Memories from a Different Future: Jump When Ready, Book 2 (17 page)

“But we saw Curtis too,” Nikki said.

“Well, in a sense this relates to what I was telling you
about my Mentor. Beings such as Lysrus manifest all past lives at the same
time. I know it’s hard to visualize. But what I’m getting at is that, at
certain times, we too can outwardly manifest more than one of our existences.
Actually, on our level, such a time would only be at the moment of Transition.
Technically, just briefly, Ian stopped living in the other realm before he came
to consciousness there again. In those few moments—the same that he appeared
here—you saw him in the two states in which you’ve known him. Did you imagine
seeing Curtis and Ian standing next to each other?”

Martha glanced around again and waited to be sure. Nikki
and the others nodded.

“That’s what I’ve experienced in the past too,” Martha
said. “I’ve since come to know it’s not truly that way. The Curtis and Ian you
saw were not separate at all but it wasn’t possible for you to perceive him
that way. So, your mind created an image that made sense to you. Instead of
seeing one Curtis-Ian, if you will, you instead saw Curtis and Ian. At least,
that’s what you came away believing you saw.”

“That is completely
bonked
,” Jamie said, shaking
his head.

“And there I was thinking
Nikki
had a split
personality,” Henry said, a grin spreading across his face.

Nikki’s heart lifted. She’d been afraid that grin might
have slipped away forever. Still, she kept a straight face and stared at him.
“I’d need at least twelve personalities to deal with you and porcupine over
there.”

Jamie looked up. “What did I do?”

“Guys?” Martha said. “Listen up.”

Martha kept a frown on her face just long enough to get
their attention. Fair enough, Nikki thought. After all, she’d been stuck
dealing with a bunch of teenagers for a long time now. Then again, what was
time here? And Nikki saw in Martha’s eyes, as always, that she really was fond
of them.

“You did good,” Martha said. “You know that, right?”

“But?” Henry said, reading her expression.

Martha waited a moment, then shrugged. “Well, don’t get
me wrong but what I’m thinking is…”

“We’re like the masters of clueless intervention?” Naomi
said.

They all stared at her, stunned.

Nikki burst out laughing. She reached out to fist-bump Naomi,
whose soft hand connected with hers. “Nice,” Nikki said.

“Essentially, we’re brilliantly inept,” Simon said.

“You guys are kind of on a roll,” Nikki said.

Henry reached over and high-fived Simon.

Martha shrugged and smiled. “Yes, I think that pretty
much sums it up. So, are you guys maybe done?”

“Probably not,” Henry said.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Martha said.

That smile spread across Henry’s face again, his eyes
gleaming as he looked back at Martha.

Nikki couldn’t fight off her own smile anymore. Yes, they
were ridiculous, she knew. But in this one moment, at least, she couldn’t
imagine having it any other way.

Memories From A
Different Future

Nikki awoke from a dream about her
family, blinking against morning light streaming through her window. Her eyes
went to her dance trophies on their shelves, her framed certificates of
achievements and honors, the photos of people she hadn’t seen in a long time.
All from her past and existing for her alone, she knew. Or maybe they didn’t
exist at all since only she could see them. Define existence, define time. For
that matter, define people. What were they really, other than memories
eventually?

Even though it had been a while since she’d dreamt of her
family, Nikki didn’t feel sad. In the dream, they’d been young again—her
parents in their early thirties and her sister five or six years old. They’d
all been laughing about something, their eyes alight with joy. No, Nikki hadn’t
seen herself there with them but it was like they saw her when they looked
right at her and invited her to join them with their smiles. Nikki had felt a
smile spread across her face too, her mouth about to open in laughter before
she woke up. Even now, the smile remained as she lay in bed staring up at the
ceiling, where the light coming in from outside had taken on a rosy hue.

She sat up in bed, somehow knowing change wouldn’t be too
far off now. The world, some world, a future world, kept calling out to her.
The thought made no sense, given that her dream had been about the past. But
had it? Nikki had been the older sister. There had never been a time when her
parents and sister had been young without her being there with them.

Nikki jumped at the knock on her door. She waited a few
seconds before saying, “I’m asleep. Go away.”

“Okay, I’ll go away for a few hours,” Henry said. Maybe
two seconds passed before he said, “Hi, I’m back.”

Nice, Nikki thought, for one moment almost believing him.
She smiled and got out of bed to cross the room.

Henry knocked again. “Okay, it’s been like three days
now. I’m still here.”

Nikki laughed silently and got her robe from the closet.
Ridiculous, she knew. After all, if she wanted to she could close her eyes,
make a wish, and she’d be wearing her robe. Or whatever she wanted, for that
matter. Up to her, but it still made sense to take her robe down from the hook
on her closet door and wrap it around herself.

“So, I’ve been thinking…” Henry said, when she opened her
door.

“Cool, something new,” Nikki said.

Henry shot her a look but otherwise ignored the comment.
“That maybe we should check a few things out.”

“Sounds good.” Nikki knew, of course. How, she wasn’t
entirely sure. Maybe because she knew Henry. Or maybe because she’d been
curious too. “Hang on, I’ll get changed.”

Henry shrugged. “Take your time.”

Nikki couldn’t resist. She closed her door and opened it
again. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Nice Kimono,” Henry said.

Nikki did a half-twirl, back and forth. “Thanks. I just
found it here. No idea where it came from.”

“Imagine that,” Henry said. “And the jeans?”

“I’ve had those for decades,” Nikki said. “At least.”

Nikki followed Henry down the hall, past doors that
remained closed even though she half-expected one of the others to pop out to
see what they were up to. But it was early and they all—as far as Nikki
knew—kept to something like the same schedule. A way of keeping things normal,
although she also knew it meant more than that. It was also a way of keeping
them together. Hey, whatever worked. Not much different from the other realm
where people set alarms and agreed upon times to eat breakfast, lunch or
dinner. Just life, basically.

Once they were outside, Nikki turned to Henry. “Do you
think we should ask the others if they want to come along?”

Henry took a moment to consider but Nikki could tell he
was just pretending. “How about we just tell them what we find out?”

His eyes confirmed what Nikki suspected—for some reason,
he wanted it to be just the two of them. “Works for me,” she said. “Who first?”

Henry hesitated for a moment. “Let’s check on Emilio
first.”

“Are you sure?” Nikki had been thinking about him too, a
number of times. No, Emilio hadn’t ended up being the kid holding the gun but
she hadn’t forgotten that trapped look in his eyes that haunted her for days.

“Pretty sure,” Henry said. “I think it will bother us if
we never find out.”

All it took was for Nikki to nod in agreement and they
stood on a busy sidewalk. She looked around. “Where are we?”

Henry smirked. “My guess is Seattle. Emilio lives here.”

Nikki thought about reminding him that smirking was her
job. “Thanks for the clue, Sherlock. I mean, why are we standing on this
sidewalk?”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “Because maybe Emilio is
nearby?”

Nikki rolled her eyes but smiled. “I get that part too.
But—oh, wait.” She pointed at an apartment building across the street. “He just
looked out that window.”

Henry nodded. “Had a feeling he might be nearby.”

“You’re on fire today,” Nikki said.

“Nobody says that anymore,” Henry said.

“Do they still say this?” Nikki punched him in the
shoulder.

Henry winced and rubbed his arm. “Pretty sure they do.”
He gestured toward the apartment building. “Come on. Let’s have a look.”

A moment later, they stood in Emilio’s living room as he
zipped up his jacket and hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder. “Gotta go, you
guys!”

A woman’s voice came from the kitchen. “Hang on, okay?”

Then, the voice of a child. “Wait, Emilio.”

“Guys, I need to get moving.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Emilio’s mother came into the room, drying
her hands on a dish towel. “We get it. You have places to go and people to
see.”

“We’re talking about school,” Emilio said.

“So proud of you,” his mother said. “Come on, give me a
hug.”

Emilio rolled his eyes but hugged his mother. He held her
tight for a moment, breathing deep, before letting go.

“Don’t forget you’re working tonight. I’ll be home right
at five so you can get there. Remember, you need to be on time. Mr. Posten says
it’s important that you, you know, maintain a—”

“I know,” Emilio said. “A consistent schedule. Don’t
worry, Ma.”

“Don’t go telling me not to worry. It’s my job to worry.
Look how long it took you to get away from those boys you kept hanging around
with. I was worried sick half the time.”

“It’s all good now,” Emilio said. “I’m done with them.”
He turned his attention to his little brother, holding out his fist for a bump.
“Javier, my man, remember what I told you, right?”

Javier connected his little fist with Emilio’s. “I make
my own future, right?”

Emilio smiled, eyes shining. “Exactly, bro. Minute by
minute.”

“Hour by hour,” Javier said.

“Day by day,” Emilio said. “We’ll be right next to you.
Isn’t that right, Ma?”

This time, Emilio’s mother used the dishtowel to wipe the
corner of her eye. Still, she smiled. “Every step of the way,” she said.

~~~

It only occurred to Nikki now how
much it made perfect sense that Henry’s sister had become a history professor.
After all, if anyone knew how the past remains alive forever, it was Bethany.

Nikki and Henry watched as students filed into the
lecture hall and took their seats. Bethany stood at a lectern, going over her
notes, roster and syllabus, glancing up a few times to make eye contact and
smile. Finally, she checked the time again and stood. She brightened her
expression and gazed out at her new students.

“Okay, let’s get this cart bumping along,” she said, her
introduction met with few chuckles and smiles. “Welcome to Modern European
Intellectual History. Before we dive in, let’s take a moment to define the
term. What exactly is intellectual history? Any takers?”

A young woman in the second row raised her hand. “The
origins of ideas and concepts still considered relevant?”

Bethany nodded and smiled. “Well put. So, what we’ll be
talking about in the weeks ahead is how ideas from the past come to shape our
future. How, in fact, they establish the very parameters through which we—”

At the back of the hall, the door creaked open. The
silhouette of a young man appeared, supporting himself on crutches. As he came
into the light, Nikki saw that Ian had just entered the lecture hall. He took a
few tentative steps, found his balance again and kept going. “Sorry I’m late,”
he said.

Bethany met his eyes. “Absolutely not a problem,” she
said. “Just glad you could make it.”

Bethany waited until Ian found a seat and settled in. She
glanced at her notes, then her eyes went to where Henry and Nikki stood at the
back of the room. Just briefly, she stared directly at them before continuing.

“If we’ve learned anything over time, it’s this,” she
said, directing her gaze back to her students. “Those who came before us remain
watching. You can interpret that figuratively, if you’d like. Either way, we
owe them. It’s on us to never forget them or what we’ve learned from them.
Believe me, they haven’t forgotten you.”

~~~

When they got back to Halfway
House, the sun had risen into the sky and a mild breeze rustled the leaves of
trees along the street. From inside came the sound of laughter and music along
with the aroma of something baking in the oven. Nikki smiled when she heard Naomi
call out, “About twenty more minutes. You’ll just have to be patient, Simon!”

“Sounds like we timed it about right,” Henry said. “Did
you ever expect our days to start revolving around Naomi’s baking schedule?”

“I have to admit, I didn’t see that one coming.” Nikki
took a step toward the door, then stopped and turned to Henry. “Doing okay?”

Henry smiled. “Yeah, I’m okay. Not sure I’ll ever get
used to it but I think everyone is going to be fine.”

Nikki hesitated, but this seemed as good a time as any to
bring it up. “So, I’ve kind of been thinking about something lately,” she said.

Henry nodded and Nikki suspected he knew. Was it possible
he’d been thinking the same thing too?

“About maybe…” Nikki said. “I mean, not like today or
anything. But I’ve been wondering if I might be nearly ready to—”

The front door opened and Martha looked out at the two of
them. Her creased brow showed she had something on her mind. “Glad you two are
back.”

“Everything okay?” Nikki said.

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.” Martha paused
before adding, “However, Lysrus wants to speak with both of you. There’s
something the Mentors would like you to do.”

Nikki glanced at Henry and their eyes met. In Henry’s
gaze, Nikki saw her thoughts mirrored. He too had been hoping to talk about
when they might at least consider jumping in again. Now, they’d have to talk
about it some other time. Nikki hoped that time would come soon. But Martha’s
waiting presence made one thing seem clear. Nikki and Henry were about to take
a different kind of step. Just the two of them, together.