Time Will Tell

Time Will Tell Part 6

“So, tell me about the future,” Nathan said after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “What’s it like?”

“Not much different than here. I have a best friend. We’re sworn confidants, just like us.” A vague memory of praying to see her mom again before going to sleep entered her consciousness just then. It happened on that first night she’d returned home after spending two therapeutic weeks at Twin Oaks. “Actually, I think I may have traveled through time before.” The memory sharpened. Could it have been real? Looking around, Libby wondered. Bev had believed it hadn’t been a dream. Plus, she had wished to see her mother again at least a hundred times in those two weeks. Maybe the trees had made it possible back then, too.

“So you are magical!” Nathan’s eyes grew as big as saucers.

“I guess I am.” She was here, wasn’t she?

“Yer so lucky. I wish I could do that.”

“I think I went back in the past after being on this very farm in the future.” Her being here now brought the memory to the forefront of her mind. “Want to hear about it?” Maybe talking would help her figure things out.

When he nodded, she smiled distractedly and began to tell him what happened all those years ago.

~

Learning to feed, groom, and ride the horses had eased Libby’s heartache. Still, guilt tormented her, and her most fervent wish had been to see Liz Edwards one more time to undo her last ugly words. Libby had fought with her mom, and her only memory of the night before the accident was of her yelling, “I hate you and I wish I’d never been born.”Libby’s biggest regret was never getting a chance to apologize. She felt responsible. That because of those horrible words, Liz Edwards had died.

The night Libby returned home from her two weeks at Twin Oaks, she dreamed of her mom. She woke up feeling weird in a bigger bed. Her pink room had changed to blue, and the curtains on the window were not Libby’s curtains.

She heard voices. Seconds later she was at the door to listen and recognized her parents’ voices. They talked about having children. Stunned, Libby cautiously stepped into the hall, tiptoed to the top of the stairs, and looked down.

Her mom and dad appeared much younger. It was too much to take in!

Tom and Liz Edwards obviously loved each other by the way they interacted. Libby couldn’t look away when her father kissed the top of her mother’s head and said, “I didn’t realize how important this was to you. We can start our family whenever you want.” Then he chuckled. “In fact, we can get started tonight.”

Liz practically purred. “Oh, Tom, I love you.” They kissed, something Libby had observed many times before, but this scene filled Libby with love and hope. She’d never seen her parents so in love and so happy.

“Why don’t you go up?” He patted Liz’s butt after releasing her. “I need to do a few things before coming to bed.” He turned to go into the other room, but not before adding, “And Lizzie, I like that flimsy thing you wore last week. Wear it again, OK?”

Liz gave a throaty laugh. “Anything for my Tommy.”

Libby darted back into the bedroom and waited until her mother walked past. After listening for several minutes and not hearing anything, she headed for her parents’ bedroom.

“Go away—I’m not ready yet.” Her mom reached up to take off an earring, obviously mistaking Libby for her husband. Liz glanced over her shoulder and jumped slightly when she caught Libby watching her.

She sensed her mother shouldn’t see her and didn’t even know if Liz could hear her. Yet, unwilling to waste this chance to apologize, she took a deep breath and blurted out, “I know this seems odd. But I’ve come to tell you I love you. I’m sorry I hurt you and I just wanted you to know.”