Unlocking The Past

Chapter 3: What's On Your Mind?

It had been a few weeks since the semester started and everything had been going alright around me. I still had no luck with finding a part time job though. My roommates thought that I shouldn’t get one due to the large amount of reading for my classes. Still, I needed to find one.

As for Nathan, his mind was elsewhere. For the past week, he didn’t pay much attention to the lectures. Usually, he would try to talk to me before and after class but, he didn’t speak to me at all in the past week. It was very unusual for him that I started to worry.

I wondered if something happened to him or his family. I didn’t bring myself to ask. I thought that he needed space.

As for myself, I was having a tough time. My days seemed longer due to the lack of sleep. It was the dreams that appear in my sleep every other night. Sometimes, I would dream about the boy over again but, the dreams would take place in a different setting.

In my latest dream, I was meeting the boy for the first time. The adults around us had blank faces as if their faces were covered by their skin so that I couldn’t really see what they really look like. I walked up to the boy shyly.

The boy gave me a smile. The smile was the same as Nathan’s smile. Before we could say our name to each other, I woken up with sweat on my face. I could never go back to sleep afterward. I never had this problem before.

It made me think why I kept dreaming about the boy.

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“Did you start on your research?”

Alex was curious to know if I looked up on my ancestry. “No. Not yet. Did you?” I asked him. He took out a piece of paper with some names. “I only got to my two times great grandparents so far,” he told me. “That’s good. Anything interesting?”

He gotten that much information already?

“Found an old newspaper about him and his wife’s fiftieth anniversary,” he pulled out another paper that showed a newspaper clipping. “Are they from my mom’s side or dad’s side of the family?” I asked for clarification.

“They are my Grandmother’s parents.” Looking at the picture the couple looked very happy. “Mr. Oswald Evans and his wife, Margaret, will celebrate their fiftieth anniversary today. The couple came to America from England in 1887.”

“Oh Wow. Your part English.” 

Excitement could be seen on his face. “I know. I always thought that I was Irish because of my Dad,” he told me. “It seems like you are off on a great start,” I told him. He gave me a nod. “So, which side of the family are you planning to research?” he asked me.

“I was thinking about researching both sides of my parent’s family. I wonder if anything in their past have to do with their behavior,” I told him. “Well, let me know if you need help or anything.” I gave him a nod and turned my attention to my textbook.

“Hi Nathan.”

I turned my head to see Nathan who had just walked into the classroom. “Hi,” he said to Alex and sat down in his seat next to me. Nathan looked at me with a smile. “Hi Anna. How are you?” he asked. He’s talking to me. Relief flowed through me.

I gave him a smile. “I’m good. You?” 

He didn’t look too convinced to my answer. His forehead creased a bit. I kept my smile on my face to hide my tiredness. “I’m well thank you,” he said and got his notebook out of his bag. I gave him a nod and returned my attention to my textbook again.

“Did you start on your research by any chance?” Alex asked. Nathan gave him a nod. "I just started on my Grandfather from my father’s side of the family. His name was Arthur.” I really need to start on my research.