Welcome back. The journey between two worlds continues.
Chapter 9 – Inheritance
Nathan, still shielding his eyes with his hand, opened his eyes. His heart was pounding and, considering his last encounters with blinding light, he was sure he would wake up groggy, needing time to adjust and remember what had happened. This time was different. He could feel the light’s embrace, a manifestation of peace and love, as if it knew how nervous and unsettled he felt. The light’s intensity flickered a few times and then subsided.
Slowly, Nathan removed his hand and looked straight at the joined hourglasses. Still. As if they had never been apart. Almost cold. He touched them with a finger and then, as nothing out of the ordinary happened, he took the pendant in his hand and watched it carefully, turning it on all sides. Nothing special at all… no shimmering, no undercurrent. Just a simple cross‑shaped pendant with golden filigree, the aftermath of two worlds joining together.
“Did I cross again?” he thought and looked around. Not because he had ever noticed any variation between the worlds besides the seasonal shift, but instinctively he had to do it. As expected, nothing seemed different or out of the ordinary. But instead of finding peace, somehow made him feel even more unsettled.
He was deep in these thoughts when he felt a slight chill from the late winter air.
“Did I leave the terrace door open? When?” he wondered and looked, only to see that the door was indeed open. But that was not the only thing he saw.
On the terrace he could see the silhouette of a woman, calmly scanning the backyard. It felt more like a reminiscence than mapping new ground. The cat jumped onto the table and then straight into the woman’s arms. The cat, relatively picky, knew that person well enough to want her attention.
Nathan’s heart started pounding again.
He stood up slowly, moving closer, his gaze fixed on the woman outside. The closer he came, the more unsettled he felt. That silhouette, that energy of familiarity flowing through him, the resurface of a feeling he had almost forgotten and missed every day. But, after everything he had been through so far, nothing felt impossible anymore.
He opened the terrace’s door wider and, in a trembling voice, whispered:
“M… Mom? How… you…”
“Yes… I missed you too,” she said calmly, turning around and setting the cat on the table. “But speak clearly, dear.”
Nathan froze.
Ellie passed by him and closed the terrace door. She went into the kitchen, and Nathan wanted to follow her, but he barely made it to the armchair before his knees gave way and he had to sit down.
Ellie returned with a tray holding a large teapot and far too many teacups for the two of them, a tea set he didn’t even know he had or no longer remembered.
“I thought we could use some tea, dear,” she said, bending down to pour it.
Around her neck hung a necklace with a cross‑shaped pendant made up of two hourglasses. Instinctively, Nathan looked at the table, where the newly formed pendant still lay. He took a deep breath, gathering courage while trying to understand what was happening.
“Mom… how are you here… and the necklace… how? Is all this real?”
“Nathan, dear, pull yourself together first. The “who” and the “what” will be less of a problem then, don’t you think? Cross‑worlds seek truth with open minds,” she said, watching him with care.
Nathan looked puzzled, still stuck on her last words.
“Cross‑worlds seek truth…” he murmured, and a lost memory rushed back.
…
He remembered the first time his father took him to the psychologist’s office. The waiting room — bare, simple, a bit cold. Him drawing while his father chatted with the doctor. Seasons passing.
Then a little girl drawing, sitting on her stomach in his backyard, surrounded by flowers. Her drawings were strange, unsettling.
“Do you like it?” she said. “I can give it to you.”
Before he could answer, she pressed the drawing into his hand.
“I can do another one. This one is for you.”
The drawing was as colorful as it was disturbing, with figures with two heads or two bodies melting into one. Only the little girl self-portrait looked relatively normal. Above her, a name was written.
Sarah.
He felt a cold shiver flowing through his spine, as if the moment itself had touched him.
…
“Come on, dear, drink before it goes cold,” Ellie said, sitting opposite him, making Nathan to forcefully return to the reality he was in.
For the first time since the blue field had pulled him into a new world, the pieces began to align.
Being in the presence of his mother it felt surreal. It was as if it skipped all stages of emotion and went straight to exhilaration. But he needed answers; he needed to use this unique opportunity.
“Mom… how are you here? I mean, I am happy. I really am, but…”
“It was the right time, dear. I was waiting for this moment to come. Manny is a good father, but he never really understood our world. Think of this as a ‘realistic video call’ or ‘quantum live communication,’ if you like.”
“But you are…”
“Nat dear, I must tell you that our time is limited. Let’s make the most of it. OK?”
Nathan took his time, thinking while taking small sips of tea, one after another, in rapid succession and, inevitably, burned his tongue a little.
“Is this really you?”
“Yes… and no. But enough for the reason I’m here.”
“What the h…” Nathan started, clearly annoyed and confused.
“Language, Nathan. I thought you had tempered your mannerisms since Sarah convinced you to ask Sara to keep an eye on you. Seriously, dear, I know you love Sarah, but I expected a bit more imagination from you, less confusing names.”
“Mom, can you tell me what’s happening with me?” he asked as calmly as he could, trying to ignore her last comment, which made him think of so many questions about Sarah. About her as a child and as a grownup. Especially about grownup Sarah, as their relationship happened after her death. At least according to the life he remembered living.
“Well, dear, this is the right question,” she said and moved onto the couch on his right side. She took his hand and patted it softly, sensing his emotion. “This is a long story. There is no time for me to tell it all. You will find it in time. But first, let me show you something,” she said calmly, and with a rehearsed, precise movement, she put her hand under the coffee table. “It should be… right… here,” and a click was heard as soon as she finished the sentence.
A hidden drawer popped open, about a quarter of the table’s radius, and inside there were a series of photos. “See for yourself,” she said, and took a sip of tea, giving him time to check the photos.
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