The meadow lay still, bathed in the tranquility of an ordinary evening until a mysterious blue portal opened and shattered the serenity. Thalia and Jason fell out of the portal with a loud thud. Thalia, momentarily disoriented, searched for her glasses, victims of the chaotic arrival. They had disappeared into a sea of endless purple wildflowers. Thalia had a captivating presence. Her dark, curly hair cascaded gracefully around her shoulders, framing her face with an alluring charm. Her tan skin radiated a healthy glow, complementing the rich depth of her almond-brown eyes. Thalia's full lips held an air of both wisdom and allure, making her a striking and unforgettable figure. Jason, a young man, possessed a striking appearance. His kind blue eyes sparkled with warmth, and charming dimples adorned his friendly smile. His dark wavy hair was silky and smooth.
She fumbled around, desperate as Velma from Scooby-Doo without her most crucial tool. Thankfully, the scent of fresh air and fragrant flowers confirmed they were outdoors, not in a different dimension or prehistoric times. Jason remained silent as they gathered themselves.
"Jason, are you okay?" Her voice broke the silence.
"Yeah, I'm okay. How about you?" Jason's blurry figure slowly rose.
"I'm fine," Thalia replied as she finally located her gold-rimmed glasses and slid them back onto her nose. Just in time to witness her nephew tumble out of the portal and onto the field.
"Ouch, I hurt my arm." Her nephew clutched his arm, and the blue portal above him sealed shut.
Panic surged through them. Both Jason and Thalia rushed over to him. Thalia knelt beside him, carefully examining his arm.
"Thankfully, I don't think it's broken. I told you to stay inside while we tested the portal. You could have seriously hurt yourself, Leo!" Thalia scolded, though her voice trembled with relief as she hugged Leo tightly.
"It didn't work again. Maybe we can try tomorrow?" Jason's tone was gentle, like a parent soothing a disappointed child, as Thalia sat amidst the purple flowers, holding Leo.
"Yeah, let's try again tomorrow. It's getting late; we should go home," Thalia said.
The journey back was marked by silence. Jason carried Leo in his arms as they made their way home. Jason's patience knew no bounds, one of the reasons he had agreed to accompany her on these wild escapades. The chorus of crickets grew louder, and the air grew colder as night descended. Stars shimmered in the sky, and it was well past Leo's bedtime. Thalia knew her sister would give her a lecture reminiscent of their grandmother's. She pressed buttons on the mysterious watch they had found a few days ago, wondering why it hadn't worked. But to understand how they ended up here, let's go back to when they discovered the watch.
It all began like any other scorching summer weekend, a well-deserved break from her long hours as a waitress. The restaurant could manage without her for a day. She leaned back, basking in the sun's warmth, while Leo and Jason decided to join her at the beach. Leo, always eager for adventure, attempted to bury Jason in the sand. Amidst the playful shoveling, Leo uncovered something shiny - a silver watch, seemingly ordinary. It buzzed in his hand as he held it.
With excitement, he showed Thalia the watch, and she examined it, congratulating him on his discovery. Jason, now free from his sandy confinement, grinned at Leo, fitting the watch onto his wrist. Leo noticed a shiny button on the side of the watch and pressed it. In a dazzling burst of light, the watch illuminated so intensely that it stung their eyes. Sand swirled around them as they found themselves caught in a sandstorm. They plummeted through a swirling blue vortex, desperately reaching for anything to hold onto. Panic set in as they screamed, convinced that their fate was sealed. Closing her eyes, Thalia braced for a quick, painless end, thinking about reuniting with her parents.
However, the vortex spat them out into an unfamiliar location, landing them unceremoniously in a haystack within a wooden barn. The blue portal sealed above them, leaving them dazed and disoriented from their harrowing ordeal. Jason nursed his head, and Leo vomited into a nearby barrel. This was precisely why Thalia had reservations about bringing her young nephew along. Traveling through time was dangerous for anyone, let alone a child.
At that moment, a woman in a long white dress carrying a basket of eggs opened the barn door. She let out a horrified scream at the sight. Thalia's nimble fingers found the button on the side of the silver watch, and she pressed it with a sense of urgency. In a flash of blue light, they were zapped back to their present time, leaving the astonished woman behind in the barn, their shocked expressions frozen in time.
They landed back in the familiar surroundings of their era, but Thalia's heart was heavy with determination. She had experienced a glimpse of the past, a tantalizing taste of what might be possible. She knew her mission now - to travel through time again and meet her parents who died in 1996. Growing up, Thalia and her sister, Isabella, had been raised by their loving grandparents, who had always made sure they knew they were loved. Her grandmother read her bedtime stories, and her grandfather taught her how to ride a bike. Heartwarming birthdays were celebrated with homemade cakes adorned with candles, and Christmases were filled with cherished gifts and laughter. Thalia's grandparents lived in a cabin in the middle of the woods. Thalia loved going on adventures into the woods with her older sister, and they pretended to be fairies. They fought because they both wanted to be Tinkerbell, Isabella always stuck gum in Thalia's curly hair when they had fights. Eventually, her family nicknamed her bubblegum. Despite their fights, the sisters had a deep love for each other. They would fall asleep holding each other under the stars. A reminder that they only had each other in this life. Their grandfather would carry them back inside as they slept in their fairy costumes.
In the living room, an old picture hung on the wall, a frozen moment from a past life. It was taken in Hawaii, and in the photograph, her mother's tan skin glowed under the tropical sun. Her flowing, curly hair framed her beautiful tan face and her bright smile radiated happiness. Standing beside her was her father, tall and strong, his bright green eyes and sun-kissed skin capturing the essence of a carefree vacation. His smile matched hers, and together they looked so happy, so full of life.
"What were they like, Grandma?" Thalia asked, her eyes filled with a mixture of hope and nostalgia.
"Your parents were inseparable," Thalia's grandma said softly. "They shared a love that was like the gentle trade winds, always there to guide and comfort each other. But what was most precious to them was the love they had for you."
Thalia often found herself gazing at that photograph, yearning to know the parents she had never truly known. Unlike her older sister, Isabella, who had a few memories of their parents, Thalia had been too young to remember them. The stories, the photographs, and the love she felt from her grandparents were a lifeline to a past she longed to explore. Now armed with a mysterious time-traveling watch, she was determined to bridge the gap between past and present, to meet her parents, if only for a moment, and to rewrite their family's history. The watch held the key, and Thalia was ready to unlock its secrets, no matter the risks and challenges that lay ahead.