"Focus... focus... anywhere, anytime, anyplace," Finlo repeated to me as I sat on the forest ground in a criss-crossed seating position. I shut my eyes as tight as possible for maximum focus as my eye necklace glowed. The boy continued, "Focus... focus... anywhere, anytime, anyplac-"
"DAMMIT!" I yelled, immediately interrupting the boy and opening my eyes. "This is fucking impossible! I can't focus on one place. I-I can see so many at once, so many times and places and people. I can't even think!"
The boy put my whining to a halt. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, that is not prodigy talk. If we have any chance of stopping Kreel, you're gonna need to start carrying yourself like one. Trust yourself, trust the abilit- wait, hold on, actually take off the eye."
I looked at the boy with confusion. "Take it off? How does that help?"
"Just do it," the boy assured.
After taking off the necklace and placing it on the ground next to me, the boy began to instruct, "The immense timelines and possibilities of the eye can be overwhelming to a first-time time traveler. If you can focus on a place without the necklace on, somewhere your brain sticks to without the help of the eye, all you have to do is find it. Once you've got it, place the necklace back on."
I followed the boy's instruction. I closed my eyes, this time slightly less tight as my brain wasn't spinning with time periods. I saw my house; I saw the exact day. I remembered it all too well. My eyes began to water as I opened them, reaching for my eye necklace from the ground. I placed the necklace on my neck as it began to glow purple.
"Got it," I said to the boy as I strategically placed my hands around the eye.
"Don't be long. We don't have much time until the festival is over," the boy said.
I shook my head quickly at the boy, closing my eyes, a tear rolling down my cheek as I did so. I focused on the place and time I had seen until my brain drew completely blank. My body began to feel light as if I was floating. The air around me felt different from that of the humid forest. I knew this air; I was home.
I opened my eyes to find myself in my backyard shed, seated in the same criss-cross position, this time behind a stack of paint containers in the corner of the shed. As I stood up from my position, I observed the familiar area. The shed was filled with ladders and shelves containing all kinds of random supplies. My observations were interrupted by the sound of the shed opening. I quickly got back behind the paint containers, hoping whoever was entering the shed wouldn't see me.
Moments later, I heard it... A humming tune I hadn't heard in over a year, the humming tune of my mother. She hummed her favorite song, "ABC" by Michael Jackson. Her repeated humming of that song used to annoy me; however, at this moment, it was music to my ears. I slowly raised from my position, just peeking above the paint container to where I could see over them. That was when I caught a glimpse of her. She sported an oversized t-shirt and some pink oversized pajama pants. Her hair was noticeably messy; she must have just woken up. Nevertheless, she looked like an angel. My eyes welled up with tears as I admired her beauty.
At this moment, the unthinkable happened. Caught up in my emotions, I knocked over one of the paint cans as I accidentally leaned on it. I quickly dropped to the floor. My emotions quickly shifted from warm and sentimental to fear and anxiety. The last thing I needed was for my mom to see me. I looked so different from the person she knew me as. How would I explain to her my loss of weight, my shorter hair, and this stupid fucking eye necklace? I began to panic as I heard my mom's footsteps walk towards the paint can. Just a few more steps and she was sure to see me.
I had to think fast. I closed my eyes tightly and began to assume finger placement on my necklace. That's when it began to glow purple. I quickly cleared my mind, making myself one with time. This time felt much easier than back in the forest. I saw a dying rabid bear suffering in the middle of some forest in the 1970s. I then shifted my focus to the upper shed window behind me in the back of the shed, quickly creating a portal just as my mom had arrived at the paint can.
It all happened so fast. "Dammit," my mom said just as she began to pick up the container. A pounding sound came from just beneath the upper window. I heard my mom immediately stop in her tracks as I assumed my hidden position. The pounding was followed by growling. The growling was followed by a loud roar. It was the bear. I pulled it just in the nick of time. The roar was then followed by a loud scream. This time it wasn't the bear; it was my mother. She ran out of the shed in a panic, yelling for my dad, her phone falling out of her loose pajama pocket as she did.
I ran to the upper window of the shed, tip-toeing while trying to see through. The bear stumbled for a moment until it eventually fell to the floor. I saw my mom come running outside, this time with my dad. I then saw them find the dead body of the bear. Then, for some odd reason, my eyes began to well up again. I hadn't seen them together since the day she passed. They both looked so good together, as if they both shined due to their love for each other. I hadn't seen my dad smile in a while.
My staring was interrupted by a notification on my mom's phone. I walked over to the phone, trying to check the exact date as I wasn't entirely sure. I picked the phone off of the floor. I tapped the screen. What I saw next made my heart sink to the floor: "July 12th, 2023." This was the day my mom was gonna die. Later that evening, she'd be killed by a drunk driver at around 8:30 that night.
I knew I had better get back to the forest now that I had somewhat gotten the hang of time travel, but something in my heart told me there was one thing I had to do first. I closed my eyes, clearing my head once again. I saw that evening. I saw her checking out at Walgreens with my medicine just moments before she would hit the road. That's where I took myself.
The environment around me began to feel different. I knew exactly where I was. I heard cars passing in the distance as I walked towards the Walgreens exit. In mere minutes, I would be seeing my mother in the last few moments of her life. I knew I had to talk to her. I decided I'd put my necklace in my pocket, sit next to the entrance along the wall of the store, and look sad. I knew she'd notice; she had a big heart like that.
Moments later, I saw her, this time in a blouse and jeans, carrying her purse and her freshly acquired Walgreens bag. In it was my medicine. I stared at the ground, hoping she noticed me. Soon enough, she did.
"Hi, um, are you okay?" she asked. I wasn't prepared for what I'd even say to her. I stumbled my words until I didn't.
"Yeah, um, I um, well, I'm not really sure," I began to break down. Everything seemed to hit me at once in the moment.
"Aww, sweetie, do you wanna talk about it?" I shook my head yes as I tried to get myself together. My mom sat herself right next to me, setting down her purse and the bag of medicine.
I began to let it all out. "It's just so much at once. My mom died, and my dad hasn't been the same. My grades are absolutely fucking abysmal, and I don't even know if I'll make it to college. I just... it feels like my life has completely fallen apart."
I broke down once again. My mom gave me a tight hug as I cried on her shoulder. Feeling her touch once again made me cry even more. We shared a moment of silence as she patted my back before she began to talk to me.
"I know a little bit about what that's like... My parents died while I was young, left me an orphan. I spent my teenage years in a foster home. I can't sit here and tell you that it gets any easier. Quite frankly, a moment doesn't go by where I'm not thinking about my parents, but... here I am. I found a man that loves me more than I love myself. I created two beautiful, smart, talented daughters, and I even found a job I'm kinda decent at. I'm even getting a promotion tomorrow... I guess what I'm trying to say is that none of this gets easier, but when you find new people and passions in the midst of your darkest times, that's how you can escape them, you know? Or at the very least, make them a little easier to deal with."
I began to immediately think about my journey, the eye, and the moment it found me. The eye was my escape. After a few more minutes of embrace, I knew my time was up. I had better get going back to the forest; time was ticking back in Austin.
I let go of my mother and stood up. In between sniffles, I said, "I have to get going now. I have some people waiting on me."
My mom smiled at me and stood up. "Well, okay then. Hopefully, that helped. Please take what I said into account. I- I promise it works."
After she said this, I took a moment and stared at her. I wanted nothing more than to save her in any way I could, but doing this would lead to me never finding the eye, leaving the people in Austin and Finlo behind. I gave her another hug.
"Thank you. Thank you for everything," I said, holding back tears.
"Of course, baby. Of course," she replied.
After our embrace, I saw my mother off as she walked to her car, completely unaware these were her last moments. I stared her down until she closed the door of the car. I looked down for a moment in reflection until I pulled the necklace out of my pocket, placed it on my neck, and began to place my fingers around it. As it glowed dark purple, I found the forest. I found 2348. I found exactly where Finlo and I had been. I closed my eyes tighter as I took myself back.
Eventually, I was back. The humidity and sounds of birds immediately welcomed me back. In mere seconds, I noticed something was off. It was quiet, too quiet.
"Finlo?" I called out. I called his name repeatedly until I was met with an answer coming from my left.
"Over here!" This voice wasn't Finlo's. I knew something was wrong. I placed my fingers around the eye, causing it to glow purple, ready to strike if needed as I followed the direction I heard the voice come from. After passing through some trees, I saw them.
"Well, look who decided to join us!" It was Sara. She stood in front of Finlo, holding an assault rifle in his mouth as he was on his knees on the forest ground. Behind him were the twins, holding him there. On the floor next to him was his eye necklace.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Filled with anger, I began to close my eyes tight and press my fingers harder on the eye, causing it to glow more. I scoured time, looking for weapons, anything I could find to help the boy. I was interrupted by the sound of Sara's voice.
"Don't you move another fucking muscle. The second you try anything, I blow this kid's head off. You got me?"