Torrential rain poured down, soaking the earth along with everything and everyone upon it. The highways, plants, trees, parked vehicles, various public facilities lining the ground, and countless other things were wet. Some were covered by umbrellas or raincoats, while others remained soaked because they had been left exposed or because their owners had forgotten to bring protection.
A teenage girl with her hair tied into two pigtails with red ribbons on either side, wearing a white-and-gray school uniform with a checked skirt, walked alone through the gate of a modern European-style two-story house. Her body was already drenched from the rain, and she hadn't brought an umbrella at all. She had already contacted someone to come pick her up, but the person she was waiting for never came. In the end, she went home by herself.
However, just as she took a step into the living room, a thunderous scream rang out from her parents' bedroom, dominating the entire house.
“What the hell were you doing meeting them again?! I already told you not to see them, Aurora!”
“I didn't meet them, Noel! We ran into each other by accident while shopping! Why do you never trust me?!”
The girl peeked from behind the white door to her parents' bedroom. She saw a middle-aged man gripping a middle-aged woman's shoulders tightly, his sharp eyes boring into the woman standing before him.
“You're cheating, Aurora! Just admit it!”
“I’m not cheating, Noel! Your accusation is baseless!”
“What do you mean, baseless?!” He shoved Aurora until she fell and hit the floor. Aurora looked to be in pain.
“You accuse me while you're openly cheating with that woman at your office! Do you think I don't know?!”
Noel clenched both hands, then struck Aurora hard across the face. Her head snapped to the side, leaving a red mark on her smooth cheek. “How dare you, Aurora! So you still sneak over to my office and spy on me, huh?!” He lifted Aurora's face and gripped it tightly. “I told you, don't spy on me! And don't come to my office, either! I'm ashamed to have such an ugly wife!”
“So it's true? You're cheating on me?” Aurora whispered so softly that her voice nearly vanished. Tears continued streaming down her smooth cheeks.
“Don't act like you know everything! You're the one cheating, so why are you accusing me of cheating, huh?! You ungrateful woman!”
“I’m not cheating, Noel! What do I have to say to make you believe me?!” Aurora's sobbing grew hysterical, piercing the air.
Watching the quarrel, the girl named Elrosse Vallerie, who was usually called Rossie, covered her mouth as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Her chest felt tight as she watched the scene.
*Mom... Dad... please, Dad... enough, Dad...*
She wanted to run over and hug her mother, but she was afraid her father would only get angrier and hurt her mother even more.
“Fine. If you don't want to admit it...”
Noel gave a crooked smile and released his grip. “Starting today, I, Noel Ricardo, divorce you, Aurora Ellara Agatha! As of today, you're no longer my wife!”
Aurora's eyes widened when she heard that. She shook her head. “No, Noel... don't divorce me... Rosse will be devastated if we separate, Noel...”
“I don't care, Aurora! What's important is that we're separated now! Get out of my house this instant!”
Rosse was stunned. Her eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth in disbelief. Then she ran over and hugged Aurora tightly. “Dad's evil! I hate you, Dad!”
Noel and Aurora were shocked to discover Elrosse's presence. Since when had that little girl been in the house?
“Rosse?” Noel called. “Why are you home already? Dad told you I was going to pick you up.”
Elrosse broke away from Aurora's embrace and glared at Noel. “What's wrong with Rosse coming home first? Rosse hates you, Dad! You keep being mean to Mom!” The girl ran out of the house as fast as she could, charging into the torrential rain. Noel ran after her.
“ROSSE!”
Elrosse kept running. She didn't know where her steps would take her or where she would stop. All she knew was that her disappointment and pain over the words that had severed her parents' relationship came first.
“Dad's evil! I hate you, Dad! I don't want to be separated from Mom!”
Her steps came to a halt when she saw Cafe 'Senyum' nearby. It was her favorite cafe, the one she often visited whenever she felt sad or disappointed by something happening in her life.
The girl walked into the trendy cafe, whose surroundings were decorated entirely in pastel colors—Rosse's favorite colors.
She took table seventeen and called the waitress by pressing the bell on the pastel-pink tabletop. When a female server with her hair neatly tied in a bun arrived, Elrosse placed her order. “One hot chocolate, please.”
Not long after the waitress left, a middle-aged man wearing a casual white T-shirt arrived and sat beside Elrosse. The girl recognized him. “Uncle Riel?”
The man smiled broadly. His gentle eyes rested on the sorrowful Elrosse, whose body was drenched. “Why are you soaked, kid? Where did you come from?”
Elrosse lowered her head, fidgeting with her wet fingers. “Uncle... Dad... Mom... Dad divorced Mom earlier...”
The man named Gabriel Argantara stared in shock, his mouth falling open. “What? Your dad divorced your mom?”
Elrosse nodded listlessly. “Yeah, Uncle. That's why I left home. I was angry. I'm so disappointed that Dad's been so cruel to Mom! Mom's suffered enough because of Dad all this time. Maybe it's better if they separate, but... Dad will probably force me to stay with him and won't let me see Mom anymore, Uncle...” Elrosse had always felt comfortable confiding in Gabriel, so he was the person she turned to whenever she had a problem she wanted to talk about.
Gabriel gently stroked Elrosse's hair. “Are you sad because you're afraid they'll separate you from your mom? Do you want to go with her?”
Elrosse nodded again. “Yes, Uncle. I want to go with Mom. I don't want to go with Dad. Dad's been cruel and heartless to Mom all this time. He was always rough with her, mistreated her, and cursed at her. Now he's divorced her.” Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to Rosse. “Uncle, I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Uncle, can humans go back to the past?”
Gabriel was startled by the question. “Why do you ask that?” he asked in confusion.
“If it's possible, I want to change Mom and Dad's past.”
“What would you change, kid, if you could?”
“I'd never let them be together.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Gabriel looked as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. “What did you say? Are you serious, kid?”
“Yes, Uncle. I once read a time-travel novel. If they never got together, I would never have been born, because I'm the child of Mom and Dad.”
“Are you sure you want to do that, kid? Are you sure you want to disappear from this world if it comes true?” Gabriel made certain of it.
Elrosse nodded firmly. “Yes, Uncle. I want to do it.”
Gabriel took a deep breath. “All right. If that's what you want, come with me somewhere.”
Elrosse furrowed her brow. “Where are we going, Uncle?”
Gabriel stood and took Elrosse's hand. “A place that can make your wish come true, kid. Come on.”
What did Uncle Gabriel mean? What place could make my dream come true? Which dream? What were we talking about just now? But... could it really happen?