The Remnants of Time (Original Version)

Journey to the Past: Part II

The baseball sailed seamlessly through the air, heading right towards the triangular stack of glass bottles...before flying right over them.

The man behind the counter simply shot an "apologetic" smile.

"Ooh, so close" he said smugly as he held up a stack of dollar bills and started to fan his finger through them in a cocky manner.

"Looks like you should work on your aim."

On the other side of the counter, Aris was fuming with his hand clenched so tightly around his last ball that it was trembling slightly. He was shooting the smug man a raving glare that could have melted glass.

Athena looked at her brother in a concerned manner.

"Aris, maybe it's time we try a different game..." she was saying in the most soothing tone she could manage, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

But Aris only shoved it off, all his rage directed towards the complacent man behind the counter.

"Maybe you should work on your face instead!" he screamed in rage, hurling the ball right at the man's head.

The man yelped in surprise and ducked, the ball richocheting against the wall behind him instead and propelling itself right back towards Aris.

It slammed right into his left eye.

He screamed in agony, clutching his eye with both hands.

"Maybe you should work on your own face instead, kid" the man behind the counter said as he walked away.

Athena bent over her brother in a concerned manner.

"Are you alright?" she asked with a worried tone as she helped him stand up.

Aris looked up at her, his purple swollen eye so large that it looked more like a ripe plum than an eyeball.

"Well hey, at least both of my eyes are the exact same size now, right?"

Athena breathed a sigh of relief, and reached over towards a nearby snow cone stand. She snatched a non-flavored cone and stuck it over his eye.

"Let's just find our mom and get out of here before you give yourself another black eye."

"Um, Mom's nowhere in sight, but Dad's just over there talking to his own reflection" said Aris with a slightly creeped out tone, as he pointed behind him with his thumb.

"What?"

Athena turned to see Nathaniel in front of a food cart just a few yards away from them. The twins ducked behind a nearby cotton candy stand a few feet away and watched their dad, who was talking to his reflection in the food cart mirror.

He looked rather anxious as he straightened his collar and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, that's not good enough! I have to look my absolute best if I'm going to impress Mara" he was saying. "I look utterly hideous, as always! Has one of my eyes always been larger than the other?"

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"When faced with a girl who you want to please, show confidence above all things. Boast about your riches and your good looks. Impress her" he chanted.

He took in another deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again all signs of anxiety were completely gone, replaced by an assertive expression.

"Who's the most handsome person in the world? You are!"

Athena's expression softened as she watched, and she felt a little pang in her heart.

"I don't know if I should feel sorry or disturbed" Aris said.