If I Could Turn Back Time || Larissa Weems

𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈

Slight TW for mommy issues

I was pulled from my doze by voices. Opening my eyes, through the dim light of lamps, I saw Larissa on the other side of the room at the door in a white satin robe. She stood tall and was obviously shielding me from someone's view.

"Is he alright?" Larissa whispered.

The other voice, who I recognized as Marilyn's, seemed frantic. "We don't know. He's been taken to the hospital. They said he's in critical condition."

"Alright, Miss Thornhill," Larissa said. "Thank you."

After closing the door, Larissa turned back around to the bed. "Oh, you're awake!" She climbed in and immediately pulled me into her arms. "I didn't mean to wake you, darling. I'm sorry."

I pecked her on the cheek before snuggling into her. "It's okay. What was that about?"

"A student was attacked in the forest," Larissa sighed. "Apparently he's in critical condition."

I gave no response, and instead, laid there. As I listened to her steady breathing, I began to doze off again until I heard Larissa's soft voice. "What's...what's your Outcast ability?"

I hummed and looked up at her. "It's the trickiest and most consequential ability of all time."

"And what is it, darling?"

"Time manipulation."

Larissa's eyes narrowed. "Most consequential ability of all time," she repeated before giggling. "Oh, I get it. Of all time. You time travel...alright."

I giggle alongside her, my hand reaching up to play with her hair. "Time travel is one term for it."

"How often do you do it?" she asked.

"Well," I said, "not much anymore. I really discovered that I was able to do it around thirteen years old–I went to bed one night and woke up in the middle of the middle of the 1800s. Every night would be different. And then, I finally decided to tell my grandmother. She knew exactly what was happening, and she gave me a pocket watch that would let me control it. Now, I never travel back in time unless I want to."

Larissa smiled. "You're rarer than me!"

"I am!" I laughed. "Not many time manipulators have been documented. But, a few of my ancestors were. The watch is a family heirloom."

"What's your favorite year that you've been to?" Larissa asked.

I huffed, thinking hard. "Oh, god...I don't think I have a favorite year or a favorite event. Each one I've witnessed has been so different and incomparable to the next. The women's suffrage movement is definitely in the top. I've been able to read the first published copy of William Shakespeare's Hamlet." Larissa giggled at that and I continued. "I've been within five feet of Queen Elizabeth I. I watched the Boston Tea Party happen." Each experience I list off, Larissa seems more and more mesmerized. "I use my ability more for my students' benefit rather than my own. I have to be really careful when I go back in time. I'll observe events, if I'm able to, but I won't partake. Is there anywhere you'd like to visit?"

Larissa smiled. "I'll go wherever you think I'd like to go."

"Hmmm...I think you'd like the Renaissance," I said. "Maybe...1504? When Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa? Or...maybe 1512, after Michelangelo finished painting the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. What about...1789? The inauguration of George Washington? We'd have to stand back a bit, and find suitable clothes, but I think you'd enjoy it."

With a peck on my lips, Larissa takes my hand in hers and threads our fingers together. "All of those sound wonderful, my love."

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