Chapter 4: 4. Observations

=::= Skye's PoV =::=

Emily stood quietly and stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, while I waited off to the side. Her eyes were wide with shock and wonder as she took in the appearance of the teenage girl she found staring back at her.

"You're seventeen years old," I said in a soft voice. "And obviously you're a girl. It's what you were meant to be, Emily. What you could have been thirty years ago, if things had worked out differently."

She slowly turned to face me as she mumbled a few words, but she was still too shocked to form a coherent sentence.

"It's ok," I responded with a faint smile on my face. "Just relax and take it as it comes. You'll be fine."

After a few moments the former police detective asked, "What about the investigation? They sent me because Phil Duncan went missing. When they realize I've gone missing they'll send more than just one detective."

I hadn't actually done anything about that yet, but it was one of the things I was going address as soon as I left her. In the meantime I told her not to worry about it. I reminded her that math was her last class of the day, and suggested she should head on home.

Emily frowned, "I don't know where home is? I mean, my apartment's in Orillia..."

I froze time as I stared at Emily and myself. That was a detail I missed when it happened two weeks ago.

She didn't know where she lived in this new life, and I overlooked the significance. She still thought her home was an apartment in Orillia, where she lived in the old timeline. It was close to the police detachment where she worked, but in the new timeline she lived here in town with her mother.

At the time I told her to follow her heart, then I left her alone while I went to finish rewriting reality in the new timeline to accommodate all the little changes I'd made for her.

Revisiting those moments now, I couldn't help wonder if her confusion about home was a clue.

At the time of the conversation in the girls washroom I'd already changed her body, and I'd split the timeline and moved her from the old one into the new one.

The new timeline wasn't complete yet, I didn't finish all the work I had to do until after I left the washroom. When I left I jumped about twenty minutes into the past from her perspective, so all the other changes I was making were already complete by the time Emily and I had that conversation after math class was over. She should have already had a complete set of memories from her new life before we entered the girls washroom.

I unfroze time and watched myself tell her, "Just follow your heart Emily, you'll be fine."

The teen tried to reply but I'd already vanished. And since I already knew what I did after that meeting, I decided to continue watching Emily. I wanted to see what she did after I left her on her own.

She was obviously still in a state of shock, and I chided myself for abandoning her like that. In retrospect I realized I should have been more attentive and compassionate. I grimaced as I realized it was no wonder some of Selene's customers thought of me as cold and aloof.

I continued to watch and follow as Emily wandered through the high-school halls as if she was in a fugue state, though she managed to find her locker without any trouble.

She didn't have a problem with her combination either, and I watched her shuffle books in and out of the locker before she put on an autumn jacket. Then she walked straight back home, but by that point I realized she was moving more like she was on auto-pilot rather than actually knowing what she was doing or where she was going.

At home she met her mother, and from the way she reacted with shock followed by happy tears I realized Emily hadn't known her mother was alive in this new timeline. That bothered me, it was another indication she didn't have access to the new timeline's memories yet.

I stayed with her and continued to observe unseen. It wasn't until two or three hours later, after doing some chores and homework then having dinner with her mother, when it seemed like she'd finally clicked mentally into the new timeline.

That left me puzzled and worried. I was positive she should have had those memories from the moment I brought her to the new timeline, and I had no idea what I did wrong.

It seemed like Emily was about to get ready for bed so I decided to leave her alone, but just before I left I saw her pull the little souvenir rock from Io out of her jeans pocket. From the look on her face I knew the small yellow stone just reminded her of the original timeline. It was a physical carry-over from the old timeline to the new, hard proof that the other timeline really happened.

I frowned to myself again. I didn't think the rock was responsible for all Emily's current problems, but I had a feeling it was another clue. Or it might have exacerbated whatever mistake I made in the first place. If I did something wrong that resulted in her having a weak connection to the new timeline, then having a physical anchor to the old timeline might have made the problem worse.

With a sigh I returned to my quiet place on Io then sped up time until the universe got back to the same afternoon when I got my ears pierced and met with Danni and Emily. I saw myself appear on the sofa and stare thoughtfully at Jupiter for a short while, before opening a hole in time and stepping through to the past.

Once that me was gone I let time return to its normal speed and I emerged from behind the corner in reality where I'd been hiding.

I took my place on the sofa again and focused my attention on the gas giant spinning silently before me, as I contemplated Emily's problem and the possible new clues I'd found. After a few minutes I had to concede I still needed more information. I wanted to compare Emily's situation to someone who'd gone through a similar timeline shift, but without the same kind of problems.

Selene's most powerful spells would change reality and create new timelines. For most customers, they'd be aware of both timelines at the start, but the old one typically faded within a day or two. People wouldn't usually forget their original past, but as they embraced the new timeline their old memories would become distant and unreal.

I knew some people did completely forget their old past, they'd even forget doing business with Selene. That only happened though when they wanted to forget, such as a particularly stressful or traumatic past. Or when they felt so comfortable or happy in the new timeline that they let their original memories fade away completely.

And at the other extreme, there were some people who never let go of their original history. They managed to maintain all their memories of both timelines without any difficulty. And I happened to know one such person. If I could compare her experiences to Emily's that might give me another clue as to what I'd done wrong.

With a thought I opened a small wormhole between Io and Earth, it was just big enough to allow a specific band of the electromagnetic spectrum to pass through. I found the frequency I was looking for and a second later I was online. I accessed the store's unofficial discord server, and sure enough the person I was looking for was also online.

I opened up a direct message chat with her and got right to the point.

NotNat: I apologize for the short notice but would it be ok if we met for a conversation? I need to ask you some questions regarding your experiences with the spell you purchased from Selene.
Clover: Hey Nat! I don't mind. I didn't know you were local though, are you around the Toronto area?. Did you want to meet up somewhere?
NotNat: Please don't be alarmed. I'll be there momentarily, and I'll explain everything.
Clover: ...

I closed the little wormhole while she was still typing her response, then before she even knew I'd gone offline I appeared in the living-room where she was still focused on her phone.

She hadn't really changed much in the two years since she got her miracle. She was eighteen now and she looked a little more mature than she had at sixteen, but her face was still cute and rounded and her over-all appearance was best described as cuddly.

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Her long straw-blonde hair hung down past her shoulders, and the ends were still dyed her trademark green. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with a joy of life, and I knew she was making the most of her second chance. Her outfit was very casual, jeans and a t-shirt.

It took her a second or two to notice my presence, then she let out a surprised yelp as she dropped her phone and jumped to her feet.

"Woah!" she exclaimed, "Nat?! Is that you?"

Clover took a step back as she stared at me, then she frowned. "Wait, are you Skye? You look like the descriptions I've heard."

"Yes Clover it's me," I nodded. "My real name is Skye, but I'd appreciate if you'd please keep my identity a secret from the rest of the server."

I continued, "I'm sorry for imposing on you like this but I have some questions about your experience with Selene's magic. I'm trying to help a friend, and I was hoping to compare your experiences to hers."

The young blonde frowned slightly but after a few seconds she nodded, "Ok Skye. Have a seat, make yourself comfortable. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Thank you," I responded as I sat down. "A little milk would be nice."

She took a step towards the kitchen then did a double-take. There was a wide smile on her face as she turned towards me and asked, "Milk? I don't suppose you'd confirm one of the theories on the server? Are you really Selene's little black cat?"

"Yes," I replied without batting an eye. "I was there both times you and Claire came into the shop two years ago."

"Wow," she grinned. "I knew it!"

A couple minutes later I had a half glass of milk while she had a can of soda, she was back on the sofa again and I sat across from her in a comfortable reading chair. After a sip of milk I explained I was interested in understanding her experience maintaining memories of both timelines.

Clover had a sip of her drink, then she shrugged. "I assume I'm an odd case? After me and Claire got home I started trying to catalogue the differences in our new life versus the old one, and that kind of turned into a hobby or something? I have a journal up in my bedroom that's full of notes. I think if I hadn't done that, it all probably would have faded more?"

"Not that I'm not happy!" she quickly added. "I'm very happy, every single day I wake up grateful to have this second chance. Actually maybe that's part of why I kept all those notes? I didn't want to forget the other timeline, because remembering what life was like before helps keep me so happy about my new life now. And it helps me to help new folks on the server, I don't think I could do that if the other memories faded."

I nodded for her to go on.

"My sister's the opposite," she continued. "So is her girlfriend? I'm sure you noticed Ariana's not on the server anymore, and Claire never was. They don't talk about the magic or the spells or your store. I wouldn't be surprised if they've both forgotten about it, or maybe it's just a distant memory to them? I don't talk with them about it anymore because I know they're focused on the here and now. They don't want to think about past lives or past timelines."

I frowned slightly as I listened. Her mention of Ariana reminded me that the catgirl musician also had trouble acclimatizing to her new timeline at first, much like Emily did. So perhaps what I observed while watching Emily earlier was just a red herring after all.

Still, I was here so I decided to try exploring some other angles. I asked Clover, "Do you ever have dreams of the other timeline? Or have you ever experienced unwanted reminders in your daily routine, things that make you think about the other timeline?"

"I don't think so," Clover shook her head. "I'm almost positive I've never dreamed of my old life. As for reminders, like I said at first I was going out of my way to identify the differences and took lots of notes and things? So I was intentionally looking at things from that perspective, but I don't think it's ever happened when I wasn't specifically looking for it."

She had another sip of her cola then added, "Maybe the only time that's happened is when Claire takes us to visit dad's grave. I don't know if she even remembers that I didn't really die, but I sure do. And it makes me feel really weird every time we go put flowers there. I'm not sure if that's the same thing you're asking about though."

"Probably not," I replied. I drank down the last of my milk then got to my feet as I told her, "Thank you for sharing Clover. It was good to get another perspective on this."

She asked, "Was I any help? What is it you're trying to do anyways?"

I hesitated. The information I'd learned from her hadn't shed any light on Emily's problem, apart from confirming that Em's experiences were unusual. And it left me feeling even more certain that the fault was mine, I'd made a mistake somewhere and Emily was paying the price.

That wasn't something I wanted to share with Clover though, so I kept my reply vaguely positive.

"I'm hoping to help a friend," I responded, "But I'd rather not go into too many details. And you've helped me to rule out some possibilities. Thank you Clover."

She obviously guessed I was about to disappear as she exclaimed, "Wait! Before you go could I ask for a favour?"

I paused, "What is it?"

Clover gave me a hopeful smile and asked, "Could I get a selfie with you?"

I frowned, "Is this for your own private collection, or do you intend to share it online?"

She grimaced, "Ah. I guess you'd rather I didn't share a picture online."

I could tell she was disappointed, and considering I'd dropped in almost unannounced and asked her for help I decided I did owe her something.

"How about a compromise?" I suggested. "My other form is more ambiguous, you can share selfies with me that way."

Her eyes went wide as I hopped down off the chair then jumped onto the sofa next to her. Then I climbed up onto the back of the sofa and perched just over her shoulder so I was in a good position for her to get a picture of the two of us.

It took Clover a few more seconds to recover from my sudden transformation, then she quickly snapped a few selfies of the two of us together.