“A nd how am I supposed to find that?”
“That’s up to you,” Mrs. Tock says. “While you’re back in time, find the thing that if you do, it will be so important, and so good, that life will grant you an extension.”
“Pretty shoddy, coming from two lunatics like you,” Fabiola comments.
“Did she just call us shoddy, Mrs. Tock?” Mr. Tick says.
“I think she did. Although you always arrive on time, Mr. Tick.”
“Remind me to kick their asses when I get back from the past, Ms. Fabiola,” I say.
“Don’t forget to call me, because I will kick them with you, Ms. Alice,” Fabiola says, playing along.
“Badass. Practical. And sarcastic,” Mr. Tick says. “I really want you to be the Real Alice.”
“I am her.” I am not sure if I am stubborn, fooling myself, but I have this feeling inside me. I’m the Real Alice. “So let’s start. How do I go back in time?”
“First of all, take this.” Mrs. Tock hands me a pink pill.
“What’s that? Another Lullaby pill?”
“It’s an address,” Mr. Tick says. “The Wonderlastic Guide of Time Travels offers a solution for taking items back in time with you. And we need to give you an address. This pill will help you remember the address in the past.”
I take it. “What address?”
“It’s my address in the past,” Mrs. Tock says. “You will need it in case something goes wrong.”
“Wrong like what?”
“Sometimes, going back in time sends you to a slightly wrong moment,” Mr. Tick explains. “A day or two past the desired date. If that happens, you will need to find Mrs. Tock to help you out.”
“And she will believe me?”
“Of course she will. Who else will know about her address?” Mr. Tick says.
“I understand.” I swallow the pill. “Now what?”
“Now, my dear Alice,” — Mr. Tick stands up, combing his hairies — “we need to agree on the date you need to go back to.”
This is the moment I have been waiting for. I need to go back a day or two before the bus accident, so I can save Jack and maybe know why I killed anyone. “A day before the bus accident.”
“You think this is the time you’d have known the whereabouts of the keys?” Mrs. Tock asks skeptically.
“I can’t think of a better day,” I explain. “It’s supposed to be the last time I remembered who I really was. Right after the accident, I was caught and sent to the asylum. I couldn’t remember what happened. So the day before the bus, I must have had an accurate memory of where I hid the keys.”
“What do you think, Mrs. Tock?” Mr. Tick says.
“It’s her life, Mr. Tick. She wouldn’t risk it for nothing.”
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As the couple prepare for my time travel, Fabiola asks to have a word with me outside.
“I’m going to make it brief,” she says. “I just want to tell you that it’s okay if you’re not the Real Alice. You’ve done brave things so far. It doesn’t really matter what your name is. It matters who you are.”
Fabiola seems too emotional. I think she is worried she will never see me again. She is worried that the Pillar picked up a mad girl from an asylum, fooled her into being a hero, and got great results. Except that this poor girl is now about to die.
I know that because I am thinking all kinds of thoughts. I hug Fabiola and tell her the one thing I believe is true: “Don’t worry, Fabiola. I don’t know if I’ll make it back. But I know I’m the Real Alice.”
It puzzles me that suddenly Fabiola looks like she doesn’t believe I’m the Real Alice.