Renew
Fourteen Years Earlier
Rachael landed with a thump on a floor as hard as cement. She struggled slowly to her feet and gingerly rubbed her bottom as she took in her surroundings. Strangely, this floor wasn’t cement at all. It was linoleum, in fact... black and white-chequered. She was standing in a kitchen straight out of the nineteen-fifties. The cupboards were watermelon pink and the counter tops of mint green. She stooped over the sink to look through the window. Outside was an idyllic yard bounded by a white picket fence, and in the driveway stood a baby blue Chevy. And inspecting that baby blue Chevy was a dark-haired handsome young man in a white singlet and jeans. Rachael’s heart leaped to her throat.
Lakyn.
She had no recollection of how she arrived to the place, but she knew she liked it. She had always wanted to live in a cute little house in the suburbs. “Maybe my dream has come true,” she wondered. Walking out though the front door, she inhaled clean fresh air. Springtime had come and the birds chirped happily. Rachael pushed open a small gate and joined Lakyn on the driveway. He lifted his head upon hearing her and smiled warmly.
“Hey, babe,” he said. He kissed her lips, his hands on her swollen belly. In that same moment, Rachael realised in wonder that she was pregnant. But how could that be? They had been together mere minutes. And they had just risen from bed. She couldn’t possibly be this pregnant. And how could Lakyn have known?
“Are you feeling okay, babe? You seem worried. And you’re looking pale.” He put a hand to her forehead.
“What day is it?” she inquired. This was all so foreign to her.
“It’s Wednesday.”
“And what is the date?”
“The 29th of August. You sure you’re all right?”
“No. Not really.” Her legs felt weak. Lakyn, sensing this, helped her lean on the hood of his car. “How ever did we get here, Lake?”
Tenderly, he pushed a stray lock of hair back behind her ear. “We moved here so we could be together and raise a family. Because our families don’t approve of us.”
“What year is this?”
“1956. I’ll call a priest to check on you and the baby…”
“No, Lake. And something doesn’t add up. I don’t remember ever coming here. Although, I do remember Adam.”
“Adam? What’s this got to do with your brother?” Lakyn was puzzled.
“He has the ability to erase memories. Maybe he wiped ours. Because we shouldn’t be in 1956, but rather, we should be in 1998!”
“Why would he erase us? I know he hates my guts, but… I really don’t understand.” Nothing made sense to him.
“He sent us here to teach us a lesson. That’s the only explanation I can think of,” she offered.
“But us together? Why wouldn’t he just send me to The Realm of Ice since he considers me a demon?”
“Oh, you’re not a demon. I think I sent us back here, in keeping with my dream. I always wished I’d been born in this decade.”
“But angels rarely use time teleportation nowadays.”
“Well, maybe…” the sky darkened suddenly. Storm clouds rolling over stopped Rachael in her tracks. And there was Adam standing in front of them.
“Adam!”
“Wiping your memories clean was to teach you a lesson, but you obviously haven’t learned.” Adam fixed his cold glare on Lakyn.
“Yeah. Well, thank you for your generosity,” said Lakyn, his voice dripping in sarcasm.
“You two are too freaking in love for anything to matter. No matter what point in history I send you…”
Rachael interrupted him. “You didn’t send us… I took us!”
“What?” confusion covered his face, clear to Rachael and Lakyn.
“I have the time travel Trait,” she pouted.
“That’s true!” added Lakyn, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
“So, I’ll have to try something else then.” Adam stepped forward with raised arms and held two fingertips above the foreheads of each.
“You know, your father was right all along, Blackbell,” he spat, fixing Lakyn in the eyes. “Love is weakness.” Then he touched them.
“Adam, what are you doing? No!” Rachael cried out as she realised what he was doing. Lakyn quickly gripped her hand, but to no avail. Instantly, when Adam’s fingers touched them, they were pulled apart by an invisible force. Catapulted through time, their memories disappearing with them.
Present day
“Death? As in…?”
“As in taking people’s lives, Lakyn.” Rachael began pacing the room. Lakyn got up and stopped her, taking her hands and holding them firm.
“Has she really taken lives?” he asked. Rachael didn’t answer. She paused by the window and gazed out over the skyline. “Rachael?”
“Sadly, yes. I travelled back in time in order to save them, but my Trait didn’t work.”
“With Adam’s help?”
“No. Lakyn, I did it on my own.”
“You mean you…”
“Yes,” she paused. “It’s my Trait.”
“So, Adam has the memory wiping Trait and you have the time travelling one?” His voice carried sarcasm. But suddenly his eyes widened, and all the pieces fell into place. “So, it was you who jumped us back in time,” he stammered.
“Yes, although just to get away from him. Lake, I’m very sorry.” She turned to face him directly.
“What are you apologising for?” Lakyn moved towards her and pressed his lips against hers and her body against the windowpane. They kissed one another and it was as though it was the first time. Everything between them was restored, and the memories they had earlier lost were likewise renewed. Lakyn had healed her.
In that wondrous moment, Lakyn added, “You know… I think I can help her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say there’s something different about my Trait.” The door opened and both their heads turned.
“You!” It was Eden. She stared fixedly at the stranger in the room. She pulled out her dagger.
“Eden, relax,” soothed Rachael. “This is just a friend of mine.”
“Sure.” she rebutted. “He’s the creep who grabbed me at the ruins of your old house.”
Rachael turned from Lakyn to her daughter. “Eden, I can explain.”
Eden dumped her bag where she stood and crossed her arms defiantly. “Okay. Explain then.”
“I think you’d best sit,” Rachael beckoned.
“No. I’d rather stand.”
“Very well. This is Lakyn, and um…” she hesitated. “He’s not exactly a friend.”
“Oh, my God! You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?” she exploded.
“Eden!” Rachael objected, seeking to explain.
“What?” she defended.
“No.” It was Lakyn who responded. “We’re not sleeping together.”
“Good.” replied Eden. “You would have to consult me before bringing boyfriends into the house, or apartment, or hotel room.” She was pacified now.
Lakyn chuckled. “Gosh. Who’s the parent and who’s the child here?” But Rachael shook her head at him and urged him to forget it.
“Listen, Eden, honey,” Rachael said earnestly. “You know how I couldn’t remember who your father was?”
“Yes…” The cogs began to turn in Eden’s head.
“Well, I remember now who it is.” Moments passed and then everything clicked into place. Eden’s eyes widened suddenly. “He’s my father?” she objected.
“Yes, he is Eden. He’s your father.”
“No!” Eden shrieked.
“Eden?”
Eden turned to Lakyn, trembling. “You’re Lakyn Blackbell. You can’t be my father!”
“Well, I’m sorry,” replied Lakyn gently, “but I am your father.”
Eden looked angrily from one to the other. Backing up towards the door, she grabbed her bag.
“Eden, where are you going?” Rachael asked,
her pain filling her voice.
“Out!” Then she ran and slammed the door behind her.
“Don’t do anything reckless, please,” Rachael said as a last desperate prayer.
“She’ll be fine. She’s half of me, after all,” Lakyn, offered her.
“I hope she’ll be all right.” Rachael bowed her head and stared at their conjoined hands.
Lakyn lightened the mood. “Hey! Want to go back to the fifties? I miss that car, you know.” He smiled at her.
“I think you loved that car more than you loved Eden and me,” she laughed.
“Never!” He too laughed and playfully kissed her mouth.
“I want to show you something, Lakyn. If only you could have been there at the time.”
“I wish so, too,” he added, kissing her again. And instantly they were transported back in time.
Epilogue