Elrosse's heart continued pounding erratically as she followed Gabriel's old footsteps, which for some reason kept leading her onward.
They were currently making their way through the café's corridors, far from the voices of its customers and workers. The farther they went, the quieter it became. The seventeen-year-old girl's body trembled, cold sweat breaking out as her eyes darted left and right. She had no idea what she was feeling, but she knew Gabriel was carrying a secret that needed to be uncovered.
“Where are we going?”
“You'll find out soon enough, Rosse. Just follow me.”
They entered an old storage room in Senyum Café, a place that hardly anyone ever passed through. Maybe people came here, but only to leave things that were no longer being used.
Elrosse looked around. The musty, brown-painted room was filled with random objects that had long since outlived their usefulness. Cobwebs clung to every corner. The silence grew heavier, and for some reason, Elrosse suddenly felt a chill run through her when she arrived here.
“What are we doing in the storage room?” Elrosse asked softly, beginning to feel afraid.
Gabriel didn't answer. He was moving an old wooden cabinet, its rotten frame fragile and crumbling. Before long, a gigantic circle came into view, filled with sparkling purple lights.
“What is this?” Elrosse's brow furrowed as she racked her brain. She felt as though she'd seen something like it before in an illustration from a modern fantasy novel. “This is...”
“It’s called a portal.”
“A portal?”
“Yes. If you enter it, you'll arrive in a time that humans could never otherwise experience. And there, you can make what you wanted earlier come true.”
“What do you mean?”
“You'll find the answer, Rosse.” Gabriel handed her a necklace shaped like an analog clock and fastened it around Elrosse's slender neck. “Wear this. If you run into trouble there, call me by pressing this clock pendant, and I'll help you.”
Elrosse nodded. “I understand. But how do you have something like this?”
Gabriel gently stroked Elrosse's hair. “Sweetheart, you don't need to know that. What matters now is that you go in there and do what you're supposed to do, Rosse.”
“But I'm scared...” She hugged Gabriel tightly.
Gabriel pulled away and then smiled broadly. “You don't have to be afraid. You can do it, sweetheart.”
Then he pushed Elrosse into the portal.
“AAAAAAA!!!!!”
When the portal shut tight, Gabriel gazed at it sorrowfully. “You'll discover something, sweetheart.”
Elrosse floated through the shimmering purple light. She closed her eyes in terror. Her body felt incredibly light.
Suddenly, Elrosse landed on green grass, making her whole body ache. “Ow!” She looked around and realized she was on school grounds. The old-fashioned school buildings were only one story tall, with clay-tiled roofs. Several bicycles were neatly parked in the lot, and the entrance had a simple wooden gate. Students in white-and-gray school uniforms wandered back and forth. Some were eating in front of their classroom terraces, some were playing jump rope, some were playing hide-and-seek, and one student was sitting alone beneath a shady tree.
Elrosse frowned, raising her eyebrows as she tried to get up from the grass and walk around the old-fashioned school buildings. When she reached a board with an announcement displaying a year, she stopped.
“1997?” She fell silent for a moment, thinking. “So I went to Dad and Mom's past? But this is a school?”
Suddenly, something drew her attention away.
“Come on, to the field! Someone's about to ask someone out!”
“Our student council president is going to ask our Youth Red Cross president out!”
“Come on, to the field! Hurry!”
Elrosse followed the people running toward the not-so-large field.
In front of the red-and-white flagpole, a handsome young man was kneeling before a beautiful girl. Her long, jet-black hair was held back with a black headband decorated with a ribbon, and she carried a single red rose in his strong hand.
“I've liked you for a long time, Aurora Ellara Agatha. Will you be my girlfriend?”
The students cheered. “Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!”
“Come on, say yes, Aurora!”
Elrosse continued watching the two teenagers. Their faces looked familiar, but she had never seen them before.
“They look like Dad and Mom? But I've never seen them... This must be them when they were young, right?”
Aurora gazed at the young man before her, her eyes shining. Her heart was beating faster and faster. “Noel... I'm shocked. I still can't believe you've liked me all this time... But I like you too, so I want to be your girlfriend, Noel.” Smiling broadly, sweet as granulated sugar, she took the red rose from Noel.
Noel's face lit up at her words and actions. “Really?” He clasped Aurora's fingers tightly.
Aurora nodded innocently, like a little child. “Yes, really.”
Suddenly, Noel scooped Aurora into his arms. “Hooray! From now on, Aurora is my girlfriend!” he shouted excitedly.
Elrosse gave a crooked smile. “Oh, so this is when they first started dating?” Noel's treatment of Aurora in the future flashed through her mind. She clenched both hands tightly below her waist. “They just got together, right? So it should be easy for them to break up, shouldn't it?” Her eyes sharpened and blazed as her fists tightened even more, her crooked smile turning demonic. “All right. I came here to end Mom's suffering before Dad can hurt her. Just watch what I can do, Dad.”