Chapter 99 - One Year Ago

After glancing at each other, Santa Claus and Gabriel tacitly decided to keep their mouths shut, letting Misha digest the news in silence. Whether or not Gabriel would go back in time depended on him, on what he would choose, and they wouldn't interfere with his choice. They would respect his wishes, no matter what they turned out to be.

Time ticked by, and after what seemed to be an eternity, Misha slumped into the sofa, throwing his head back to stare at the ceiling. He had made up his mind. Those souvenirs were precious, his feelings too, but his mother and his sister were far more important. Their smiles were worth everything to him. He didn't want to forget anything, of course; however, reality never cared about what he wanted. It had never been fair.

"Let's do that, then," he sighed in a tired voice, breaking the heavy silence that filled the room. "Whether it's Gabriel or me, as long as my mother and sister are safe, it doesn't matter who goes back in time. Sorry, Gaby. It looks like you will have it hard because of me."

"Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who suggested it," smiled Gabriel before focusing his attention on Santa Claus. "Also, isn't there a way to leave a message for his past self?"

He dared to ask such a thing because Santa Claus's tone of voice and behavior had changed drastically within the span of a few minutes. After pressing his forehead against the watch, it went from being ice-cold to warm, gentle even. It was impossible to change so much for no reason. Thus, Gabriel concluded that something must have happened while his forehead was pressed against the watch, something like the transmission of a message or information he hadn't been aware of initially. And as expected, Santa Claus said this:

"…Well, there is."

"Really?! Why didn't you say so sooner?!" cried out Misha, shooting daggers at Santa Claus.

It wouldn't have been so difficult to make up his mind had he known!

"Because I wanted to know your thoughts first," replied Santa Claus, c.o.c.king an eyebrow. "If you weren't ready to sacrifice your current life to save your loved ones, I would have kept quiet. But you are ready to, and that's enough for me. Now, I'll help out however I can."

"…?"

"You have bad tastes," scoffed Gabriel, "unlike what your appearance suggests."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Misha glanced back and forth between the two, and for a moment, he thought that he could see sparks crackle as they stared into each other's eyes. But he decided not to take it to heart, a lot more interested in the message he could leave to himself. Ignoring the tense atmosphere, he asked in an excited voice, "So, how do I do that? How do I leave a message for myself?"

"It's not complicated," said Santa Claus, taking off the wristwatch from his wrist. "Press this button, and say what you have to say to leave a message for yourself. When you're done, press it again. After Gabriel goes back in time, he will only need to click on it, and the message will appear. It's going to be like a holographic image."

"Why are you using your current wristwatch instead of the one your future self has given to Misha?" asked Gabriel after a while, his eyes still locked on the stairs where the boy had just disappeared.

"Because it can't be used again until it reaches the current time where it has disappeared, except if I've added some special options to it. On this note, you will have to bring me back my watch once you reach this date in the next timeline. I need it to do my work."

At those words, Gabriel frowned, many questions swirling about in his head. It was apparent, considering the pensive yet sharp facial expression he made, but he did not voice his questions out. Instead, he stared at the chubby man with piercing eyes, waiting for who knows what.

"…Don't overthink. There's only 'one' me, no matter the timeline. Once the previous me reaches this date in the next timeline, the memory of today's evening will flood in his head as the watch disappear, and he will know he has to wait here for you to bring it back. If you don't show up, he will go look for you, and that's pretty much it."

"Is that so."

There was a short silence before Santa Claus opened his mouth again, saying, "I do have a question for you, though."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you only when to travel back to a year ago? You could go back to an earlier time, if you wish to."

To this, Gabriel said nothing, only offering a faint smile, and Santa Claus understood. Afterward, he didn't ask anything else, and neither did Gabriel. They silently waited for Misha to come back, each lost in their own thoughts.

A splitting headache seemed to be piercing his skull from the inside out. The pain was almost unbearable, agonizing enough to make Gabriel want to puke, maybe even rip his head off of his body. Luckily, the pain quickly subsided, becoming less and less painful. At the same time, his eyes gradually adjusted to the light, allowing him to recover his sight, and what had been pitch-black became something fuzzy and uneven, marked by cloudy spots of color. Seconds passed before he could more or less discern his surroundings. The forms were still a bit blurry, but even if they were unclear, Gabriel could tell he was in a car with a few other persons. Before he could ponder over the situation, someone interrupted his train of thought.

"Gaby? Are you okay?" asked a worried voice, which appeared to be Masha's, making his head throb in pain. Noises were still difficult to bear for his head, apparently. "You seem to have blacked out for a second. Did you not sleep well last night?"

"…No, I slept just fine," responded Gabriel, rubbing his temples. "It's only a slight headache."

"I have a bottle of Tylenol in my purse, if you want to take some," gently proposed another familiar voice, one he hadn't heard in a long time.

And upon hearing it, Gabriel unconsciously held his breath, not daring to get his hopes too high. Lifting his eyes, Gabriel peeked at Mrs. Brown, who sat in the passenger seat, scrutinizing her face through the rear mirror. After so long, seeing her gentle smile again gave rise to an odd feeling inside his heart. The last time he had seen her, her body was a mess of broken bones and torn flesh. Afterward, he only saw her in pictures, but pictures could never portray a person in their entirety. It was hard not to be taken aback by the sudden change.

"There's no need, it will pass soon. Please, don't worry."

"All right, but if you change your mind, don't hesitate to ask!"

"Yes, I'll. Thank you."

"Hmph," suddenly scoffed the boy sitting on his right, successfully drawing his attention.

Gabriel turned his head and lowered his eyes to meet Misha's. Right. For the time being, that brat hated him to the core, or it would be more accurate to say that he hadn't opened up to him just yet. He had forgotten how cold his eyes could be, although there was also a subtle emotion hard to describe shining in the depth of his eyes. And just beside him sat Masha, whose legs were still without scares, long and beautiful. She wasn't shifting in her seat to find a more comfortable position, and instead, she took as much space as she wished to, leisurely stretching her legs behind her mother's seat.

Last but not least, in the driver seat sat Alexey. His complexion appeared a lot better than after losing his wife. In Gabriel's past timeline, because Alexey overworked his body for months, his eyes and cheeks had become somewhat hollow. He had lost way too many pounds to look healthy. It hadn't been that obvious as it happened gradually throughout the year, but seeing him now, before the tragedy occurred, Gabriel realized just how much Mrs. Brown's death and his daughter's disability had affected Alexey.

After taking in his surroundings, Gabriel couldn't help but think that he had indeed traveled back to a year ago, just before Mrs. Brown's death. At first, he had been a little skeptical, but now that he was sitting in a car on his way to Mary and Fredrick's house, he could not deny the reality in front of him. Surprisingly, time travel, one of the most fantastic yet paradoxical concepts, was something possible.

Frowning slightly, Gabriel discreetly patted the pockets of his coat, gazing out the car window. His frown only eased when he felt the wristwatch hidden in one of the said pockets. He had been afraid it would pop out of thin air by his side, and Misha would catch a glimpse of it. Knowing that boy's explosive temper, it wouldn't have ended well. They did have to talk, but their conversation must happen without anyone eavesdropping on them; their past lives weren't something they could discuss openly.

It didn't take long before Alexey parked the car by the roadside, and Misha then flew to the house, not without looking left and right before crossing the road. Once on the doorstep, he turned back to look at his family, but this time around, Gabriel didn't forget the gift, and Masha didn't walk back to the car to get it. Still, the drunk driver didn't suddenly vanish, and his pick-up passed behind them at a fast speed. It hadn't stopped at the intersection, not even slowing down.

"My God, that guy's crazy! Driving this fast, isn't he afraid of crashing his car?!" gasped Masha, jumping in fright. "He's courting death!"

'If only,' silently whispered Gabriel, watching the pick-up growing smaller in the distance before disappearing at a corner. Back in the other timeline, that guy didn't even have a scratch after running over Mrs. Brown and Masha, still full of vigor enough to insult the policemen. The only consolation they had at the time was that the drunk driver had been quickly apprehended and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

When Gabriel brought back his attention to Misha, he could swear he saw pink bubbles and flowers pop all around the boy. The smile that bloomed on his face was the brightest he had ever shown, making Gabriel let out a helpless sigh. Upon reflection, Misha was worse than an open book, but he also understood why the kid was currently over the moon. Tonight, his mother escaped death. So how could he not be ecstatic?

"Why are you smiling like a fool?" giggled Masha, walking up to her brother before pinching his cheeks.

"What? Do I need a reason to be happy?" pouted Misha, pushing aside his sister's naughty hands. "Come on, let's get in!"

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