'npm root' gives a path to a directory that doesn't exist

While in my /Desktop folder and I type in terminal npm root' I get the path/Users/Cathy/node_modules`.

However, node_modules doesn't exist, so that path is incorrect.

If I'm in the /Users folder and I type in terminal npm root' I get the path/Users/node_modules`. That folder doesn't exist either.

I have no idea when that false path got set or how they got set. Or if the folder doesn't exist, why does npm root report it exists??

If I'm in a project I'm working on, npm root takes me to the right location where my modules live.

So, this is not causing me problems, but I want to understand what's going on. (I don't think I ever did an npm install within those folders which are closer to the root directory.)

Thanks.