A Twist In Time

Chapter 5

I have been thinking about it... of who Sean is. I walked in the hallway and saw a big portrait of him hanging on the wall. I saw again his smile, his very charming, cute and innocent smile. The smile of the baby came again in my mind.

As I looked down on the sides of the portrait, I read something written on it.

It ran this way:

Sean Anthony Keates

February 16, 2010

North Carolina

"Oh my..." I whispered. He's the one. He is Sean Keates. The baby I met on my eighteenth birthday. That cute child... The date that is written on the bottom must be his birth date. North Carolina must be his birthplace, like mine. All of my guesses about my boss are now confirmed. What a coincidence.

I walked to my room. I have no work at this hour. I was standing by the door when I saw Jean and the other maids run ghastly by me. I grabbed Jean's arm to ask her something.

"Hey, what's the matter with you? Why are you in such a hurry?" I asked her.

"The other bosses are coming. We should hurry and fall in line."

She held my arm and dragged me to the living room. We all fell in line, like the one that they did when they welcomed me as a housemaid.

There were eleven people on the second line, including me, who was standing in the last.

Two people arrived. One, a middle-aged woman, who was wearing shades and dressed in an elegant attire. The other one, I think she's about my age. Like her companion, she dressed elegantly and wore shades.

"Good morning, ma'am!" they all greeted and bowed to them as a sign of respect. I was late. I did the same thing.

All of them laughed at me.

"Who's this girl?" asked the younger one, pointing at me.

Jean stepped out. "She's the newly hired housemaid."

The younger one walked to my direction.

"Bring my bag." she said sharply and dumped the bag into my arms. I was forced to carry it.

I followed her to her room. She walked with poise and elegance. When I reached in her room, she just looked at me and pointed to a chair.

Common sense. I put the bag in that chair and ran away.

She called me when I almost reached the door. "Your name."

"C-Carmel Davidson." I said and walked out of the room.

I sighed heavily. Even if she's wearing shades, her face is beautiful. But the way she acts is like a strict woman. She's like a tiger ready for attack. The rush within my body was so fast, like I took an illegal drug.

I ran to Jean, who was in the living room, cleaning the portrait of Sean. "Hey, who were those two?" I asked her, referring to our two bosses.

"Ah, those two? Angela and Sandra Keates. Sandra is the younger one, and Angela is the middle-aged one. Be careful to that Sandra, she's so mean."

The name registered on my mind.

That night, Angela called me into her room. My heart palpitated just by seeing her playing solitaire.

"Y-Yes, ma'am? Do you need something?" I asked, nervous.

She paused for a while and looked at me.

" You're Carmel, right?" she asked me with a smile.

I nodded.

"Sit here for a while. I want to talk to you."

I did what she said.

I fixed my eyes on her face. Of course, Angela has grown twenty years older. But her beauty is still the same as it was on my eighteenth birthday. It's like it hasn't changed after a long period of time. Everlasting beauty...

"W-What?" she asked.

"I-I just want to know why you called me." I answered.

"I just want to ask you about something." she said.

My heart was beating fast again.

"How did you come here?"

I swallowed, preparing to tell her the whole story.

"First of all, ma'am, I know you know me. I'm the daughter of your best friend, Jane Davidson. How I came here is the result of my pigheadedness. After the small party on our backyard, I went to my room. I looked at the hourglass which my mom gave me on my birthday. She said that I shouldn't turn the hourglass, for I'll travel through time, and worst yet, maybe I'll never return to my home again. I did the opposite thing, and I ended up in this situation. I was in a deep sleep, and when I woke up, everything changed. Luckily, your son saved me and hired me as a housemaid. Now, all I have to do is to do best on my work."

"Don't you know that the hourglass is cursed?"

I stared at her blankly and shook my head.

"Well, that thing has been cursed since the time of your great great grandmother. She was Elizabeth Stewart, who experienced a screwed-up love when she was your age. Her father gave her an hourglass just to ease the pain she feels. She wished that she could turn back time, to be with her lover again. And it happened. From then on, the hourglass has been magical and mysterious."

I stared at her again, feeling so sorry for myself and for the hourglass. Just because of love- a messed up one, caused my life to turn upside-down. I can't speak for a long time, absorbing all the things she had said to me.

"I'm sure you want to know what happened to you by this time."

I don't understand her. Does she mean the life I have this 2030?

"I want to know. I want to meet my own self." I cried.

She let out a heavy sigh. This must be a very sad story.

"You died three years ago due to leukemia. Your son and I were the only ones who attended your funeral, for your cruel husband had fled away, leaving your son abandoned. I don't know where is your son, and I hope he's safe."

A tear fell from my eye.

"What happened to my mom and dad? Tell me. I'll visit them."

"They died in a car accident." she said sadly.

My legs felt numb. I can't even utter a word. Everything for me is gone... I walked out of the room and closed the door. My tears won't stop from flowing. I sniffed and wiped my tears. Later that night, I rushed to the cemetery that Angela told me. It was raining that night. I found the grave of my parents and also mine. I cried and let the heavy rain pour on me. My son is my only hope...he's the answer to all my questions and the escape to this situation...if that was even possible. The rain fell even harder. I was very, very wet when someone held an umbrella for me.

"You alright?" a familiar voice said.