The Time Hopper

Hard Goodbyes

I was curled up on one of the overstuffed armchairs, a chamomile tea in my hands as I watched my parents intently. Riley was sat nearby, looking a little awkward and inspecting the family photo album with a grin. Every few minutes, I had to get up and hug my mother of my father, try and convince myself that this was real. But at the same time, I knew that it wasn't. They were my parents, yes, but they weren't my parents. They belonged to my five year old self, and I shouldn't even be here. I would have to leave soon, as soon as my head stopped throbbing and my vision cleared up. 

"So, granddad is actually Obsivian, huh?" I mumbled, looking at my dad. He nodded and sighed, sitting down and reaching out to take my hand. 

"Yes, its true. I want you to know that I always intended to tell you the truth, I just wanted to wait until you were old enough to properly understand. I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to tell you myself, and that you had to find out the way that you did." He started. I nodded and ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure out what I wanted to ask. 

"Do you remember him? From when you were a kid?" I wanted to know about his childhood. About what Obsivian had been like. Whether he had been kind, in his own harmful way, to my father as he was to me. Why my dad wasn't working for him already. 

"In truth, I don't remember much of him. My mother was taken by his lies for a long time, yes, but she saw the light when I was five. I believe she saw him kill one of the children of the elements, and that made her fully realise what a monster he was. Shortly after, she took me and she ran. I spelt my childhood on the run, she was always trying to outrun him. Why she didn't just go to Mr Consequences, I don't know. But what I do remember is that he tried to be kind, but he wasn't very good at it. He swiftly turned cruel if I disrespected him or wasn't grateful. Once I was an adult, after your grandmother had passed away, he reached out to me again, asked me to come and work with him, as a partner. I turned him down, and he mostly left me alone, though there was always one of his men watching me. When I met your mother and married her, I made the effort to actually shake them off. 

We settled down in London. We thought it would be safe there, lost among the masses, but shortly after you were born, he tried to kidnap you. He didn't know that you were the child of time then; we only found out when you were three and your powers made themselves known. I think he wanted a second chance at having one of his descendants by his side, and he thought he could do a better job of raising you than he did me. Thought he could win you over. But, we managed to fight him off, and we came here and hid." He explained, a distant look in his eyes. 

"When did you make contact with Mr Consequences?" I asked. My father just looked surprised. 

"Well, I know that he exists, but we haven't made contact with him yet. He must know of you, because your mother told your great grandfather-" I frowned, cutting him off. 

"Wait, my great grandfather is still alive? Who is he? How does he know that I exist? How does he know Mr Consequences?" I asked in a rush. Riley reached over and poked me. 

"Sadie, you're doing the thing again. One question at once." He warned me. For a moment, I couldn't understand, before a few memories trickled through of him doing that dozens of times before. I nodded, but my confusion had flashed on my face, and everyone was looking at me with worry in their eyes. 

"Are you feeling alright, monkey? Do you need to have a lie down?" My father asked me, reaching over and touching my shoulder. Suddenly, I was feeling very disorientated, clutching onto my cup and the arm of my chair, blinking rapidly to clear my vision and trying to remember where I was. I saw someone coming towards me, but they didn't reach me in time to catch the mug when it slipped through my fingers. A dizzy spell hit me and I doubled open, grabbing a hold of my father who had come to kneel in front of me. I rested my forehead against his sweater, breathing in the smell of washing powder and peppermint. It passed after a few moments, but I couldn't remember what I had just been thinking about.