“Michael, I missed you so much!” she exclaimed against my chest.
I froze solid for half a second, glancing down at her hair to check to see if this was the future version of my sister speaking. But it wasn’t. Her hair was still the same shade of brown.
“Sorry to worry you,” I whispered in response, squeezing ever so slightly more. I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved or concerned about the other Amelia, wondering if I’d meet her again.
My sister pulled away then, tilting her chin high to look up at me, reluctant to let me go. “And you’re okay now? Miriam said you disappeared.”
‘I didn’t tell her we were attacked again,’ my love interjected silently. ‘She only knows you vanished.’
“Yeah, sort of,” I said out loud to my sister. “But everything’s okay now.”
“Promise?” she asked with tears in the corners of her eyes.
“Promise,” I agreed. “Everything should be fine now.”
Instantly, Amelia’s hair began to whiten, her emerald eyes glowing softly. “Not everything, dear brother. I still need to save Riley.”
Surprised by both her appearance and words, I was hesitant in my response, not liking the idea of her messing with time again. “Sis…are you sure that’s a good idea? Maybe it would be better if I try to save her.” I paused. ‘Without messing with time,’ I amended in my thoughts.
She shook her head. “No, brother. It won’t be possible for you to be there the exact moment when her life ends. And I have to save her. I have to.”
Of course, I didn’t want Riley to die.
Even though it felt like my old life was a lifetime ago, she had been one of my best friends prior to all this happening. But was it worth the risk? What if things didn’t turn out alright next time?
I mean, this was Time we were talking about. Or rather, the flow of Life. Messing it up even once could result in permanent consequences.
“But Amelia,” I said firmly. “What if something goes wrong? What if you try again and can’t fix it?”
Her glowing emerald eyes tightened. “Michael, you don’t understand. The future you saw, where everyone is gone – Riley is the key. Her death is the pivotal moment. If she dies, the whole world dies.”
I held her gaze in disbelief, uncertain of how to respond to that. Could my friend really be so important? Why was her death the pivotal moment?
However, before I could collect my thoughts enough to ask for more information, Amelia’s eyes began to dim, her hair returning to its normal brown.
“Wait!” I exclaimed.
“Wait, what?” my sister asked in confusion.
I sighed heavily, shaking my head, and then leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, causing her to shiver from the drastic temperature difference between the cold air and my body.
“Nothing,” I gently mumbled, silently deciding with Miriam to keep an eye on Riley as well, so that maybe I could save her before the future version of my sister got involved.
‘Don’t,’ a familiar voice chimed in my head, prompting me to look down at my sister again, seeing that she still looked normal. ‘Something bad will happen to Riley, but that event must occur, because otherwise the whole world will still end. It’s not enough that she live. She must become different, similar to how you’re different, and it’s important that she survive after becoming different. So don’t mess with things, dear brother. I’ll take care of it. Trust me.’
Resigned, I replied the only way I could. ‘Okay sis, I’ll trust you.’
“Michael?” Amelia said in confusion. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I gave her an apologetic smile, knowing she was unaware that her future self was communicating with me. “Sorry. It’s nothing. So how are you doing?”
“Better, now that I know you’re okay!” she exclaimed.
“And how’s school?” Miriam interjected, wanting to be a part of the conversation, and to lighten the tone some.
My sister was reluctant to talk about it at first, just because the last few days she’d been back had been miserable without me, but both Grayson and Riley had been there for her, despite their own worry.
Miriam and I continued to socialize with my sister for almost another hour, before deciding it was best for her to go back inside to avoid our dad waking up in the middle of the night, as he often did to snack, and notice she was gone.
Amelia was reluctant to leave my arms, but after making us promise a thousand times that we’d come back to visit soon, she finally trudged through the leaves back home.
I waved whenever she glanced back, knowing she was checking to see if we were still there, and reminded her that we could still speak telepathically, which did a ton to reassure her. Thus, she and I socialized a little more as she snuck back into the house and climbed into bed, with me waiting until she began drifting off to sleep to give my full attention back to Miriam.
My love was watching me intently, her crimson gaze full of affection.
‘What?’ I asked silently.
‘You’re just everything I ever wanted, and more,’ she replied, neglecting to elaborate.
I smiled, leaning in to kiss her gently on the lips, before pulling away and walking towards the rear of my dad’s property, aiming for the spot where I’d originally stood when I saw Miriam for the very first time.
As my love returned to my side, wrapping her arm around my waist, I thought about the craziness of how different things were after only a couple of weeks. Miriam had literally turned my world upside down, and we both went from the despair of knowing we couldn’t be together, to witnessing the realization of an impossible hope, that we’d really get to spend forever as one.
I turned towards her as I considered that, holding her closely in my arms, our waists pressed together tightly.
“I love you so much,” I whispered.
Her crimson gaze was still full of affection as she looked up at me. “And I love you, my beloved.”
“So now what?” I wondered.
She leaned forward to press her lips against mine, answering me in her thoughts.
‘Now, love, we spend eternity together. Forever.’
‘Forever,’ I agreed.
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Acknowledgments
Special thanks to:
Esther Eckstein
Patreon Super Supporters:
Kerry Eckstein (4/2018)
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Pheonixblue (6/2019)
Dave Thomas (7/2019)
Luke Campbell (9/2018)
Angel de'Haven (9/2018)
The Administrator (11/2018)
Brian Sapp (3/2019)
Kyle Holmes (9/2019)
Adam Billingham (9/2019)
Brian McDonald (9/2019)
About the Author
Kurtis Eckstein is a huge fan of books, anime, and coffee! He has always wanted to create his own stories, but never felt like he had the time to invest in a full book.
Finally, he decided to settle with writing short-stories, only to discover he loved it so much that it became his primary hobby. Within six months, he had written three novels and was over halfway done with two others. Within a year, he had publi
shed six books total.
Join him on Facebook to stay up to date on his latest releases!
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