Don't Forget Me

Paradise

This morning I woke up with my eyes still closed. I hesitated to open them for fear of seeing a disaster area, I was scared that what my grandfather told me last night wasn't really true. I got up my courage and opened my eyes to paradise. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and I could smell my grandma's famous chocolate chip pancakes baking. Maybe my grandfather was telling the truth after all.
I jumped off the hammock and ran inside. (I usually slept outside because I got claustrophobic in my bedroom. I'm sort of a free spirit and hate being in rooms that aren't at least 10'x10'.) Grandma had already set my usual stack of pancakes on the table with homemade maple syrup drizzled on top. I sat down and started stuffing them into my mouth.
"Sky, don't forget to breath!" Grandpa called as he walked into the kitchen with his latest book. (He's a writer and always reads his books again after they've been published)
"Don't worry grandpa," I said. "It's on my to do list today!" He chuckled and sat down to his own plate of pancakes.
I went back to mine but ate more slowly this time. While I chewed I thought about what he had told me last night.
"Skylar," he had told me. "I think your old enough to know the truth now. After all you get your drivers permit next week and once your old enough to travel on your own your old enough for anything." He stopped there and looked at me expectantly.
"The truth about what?" I asked
"The truth about everything. It all started with your father about 7 months before you were born. The US was about to be pulled into the third world war. And your father was researching a way to stop the war, that's when he hit a breakthrough.
He discovered that if a huge paradox was triggered then it would suck the entire world into a parallel universe. And if this happened it would wipe everyone's memories thus causing everyone to forget why they were fighting. And manipulate people's emotions to never fight again!"
"But grandpa if you know this then that means it didn't wipe your memory. So did it not really work?"
"It did work. I learned all this from your father's notes. Now I don't know exactly what he did to trigger such a big paradox because that part of his notes were destroyed. But a year later he accomplished it. The entire earth's population was pulled through onto earth in a parallel universe and everyone's memories were wiped clean.
Now I remember waking up that day not really remembering anything until I read my old journals. After about 6 months everyone had figured out who they were, more or less, and we all found a way to live together peacefully. Thus paradise was born!"
"So my dad succeeded!"
"Yes! And just in time too since everywhere you went looked like a war zone!
But this victory was short lived. Your parents were in the spot where the paradox was triggered and like when you fire a gun this paradox had a kickback. A portal opened up right where they were standing and sucked them in. That area is now closed off to everyone to prevent anyone else from being pulled in. People are worried the portal will grow bigger and suck everyone through back into the other universe. But I know there is nothing to worry about. So we can just kick back and enjoy paradise!"
All this went through my head at breakfast. But that was the last time I every really thought about it. I realized I could just love my life and enjoy paradise.

I wish I knew how wrong I was.