A Time for Love

Day ???

I am floating down from a far cloud

It seems that is where the tree-spirit was

I have to crawl back down through it's consciousness to other dreams

As I look up

I see an endless circle, one that includes the monster from the chessboard, and other fabulous creatures moving in a swirl of infinity

A swirl like the thunderstorm that first sent me back through time

What I notice first are the twins

I see glimpses of them in passing

They are fine, with very little remembering of what happened to them

I'm flying over the shores of England

Jade is crossing over the fields at night to the woods where she meets another man

"Take me out of here" she says

"I will take you anywhere that you want to go - no questions asked" says the man. 

They kiss as he helps her mount his horse, and they take off into the dead of night.

I see Edward. He's back at the mansion waiting for me to return. Poor Edward. He goes to Dr. Livingston to ask where I've gone, and Dr. Livingston explains to him inter-dimensional beings. He warns Edward that if he doesn't let go of his memories of me, "No one will believe you. They will put you in a mental institution."

Edward bites down his longing for years - devoting his life to military service, and his family. Then, one day, his sister comes over with his niece and nephew. She also brings a girl from church with her.

She's shy and doe-eyed.

He leads her on a tour of the house. Soon, they are going on coffee dates. Then, they are getting married at his house. He looks genuinely happy. 

Jade leaves her relationship, retreating back to the spy program that moves her to Area 51.

She doesn't believe in at first. She takes the flight from Las Vegas. Once landed, she is shuttled down the elevator and led to a private room - where she meets a woman that looks just like her.

"What is the meaning of this?" they both ask. 

When it is determined that space-time won't erupt around them, it is clearly explained that they are a split consciousness after an encounter with an inter-dimensional entity

"That's crazy. I don't remember running into any monster" says Mae. 

"That is because it hasn't happened yet."

Mae looks at Jade.

"You poor thing. To be stuck in the wrong country, away from your sister."

"I serve my country well" says Jade.

Staring at each other, they both realize the lie - that it is not the United States that they serve.

Mae made her was as one of Mao's spies, protecting the country from American and English interest. She remembers a woman she had met at the time. Her name was Jessica. She was parading herself around before the Korean War. Mae suspects that Jessica is an American spy, but she seems casual and laughs at the wrong jokes. Mae determines that Jessica is a time-traveler working for Russia. 

As quick as Jade and Mae meet each other, they are separated. Jade is sent to the future to comfort her sister, while Mae is sent to the 70's to look for the fabled 'Space Queen.'

Jade comes back to find her sister heartbroken. She's crying over her roommate, who made some wild accusations against Amber's boyfriend. Jade comforts her sister saying, "Yes, you and Steve will stay together. You are both meant to be together. You are beautiful, and he is sexy. You both will be married any day now."

"You really think so?" asks Amber.

"Absolutely" answers Jade, hugging Amber. "How about you stay at the hotel room while I check on things at your apartment?"

Amber nods. Jade is thrilled. Finally, a chance to see the time-traveler. If Annie did show up, Jade would kill her before she ever stepped back in time. This could change things. Maybe Jade could start over and leave this job forever.

She waits in the apartment for two days, and I do not come back. Amber is getting antsy and wants to return to her apartment. 

Jade goes out grocery shopping to find me back in Amber's room. 

"What are you doing?" she asks, as if hoping that by asking, she will be able to prevent me from what I am going to do - knowing all too well the power of the amulet.

I vanish in a puff of green light. Jade curses under her breath, putting her knife down on the table.

Where are the twins now? What are they doing? Did they die, or has a part of them always existed in another universe after all?

I get a flash of them as toddlers - their hands pulling at each other with one crying, and the other trying to comfort. They rise and fall on the see-saw cooing "see-saw, see-saw." They sing songs that delight their classmates and their teachers. They both end up hugging each other. There's nothing stronger than their bond, and the world around them always knew.

...

David is alive. The tree-spirit, or the twins, must have put him back in place. He sees Jessica in front of him, with the gun pointed to make Sonia open the portal. He shoots her down. 

Jessica falls into a heap on the ground. 

Sonia cries, running to him. 

"You mustn't tell anyone! It's sinful, what I was about to do!"

"God knows your heart Sonia, and it is pure."

He takes a cab with Sonia and other passengers to Palestine. They are checked out at the gate - the soldiers shrugging that a Jewish man would risk his life over there. His IEF draft couldn't come soon enough. 

Sonia tells the driver in Arabic where her house is. They stop. 

"Maybe  should leave" says David.

"Nonsense. The streets are unsafe for yo. Where we go, we go together."

Their arrival is not met well. 

Sonia's father is shouting in Arabic while his mother cowers silently in the kitchen. 

Suddenly, Sonia bursts, shouting back at him.

Her father is shocked, retreating to his room. 

Sonia's mother motions for David to sit, smiling at him, and gently laying a hand on his shoulder.

"You are welcome to stay' says Sonia, smiling. 

Over the years, as the conflict between Israel and Palestine escalated, David and Sonia continued to see each other. They didn't engage in liaisons, and the family began to accept the other They were eventually married in a Christian church.

Unfortunately, the tides of war would separate them from their families and each other. 

Their lovely baby daughter was passed from one country to another, finding herself in a Russian orphanage, eventually becoming a spy. It was this, or losing her life in the harsh winter snow. 

The dream is shifting. I get an image of an alternate universe through a door. Jade and Amber are reunited by the love of sisterhood. 

They are on a plane flying back to China to see their grandparents. Their dad and mom are with them

Amber is excited for the trip, talking everyone's ears off - only to be distracted by an engrossing movie called Aquaman

Jade drifts in and out of consciousness. For some reason, her mind wonders if she's not supposed to be here

Then she looks at the rising mountains. Yep, this is exactly where she is supposed to be