𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐚¹- hp.

𝐱𝐢𝐢𝐢. secrets i wish to keep buried.

꧁—— ❦ ——꧂

Time is a boundless continuum measured by motion, the progression of events we define as the past, the present, and the future. As we grow, we are told time moves in one direction, known as the arrow of time; 'forward in time' is the direction in which entropy is increased and therefore how we gain our knowledge, defining events based on when they have, or when they will happen.

Some may argue that time is an illusion, our perception of it warped by the ignorance of moving forward even if it doesn't correspond to our physical reality. Others would argue that fragments of our beings akin to us exist in a parallel universe. That for all we know, every decision we make in this reality has the opposite outcome in another. For example, if you come to a fork in the road you may decide to go left, but in your parallel reality 'you' may decide to go right. At the end of it all, time is irreversible as far as we know.

Perhaps in another reality, Lavinia had listened to Harry's suggestion to lock themselves in her bedroom to avoid the uncomfortable situation at hand. Perhaps if time were an illusion and it was irreversible, she would simply go back in time to save herself the anxiety that threatened to swallow her whole. The hour had never felt so long, like a measureless loop that replayed the event from the very beginning each time they looked at Matthijs. In a moment like this, Lavinia truly wished the theory of time being an illusion was proven, simply for the chance to change the outcome.

She'd busied herself with cleaning the kitchen to distract herself from the overwhelming thoughts, forcing Harry to take a seat at the kitchen table with a cup of chamomile tea in hopes it would still his trembling hands. The deceptive trust and honesty she worked so hard to instil in Harry's mind was unraveling before her very eyes, her selfishness for something to call her own had shown itself tenfold; but she could not fault him for the skeptical looks he thought she was unaware of, she would have done the same had she been in his position.

"Will he, you know, wake up?" Harry nervously asked.

The question startled her after an hour of continuous silence, glancing up at him from the other end of the table. "He always has. He's been beaten for far less."

Harry nervously drummed his fingers against the mug with a frown. "Beaten?"

Lavinia uncomfortably shifted, turning her head to stare at her brother. "Listen, there are a good deal of things you are unaware of. Matthijs and I...we don't get along whatsoever. We've always seen things opposite from one another."

"Like what?" Harry questioned.

"I think that's a discussion for another time." Lavinia dismissively answered.

"I just knocked your brother out with a baseball bat! I think I deserve to know at least something." Harry angrily said.

Lavinia narrowed her eyes, staring at him. "You will not ask me for an explanation again. I will tell you what you want to know when I'm ready. Not before you can comprehend what is happening."