When We Were Mortals

by E. S. Mercer

  I asked her what her name was.

  “Well it’s Evangeline of course,” she responded adjusting my hands, as she scrunched her nose at me and smiled, “just like yours.”

  “Why? Don’t you know what your name is?” she asked.

  “It’s been a confusing time for me,” I chuckled. “So, do you remember when we did this?” she asked, lifting her palm to the moon. She brought it back towards her face as the large white orb started coming much closer to earth.

  “Oh, no, I don’t know if you should do that,” I cried, pushing her little hand back towards the sky. “That could cause a lot of problems.”

  “But it’s pretty,” she said, pulling her hand back towards her face. “Look at all the bumps and stuff.”

  “Yes, yes, I know,” I said, moving her arm again. “But that’s not a good idea.”

  “Evangeline, I told you not to go too far,” our mother said as she came out of the trees. “You can’t run away from me like that.”

  “But I’m talking to my friend,” the little girl replied. “I was showing her the moon.”

  “What friend,” our mother asked, looking right passed me. “What his name?”

  “Her name,” she announced. “Her name is just like mine.”

  “Oh, that’s very nice,” she said, picking little Eva up. “But it’s time to go in for dinner.” “And that is why people thought we were crazy,” an acerbic voice said from behind me. As I turned I saw a young teenage girl standing behind me with a bucket of water in her hands.

  “We?” I asked. “You, me, same person,” she replied. “Thing is, I still see you. To you these are memories, to me, they are happening right now.”

  I gave her a look as if I was trying to understand what she meant. “You can travel through time,” she said as if she was irritated that she had to explain. “Sometimes you do it physically, sometimes it’s just your consciousness.”

  “Am I time traveling now?” I asked her.

  “Anytime you access a memory, you are technically inserting yourself back into the moment,” she explained. “But you should know that already.”

  “How old are you?” I asked. I didn’t remember having such an attitude, but then again, I wasn’t able to remember much.

  “Thirteen,” she announced, sauntering off. “Old enough to know things.”

  I sat down on a bench outside the cabin. “Wow, ok! Great talking to you too!”

  “Teenage attitude didn’t skip us,” another version of me said as she jumped into Gabriel’s arms. This one looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old.

  “Are these…” I started to say. But I stopped as I saw her look over his shoulder and place her finger on her pursed lips. “Shhh.”

  “Michael knows about us,” a young Gabriel warned, as they plopped down on the soft grass. “I am worried.”

  “Don’t be,” she said, playing with his hand. “We are ok.”

  “But I know how he feels about you,” he replied. “He’s always had a thing for you.”

  “So,” she said. “He wouldn’t do anything. He would never hurt me.” He leaned in to kiss her neck. “Not intentionally.”

  “Can he see me?” I mouthed, as she glanced over. “Can he hear me?”

  She nodded her head no.

  “Am I in a different plane or is this in my head?” I asked.

  She didn’t answer.

  “Is my mind a whole other plane?”

  She smiled.

  I knew she was not going to answer me, since he was sitting with her, but I hoped I could ask a few more questions.

  “Do I control time?”

  She smiled again.

  “Do I have the power to cease all life?”

  She gave a little nod, yes.

  “So, if I snap my fingers, I can stop him from even breathing?” She looked a little panicked as she started to move onto her knees. I snapped my fingers and watched him freeze right where he was, and she put her ear against his lips to check if he was still breathing.

  “I just froze time,” I assured her. “I would never stop him from breathing.” “But you could,” she reiterated, walking towards me. “With one flick of your wrist, you could make absolutely everything disappear.”

  She looked down at her own body and then grabbed my arm. “Even the physical vessel you created to walk the earth in.”

  “Then what would happen to me? To you?” I asked.

  “You would still be you,” she replied.

  I tried to wrap my ahead around it, but as hard as I tried, the limitations of human brain wouldn’t let me. “Why don’t I remember these conversations from before?” I asked, scratching my head. “I didn’t think I remembered anything about myself back then.”

  “We didn’t have these conversations until now,” she replied. “These are new.”

  Every time she opened her mouth, she confused me even more. “But I am talking to myself in the past, shouldn’t I now remember that it happened?” “That’s not how time works,” she replied, “it’s not linear. In reality, moments aren’t really connected. The fact that people see time in a straightforward and preemptory way only happens because their brains are wired to function that way. If Hyperion had allowed them to use their full potential, they wouldn’t only live for tomorrow.”

  “So, you are saying that he and Samiel can see the past, present and future simultaneously?” I asked. “They can, except for when it comes to you,” she explained. “You are always in their blind spot.” She sat down next to Gabriel and looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Now can I please get back to what I was doing? I have been away from him for far too long.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, walking back towards the cabin. “Give him my love.” She winked as she went back to kissing the unsuspecting Prince. “I get it now,” I announced, crossing the threshold. “I get what this place is.”

  My mother never glanced up from her chair as she smiled ever so slightly. She seemed distracted and tired, and not too concerned with what I had to say. But, I kept on talking out loud as if she needed to know my plans.

  “I need to get through this door,” I continued, pulling at the handle. “I think it is the only way out.”

  “How so?” she asked finally acknowledging me. “I’ve tried for years to open it to no avail.”

  However, before I could answer her, I heard two men arguing outside the back door. “No Father, what you are doing is wrong! You cannot use her as a pawn in the fight against her father. Both of you are completely wrong for this,” the first voice said.

  “This isn’t a ploy against her father,” the other responded, “She truly has every right to know who she really is.” “And if she does, everything changes for you,” the first voice argued. “It is all part of your plan. You don’t have to admit it, I know what you are up to!”

  “Wait,” I said, looking out the screen door. “I remember this.”

  “You do?” Seraphine asked. “You are remembering things?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I remember this from a vision I had when I was in the gypsy camp.”

  “What are they arguing about?” she asked.

  “That, I don’t remember,” I said, walking out the door. “But that is Michael, arguing with his father.” “Do you realize there is more to you than what you think?” Samiel asked, grabbing my arm. “My brother has stolen this part of you in order to control you.”

  “I know,” I said, taking the apple out of his hand. “And you let him.”

  He turned towards me with a look of panic and fear.

  “You aren’t…” he started to say, looking me up and down. “Oh, wow.”

  I grinned as I watched him quickly figure out what was going on.

  “Did I choose knowledge, or did I choose the ignorance Michael seems to be trying to sell me.”

  “My father is trying to use you,” Michael reiterated, pulling me away. “You need to go home and forget this ever happened.”

&nb
sp; “You chose knowledge,” Samiel replied, ignoring the original scene as it tried to play out.

  “And that is when my father tried to destroy me?” I asked. “Please Evangeline, your life will be ruined,” Michael begged, forcing me to face him.

  “Why are you so scared?” I asked, looking deep into his eyes. “What is it that you fear.”

  “That I will lose you,” he answered, as if I pulled the answer right out of his mouth. “I will lose you forever.” “You see, he was always been in love with you, which is why I could use him so easily,” Samiel interjected, pushing Michael out of the way. “He kept you ignorant to keep you around.”

  “But he knew I was with Gabriel at this point, did he not?” I asked.

  “He was the only one,” Samiel replied. “But he desperately tried to persuade you by being the hero Gabriel couldn’t be.”

  I looked over at the Cimmerian. “How so?” “Because he was also one of the only ones who knew your secret, and he tried to protect you from it.” He reached up for another apple. “Good intentions I guess.”

  I had hoped to finish our conversation, but as soon as he plucked the red fruit from its branch, I found myself transported into a memory I knew immediately wasn’t mine. I was back at the club, in Noita’s private room.

  “I need you to help me find her Noita,” Gabriel begged, looking out onto the dance floor. “I don’t know where she was sent, but I know our connection is strong enough for you to help.”

  “There is no way to do that,” Noita slurred, sipping on absinthe.

  “Don’t tell me that,” Gabriel barked, whipping around. “I know there is a way. I know you can do something!”

  “I told you, I can’t,” Noita said, sipping again. His aloof persona and counterfeit ignorance was heightened by his desperate wish to stay out of it.

  “And I call bullshit!” Gabriel retorted, pulling out his sword and slowly shoving it between Noita’s legs and into the velvet cushion he sat on.

  Noita swallowed hard as he spread his legs open a little bit wider, trying to hide his fear. “You can’t threaten a man who doesn’t respond to threats.” “Oh, but I think you will,” Gabriel said, leaning in close enough for Noita to feel his breath. “I think you would respond to anything I did to you. I know you work for her father and I highly doubt you do his bidding because you have a deep desire to do so.”

  “You’re right!” Noita lisped. “But I would much rather your hand than the sword.” He said, leaning towards the Prince with a cockiness and a shudder.

  It took Gabriel a second, but he soon figured out what the witch meant. “Ugh, disgusting. Just help me dammit or I’ll make sure you find your way back to Magas and away from your precious mortals.”

  “Fine,” Noita said, pushing Gabriel back. “I guess we could tap into her dreams. If she’s sleeping, we could find her, maybe.” He motioned for Gabriel to lay down on the chase lounge beside him. “You do realize, now that you cut your tether, it will be a little bit harder to connect you.”

  “Our hearts connected us, not our wings,” Gabriel muttered, closing his eyes. Noita tapped Gabriel on the forehead, forcing him to open them again. “OK, but you do realize, I need to put you to sleep to help you connect to her dreams.”

  “Whatever you must do,” Gabriel replied. So Noita waved his hand over Gabriel’s elegant brow and muttered a few words no one could understand until Gabriel drifted off to sleep, making his consciousness pliable enough for Noita to work with.

  “He’s out,” Noita announced, looking over at a dark corner of the room. “Now what you want me to do?”

  “Do what he asked,” Michael replied, walking towards them. “And then wipe his memory of her.”

  “Am I doing this for you or for your father?” Noita asked, placing his hands on the temples on Gabriel’s head.

  “It is my father’s wish,” Michael answered, sitting on the bench beside them. “We wouldn’t do this to him, unless it was necessary.”

  “Wouldn’t you?” Noita chuckled. He knew how Michael felt about me.

  “I assure you, we are doing this to protect him,” Michael barked. “We need to keep him away from her before he gets hurt.” Noita chuckled again, doing what the Prince asked, but he made sure to do it on his own terms. The Witch was a pawn in the game that Hyperion and Samiel played, but he always had a thing for Gabriel and wished no harm upon him. So, unbeknownst to anyone, when he wiped Gabriel clean of memory, he implanted a tiny yet subconscious need to come back and be put under, projecting his consciousness every so often until we finally connected.

  “I love happy endings,” he muttered to himself. “They definitely deserve it.”

  “I will return soon,” Michael announced, getting up and walking towards the door. “And will be my turn to find her.” “Suit yourself,” Noita replied, waking Gabriel up. “But I suggest you leave before he becomes aware. You don’t want your face to be the first he sees; his memory wipe may not take.”

  Noita looked up and directly at me. “And just remember, nothing is as it seems.”

  “Meaning what?” I asked him.

  “Exactly just that,” he replied, looking away. “You need to find a way to open that door.”

  I looked back towards the cabin, which was still in plain view.

  “But, it’s going to be a lot harder to do that now,” he said. “Everything is about to change.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t.” “I think you can, you just choose not to,” I said, walking back into the cabin, tripping over the threshold. I could feel myself getting dizzy and nearly blacking out. I reached out for my mother who was now rushing towards me, but after her third step, she went down as well. Just before losing consciousness, I glanced over at the locked door to see it still locked.

  “What the hell is happening then,” I thought to myself. “Am I waking up?” *****

  “Who are you talking to love?” Gabriel asked, opening the fridge behind me. “You are mumbling again.”

  “I am?” I asked, opening my eyes. I fully expected to be lying in a bed somewhere, maybe in the Manor, but instead I found myself staring at a spatula in one hand and the handle of a pan full of pancakes in the other. Looking passed that, I saw a very pregnant belly protruding from my body. “What, wait, where am I? What the hell is this?”

  “Are you ok?” he asked, putting the orange juice down on the counter and wrapping his arms around me. “I worry about you anymore.”

  “She’s fine,” my mother answered from an easy chair across the room. “She’s just got pregnancy brain. Don’t make a big deal about it.”

  “Is this the future?” I asked, dropping the spatula and turning around. “Am I seeing what will happen?

  He laughed, kissing me and caressing my face. “This is the beginning of our future.” Utterly confused about what was going on, I gently pushed him off as I looked around for the cabin. I thought, maybe, if I could see it, then I would know this was just a future memory. Instead, all I saw was a beautiful glass house, standing high above the trees with a view of Heaven City far off in the distance.

  “Mom, where is the cabin?” I asked, waddling over to her perch. “Have you ever been here before?”

  She sat up and placed her book on the table beside her. “The summer cabin? The one you and I would visit when you were a child?”

  “Yeah, you know, the one I built in my mind to keep us safe?” I replied, pacing.

  “No honey, the cabin was real and your father built it for me as a place to steal off too after Leviathan was born,” she said, standing up.

  “Now I am starting to worry,” she said, feeling my forehead. “I think we need to call Michael.”

  “Why would we call him?” I asked, glancing over at Gabriel who took over the cooking duties.

  “Well he’s the father of one of your children, of course,” she replied. “Neither one of them were going to abandon you.” I tried to come up with
a question that she could hopefully answer, but all I could muster was, “Huh?” I was still trying to wrap my head around where I was or why I was there, and now she was telling me I was carrying two children with two different fathers. Then, I remembered Leviathan had suggested that both I and my counterpart were pregnant, but I didn’t know that is what he meant. Finally, I swallowed hard on the thought and finally asked my questions. “I’m carrying both of their babies? How the hell is that possible?”

  “Come on,” my mother said, getting up out of her chair. “That’s it…it’s time for you to go lay down.” “But wait, what about Samiel…Father…their need to destroy me?” I asked. “Honey, we won that war,” she replied. “You took care of it and now things are back to normal.”

  I rubbed my belly. “Normal?”

  “Exactly the way everything should be,” she answered, trying to usher me towards the bedroom door.

  "And I'm in a relationship with both Michael and Gabriel?” I asked.

  She stopped and looked at me with a hint of concern, “yes dear, you know you could never choose between them.”

  “So, how long was I asleep then?” I asked, rubbing my belly again.

  “Asleep? You woke up pretty early today,” Gabriel replied, coming to help Seraphine.

  “No, I mean, I was struck when I rescued Michael from Leviathan,” I barked. “I remember passing out!”

  “Baby doll, you’ve never met your brother,” he said, laying me down. “He was gone long before you came around.”

  “No, that’s not…” I started to say. I tried to form the rest of the sentence, but I found myself getting extremely drowsy and drifting off to sleep. *****

  “She’s refusing to accept that this life is real,” Noita warned Hyperion. “She’s questioning it.”

  “She won’t the longer she is in it,” The King answered. “Don’t stop now.”

  “I’m not,” Noita argued. “I am just telling you, she’s fighting it.” “So, plant it deeper,” Hyperion demanded. He glanced over at Seraphine’s body, laying comatose on the table next to me, “now that her mother has taken to it, you can force her to convince Eva to accept it.”