A bend in space-time (Season 3) - The Umbrella Academy

Chapter 2: The hotel at the edge of the world

Chronological markers: this scene fits in as a deleted scene from The Umbrella Academy, season 3, episode 1, around 26:00, when the Hargreeves assess the situation as they walk through the park.

Suggested soundtrack: Caravan Palace - Lone Digger

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April 2 2019, 12:47 pm

My head was empty as I left the fabric market district where Granny no longer lives, as if bewilderment was all I had left. I chose to walk, slowly this time, back in the direction of the northeastern neighborhoods. Through Argyle Park and its lunchtime crowd of joggers, like fixed points in time. Yes, it was probably the best decision I could make.

What was most disturbing? After a moment of sadness, I quickly took in this new reality of mine, and the idea that we weren't in our own timeline. Is my mind getting used to all these absurd convolutions of space-time? I think the resilience of my subconscious has opted for pragmatism, and for the swiftest adaptation. To prevent me from going insane, certainly.

The park is identical to the one I've walked through so many times in the past. The foliage of the 'forest' that grows down to the business district, where we once climbed to the top of a skyscraper. Joggers in orange sneakers. The flowerbeds where the first buds of spring are currently sprouting. Joggers in green sneakers. Endless alleys, little nooks and crannies where lovers kiss on benches. Joggers in blue sneakers. The edge of the groves, where the waffle shack still stands - at least - making my heart a little warmer. Joggers in white sneakers. The location of the abandoned gardeners' shed where Klaus squatted for a while, now replaced by a children's playground. Joggers in black sneakers. The crows. Yeah, almost nothing's changed, compared to the time I worked at Rodrigo's hardware store.

I wonder if he also owns a store in this timeline, and - suddenly - I find myself longing for the days when I used to run, mostly alone, this little plumbing and electrical bazaar, tucked in the humble alleyways bordering the futuristic buildings of the medical and pharmaceutical industries. I enjoyed selling light bulbs and bolts to people handling lasers and prosthetic eyes all day long. But above all, just like in 1963, I loved the independence and sense of control that working gave me.

And I end up smiling. After all, the past is gone for everyone, even for those who don't time-travel. The present is what matters, and we happen to be lucky enough to still have one.

"Argyle Park is definitely a nest of weirdos," says one of the two joggers who run past me - in purple sneakers, this time - and I turn my head as they head off.
"Ah ah, you're so mean, Steve, I'm sure they heard you when you compared them to the Village People."

I cock an eyebrow, and keep walking down the long, shady pathway that leads to the greenhouses and ponds. The air is paradoxically mild compared to the gloomy, rainy weather that preceded the first Apocalypse, in the timeline we left behind.

"Maybe they were going to a funeral? They were all dressed in black," a young woman whispers to her girlfriend, holding her arm. And she replies:
"I doubt it: one of them was in a middle-school uniform. And they were all badly bruised."

I sigh, and walk faster again. All around me, more and more people are looking over their shoulders, some suspicious, some intrigued. I could almost laugh, because I have no doubt who they're talking about. Barely an hour in, and the Hargreeves - the ones with the umbrella, not the stupid bird symbolizing destiny - have already become an oral tradition phenomenon in The City's central park. But should I really be surprised...

"The guy walking behind the others, with his hat... He looked like an underfed Van Helsing," joked one man as he unclipped the sunglasses from his blue shirt, and his girlfriend dressed in orange laughed, clearly without even getting the reference. The comparison was mean. But at least, without even looking for the slightest echo of golden energy particles: I know which pathway to turn to find them.