The Time Tower (the first visit)

Chapter 13

If Akish or her father could hear her, neither responded. She bolted through the room with the
couch, nearly tripping over a chair leg, and halted in the hallway beyond, turning in circles.

Everywhere she looked, there was a new door. The door that led to the room where her brother
lay awaiting her arrival had disappeared. Two doors flew open at the same time. A woman came running
out of the first. She was past Pima and through another door before Pima could think to act. She whirled
to confront the man as he came running out of the second door but stopped short when she saw the
woman he carried in his arms.

"But...I thought...She..." Pima spun in a circle, searching for the first woman. "Mom?"

In the brief glance she got of the couple before they, too, disappeared, she tried to compare the
woman's face to her mother's. She took a step after them but was distracted when a third door opened and
the man, once again, stepped out.

His face was drawn. He wore an ironed white coat. It was thin, obviously not made to withstand
the cold. A nametag and a silver pin hung from a pocket near his left shoulder. The door started to close
behind him, but before it slammed shut, he stuck his foot out and caught it.

The black box he held in his hand buzzed. He looked at the box and heaved a tired sigh before
bringing it to his ear. "Vidish? I'm leaving now. She gave the go ahead. She wants it activated pronto."

He paused, frowning down at the glowing screen. "I'm alright. So is she. Exhausted though. Yeah,
a healthy eight-pound girl. They're both sleeping now." He uttered a tired laugh. "Yep. See you in ten."

He pressed a button on the black box and shoved it into his pocket. Pushing his shoulder against
the door, he leaned in and whispered, "I love you." Then he stepped out and started across the hall.

Quick as lightning, Pima lunged for the door. As soon as her foot hit the carpet inside the room,
her leg gave way. Dizziness overtook her, and she slumped against the wall outside the room. She got a
brief glimpse of a bedroom and two figures sleeping side by side in a bed covered by a familiar, dark
purple coverlet - one tall, one teeny. Then the door slammed shut, and she gasped.

That one step had been enough to knock the air out of her. She reached out a hand to touch the
knob, then thought better of it and spun back around to catch a glimpse of the man opening the door at
the far end of the hall.

"Wait! Wait! Don't do this! You know it's a bad idea! Tell them! They'll listen to you! Don't do it!"

She attempted to run after him but fell to the ground after the second step. Her legs felt like
rubber. She pushed herself up on hands and knees, pressing her forehead against the ground, and took
five deep breaths. "W...wait!"

She managed to climb to her feet and stumble forward a few steps. Her strength seemed to return
to her the further away she got from the room with the sleeping figures. Gaining confidence as she went,
she followed her father through the door he had left open, only to find herself in another empty hallway.
This one was shorter. There were four doors. Two to the right, one to the left, and one dead ahead.
All of them were closed, and there was no evidence that anyone had passed this way.

As she watched, the door directly ahead down the hall opened. The two ghostly apparitions of Akish and
her father peered through at her through the door that led to the Tower landing where she'd left them. She
stared them down as she reached out and grabbed hold of the knob to the first door on her right. Not
waiting to see if she felt the same energy drain as last time, she threw the door open, flung herself inside,
and wrenched it closed behind her.

Pima whirled around to face the room. A woman lay on a bed against the back wall, seemingly
asleep. The same man she'd been chasing was leaning against the wall looking out a window. The woman
stirred and struggled to sit up.

"Easy, easy," the man murmured. He approached the bed and handed the woman something
wrapped in a blanket. Then he grabbed a pillow and propped it behind her back. The woman adjusted the
blanket in her arms and cooed at the tiny face that appeared.

Now face to face with them, Pima couldn't deny it. This was her mother and father. It was the first
time she'd had to really take in either of their faces - this man whom she had never met and this younger
version of her mother. Without wrinkles or worry lines. Young, healthy...happy. But it was her. And that
meant the baby in her arms...

"Oh, she's sleeping..." the woman said.

"And so should you."

"Where's Akish?"

"Asleep downstairs. He was determined to stay up with you. He was so excited to meet his little
sister, but he didn't last long."

"Mmhmm. Jaru, about tomorrow..."

Pima's father rocked back on his heels and his expression hardened.

"I haven't changed my mind. I don't want to delay the Tower's activation. No one does, except
you. This is our lives' work. We've had our disagreements, but...Jaru... you have to see this is the right
thing to do. I know you don't want to leave me, but it'll only be for a little while. You have to go to the
office in the morning, as early as you can. You have to activate it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow. So soon? I didn't know it would feel like this."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like we're standing on the edge of a cliff, getting ready to jump without knowing what's waiting
below."

"And I'm giving you permission to be the first to jump." She laughed, and then she sucked in a
breath when baby Pima stirred. But the baby didn't wake, and the two adults relaxed.

Jaru caressed his newborn daughter's cheek. When he looked at his wife again, his features were
drawn tight with worry. "Activating the Tower without the senior engineer? It seems wrong."