"Do you still have a question?" Lou said to me.
"Why do you always seem angry?"
"I'm not. I'm just being frank. I don't like wasting time."
Ahh, so Cedric and Lou have something in common.
I used to believe that until I learned that wasting time is not the same as simply breathing. The latter is more about appreciating the present moment. And being frank sometimes does not lead to finding answers.
"People cannot always be direct to the point, Lou. But since that is your belief, will that mean I can also ask why you bothered searching for Cedric using your ability instead of finding him in person?"
"I opened the gate to look for him outside once I felt he was no longer there. But I think I saw him hiding near a window. I rushed to question him about what the hell was going on. But once I was inside, I lost him again. I got pissed like he was playing hide and seek with me. He got into trouble once when he tried wandering off on his own. And I was asked to be his babysitter. We're not prisoners here, but we can't get out of this house unless the three of us are together. Zyren will get mad if one of us goes missing. So I have to find him."
"I guess that explains why the gate was left open."
"I did rush back to the gate to secure him inside. So I locked it first, not knowing somebody else got inside," Lou said while glaring at me as if I was a pest he needed to extract.
"You should have locked it in the first place," I said while looking away from him.
"We never needed to lock it until Cedric has this crazy idea of being on his own again."
"So, not finding Cedric made you time travel?" I sound like I was asking a magician for his magic trick. But I am scared to hear the answers.
"Every object has its history to tell. I grab something I already own, and then I also bring something related to the present time. If not, it will be harder for me to come back."
So that explains the notes written on those books. And the stuffed toys, too. Lou wanted to remember when he had those things and who gave them to him.
"So you always needed something new to bring you back here?"
"I just needed something to remind me which is from the past and the present. But yeah, I can buy something new if I have to. We only currently live in an abandoned house, but we're not poor."
I believe I can be a patient person. But with this kid, I'm becoming unsure. He sounded full of himself. How can I make him see my point that it was not appropriate to be rude to someone? Anyway, why do I bother? It is none of my business to make Lou a good citizen in the future.
"So aside from searching Cedric, where else do you use your ability?"
"I also earned money from it. I have clients who want to know about a part of their past that they had forgotten. Or some people who would like to confirm what happened. I even solve some cases."
I'm speechless, at least for three seconds.
"How much do you earn from that?"
"My minimum fee is 300-500 thousand dollars. It depends on the case. And I only accept cash."
Now, I want to slap him hard. Is he playing with me? No one should give that amount of money to a kid.
"What? Do you think what I do is easy? My life isn't supposed to be cheap. But what can I do? That's the only amount people are willing to give me."
Wow, that is supposed to be cheap? Wait. "What do you mean by that?"
"It means I can now come up with a bigger amount depending on my client. I need to be selective about who can know my ability."
"No, about what you said where your life is involved."
Lou seemed stunned. It was like he regretted telling me those details.
"Lou…" I said. "If there is something you're not sure you should say, it's okay to stay silent."
"No!" he angrily said. "I—"
Lou sensed my tactic to make him see that being straightforward has limits.
He grabbed the bedsheet firmly and looked away as if he refused to make me feel I was right.
What a hard-headed child.
"Every time I go back to the past, my life might be shortening. I'm guessing the number of hours I am not in the present will be the same number of hours subtracted from my lifespan."
"Then why do it, Lou? What makes the past so important that you keep going back?"
"I needed to look for Cedric and… my parents… I want to be with them."
I kept seeing Lou as a brat, but I was wrong. Lou is a child who misses his mom and dad a lot.
But he might become someone living in the past, never interested in knowing the future.
Somehow, I could not argue with that. All of us would never know what is ahead of us. So some people think the future is a scary thing. And since, usually, the past is familiar and more comfortable to look back on, we prefer that. But no matter what we do, we can never stop the future from happening.
"Lou… memories are nice, but that's all they are. Maybe you wouldn't accept what I'm saying right now, but I hope you'll realize that each day could be your past, present, and future. So if you wasted one day, three parts of your life would be gone."
"It doesn't matter. I can always go back to the time I want."
Lou was still looking at the other side of his room.
I knew he was being stubborn.
We are both being stubborn.
"But you keep coming back? To the present, I mean. Because you knew you would never be happy to stay in the past. You will always dread to replay scenes you already knew wouldn't last. Or is that why you chose to always be in the happiest moments of your life? Because you don't want to deal with the ugly ones? Well, I can understand that. But please know that it was unfair. It's unfair because you're not giving other people the chance to be a part of your life."
"Shut up! What do you care?! And what do you know? Don't talk to me like you've known what I've been through!"
I was stunned.
Cedric came in and was shocked to hear Lou shouting at me.
"Lou… what is wrong with you?"
Lou threw a pillow at his cousin, but Cedric was quick enough to catch it this time.
"This is all your fault!"
"Okay. I got it. Just stop screaming. If Zyren wakes up—"
"Ha! So now you're afraid of Zyren waking up? You're selfish, aren't you? You only think of yourself and nothing else!"
I think Cedric was quite hurt and insulted at the same time. I couldn't even speak for a while. It was the exact words he used on me earlier. So, I knew how he must feel.
"You're not the only one trapped in this situation. I've also had enough! You think you're the only one who can try to escape?"
Lou stood from her bed. He grabbed the nearest bear before he looked at Cedric again.
I knew what could happen next.
And Cedric knew it, too.
Both of us moved forward. We are in sync.
"I will never go back to this house again!" Lou screamed before we both grabbed each side of his arm.
And then, something happened. It was like a glitch.
When I looked around, we were in a different time and place.