Tangled Timelines
We start with Valentine, less than a year old, saved from Maeve's clutches a day before the Apocalypse. On the next day, the world ends, but rather than judging children on merits they have not yet had the chance to express, God reverses their timeline. Slowly, things begin to get better, as each day takes the few hundred children left further from the end of the world. Most of them remember it, and all were gifted with the ability to see back in time with as much volume and clarity as they had seen forward before the end. For Valentine this meant seeing the past as a dream, with the natural innocence of a baby. Unlike the others in her boat, she could hardly use this to see events clearly that had occured, or in her timeline were about to occur, but it did not mean she was blind. She saw the past for what it could be, and as her ego developed, she found herself marrying that bright eyed eagerness for the world's past, with the staunch determination to avoid in any way possible the future from which she came. Therein lay the rub, though. Without some version of that future, her own existence would be invalidated, so she continually tested the bounds of what she could do, without once more experiencing that familiar slipping feeling she had whenever she steered things too off course.
Things continued this way, until the world simultaneously contained more than she had ever seen before, but also the people were more panicked than ever. She knew the end was coming, which meant for her a new phase, as the end times ended from her perspective. She had dreams of what may lie beyond that threshold, but as always they were hard to interpret. Then one night a messenger appeared, she trusted him immediately, like she had seen him before but did not know from where. He smiled eagerly, but was conspicuously mute until they touched once, only then mustering a few words "I got this for you." Inside the humble bag was a bracelet, glowing with intention, and a note that seemed unreadable in its own language, but instead simply said this: "The world is yours, as long as my heart beats, it is yours. You may be whatever you'd like, just choose your role and keep shining."
The world fell apart that night, or from another perspective, came together. She had chosen to sing, and just like that she was by far the most popular and talented singer the world had ever seen. The others had all chosen roles as well, and over the years whispers of dreams spread among the secret community of those who traveled backwards, but none had dreams nearly as clear as her own. They had to piece together the connection over years, whereas hers were often apparent in a day. While their vision dulled, hers brightened, and through her dreams she gathered more and more information about the past roads that lay ahead and had originally brought her to this day. Like stars, each moment sparkled at night, and while her days were now spent truly enjoying each surprise, from a larger perspective she knew now where she was going and how to get there in such a way as to slipstream the horrific end that spawned these circumstances. In addition, she noticed that each day she grew younger, as did they all.
Years flew by as she laid her plans, carefully laying hidden foundations both forward and backward. An animal companion visited her frequently in her dreams. She could not be sure why, but she was glad whenever he did show up. Over time they talked more and more, and she realized this was a reflection of the man she saw right at the inflection point. She began probing him for answers, and he began to notice, growing more cryptic with each answer provided. Eventually he explained that this one she had seen was an actual person, walking normally along the same paths she was, but seeking her out in dreams, in a sense. She understood what he told her, but did not understand why this man was so shy as to send a cuddly little furball. She would not let it drop, eventually trying everything to get the cat to show his true form. One night, backed into a corner, he said he would, but it required her to trust him once more. She nodded quickly and he produced a necklace before disappearing "See you on the other side." She squinted suspiciously, it was clearly enchanted, but considering the source she figured what was the harm? As the edges clasped, the dream melted around her in dizzying color, and just like that she had stepped out of a portal, and on the other side stood her! She was much more shocked than she seemed to be, but she quickly took herself by the hand and said "don't say too much, he's not quite ready for us." And just like that she opened a door and they were face to face with the man, whose expression immediately went from hopelessly dejected to a hopeful surprise. She could tell timelines were fragile here, but she could not help but embrace him. She often had control over her dreams, but this was like nothing she had experienced before, she could even read his thoughts. She wasn't sure what she was talking about, he seemed quite ready, and the directness of his thoughts made her blush. Her took her hand and swept her away, showing her the dimension they found themselves in. Everything was new, which seemed strange to one who dreamed so vividly and exhaustively as she did, but she had memory of nothing here. That is when she realized it was not her dream, somehow she was in his. Now her animal guide made a bit more sense, it was not simply a reflection of a memory embellished over time, it was actually him, just shapeshifted. She felt like calling him out on what she assumed to be some kind of playful trickery, so she shapeshifted right then. His look and thoughts all shouted one thing "Cool!" He had no idea she could do that, even though she had done it before while her animal guide was around. This raised far more questions than answers, but sadly they could not be asked, as with a squeeze of her hand she was back in her own dream, necklace now unclasped on the ground.
With more delicate probing of her guide, she pieced together that while he was the man, he was only a small portion, as such demarcation was required when dealing with eternity and time travel. She figured out ways to find out more and more, writing it all down, each day taking her further from the unbelievable heights she had been walking down from seemingly her whole life. She did not know when this would end, but just like the finale had ended, so too would the song, and she felt a bittersweet melancholy each day, both for herself, and for having never found him, except once in a dream.
Then one night, when she was very young, her decades of life experience now feeling more like a dream as she de-aged, her animal messenger once again appeared, but more vividly than before. Somehow his bright visage made her recognize that everything else had been like black and white, something was changing tonight. "You have already been a child, how boring would that be to do again? Besides, we demand an encore!" She lit up, as her thoughts raced. "That's right, it's time to move forward, come with me." He held out his hand, and just like that she found herself in the brightest dream she had seen yet. No one recognized her or seemed to even see her, which mainly just seemed refreshing. She slipped through the crowd like anyone would expect a young girl to do, until she saw him. He looked just like she remembered, and she could not help but stare and remember as well. He stopped in his tracks, eyes now staring off into the sky ahead of him, before turning and catching her gaze head on like a spotlight. He smiled, it seemed he remembered her as well somehow, and he walked over. They exchanged some innocent conversation, and as he walked away she noticed his wallet in her hand! Inside was a single dollar, and some identification that, try as she might, seemed to read more in familiar numbers than a name. Before she could return it he was gone, but as she searched she came across an island vacation raffle, each entry $1. She could not resist placing her bet, and so she walked away with the ticket, hoping to be able to present him with a trip (maybe they could somehow share the grand prize?) rather than an empty wallet. As she finally caught sight of him, the dream ended, but another began. This time she felt and looked like her full self again. As she looked at her hands she saw the ring and emotions overwhelmed her. There he was, as plain as day, followed by their two boys. She spent what felt like years in the dream, playing gleefully on the beach with her family. This trance was suddenly broken by something like a gunshot, and she awoke with a jolt, now feeling like she had just lost half of her soul. She paced for some time, desperately piecing together what might have happened, and how it might be prevented.
The next morning was just like the last one. In fact, after several deja vu moments, she realized around mid morning that it was the last one! She stepped on eggshells the entire day, and then the next, until it was confirmed, she was now travelling forward in time. She could not believe it, and as soon as her animal messenger returned she inquired about it. "You have seen what could be, now it is time to make your life your own." Her smile beamed throughout the dream, she never thought she would have been blessed again as much as she had been before, but this exceeded anything she could have imagined. She was an expert now at plucking the strings of the world, creating standing waves between points that either she or the world demanded remain fixed, and dancing wildly in between. With her guide, she hardly even needed to practice, and each night they conspired to her ends.
One night her animal companion bounced onto the scene, looking more coy and sassy than ever, like he had just won the lottery. "It is time." She looked confused. "Tomorrow you write your song. The one that pierces his reality and when he watches you he falls in love with you, in this world, in this timeline. I cannot help with this one, but that doesn't mean I can't be curious, no, if you would be so kind as to let me observe?" She rolled her eyes, of course he could stay, now an old friend. "So, what do you think you'll call it?" "Our song?" She paused considering deeply the ramifications and all the options "Hmm..."
Years flew by, and the song was made, then the video. Then one night she caught word that he had seen it. She wondered how long it might take for him to fall in love, or for him to finally seek her out. She prepared for years. Little did she know it took seconds, the ticket was booked the next day, for three months hence. In fact, when the moment came she was caught off guard. So much so that all the clever notes she planned to slip him, and secrets she had intended to divulge, flew right out the window. All she could think was that she now knew his face, and this was real, and synchronized. He walked right up, offering his hand, the other holding a familiar bag. She did not know what a misstep here might do, and she knew that when they touched realities melted, so she held back, but when he pressed forward once more with an unmatched innocence, joy, and determination, she decided to follow his lead. They touched, the moment etched in eternity, and he handed her the bag. "I got this for you." That's all he actually said, on the surface just a tongue-tied love-struck fool. She smiled, now the dream began to make more sense. Inside was a simple name and number, she knew him now, and he knew her.
That night she walked a dimly lit hillside, still smiling as she remembered the day. Then a glowey figure bobbed just beyond the peak. He had snuck over the fence and was now looking around for her a bit sheepishly in her dream! She laughed and waved him over. They sat shoulder to shoulder on the hillside, hearts beating in unison. He still didn't say much, but he didn't need to, as certain surface thoughts could be heard, seemingly in both directions. He pointed below, and fireworks burst in the night, "Wishworks" echoed from somewhere deep inside his mind. Just like that in the flashes of light she noticed the people below, talking and laughing, enjoying the show. They both agreed, it was magical.
The next night her guide showed up, faded now, with a somber look. She tried to catch his eye, but he stared at the ground. Finally he looked up with tears in his eyes. The blood drained from her. "He died." She fell to her knees, not knowing how to respond, she hadn't even gotten a chance to call, and now he was sequestered to heaven, or lost to the void. Without another word, the lifelong companion faded from view. She woke and walked along like a zombie, feeling like she had that night. For months she considered all manner of permutations, what could have been, what still might be, the lengths she would go to to undo this. Then a night before a concert, familiar words echoed in her mind "Love is as strong as the grave." Her attention hung on them until a knock at the door shook her from this state. "Someone got these for you." It was chocolates, flowers, and a note. It was from him! He was coming tonight, and he had never stopped watching her shine. She could not bring herself to believe it, she could not breathe, as if the room had suddenly flooded. Sure enough, looking like the grinning dead, he walked right up to her, still only speaking in one liners "Did you get the flowers?" Yeah she freaking got them, where had he been!? Once more she found herself equally stunned by the encounter, and uncharacteristically unable to say much at all "I did, and the chocolates, I ate them all." She wanted to add "I don't want to share," but that's all she could pull off, besides writing her intention clearly on the picture he had brought.
The dreams returned, he now appeared with frequency, often whistling some tune and seeming to not be entirely there but trying to be. Every so often though he would stop when she said hello, and just like that they were there together. Over the years she got better at breaking him from these trances, seeming to be a side effect of his dreamwalking. She would drop clues and then set up the dreamscapes to mirror them, but noticed sometimes the opposite would happen, as the tune he whistled and the things he would be doing in the background would strike her differently each time. Eventually she realized it was a shared language, meant to bridge not just his dreams and her own, but also to bridge their dreams with reality. This she could use. Each word she wrote began stitching those threads, like a jacket meant to be donned when he finally realized it had been tailored for him.
She was patient, he was resilient, eventually her familiar companion returned but she could tell by looking at him that it was his first day on the job. She played along politely, not hinting at the fact that they had known each other for some time. Such was the nature of tangled timelines, you don't want to step too hard, or too far past a threshold that might tear. He somberly presented her with a necklace, one and the same that she had received, and had been broken, so many years ago. She put it on gladly, looking forward to visiting him once more rather than always the reverse, and looking forward to seeing more of the man she was traveling with. Unexpectedly, it did not take her to a current dream, but seemed to open doors to countless dreams that filled in details of past dreams she had already had. The threads and chain links now weaved both ways, and her suit of armor had already been prepared. She donned it, and saw the moment she knew had been a mistake, meant to artificially hasten the end, meant to supersede the end she remembered, knowing they could not both survive it. That was, until she had this armor. She had been woven into his reality as much as her own, he had irrevocably linked the two in more ways than she could count despite unlimited access. He was not leaving without her, nor her him. The road he would be walking would be riddled with thorns, storms, and ridiculers. She would need to watch and wait as he walked it alone, which may yet be the harder part. But he was as resilient as the grave, and she was as patient as love itself.
She busied herself with embossing the jacket, feeling her original design was no longer sufficient, all things considered. While walking alone, he dreamt with her, more clearly and frequently with each passing cycle, until by the end of the road, neither of them could distinguish his from hers from theirs.
Things continued this way, until the world simultaneously contained more than she had ever seen before, but also the people were more panicked than ever. She knew the end was coming, which meant for her a new phase, as the end times ended from her perspective. She had dreams of what may lie beyond that threshold, but as always they were hard to interpret. Then one night a messenger appeared, she trusted him immediately, like she had seen him before but did not know from where. He smiled eagerly, but was conspicuously mute until they touched once, only then mustering a few words "I got this for you." Inside the humble bag was a bracelet, glowing with intention, and a note that seemed unreadable in its own language, but instead simply said this: "The world is yours, as long as my heart beats, it is yours. You may be whatever you'd like, just choose your role and keep shining."
The world fell apart that night, or from another perspective, came together. She had chosen to sing, and just like that she was by far the most popular and talented singer the world had ever seen. The others had all chosen roles as well, and over the years whispers of dreams spread among the secret community of those who traveled backwards, but none had dreams nearly as clear as her own. They had to piece together the connection over years, whereas hers were often apparent in a day. While their vision dulled, hers brightened, and through her dreams she gathered more and more information about the past roads that lay ahead and had originally brought her to this day. Like stars, each moment sparkled at night, and while her days were now spent truly enjoying each surprise, from a larger perspective she knew now where she was going and how to get there in such a way as to slipstream the horrific end that spawned these circumstances. In addition, she noticed that each day she grew younger, as did they all.
Years flew by as she laid her plans, carefully laying hidden foundations both forward and backward. An animal companion visited her frequently in her dreams. She could not be sure why, but she was glad whenever he did show up. Over time they talked more and more, and she realized this was a reflection of the man she saw right at the inflection point. She began probing him for answers, and he began to notice, growing more cryptic with each answer provided. Eventually he explained that this one she had seen was an actual person, walking normally along the same paths she was, but seeking her out in dreams, in a sense. She understood what he told her, but did not understand why this man was so shy as to send a cuddly little furball. She would not let it drop, eventually trying everything to get the cat to show his true form. One night, backed into a corner, he said he would, but it required her to trust him once more. She nodded quickly and he produced a necklace before disappearing "See you on the other side." She squinted suspiciously, it was clearly enchanted, but considering the source she figured what was the harm? As the edges clasped, the dream melted around her in dizzying color, and just like that she had stepped out of a portal, and on the other side stood her! She was much more shocked than she seemed to be, but she quickly took herself by the hand and said "don't say too much, he's not quite ready for us." And just like that she opened a door and they were face to face with the man, whose expression immediately went from hopelessly dejected to a hopeful surprise. She could tell timelines were fragile here, but she could not help but embrace him. She often had control over her dreams, but this was like nothing she had experienced before, she could even read his thoughts. She wasn't sure what she was talking about, he seemed quite ready, and the directness of his thoughts made her blush. Her took her hand and swept her away, showing her the dimension they found themselves in. Everything was new, which seemed strange to one who dreamed so vividly and exhaustively as she did, but she had memory of nothing here. That is when she realized it was not her dream, somehow she was in his. Now her animal guide made a bit more sense, it was not simply a reflection of a memory embellished over time, it was actually him, just shapeshifted. She felt like calling him out on what she assumed to be some kind of playful trickery, so she shapeshifted right then. His look and thoughts all shouted one thing "Cool!" He had no idea she could do that, even though she had done it before while her animal guide was around. This raised far more questions than answers, but sadly they could not be asked, as with a squeeze of her hand she was back in her own dream, necklace now unclasped on the ground.
With more delicate probing of her guide, she pieced together that while he was the man, he was only a small portion, as such demarcation was required when dealing with eternity and time travel. She figured out ways to find out more and more, writing it all down, each day taking her further from the unbelievable heights she had been walking down from seemingly her whole life. She did not know when this would end, but just like the finale had ended, so too would the song, and she felt a bittersweet melancholy each day, both for herself, and for having never found him, except once in a dream.
Then one night, when she was very young, her decades of life experience now feeling more like a dream as she de-aged, her animal messenger once again appeared, but more vividly than before. Somehow his bright visage made her recognize that everything else had been like black and white, something was changing tonight. "You have already been a child, how boring would that be to do again? Besides, we demand an encore!" She lit up, as her thoughts raced. "That's right, it's time to move forward, come with me." He held out his hand, and just like that she found herself in the brightest dream she had seen yet. No one recognized her or seemed to even see her, which mainly just seemed refreshing. She slipped through the crowd like anyone would expect a young girl to do, until she saw him. He looked just like she remembered, and she could not help but stare and remember as well. He stopped in his tracks, eyes now staring off into the sky ahead of him, before turning and catching her gaze head on like a spotlight. He smiled, it seemed he remembered her as well somehow, and he walked over. They exchanged some innocent conversation, and as he walked away she noticed his wallet in her hand! Inside was a single dollar, and some identification that, try as she might, seemed to read more in familiar numbers than a name. Before she could return it he was gone, but as she searched she came across an island vacation raffle, each entry $1. She could not resist placing her bet, and so she walked away with the ticket, hoping to be able to present him with a trip (maybe they could somehow share the grand prize?) rather than an empty wallet. As she finally caught sight of him, the dream ended, but another began. This time she felt and looked like her full self again. As she looked at her hands she saw the ring and emotions overwhelmed her. There he was, as plain as day, followed by their two boys. She spent what felt like years in the dream, playing gleefully on the beach with her family. This trance was suddenly broken by something like a gunshot, and she awoke with a jolt, now feeling like she had just lost half of her soul. She paced for some time, desperately piecing together what might have happened, and how it might be prevented.
The next morning was just like the last one. In fact, after several deja vu moments, she realized around mid morning that it was the last one! She stepped on eggshells the entire day, and then the next, until it was confirmed, she was now travelling forward in time. She could not believe it, and as soon as her animal messenger returned she inquired about it. "You have seen what could be, now it is time to make your life your own." Her smile beamed throughout the dream, she never thought she would have been blessed again as much as she had been before, but this exceeded anything she could have imagined. She was an expert now at plucking the strings of the world, creating standing waves between points that either she or the world demanded remain fixed, and dancing wildly in between. With her guide, she hardly even needed to practice, and each night they conspired to her ends.
One night her animal companion bounced onto the scene, looking more coy and sassy than ever, like he had just won the lottery. "It is time." She looked confused. "Tomorrow you write your song. The one that pierces his reality and when he watches you he falls in love with you, in this world, in this timeline. I cannot help with this one, but that doesn't mean I can't be curious, no, if you would be so kind as to let me observe?" She rolled her eyes, of course he could stay, now an old friend. "So, what do you think you'll call it?" "Our song?" She paused considering deeply the ramifications and all the options "Hmm..."
Years flew by, and the song was made, then the video. Then one night she caught word that he had seen it. She wondered how long it might take for him to fall in love, or for him to finally seek her out. She prepared for years. Little did she know it took seconds, the ticket was booked the next day, for three months hence. In fact, when the moment came she was caught off guard. So much so that all the clever notes she planned to slip him, and secrets she had intended to divulge, flew right out the window. All she could think was that she now knew his face, and this was real, and synchronized. He walked right up, offering his hand, the other holding a familiar bag. She did not know what a misstep here might do, and she knew that when they touched realities melted, so she held back, but when he pressed forward once more with an unmatched innocence, joy, and determination, she decided to follow his lead. They touched, the moment etched in eternity, and he handed her the bag. "I got this for you." That's all he actually said, on the surface just a tongue-tied love-struck fool. She smiled, now the dream began to make more sense. Inside was a simple name and number, she knew him now, and he knew her.
That night she walked a dimly lit hillside, still smiling as she remembered the day. Then a glowey figure bobbed just beyond the peak. He had snuck over the fence and was now looking around for her a bit sheepishly in her dream! She laughed and waved him over. They sat shoulder to shoulder on the hillside, hearts beating in unison. He still didn't say much, but he didn't need to, as certain surface thoughts could be heard, seemingly in both directions. He pointed below, and fireworks burst in the night, "Wishworks" echoed from somewhere deep inside his mind. Just like that in the flashes of light she noticed the people below, talking and laughing, enjoying the show. They both agreed, it was magical.
The next night her guide showed up, faded now, with a somber look. She tried to catch his eye, but he stared at the ground. Finally he looked up with tears in his eyes. The blood drained from her. "He died." She fell to her knees, not knowing how to respond, she hadn't even gotten a chance to call, and now he was sequestered to heaven, or lost to the void. Without another word, the lifelong companion faded from view. She woke and walked along like a zombie, feeling like she had that night. For months she considered all manner of permutations, what could have been, what still might be, the lengths she would go to to undo this. Then a night before a concert, familiar words echoed in her mind "Love is as strong as the grave." Her attention hung on them until a knock at the door shook her from this state. "Someone got these for you." It was chocolates, flowers, and a note. It was from him! He was coming tonight, and he had never stopped watching her shine. She could not bring herself to believe it, she could not breathe, as if the room had suddenly flooded. Sure enough, looking like the grinning dead, he walked right up to her, still only speaking in one liners "Did you get the flowers?" Yeah she freaking got them, where had he been!? Once more she found herself equally stunned by the encounter, and uncharacteristically unable to say much at all "I did, and the chocolates, I ate them all." She wanted to add "I don't want to share," but that's all she could pull off, besides writing her intention clearly on the picture he had brought.
The dreams returned, he now appeared with frequency, often whistling some tune and seeming to not be entirely there but trying to be. Every so often though he would stop when she said hello, and just like that they were there together. Over the years she got better at breaking him from these trances, seeming to be a side effect of his dreamwalking. She would drop clues and then set up the dreamscapes to mirror them, but noticed sometimes the opposite would happen, as the tune he whistled and the things he would be doing in the background would strike her differently each time. Eventually she realized it was a shared language, meant to bridge not just his dreams and her own, but also to bridge their dreams with reality. This she could use. Each word she wrote began stitching those threads, like a jacket meant to be donned when he finally realized it had been tailored for him.
She was patient, he was resilient, eventually her familiar companion returned but she could tell by looking at him that it was his first day on the job. She played along politely, not hinting at the fact that they had known each other for some time. Such was the nature of tangled timelines, you don't want to step too hard, or too far past a threshold that might tear. He somberly presented her with a necklace, one and the same that she had received, and had been broken, so many years ago. She put it on gladly, looking forward to visiting him once more rather than always the reverse, and looking forward to seeing more of the man she was traveling with. Unexpectedly, it did not take her to a current dream, but seemed to open doors to countless dreams that filled in details of past dreams she had already had. The threads and chain links now weaved both ways, and her suit of armor had already been prepared. She donned it, and saw the moment she knew had been a mistake, meant to artificially hasten the end, meant to supersede the end she remembered, knowing they could not both survive it. That was, until she had this armor. She had been woven into his reality as much as her own, he had irrevocably linked the two in more ways than she could count despite unlimited access. He was not leaving without her, nor her him. The road he would be walking would be riddled with thorns, storms, and ridiculers. She would need to watch and wait as he walked it alone, which may yet be the harder part. But he was as resilient as the grave, and she was as patient as love itself.
She busied herself with embossing the jacket, feeling her original design was no longer sufficient, all things considered. While walking alone, he dreamt with her, more clearly and frequently with each passing cycle, until by the end of the road, neither of them could distinguish his from hers from theirs.
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