A Love That Destroyed Time

by Melanie Ray

  "Don't know where to start?"

  Yed turned around and saw his father. He sneered and looked ahead. "Anyone but you."

  "I know you're still mad," Danva said, "but one day you'll see my actions for what they were, and come around again."

  "Come around?" Yed growled. "You left me. You're here out of courteousy for mom and Phaver."

  "The mind changes as time goes by," Danva said. "Another fifty years and I'm sure we'll get along. Meanwhile, what are you going to do? You've got so much around you. Our family, your blessed little ones, even a girl you've always wanted."

  Always wanted? Oh somebody's been talking to him. Yed rolled his eyes and ignored him.

  "Do you know who you should talk to first?" Danva asked him. "I'll tell you." Yed almost growled again as he leaned closer to him. "Whoever you like, Yed. You've got it all."

  Yed blinked then looked back at his father. "What?"

  "You've got everyone, right here. It's why you don't know. It’s why you are fleeing from warno to warno. You don't need to spend time with anyone in particular, Yed. They're here." He patted him on the shoulder. "The kids, the woman, us, your newer brother and sister you made friends with on Earth. Right now, there's no one richer in the universe today than the ones here, at 'Double Yella'." He smiled, which Yed tried to hate but couldn't. "I think a great way to start would be to enjoy a splendid supper. Show your children more than cold food, and what does your world do for entertainment?"

  Chapter 52

  MOVIE NIGHT

  "We didn't get to have a party this week, but it was still a blast." Muin pulled a sucker out of her mouth as she wiggled her feet across the couch. "Parvo's Pizza, the aquatic center, amusement park, golfing, bowling. We did everything, we've outdone ourselves. Although company could have been better."

  Yed smiled at his sister and then looked away. Muin still went against the grain when it came to her past family, but she was getting better. He didn't know how much of her Chronicle she had read yet, if any, but one day she'd get along. He tossed his amusement park toy he won on the couch and took off his coat. "Okay, movie time is on in fifteen minutes."

  Tiger, Carress, and everybody else headed back to the living room.

  "Where is that Earthling corn again?" Phaver asked as she poked her brother's shoulder. "With the yellow sauce?"

  "You don't need that snack food every time we watch TV," Litalia said as she grabbed her daughter’s hand. She looked over at Yed. "But if it's not much trouble, extra sauce would be nice."

  "Popcorn coming right up," Yed said. He headed to the kitchen and saw Ezra getting the butter out. "Extra sauce, extra sauce, I got it already."

  "We're predictable," Ezra chuckled as she grabbed the butter. "Learning about your microwave. Different wave but it makes delicious corn."

  "Popcorn," Yed corrected her, "and don't open it that way or-"

  Ezra winced as kernels rained out of the sack. "Oops, wrong way I guess."

  "I'll do it, just hand me that and that there thing over there," Yed said as he grabbed another microwavable sack. "Good to see you up and around again."

  "Yeah." Ezra handed him the butter. "Gone half the day again with one of those migraines," she groaned. She leaned against the counter as she watched him put in the microwavable sack. "That was similar to what we had. Many things are similar here, you were right. Except..." She pursed her lips. "...it's actually more advanced."

  "Give and take, we still had more back then, but it ain't too bad." Yed pushed the buttons for two minutes and 45 seconds.

  "Yed. Earth is almost where we were. Doesn't that make you feel..." She tapped her fingers on the counter. "They read books on machines here. Screens of plasma. Earphone music mpg things. We didn't have any of that."

  "Still new technology," Yed said, "and use less 'they' Ezra, it's we now."

  "We, yes, sorry," Ezra apologized. "I don't want to sound like a stuck up alien from a rich planet. Pagnia obviously doesn't fall in that category. Do you need any more of the carbonated soft drink?"

  "The pop," Yed corrected her again. "Can you go see what cheesy movie they popped in?" Ezra left his sight a second as he thought about what she said. Nostalgia kicked in, but he didn't blame her. She was homesick. For the past or for her former life as a waryes, he didn't know. She'd get better though, they all would. He watched her come in again as the microwave beeped. "Well?"

  "Men in Black."

  "Again?"

  "They think it's funny," Ezra said as she leaned against the counter. "Need any help with the popping corn?"

  "Nope, got the extra butter on." Yed stirred up the butter into the popcorn. "Alright, let's go watch Men in Black again. Ooh, you okay?" He tried to hide his sigh as she covered her head again. "Maybe an ice pack and a loose movie will help." Each night, everyone got together and watched a movie for the past six days. Out of those, she was only around for two. So far she hadn't actually watched Men in Black in its entirety.

  "I'll be fine, I'm okay." Ezra said with a placid fake smile. "I'll go see how the kids are doing."

  "Kids are fine," Yed said. "Everyone is fine, just impatient for the popcorn I bet. Scoot on out there with this." He grabbed the bowl of popcorn and handed it to her. "That should get them started. Make sure it goes to the right where Phaver's sitting, Muin and her don't get along too well."

  "I remember," Ezra laughed, "they kept fighting over the last of the butter in the bowl last night I was out there." She turned and headed out.

  Yed's gaze lingered on her. He cursed himself a second then moved toward the other bowl. He wasn't a Protector anymore, only an average ordinary fella on Earth. No need to be brave or feel different, he was Joe Schmo from Dallas, Texas. Maybe they'd be friends forever, or maybe he'd...well either way, he had time to figure out where he and Ezra needed to be. Only thing he didn't have enough time for was the popcorn.

  “Yed, how did you know King Fayu?” Ezra stepped over towards him. “I was there when you were taken, and you said his name. If you had been gone all these years, how did you know him?”

  “Fayu.” Yed groaned, “he was a guard on the waryes side back then. I had the priviledge of tangling with him a couple times for the King. He never had royal blood, I don’t know how he could become King, or how he continues to live.” He shrugged, “but that’s in the past, and the present is popcorn.”

  "Come on Yed, we're starving here. You already gave Phaver's side on the couch their bundle," Muin complained as she came in. "I'll help fix it, it'll move faster."

  "Ah, ah, I got it Muin," Yed insisted. "Have some patience. Rome wasn't built overnight."

  "No, but Rome could make popcorn with a microwave faster than you," Muin countered. "Are you adding enough butter too, Wye?"

  "Plenty Muin," Yed said as he grabbed another bowl. With Muin's help, the rest was made in no time and he trotted out with the last bowl. The arrangement on the couch was typical, each warno had made themselves designated spots. His mother and father were on the right with Phaver, and Xiam, Iri and Muin were on the left. Zaria took the smaller couch, while the kids scattered out on the floor. Ezra sat on the other side of Zaria since space was more filled elsewhere. He'd have to give up his spot and sit on the floor tonight.

  He sat beside Tiger, not saying much. He'd tried the dad approach with the boy, but he rebelled the more he pushed. Instead he was simple and plain Yed. As a friend and not a parent, he made more progress with Tiger. From what he'd seen, Tiger would never grow up to accept a parental role in his life. But he could accept a friend. "Want to hold the bowl, Tiger?"

  "Thanks, Yed." Tiger dug straight into the popcorn. "This stuff is making me spoiled. This TV thing too."

  "You're allowed to be spoiled." Yed looked over at Carress. "Make sure Tiger's sharing with you."

  "I'll share, Yed."

  "Not all the time you don't."

  "He shares with me." Carress reached in and took a bite.

  "There's more than you two." Ye
d gestured toward Cooey and Zar.

  "They were too slow getting over," Tiger defended. He glanced over at Ezra as he popped kernel in his mouth. "Is she hurting again, Yed?"

  Yed didn't bother looking. Ezra must have touched her head again, he knew she was hurting, but she didn't want the pain to win. She finally had her family back, and she spent enough time dealing with the migraines. He'd told Bibble about it, but she wrote him off and said a few choice words like 'you know it happens', 'love sick fool', 'nothing special', and 'not worth her time'. Those words would remain unless a certain price was involved. Covering identities had wiped most of the extra money, and they still needed money for the important things. Unless they had alien guests staying over, the rent and other accountabilities were up to them. The fifty thousand they had saved previously went to the alien problems they now had. Over the years, they had learned how to save money and how the interest on saving that money worked. The older they became, the more it worked in their favor. Sometimes economy made it difficult though, and they honestly didn’t have the money it would take to check over Ezra. If only Bibble worked in installments.

  "Did you set up the appointment?"

  Yed looked over at Xiam and nodded. That's right, next week they were taking pictures. Xiam's idea, but a decent one. It would have to be the best Christmas picture ever taken. He'd have to get one with his mom and Phaver, there were no pictures of them left. Xiam wanted a romantic one with Iri. The kids needed to have a group photo. Zar would be on the left as the tallest, then Tiger, Carress and then Cooey. Maybe a few more single shots. Aw heck, they would be spending some money to get everything, but it'd be worth it. Hung right over the mantle and all over Double Yella.

  "Ow, will you quit pinching me?"

  "You pinched me first."

  "I saw it, he did it."

  "Did not, she did it."

  Yed listened to the kids starting to fight. Yeah, photos with them wouldn't be as easy as he'd wished. "Zaria?"

  Zaria didn't say much. He tried to bond with the kids, and he did everything he could to make them happy. That included not yelling at them. However, Yed still called on him because Muin was far from wanting to take on the mom role. Some of the things that flew out of her mouth were unbelievable.

  Muin moaned. "Shutup or I'll kick your little asses and send you to your room."

  Yed glared at Muin. Once again, choice words that made everyone groan in disapproval. He caught Zaria even looking at her in distaste.

  "Muin, that's overdoing it," Zaria said to her. "Can't you at least try to be more..."

  "Motherly?" The words left Muin's mouth like grease on the bottom of a cold turkey. She looked over at the kids. "Say another word and I'll stop loving you."

  Yed wasn't the only one that had some words for Muin. This was one routine he'd rather not have. One day, she would remember. She'd remember Zaria, and she'd remember how much she had loved those kids. Then she'd feel such regret for her little jokes. Luckily, her kids didn't take her humor seriously. They went to watching the movie, but before the thirty minute mark, Ezra had already left. He knew she would. Why was Ezra the only one affected on Earth with migraines? It did happen to aliens, Bibble was right, but it was more attributed to by type. They were all the same, so why wasn't anyone else suffering? He glanced at Tiger but realized the boy had got up and took off too. Carress was still watching the movie.

  Ezra sat down and removed the top sheet from her bed. Pressing the button on the air conditioner in her room, she curled up in bed trying not to moan. Everyone would continue to watch the movie and have a delightful time. The louder she became, the more it might make them pity her. Feeling the wind on her face, she didn't want to move again. However, she forgot to grab her ice pack. Since these migraines came so often, Yed bought her a small freezer to keep her ice packs cold.

  Hm. If only the human healers could help, but Xiam and Yed were far from supportive. Even Iri demanded to know why, but they didn't want to get into it. The physiology would be similar, but maybe not similar enough. She did after all have a tail, a fact they couldn't help but point out. The word dissection continued to show up in those conversations. It was pointless. She let out a soft moan as she began to get up, but instead felt the presence of an ice pack in her hand. She looked over and saw Tiger, shuffling away a few feet from her. "Tigeravich. Hello."

  Tiger waved and looked over at her lamp. "You don't like light with your migraine things. That must suck." He kicked his foot gently against the bottom drawer of her end table. "Wanted to ask you something, Ezra."

  Ezra placed the ice pack on her head. If it were anyone else she would tell them now wasn't a convenient time. It was her son though, and it didn't matter how much pain she was in, she'd always make room for him. "What did you want to ask?"

  "Why was I born? Me and Carressy," Tiger asked. "Don't bother with a dumb fairy tale or pretending about love or anything. I get the gist, but I want to know why someone wanted us to be born."

  Ezra sat up higher on the bed. "The king of that time period felt creating purity was necessary. That's all I know."

  "He already had Cooey and Zar," Tiger said. "We talked about that. Same family. In fact, I bet there were more than only a couple of us wandering around at that time. So why go through all that?"

  Ezra lied back down. "I don't know, Tiger. Whatever purpose he had must have gone with him."

  "Oh." Tiger shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, I was only curious. Do you think Yed knows?" Ezra shook her head. "Thought so. Okay, I'll leave you be. Sorry, lady. Um...I'll go."

  Ezra closed her eyes, blinking back tears. Her son finally asked her something, and she couldn't even give him an answer. Not that it mattered anymore. Nothing about the past honestly mattered anymore. Different life, different times. Being able to get through the days without pain but no, no, no. She wouldn't go down that road again. Earth. Life. Life on Earth. Friends and family. A decent world where she could see her children. Her body simply needed to get used to it.

  Yed said goodnight to everyone and headed to his room. He couldn’t help a small smile, it was a good night. Everyone got along, and there was no disaster. Ezra watched some of the movie, Tiger was doing better as long as he didn’t push. It wasn’t anything fantastic, pretty ordinary. Ordinary didn’t happen in his life anymore. He sat on his bed and looked over at his stand. Tucked inside the drawers were his Chronicle. He never had a chance to talk about events in the past in it when he became a Protector. Even though he hadn’t written in it for so long, it was a significant warno tradition. The warnos were wiped out, but he’d write down his thoughts, and do what he could to preserve what was left.

  He grabbed an old pencil and started to write. He could feel the magic held inside the book. His planet didn’t have much in the magic arena, but the Chronicle had been there almost since they learned to think straight. Come to think of it, no one actually knew where the tradition came from, the Chronicle was always there. He felt the warmth as he wrote about what happened in the war, and his early years on Earth. He wrote about the later years, about times at Double Yella, and when he finally went home. He wrote about his split mind talking to himself, about rescuing M-Win, about learning who he was and saving his family. He even mentioned to wiggle in the death trap time machine he had almost tried.

  He continued to write through the night, until he realized he was on that very night. He was writing about popcorn and Ezra’s headaches. He was writing about Tiger and him hogging popcorn. He felt connected to the old roots that no longer would blossom with anyone else. He and Ezra could get Tigeravich and Carressela journals when they got older, but it would never be the same. Papers aged and fell out. They’d have to write and treat paper with such care as a historian over the years to keep them readable. They would probably even convert them with Earth technology, moving them into the computer, saving them as files, adapting them through the time. Yeah, they would never know the wonder of a Chronicle.

  To think, h
e actually called it blogging when he explained it to Muin. Cripes. He shut the book and laid it on his bed stand before proceeding to bed.

  Chapter 53

  REASON FOR HEADACHES

  Screaming in agony, Ezra found herself fleeing the house. The pain was already immense, but it was becoming something else. Everyone was gone, enjoying some form of Earth entertainment again that day. The only one at home was Xiam and Iri, wanting some private time by themselves.

  “Come on,” Xiam said as he caught up with her and grabbed her hand. “Ezra, we need to head back.”

  “No,” Ezra shook her head and openly refused him. “No Xiam, I can’t. It hurts, you don't understand." She needed to move further, the house was the culprit of the pain. How, she didn't know and she couldn't think about it if she wanted to. Her instincts said flee and Xiam nor Iri could stop her. "The further I get away, the better I feel."

  “It’s only psychological,” Iri moved in front of her and tried to keep her back. "We shouldn't stray far from the yellow house. Ezra, please? Becca, we don't know this world as well, don't go."

  Ezra's adrenaline kicked in, knowing they wouldn't take no for an answer. She pushed Iri out of the way, broke out of Xiam's grip, and ran further down the street. As if matters couldn't be worse, she started to hear strange sounds pounding inside of her head as if it were about to erupt. Her head pounded so hard, constant gongs, banging with ferocity in her skull! And then, when she believed nothing else could surprise her, it turned off like a light switch.

  The pain was gone.