“That doesn’t prove—”
Rachel cut him off. “It proves that something very strange is going on—and it all started after I found this musical clockwatch. Or it found me. I didn’t want to accept what I thought was a dream could’ve really happened. Then I couldn’t find the bottled water I left on the windowsill in the attic just before I got dizzy and had my strange experience. Brooke showed me the bottle when we were at a deli, which explains where it ended up. I know this all sounds pretty far fetched, but I have to believe it’s true. If you know how my sister really died, it proves dad and Virginia were somehow affected by what happened to me, altering Brooke’s history as they knew it.”
Duncan set his jaw. “Maybe your parents weren’t being straight with you and concocted the car accident story to spare you the grisly details of a murder.”
“I thought of that,” Rachel said. “But they acted as if I already knew Brooke had been murdered, while seeming to know nothing about a car hitting her. And why change the date she supposedly died? Besides, I read clippings on the accident many times, so I know it happened. At least the first time around. The watch changed things—”
Duncan examined the antique clockwatch. “It’s really old and fascinating to look at...and even listen to. But what you’re asking me to believe is a bit much, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, it is.” She took a deep breath. “But I was still hoping you’d try to keep an open mind. Especially as someone who’s talked about the possibility of time travel. Maybe I was wrong—”
Duncan could tell that Rachel wasn’t just messing with him. She actually believed she’d traveled in time. The bump on the head might have something to do with that, but it didn’t explain everything. If what she said about her dad and stepmom was true, that was certainly bizarre. Unless they were both playing a joke on Rachel. But why would they? There was nothing funny about her sister’s death, whatever the cause and day she died.
What if some strange forces were at work here?
Duncan believed in the basic concept of time travel, though not through the workings of an antique musical clockwatch. What if the time barrier could be broken in ways other than commonly thought possible in the scientific world?
He perused the watch again. It was an odd one, to say the least. That was still a big stretch from being a time traveling, time altering device.
The last thing I want is my girlfriend pissed at me for not taking her seriously, no matter how unbelievable her tale seems. Maybe if I stall, we can come up with a plausible explanation for everything that’s happened.
Duncan reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPhone. He took a picture of the front, back, and inside of the watch.
“How would you like to take a drive to the library?” he asked Rachel. “Maybe we can find out something about the origins of this clockwatch.”
“Sounds good to me.” Rachel was glad Duncan was willing to stand by her while she tried to deal with this. If they could figure out what made the watch tick, then maybe she could learn how to use it to go back and prevent Brooke from once again dying much too early in life.
* * *
After spending more than two hours looking over books on antique musical clockwatches, Rachel and Duncan came up with what seemed a perfect match for a watch thought to exist only in mythology. Dated back to the thirteenth century, it was said to have belonged to the Sisters of Time, Angelina and Octavia, who freely traveled across time closing gaps that threatened the past or future. The sister goddesses were believed to have the power to restore the natural order in time and space, as well as bestow this gift upon others.
According to legend, those possessing the watch were duty bound to use it to right wrongs and balance the equilibrium of time. The clockwatch itself opened the portals of time and was responsible for closing it. Any glitches in the natural order of time could affect all mankind. The Sisters of Time were said to reclaim the watch when the mission set forth for the chosen ones had been completed.
“Your watch isn’t even supposed to exist if what we’ve read is true,” Duncan said with amazement.
Rachel looked at the clockwatch. “But it does exist,” she noted. “These Sisters of Time must be out there somewhere in timeless space and have the power to send this watch wherever and to whomever they want. They gave it to me—”
Duncan wanted to believe it was possible that these sisters really existed on some level and were able to manipulate time through the clockwatch, but had strong reservations. “You don’t know that,” he told her. “This whole thing could be someone’s idea of a practical joke.”
She pursed her lips. “It’s not a joke what happened to me, Duncan. No ordinary person could possibly fake my going back in time and changing history as a result. I know it really happened and it’s because of these sisters and that clockwatch!”
He scratched his head. “I doubt we could convince many other people of that.”
“Maybe we’re not supposed to. It’s hard enough to accept ourselves.” Rachel turned in the chair and gazed at him. “They chose me for a reason.”
“Which was?”
“To save Brooke.” She could think of nothing else that made any sense.
“But you tried, I think,” he said, “and failed.”
“That’s true,” she admitted painfully, thinking about Brooke’s fate the second time. “Maybe it was a test or something. All I know is these Sisters of Time have not reclaimed the watch—not yet anyway—meaning they still want me to use it.”
“How...?” Duncan’s voice hung on the word.
Rachel sucked in a deep breath. “To go back again and stop Brooke from becoming the victim of a murderer.”
“Maybe she’s supposed to die in that time and there’s nothing you can do to change it.”
“If that were the case, then why send me there in the first place?” Rachel blinked hard at him. “I mean it’s not like I volunteered for the job.”
Duncan met her eyes. He decided maybe there really was something to this if one kept a very open mind. “So how do you plan to make the watch do what you want it to, instead of what it wants?” he wondered.
“I’m hoping they’re one and the same,” she responded. In looking at everything that had and hadn’t happened, it seemed like her destiny and Brooke’s were tied together.
If that wasn’t the case, then Brooke would be doomed and the whole experience in traveling back in time and righting wrongs, as the Sisters of Time claimed, would seem pointless to Rachel.
She couldn’t make herself believe that Brooke’s life was not meant to be spared and enjoyed beyond her sixteenth year.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
On July 3rd, one week after Brooke died the first time and was slated to die again at the hands of a killer, Rachel prepared to try once more to save her sister’s life. She had tried unsuccessfully over the last four days to get the clockwatch to cooperate, but it would not.
Finally, Rachel figured out that she must only be able to travel back in time on the same day of the event in question. If not, all hope would be lost for Brooke.
Using her experience from before, this time Rachel decided to spare her dad or Virginia from finding her unconscious on the floor of the attic. As this would likely only lead to another battery of neurological tests and who knew what else, it made good sense to keep her travels—and her body’s reaction to it—a secret for now.
That is, a secret from everyone but Duncan.
Rachel recalled his fear that something might go terribly wrong...
“But what if I never see you again?” he asked, his brow furrowed in two places. “That wouldn’t be very cool. And the worst thing is I probably wouldn’t be able to convince anyone that you were just lost somewhere in time.”
“You’d probably never even miss me,” she joked.
He stared at her. “That what you really think?”
“Of course not, silly. Your life would never be the same without me in it.”
Rachel couldn’t believe she said that, even if she felt it was true.
“You’re right, it wouldn’t,” Duncan made clear before kissing her.
Rachel savored the kiss and the way he made her feel before prying their lips apart. “And my life wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t a big part of it.”
“So then leave the time travel stuff to someone else,” he implored. “Don’t tempt fate, Rachel. It might come back to haunt you.”
She twisted her lips musingly. “It already has!”
The Sisters of Time had thrown a wrench into her life by sending Rachel ten years into the past, and rewriting her family’s history in the process. She owed it to Brooke to try and save her from a killer, while hoping it didn’t simply lead to another way for her to die in 2001.
Rachel would have felt better had Duncan thrown the word love or almost love in there somewhere in his sentimental words and kisses. But she wasn’t giving up on him or them just yet. She had every intention of making it back to her own time and life, so they could pick up where they left off. And, if fortunate, Brooke would dodge the creepy hand of death this time around.
Rachel had told Virginia she was tired and going to take a nap. She figured it would buy her the time she needed to right the wrong and spare Brooke’s life. Having no idea who Brooke’s killer was would certainly make things more complicated. But Rachel had the advantage of knowing it would happen, if not when or where.
She also had the Sisters of Time on her side, wherever they were out there in the cosmos, who had chosen Rachel to somehow bridge the divide between the past and future.
After texting her friends to try and keep things as normal as possible right up to the last moment, Rachel laid on the bed with the gold chain of the watch around her neck. She had tied her hair into a ponytail and dressed casually in a V-neck tee, jeans, and flats. After all, it wasn’t as if she would be going back in time to try and impress whoever she ran into. Her mission was clear. Accomplishing it was anything but certain.
Rachel had put a few personal items, along with some things from the last ten years, in a backpack and set it on her legs. She had no idea if time would allow her to bring the backpack with her to the past, but there was no harm in trying. She also knew the welcoming committee might be anything but friendly, particularly her mom. But it was a chance Rachel was more than willing to take.
All that was left was to see if the clockwatch would cooperate.
Rachel took a breath and opened the case. The clock was ticking at precisely 12:00 noon. Almost afraid to look, her eyes ventured to the date. It read July 3, 2001.
“Yes! Thank you,” Rachel whispered to the Sisters of Time. Please let me succeed this time without creating a worse situation for Brooke or being too late to save her from a killer.
She was sure they were getting the message.
After pushing the button to activate the musical automation, Rachel closed her eyes and listened to the stirring melody.
She waited for a few moments to feel lightheaded as before, but did not. This made her believe she had failed in her attempt to go back in time again.
I may have lost any hope to rescue Brooke now. I can’t make this stupid watch do what it obviously doesn’t want to for some reason.
When she opened her eyes again, Rachel’s gaze latched onto a wall painted light blue. She was still in her room, yet not in her room, which was a more cheery lavender color. A vague recollection of the wall colors and furnishings when the room was Brooke’s, along with posters and a pink teddy bear, made Rachel’s face light up, as she realized it had worked!
I am back in time in Brooke’s old—well, no longer old—room.
The music had stopped and everything was eerily quiet. The date on the clockwatch continued to read July 3, 2001. Rachel hoped it had sent her back to finish what she had tried to do before: save Brooke’s life, but without placing her in further jeopardy.
Rachel was eager to see the two members of her family again that she had lost over the years.
That euphoria got a hard dose of reality when the harsh voice snapped, “How did you get in here?”
Rachel sprang up and her eyes fell on the scowling face of her mother.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Catherine studied the girl who had once again intruded upon their home, uninvited. She had even made herself right at home on Brooke’s bed, as though her own.
“Answer me, young lady!” she ordered, eyeing the gold watch the girl was clasping as if for dear life.
Rachel wasn’t sure what she should say. She didn’t want to frighten her mom, whom she loved with all her heart and could barely take her eyes off of knowing she wouldn’t be around much longer. But Rachel did not want to hide from who she was, either. Especially when she was there to save her sister from certain death at the hands of a killer. And time was not on Rachel’s side.
Or Brooke’s.
Rachel noted the backpack was still on her legs, just like in the future. Yes! She was thankful it had made the trip in one piece. Just like her.
“It’s my room,” Rachel responded timidly. “Or at least it will be someday—”
Catherine frowned. “Excuse me?”
Rachel hesitated, knowing there was no turning back from what she was about to say. “I’m Rachel, Mom—your daughter...”
“Stop this nonsense now!” Her mother’s nostrils flared. “You’re not my child! How could you possibly be?”
“It’s a long and incredible story,” Rachel told her, “but one I can prove. First I need to know where Brooke is.”
Rachel glanced at the watch and, comparing it to the digital clock on the night table, saw that the times were the same—just past noon. She prayed that it wasn’t already too late to save Brooke.
Catherine regarded the girl, whom she couldn’t deny could have easily passed for her daughter, were Rachel fifteen or sixteen and not six. But she wasn’t a teenager like this girl, who was a stranger in their home. Catherine certainly would not make any bargains with her concerning Brooke. As if this odd young lady was in any position to be making demands.
Catherine suppressed an urge to cough. “Get off of that bed right now!” she demanded. “Whatever game you’re playing, it won’t work with me. Now take your bag and leave.”
Rachel got off the bed and grabbed the bag. But she would not leave. Not yet anyway.
She met her mother’s icy gaze. “Okay, just listen to me for a minute. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I am your daughter, Rachel...from the year 2011. I came back in time to prevent Brooke from being murdered—”
Catherine lifted her brows at that last part, which engaged her interest far more than the absurdity that the girl had traveled through time. “Did you say murdered?”
Rachel knew that would grab her attention, even if hating to be so blunt. But she dodged that issue for the moment, preferring to stick with the amazing story of her very presence before her mom.
“When you saw me before, I was just as surprised to be here as you,” Rachel had to admit. “But I realized I had been sent to rescue Brooke from an out of control driver who took her life. I did that, and then when I got back to my own time, I learned I had changed history as a result and Brooke had now become the victim of a murderer. So, yes, as crazy as it sounds, I have come back again to try and stop Brooke from being killed today—and I hope and pray that she will live well beyond her sixteenth year.”
Catherine sighed, trying to keep it together after listening to this preposterous, if not disturbing, tale. “Well, if nothing else, you certainly do have a very vivid imagination, whoever you are. Brooke is not going to die, whether you had some vision or are just a plain lunatic!”
God would not take my eldest daughter away before my own life ends. How cruel would that be?
Rachel could see that her mother was not going to accept the story at face value, which wasn’t surprising. Luckily she had brought along some important items to support her story.
The moment she uttered her stepmother’s name, Rachel knew she probably shouldn’t have. What would her mom think about dad having another wife? But she couldn’t take it back now.
Catherine was given a start when she heard the name Virginia. Edwin’s former girlfriend was named Virginia. When Catherine had entered the picture, she and Edwin quickly fell in love and got married after she became pregnant with Brooke. Virginia, embittered, had never gotten over losing Edwin. Catherine had always feared Edwin would go back to her one day.
Was this the same Virginia the girl referred to her as her stepmother? If so, Catherine wondered if Edwin could be leading a double life.
She watched as the girl removed items from the bag, laying them on the spread as though pieces to a puzzle. Catherine was sure that none of this could possibly be true about Rachel coming from the future. Something like this couldn’t happen in the real world. Yet Catherine was piqued nonetheless in seeing what the girl’s so-called proof was.
She picked up the cell phone. It was smaller than any Catherine had seen and was certainly interesting, but hardly an indication the phone came from the future.
Catherine grabbed a newspaper clipping at random and was stunned to read the headline: NEW YORK’S TWIN TOWERS BROUGHT DOWN BY A TERRORIST ATTACK. The article was dated: September 12, 2001.
My goodness, can this possibly be true? Could there actually be a terrorist attack of that magnitude in this country in just over two months? Or is it as much a lie as the girl?
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