The world is going to end soon. Those unbelievable words were spoken with certainty.
"This world will be ending soon?"
"Yes, right. That's why you need to escape. Do you understand?"
"No"
Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about. In the first place, how could the world end so suddenly?
I have seen the world end many times in movies.
The end of the world usually entails a large catastrophe engulfing the entire world such as a Zombie Apocalypse, Great Flood or a Nuclear War.
Besides, even if the world was going to end, we can't really do anything about it. Unlike movies, there are no heroes who have the power to save the world after all.
It doesn't matter even if the world will end today or tomorrow, the only thing we can do is to accept our fate.
First, time travel and now, this?
In the first place, getting transported to the future should already be enough to make me lose my sanity.
"Yesterday, I went to the aquarium with Nessa and Mia then saw a mysterious green light. I'm not sure but I think that was the reason I ended up here."
To be honest, I'm still doubting if this is reality or perhaps a lucid dream.
"Is this really 10 years in the future?"
"Yes, it's currently 2026. The light you saw back then is made up of an enormous amount of negative energy density and exotic matter allowing instantaneous travel between two distant points of time."
"What?"
"To put it simply, it's a traversable wormhole or what you humans call a time portal."
Did I misheard? She seemed to have said "you humans". Also, a time portal? I thought time travel was only possible using a Time Machine to go back to the past like in sci-fi movies.
Even so, no one has ever succeeded in inventing a Time Machine. More importantly, why does mom know all of this?
"Mom, why do you know all of this? What do you mean by 'you humans'? What's going on?"
"I guess I shouldn't hide it from you any longer. The truth is . . I came from a place far away from here, a place where snow continues to fall for eternity. It is known as Winterhaven, the Land of Eternal Winter."
I've heard of countries with cold climate and freezing temperatures, perhaps she's referring to one of those places.
Anyhow, I've never heard of a country called Winterhaven before, it sounds more like a place from a fairytale.
"The reason I came here was because I wanted to save someone no matter what"
This was the first time I saw her with such a serious face, she's usually carefree and always had a smile on her face.
She reached out to her bag and handed me an object resembling a popular ion hair dryer, the appearance was quite cute and portable.
Looking more closely, it was rather unusual that there were only 3 different colored buttons without any labels which made me question whether this was really a hair dryer or not.
"That's a memory eraser"
"What?"
Memory eraser . . ?
"Wait, is this the reason I have poor memory!? Have you been erasing my memories all this time?!"
"Well, you accidentally saw some things you shouldn't have (>_O)"
This revelation was the last straw. In my entire life, I thought I was just an average person living a normal life with my ordinary family.
However, it seems that this was not the case at all. I was experiencing an existential crisis for the first time in my life.
There is something I was curious about since earlier.
"Why are you wearing a wig?"
"Don't you have anything better to ask? Anyway, this is my natural hair color"
Since when was silver a natural hair color? Well, it does suit her more than black hair.
Of course, this was just to lighten the mood. I gathered the courage to ask the question I was afraid to ask earlier.
"Mom, did grandma Erin and dad know about all of this? Where are they?"
"They are. . "
*Beep*
The beeping sound that interrupted our conversation came from Mom's phone. Her face became visibly pale after reading the message.
"Sorry, but I don't have time to explain everything. Someone contacted a troublesome guy and he might be here soon."
"Who?"
"In case you encounter someone wearing a black uniform with a star symbol, do whatever you can to escape. Don't get caught under any circumstances, especially by a man named Anzai Duo and don't tell anyone about your ability to see portals"
"Wait! What do you mean by escape?! Who is Anzai??"
Before I could probe further, mom left the house in a hurry.
She took some shortcuts in the alley and I obediently followed behind her.
I still have a lot of questions on my mind but if everything she said earlier was true, should I still trust her?
While I was busy contemplating, mom suddenly stopped her steps.
"I'm sorry"
"You might not believe me anymore but I just wanted to tell you that I was truly happy to be part of this family. Even though it was only a very short period of time, the days we spent together felt like a dream to me, to the point where I wished it could last forever. .
but there is nothing permanent in this world, is there?"
she said softly, looking back at me while holding back the tears in her eyes.
Somehow, I felt a pain in my chest the moment she showed me such a sorrowful expression.
It felt like she was truly being sincere at this moment. I thought it might be alright to trust her one more time.
**************
After a few minutes passed, I noticed we were heading towards a park surrounded by trees, the streetlight showcased a beautiful display of autumn foliage.
As we were approaching the park, a familiar sensation crept in.
This feeling. . !
In a matter of seconds, my vision began to fade. I lost my balance and nearly fell but mom caught me on time.
When I opened my eyes, there it was. The mysterious portal that transported me 10 years into the future.
It seems I have gained the ability to see portals of time.