Remedy

Chapter 4

*6 months earlier*

The man cleared his throat awkwardly as the waitress set down our tea.

"Anything else I can get you two?" The waitress looked nervous, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She forced out a crooked smile. She must feel the same way I feel about this stranger sitting in front of me.

I still couldn't see his face, in fact, the only part of him that wasn't black were his hands. They were quite large and scratched up.

"We're fine." The man grumbled, holding his tea cup in his hands as steam rose from the top. The waitress nodded and walked off.

We were the only ones in the diner. In fact I think it was closing time but no one bothered to ask us to leave.

"Your father," The man broke the silence, "he was a good man."

I nodded, allowing him to continue.

"You see, when you sacrifice yourself, you save the ones you love. It's how being a timecatcher works."

"What do you mean?" I asked almost in a whisper.

"Those who are timecatchers are chosen to save others. But they can never save themselves."

I stared at him as he sipped his tea, waiting for this to make sense.

"A long long time ago," The man began, "in a different world, we, as in your father and I, lived with witches."

"Witches?" I asked in disbelief.

"Witches. One of them broke the rules, creating a spell on the timecatcher crystal. Whoever would hold the crystal, would have the ability to save not only others, but the other worlds as well."

"My father was one of them."

"I know, Lily. And like I have said before, when you love, you have a choice to make. To sacrifice yourself, or to sacrifice the ones you love."

"You mean my father sacrificed himself?"

"For you, yes."

I sat in silence, my eyes beginning to fill with tears. My dad left me because he loved me.

"And when you sacrifice yourself, the only way to do so is to pass the gift to your loved one."

"Why not just get rid of the crystal?"

"Part of the witch's spell," he began, "was that no matter what you do, you'll never be able to get rid of your gift. Your crystal will always find you. You could burn it and the next morning you would find it hanging on your neck again, untouched."

I nodded.

The man continued. "The only way to truly get rid of it is to sacrifice yourself."

"How?" I asked, not quite sure I wanted to hear the answer to my question.

"Death."

Death? Death?? 

"You can always run, but they'll always find you."

"Who?" I asked.

"Them."

"Them?"

"Yes, them."

"That's creepy."

"It won't be after hearing it so often, which you will. You know why? Because I know you're gifted. I know the timecatcher crystal is in the hands of you because I know your father would pass it down to you."