Destination Unknown

Family Tree From Hell

"Hold up. Say that again, but slower. I don't think I heard you right." I look at my mom, hoping she doesn't say what I think she said. 

"Cassie, you are my mother." I look at her face, searching for any traces of a lie, but her face shows nothing. I look to Sam, even though I already can hear that he's telling me that she's not lying. I focus on his face, to see if his expressions will give anything away. I look away from him and focus at nothing in particular on the wall behind Sam.

"Alright, so I understand that I may not be your daughter. But in what way does that mean that I am your mother? That totally doesn't seem probable, and the biggest reason being, I'm younger than you!" I look at Vasilissa with doubt. She sighs. 

"I would have thought that Sam's last memory would've explained that for you. You are what would be defined as a doppelganger. You are essentially a reincarnation of your past self. The last time that you were alive, you were killed, and the only way to save all your memories and powers was to remove your soul and plant it in the next version of yourself. Sam did show you this. Did you not understand it?" I shake my head. 

"No, I watched it happen. Hell, I even felt it happen. I can feel everything Sam feels. Trust me, I'm still trying to recover from all of his feelings. Stuff like that doesn't just stop hurting. But, it doesn't explain how I'm your mother. I think I would remember giving birth." Vasilisa shakes her head. 

"Have you learned about, let's see, how the Egyptian gods came into existence? It's much like that. I may have not come out of your body, but I did come out fo your soul. You also gave birth to my brother, Father Time. He's on his way to come and meet us by the way. He's going to be a great help in the close future." Sam interrupts Vasilissa. 

"Rex is coming? Oh, I've missed him!" My face turns in confusion. Sensing my feelings, Sam turns towards me with a cautious look on his face. "I must have completely forgotten to tell you about him. He is my closest friend, who also happens to be our son. We haven't seen each other in many years, since before we were married." My mental train of thought comes to an abrupt stop. We were married? I glance down at my ring finger, but it feels right with nothing around it. Sam snaps me out of my staring. 

"Cassie, I want you to think about that for a second. Of course, I know that you don't like to wear things on your hands because your glowing side effect can melt metal. I knew that the ring wasn't your style. It was a necklace. The most beautiful necklace you could dream of. I gave it to Vasilissa for safe keeping." I smile gently. He's not wrong that rings aren't my thing. Vasilissa rises from her seat and leaves the room. Even though he had answered the question about my lack of ring, it didn't explain his lack of necklace. I thought we would have had something matching. Sam laughs. 

"You just need answers to every little question, don't you? I wear mine in a bracelet." He raises his left arm, showing a thin sparking silver chain. I move closer to him and feel the chain between my fingers. It is buzzing and humming almost, with a life of its own. It feels alive. It feels familiar. Sam moves his hand and captures mine. "You made this for me, from your soul, just like I made your necklace from mine. Being connected in the soul is the deepest connection possible, and the metal is unbreakable. It connected us forever." My heart melts in my chest, and I sink down next to Sam on the couch. I lay my head on his shoulder and let all the feelings of love pass between us, feeling our souls coming together. Vasilissa walks back into the room, caring the most elegant diamond necklace. It was bold, yet delicate at the same time. I stare at the opulent diamond set in the center, amazed at how it is so sparkly and shiny. Vasilissa hands the necklace to Sam, and he moves to put the necklace on me. I turn and lift my hair. The diamond settles on my neck perfectly, and the cool diamond soothes me. I feel like the necklace is bringing me peace. I put my hair down and turn back to Sam. I surprise him and I lean in and peck his lips quickly. When I pull back, his thoughts are running in every direction and there is a goofy smile on his face. I settle back into the couch and let my mind feel at ease for the first time today. 

"I think I've had enough of asking questions. Why don't you tell me about Rex while we wait for him to arrive?" Sam smiles. 

"Would you like us to just show you?" I turn to him with a small tilt to my head.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you." He smiles and nods gleefully. 

"Alright, so all we need to do is connect hands, and then we can stream all the memories to each other. It's one of the first things we learn how to do." I smile. It seems simple enough. Vasilissa pulls her chair closer to Sam and me as I reach my hands out to them. This should be fun. I take Sam's hand first, feeling the extreme warmth radiating from him, and then reach for Vasilissa's, and cringing at the extreme cold coming from her. We all join our hands and the memory slideshow begins. Sam laughs at my terminology.

Hours pass as they show me all their most treasured memories of Rex, and they show me how close him and I once were. It was almost like he was my brother, not my son.  All the different feelings from different memories started to overwhelm me. It was definitely an overload of emotions. Sam senses my discomfort, and he pulls his hand away from Vasilissa. I pull my hand away too. I open my eyes and let out a large sigh. It was so much information in such a small amount of time. Vasilissa looks at the wall clock.

"Rex should be arriving in the next 20 minutes. Feel free to eat a snack or rest up while you wait. I'll be waiting in the mudroom to greet him." She leaves the room and I close my eyes. 

"Are you hungry for anything Sam?" He laughs quietly.

"I never did get that twinkie that we talked about earlier." I laugh along with him. I open my eyes and see the blinding smile on his face. I put my hand out and twinkies appear. 

"I still don't think I'm ever going to get used to that." Sam takes the twinkie and devours it.

"There's probably a lot of things that you're going to have trouble getting used to." Sam and I turn to the voice coming from the doorway. I look over and see Vasilissa standing with the man that must be Rex. He smiles and gives me a gentle wave. "Hello, Mother."