Some things changed; some remained the same; and still others veered off into the unknown—
The god of fate is always mocking the insignificance of humans, who struggle desperately like ants.
Take Evan, for instance.
Evan returned to that afternoon, attempting to save Crockett from Tommy.
In fact, Evan succeeded.
Evan convinced Tommy that if he killed Crockett, he would be sent to juvenile detention, which meant Keller would be left to face George alone—something Tommy didn't want.
Tommy wavered.
After a brief hesitation, Tommy dropped the torch and untied the rope around the burlap sack, letting Crockett go.
However, things didn't go as planned.
This time, it was Lenny.
Evan initially intended for Lenny to cut the ropes with a metal shard, release Crockett, and stand up to Tommy as an act of redemption.
Unexpectedly, Lenny, blinded by guilt and rage, stabbed Tommy in the back with the metal shard, even though Tommy had already let Crockett go.
The butterfly effect struck again.
Tommy died.
Keller packed her things and ran away from George.
Lenny was sent to a mental institution for treatment.
Even worse, when fragments of memory surged into Evan's mind like a tidal wave, his brain couldn't handle the flood of memories in such a short time. Like a computer crashing, Evan's eyes rolled back, blood streamed from his nose, ears, and eyes, and he passed out in his dorm room.
A brain scan at the hospital confirmed this: Evan's brain had been crammed with more than forty years' worth of memories in just a year. This severely damaged his brain structure, causing continuous bleeding in the cerebral cortex and leading to potential long-term risks.
But did Evan care?
No, he didn't have time to worry about himself now; he realized he had to save Lenny.
While Andrea was talking with the doctor, Evan stole the doctor's ID card, entered the inpatient department, and found Lenny in the ward—
Lenny lay lifeless, bound to the bed, with vacant eyes.
Evan tried to awaken Lenny, but it was futile. Just as Evan was about to leave, Lenny suddenly woke up.
Lenny accused Evan, saying that when Evan handed him the metal shard, he must have known it would lead to something bad. Lenny believed Evan was the one who should be in the hospital, as he was the real patient in need of treatment.
Evan was stunned.
He tried to put everything back on track, but it was clear that wasn't easy. The countless tangled memories were like seaweed wrapping around him.
Then Evan had an idea:
His father.
Maybe his father had been through this and knew how to fix it.
Going through the diary again, Evan returned to that afternoon when he was seven and met his father.
Evan got straight to the point.
And Jason... immediately understood.
Jason: "I prayed the curse would disappear with me."
Evan: "But it didn't. I need information to make things right. You're the only one who can tell me."
Jason: "There is no 'right.' You can't change one person without ruining others."
Evan: "Who says things can't be better?"
Jason: "You can't play God, son."
Jason's anger surged, mixed with helplessness and sadness. He couldn't control himself and leaned forward, eyes locked on Evan.
"Just being here could kill your mother."
But Evan wasn't buying it. He believed he could set everything right, and that confidence finally pushed Jason over the edge.
In an instant, Jason lunged over the table, knocking Evan down and grabbing him by the throat, eyes twisted with rage, as if trying to choke out the source of all the misfortune.
When Evan came back to reality, he instinctively clutched his throat, gasping for air. The vivid fear left him retching on the floor.
In front of the big screen, Nicholas was pinned to his seat, unable to move.
Suddenly, Nicholas realized that Jason's act of grabbing Evan's throat was actually to save Andrea!
Nicholas also understood that Jason's admission to the mental institution was due to his attempts to change the past, possibly tracing back to Jason's father's generation. Now Evan was repeating the same mistakes.
It was likely more complicated than that, but the whirlwind of thoughts exploded in his mind before he could go deeper, suffocating him amidst the storm of information.
So, was Evan on a path to destruction?
Nicholas felt a lack of oxygen, struggling to breathe fresh air but unable to move a finger. An invisible force overwhelmed him, making his heart pound as if it would burst.
With no answers from Jason, Evan tried to change things on his own.
Evan searched for Keller, but everything had changed, and he lost track of her.
In desperation, Evan found George—a mess of a man.
Through George, Evan finally located Keller, only to discover she was trapped—
She was in Tijuana, Mexico, living in an apartment like a garbage heap, working as a sex worker, dragged into the abyss by alcohol and drugs, in a state even worse than when she was just a waitress.
This realization crushed Evan.
But even worse, Keller had lost her will to fight, consumed entirely by darkness.
Evan struggled desperately to convince Keller to go to the restaurant with him and have a calm conversation. He opened up about the diary, genuinely hoping to fix things.
Keller didn't believe him.
Evan recounted their moments together and revealed secrets about Keller that no one else knew, just to reach her.
But it wasn't enough.
Keller not only refused to believe him but blamed everything on Evan, screaming and mocking him with rage and pain clear on her face.
Evan couldn't ignore it.
So—
Evan went back to the root of all the misery, the day of the mailbox explosion, and tried to stop the woman from approaching the mailbox—
Tommy sensed something was wrong and, feigning heroics, tackled the woman and her baby; but Evan, who had been blocking the mailbox, couldn't escape the blast.
When Evan came back to reality, he had lost his arms.
Fate played a cruel joke:
Keller and Lenny ended up together; Tommy, who had saved the woman and baby, turned his life around and became a model citizen.
Now everyone was happy, except him.
And when Evan learned that Keller had always loved him, and didn't move in with her mother not because she was unwelcome in her mother's new family but because she couldn't bear to leave Evan—
They had prevented the mailbox explosion, but it had destroyed Evan, pushing Keller and Lenny together.
Evan fell into despair.
(End of Chapter)