The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

The Necklace

~~~Linda's pov~~~

I slowly walked to the entrance of the large room where I knew my parents were.

Am I ready to see them again? It's been so long...

After a few more steps, I was able to look inside the room and see two people talking to each other.

I couldn't hear anything other than my heart hammering inside my chest when they turned and I saw my mom and dad's faces.

My breath hitched as a memory resurfaced.

~~~Flashback~~~

"I miss her so much!" I sobbed into my dad's shoulder as we sat on the bed in our small room.

It seemed even smaller without Mom there.

"I know. I miss her too." His voice was broken as he stroked my long hair. "But she would want us to be strong."

"I can't! What If I lose you too?" I cried harder at the thought. "I can't go through that again!"

"Oh, Linda..." He held me even closer. "You won't lose me. I promised you I'd never leave you again, and I intend to keep that promise. Just remember those stories we always used to tell you. You're going to make it through this."

"Yeah, but you won't!" I let out another sob. "Mom didn't!"

"Even so, we'll still see each other again."

"You won't remember me, though." I sniffed.

"Then you'll just have to remind me." He smiled at me comfortingly.

~~~Flashback Ended~~~

I'll just have to remind him...

That got me thinking. How would he know we'd see each other again if it hadn't already happened?

That means when that version of my dad did this whole time travel thing, he saw me and knew who I was. That means I saw them and told them.

This is a headache turning into a migraine. Time stuff is too complicated. You'd think it would come easy for a girl who spent three years of her childhood in a place that solely existed to monitor all of time. But no.

I shook it off and walked over to where they were standing, my feet feeling as if they were dragging on the floor with every step.

Finally, I reached them, the anxiety I was experiencing made it hard to breathe or even think clearly.

"Hi, um..." My words were quiet as I played with the necklace around my neck, something I did when I was nervous. I couldn't bring myself to look into their eyes. Not yet. It's been too long.

These are my parents. I'm talking to my parents.

Mom spoke up first, with a soft, gentle voice. "Hey, do you need any help getting to the upper levels?"

Her voice is exactly like I remember. Sweet and loving, but also capable of being sarcastic or firm when needed.

I quickly shook my head. "No, no. I just wanted to thank you guys. I'm glad the prophecy all worked out. Maybe Virgil wasn't so crazy."

Virgil wasn't crazy. A bit obsessed, yes. Crazy? No.

But I suppose that's kind of my fault. I'm the one who told him about all this. And if the stories my parents told me are correct, he died a few minutes after they appeared here.

"Oh, you knew Virgil?" She asked, her interest peaked.

I nodded, not adding anything more, not able to get the words out. I still hadn't worked up the courage to look at Dad yet.