waiting to be sent home to you, I see a sickening recurrence of phrases like "I felt". How could I let a stupid thing like this control me when there are more important things to do? With God as my Witness, I swear on my honor as a lady and a woman that I will not abandon those close to me out of fear or any other frivolous emotion.
Do you think it will be necessary and possible to catch some future train back to Steelhead? The grasses and the walls of the buildings around me have begun to shift and breathe a bit for some reason, so I'm concerned that it may be not be a simple task to undo my foolish mistake.
Would you like to know more about my last night at the tavern? I met new people, so maybe you would like to know.
The two who stick in my mind are Ms. Aaoee the Chinese fairy princess (except they call them "honnio" over there) and Ms. Requiem the vampire witch, both friends of Mama Miss Dreamscape's. "Fairy princess" gives a decent impression of Ms. Aaoee, but you really wouldn't expect a vampire witch to be like Ms. Requiem. She's nothing like the witches of Dunwich: She was trying to help Miss Blackheart the music lady with the latter's magical powers so that everyone could fight against the evil monster better. She's also nothing like the vampires in storybooks: Far from being a beastly abomination, she is beautiful, elegant, confident, and cultured--so much so that she reminds me of my own beloved Mother. Perhaps all the people who wrote stories about vampires were ignorant about what kind of creatures they really are. In fact, Ms. Requiem looks more like an angel than anything else. Do you suppose vampires might be a misunderstood breed of angel?
The two of them and Mr. Paine were talking about a Yucoozah. I don't know any Chinese, but it sounds like a kind of boat.
Mr. Paine was there looking alive, well, and human. I'm so very glad things turned out okay for him.
There was a clank-person called Anevka who looked and acted exactly like a human except for a wind-up key on her back which made explosions in distant locations when wound too tightly. You like clanks, don't you, Father?
My filthy digression is not fooling anyone. I know I've been bad. If it helps any, I've located a corner and am standing in it, thinking about what I did. When we next meet, you may want to pray for my soul (not that I deserve it, of course). I wish the corner would hold still. I don't think my head is quite right. Perhaps that follows naturally from my heart not being right.

Love,
Shaqad