Maybe it was just because she was so tired, maybe it was the relief talking that it was over, maybe it was the fact that it was coming from Mae, or maybe it was because she was still convinced that she'd wake up any moment now and be back in her bed in Hollywood, but that managed to get a small smile out of Astrid, even a little laugh.

"Sure," she said, "let's go with that."

And, in a sense, it was true.

"How've you been, Mae?" Astrid then asked, as if she hadn't been the one stuck in a volcano for the past few days.