love costs time // j.g

chapter one

hi, my name's Aletta. I'm a sixteen year old girl, and a beginner time-traveler. yeah, let that sink in for a bit.

I've been practicing time-travel for about two years and I'm pretty horrible at it. but Devlyn, my instructor, is always an inspiration to me whenever I'm having a bad day.

now, i didn't just decide that i wanted to time-travel. i was sort of forced into doing it. my father was in the US Navy. he fought in two extreme battles. i don't remember against who because i was about three or four years old.

i do remember around when i was at the age of five, i started seeing clearer and hearing better. i could hear other people's conversations from twenty feet away from where i was standing. i didn't talk about it though. not to anyone.

i also remember that i heard my mother on the phone one day, with my father. i could hear his voice. man, how much i missed his voice. i heard the words he spoke. he told my mother about his encounter with aliens. i know what your thinking. wtf? aliens? haha ok. but it's true.

he told her that the extraterrestrial spoke to him, but in a different language. not any language my father was familiar with, but he oddly understood it. it seemed to him that time had froze. everything had no movement, besides my dad's breath. the alien came closer to him and looked deeply into his eyes.

"you have invaded our territory," it said.

my father tried to show no fear, as he was trained to do in any situation.

"you live in the beyond of the atmosphere," my father told it.

he tried his best to sound as intelligent as possible, so i would be easier to contact with them.

the alien chuckled. "we hide, don't you know? we are everywhere; under the seas, in the clouds. and even sometimes, in your home."

my father stood simply, trying to hide his emotion of shock.

"I've seen your family, I've even protected it. personally. and your daughter, a very wise soul i can already tell. i can feel her future determination as we speak. to answer your question in advance, yes. I've seen her future. it is filled with light and happiness."

my father's expression loosened.

"well, that's wonderful," he said.

the alien smirked. "it is. but.. i would love to conduct an experiment on her. i want to give her the ability to learn how to time-travel. there are other children I've already granted this. but your daughter is smart, stubborn, and beautiful. she would be brilliant for this. if you deny this offer I'm giving you, i will execute you myself."

my father's eyes widen, trying to take in everything it had explained. "what, no! i won't let my daughter turn into a time-traveler! it's not even real! now exit my ship." he shouted.

it laughed lowly. "if time-traveling isn't real, then why, my friend, are you having a conversation with an 'alien'?" was all it said.

my father was furious and tried to move, but he couldn't. it was like he was caught in an invisible web or something. the alien backed away from my father and disappeared.

i was frightened. aliens are real.

that was the last thing i remember of my father. i haven't seen him, or talked to him since. honestly, i don't think aliens have killed him. i still have hope in my strong willed father.

but here i am, trying to live two lives at once, as a time-traveler and a teenage girl in high school.

and i will master everything there is to know about time-traveling. and i won't let anything get in my way. not fame, not money, not drama, and especially, not love. i will do this for my father.