Now I let you go

Untitled Part 6

That weekend she had also planned to go out with her friends to the movies, they would see a new horror movie and then they would go to eat, but Sarah cancelled the plans with the excuse that she had a cough and fever. Her friends immediately told her that they would go visit her, but Sarah told them that it was not necessary since she believed it was Covid and she did not want them to get sick because of her. This is how he managed to convince them. Now she would have the weekend to herself.

On Saturday morning, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson said goodbye to their daughter with a hug and a kiss, then gave her some money in case she wanted to buy pizza or something to eat and left with the promise of arriving in time for dinner. Not that Sarah wanted to run them, but she was excited to start practice, so she quickly wished them luck and assured them that it would be fine. Since the death of her grandmother, she had avoided being left alone because, when she tried, her mind began to wander in the past and some tears ran down her cheeks. But this time it would be different.

He ran to his room and grabbed the watch, his hand trembling in anticipation of what would happen as he stepped back the hands. When he thought it would be enough, he stopped and watched as the mall began to appear. She went back one week to the time when she went with her parents to do some shopping to decorate the house. It occurred to her to modify the moment a little to see what would happen when she returned to her present, so when her mother asked her if she preferred the pumpkin or acorn lantern, she chose the opposite of the one she had chosen the first time.

Once the shopping was done, Sarah returned to her present and the first thing she did was leave the house. What Sarah saw made her happy, at the entrance was the new lantern she chose. With this, he proved that he could make small changes without major consequences. The rest of the day he continued to practice, sometimes changing the dessert he had chosen for another or changing certain decisions. There were 3 trips in which it went back a couple of weeks and another 3 trips in which it went back months. Every time he returned, he could see that the changes he made were maintained and that nothing serious was really happening.

From that moment on, he found enough courage to go back a couple of years, but he wouldn't do it that weekend. He found that time travel was quite exhausting. That week the theme of the prom was announced: the 80's. That had been a very good time for his parents, so even they were excited. Mrs. Rachel already had ideas for her daughter's outfit, they were both planning a Madonna-like style, a hairstyle with a lot of volume and makeup with vibrant colours. One of her friends planned to imitate Michael Jackson and another would dress up as Jane Fonda in her aerobics videos.

When the week was over, Sarah decided it was time. He took advantage of the fact that on Friday his parents were tired and went to bed early. Sarah locked herself in her room and turned back the hands of the clock more than she had been doing. Once he finished, he realized that he was in the same house, but there were balloons, plus a large chocolate cake in the centre of a table full of his favourite food. She knew then that she had gone back to her fifteenth birthday. That birthday his grandparents went and spent a week with the Johnsons. Sarah stood in the middle of the dining room for a while, not quite sure where to start. Until he saw her come in.

Nothing prepared her for that moment, the door opened and revealed the figure of her grandmother, the rays of the Sun illuminated her cheerful face. Sarah was speechless, there she was, full of energy and life, that was the image she wanted to remember when she closed her eyes. Sarah ran to hug her and at that moment she transmitted everything she had been keeping those months. He hugged her with all the love and strength he was capable of, but without hurting her. Her grandmother immediately hugged her back, while she caressed her hair. Sarah turned to look at her with teary eyes, so her grandmother asked her if she was okay, and Sarah replied that it was just the excitement of turning 15.

They burned each other again for a while longer, until Sarah's parents and grandfather came in with the gifts and the family celebration began. Sarah enjoyed that birthday a lot, every so often she turned to see her grandmother to see how she laughed and enjoyed the talk. When the sky went dark, her mom split the cake and Sarah's favourite part arrived. The adults began to tell horror stories and recounted their paranormal experiences. Her grandmother was the one who had the most stories to tell. She told them about the soldier who had an encounter with the devil, about her experiences when she was a child and lived in an old hacienda, where they said that there were secret tunnels with hidden money and other stories. When they saw the time, it was almost dawn, and they decided to go to sleep to continue the conversation the next day. Sarah had heard these stories many times before, when she spent the holidays at her grandparents' house, and yet every time she heard them again, they still caused her the same fear.