peer outside the window at a man and woman strolling up the sidewalk. They’re holding hands and staring straight ahead. The way they walk looks wrong, lifting their feet up from the ground way too much. That’s how I know they’re probably not really human. I wonder if that’s what’s going on. If maybe the neighborhood is possessed by Lost Souls.
Evan zips his jacket up. “We’re going to get my watch.”
I point to a clock hanging crookedly on the wall. “The time’s right there.”
He shakes his head, giving me a dirty look. “I need it so we can reset time.”
I tuck my hands inside of my pockets. “Sorry, I’m just tired.”
We hear rustling coming from the stairs and Evan’s head whips in that direction with panic in his eyes. “We need to go,” he says and grabs my arm. “Now. I’ve seen you try to lie and you suck at it… and they can’t… I can’t let anyone else know. I’ll be messing with the future if I did.”
“Hey, I can lie.” I scowl at him as I move my arm out of his hold. “We can’t just take off and not tell them where we’re going. They’ll flip.”
He surrenders his hands in front of him. “Relax, they won’t even remember it in a few minutes.”
I sigh, knowing he’s right, but hating that we’re bailing. “So what’s the plan? How does this all work?”
He glances at the staircase and then back at me. “Well, first you have to Foresee us back to the castle since I lost my crystal in the damn lake.”
As footsteps head down the stairs, I nod and shut my eyes. “Hold onto me,” I say and his fingers enfold around my upper arm.
I realize how exhausted I am while doing this. How much I loathe constantly moving around. I just want to sit still and take a moment to breathe; I hope that one day I’ll get to.
***
We land in the grass lining the shore. I instantly scan the toppled trees, the footprints in the mud, and the nearly demolished castle. Everything is ruined, destroyed. It’s all gone.
Evan nods towards the castle. “If you want, I can run back and grab it. You can wait here.”
I shake my head. “No, I think I’d rather go with you,” I say, not explaining why. That I want to say a silent good-bye to a place that changed my life. Almost fifteen years ago, I sat in that castle and Sophia detached my soul. It changed my life, but in a few moments, that life isn’t going to exist.
We hike up the hill, a cool breeze blowing against us. The sun is starting to descend behind the mountains, the land shadowing; the day coming to an end.
“So, how does this whole time resetting thing work?” I break the silence, kicking a rock across the grass.
He tips his head towards me and his hair falls into his eyes. “The biggest thing is that you have to believe it’ll work. If you don’t then you might as well not even try,” he says. “The rest is pretty simple. You push a button inside the watch. Once you push it, everything sets into motion, but if you’re not using all of your energy and focus on the exact moment in time that needs changed, you’ll blow it and nothing will happen. We’ll be stuck here, facing the future and everything that comes with it.”
“Wow, way to put pressure on me,” I reply sarcastically.
“A little pressure never hurt anyone,” he says. “In fact, it might help you get everything right.”
We make the rest of the journey to the castle in silence. I’m still not sure if I believe it. If I can do it. If I want to do it. The one thing I know is that I’m going to try.
Evan walks into the foyer and steps around the shattered chandelier at the bottom of the stairway. The walls are cracked, some even knocked out, and there are massive holes in the floor. The banister has been knocked down, the paintings, lamps, furniture—demolished. Strangely, the mirror on the wall is still intact and I wonder if the violet eyes staring back at me will be the same one’s I see in my next life. Will I still be the same person? Will I even remember any of this?
Evan easily jumps to the second step of the stairway, the bottom one missing. Then, he extends his hand to me and I take it, letting