Ori stared out of the window, silent the entire way back to Medlock Park. Jessica, meanwhile, had been replaying that odd, cryptic conversation she just witnessed repeatedly in her mind. It’s a strange thing to witness people talking about something that involves you and to understand so little of the meaning. Now parked, she saw more pedestrians walking their dogs. She looked at the clock in her car. It was almost nine o’clock. It’s still pretty early.
Ori was intently focused on his watch, which he had reactivated to its fancy skeleton form. Jessica stared at it, seeing every internal gear working in unison. The watch had four detailed sub-dials and three bezels circling the face, which Ori was meticulously adjusting with his thumb and middle finger. After a moment, Ori pressed a button and nodded as if he had accomplished his task.
“Do you have a pen?” Ori asked.
“I should.” Jessica reached into her bag in the back seat, pulled out a pen, and handed it to Ori.
Ori took a moment to admire the grooves of the pen that made it look as though it was carved from ivory or bone. “Lovely,” he said as he scribbled something on the back of a white envelope.
“Gabriel asked if I was entangled,” Jessica said, testing the waters.
Ori looked over at her, a little hesitant, before replying, “He was referencing quantum entanglement.”
“Okay, and what is that exactly?” Jessica asked.
“Think of your mind and Zach’s mind as two different systems that should operate completely independently. Somehow, your minds formed a deep bond and have become entangled. The disruption occurring in Zach’s mind seems to have affected your mind as well. This is not unheard of. However, the human brain is resilient. Typically, your brain can revert to its independent system when necessary. In your case, we think that the incident at Zach’s house, likely a blow to the head, left you more susceptible and less resilient. This is why you not only lost time but are having a hard time remembering things. If you come to the Point, there’s a chance that we can help you get your memory back, which, if I’m correct, will ultimately help Zach.”
“I’m liking this plan so far,” Jessica said. “What’s the catch?”
Ori was watching something out of the front windshield. Jessica followed his eyes toward the big baseball field off in the distance. Jessica saw a fog building in the woods that lined the outer edge of the park.
“If you come with me, and we aren’t able to recover your memories, and if our mission isn’t successful, then you may never return.”
“And if I don’t come?” Jessica asked.
“The likelihood of you recovering your memories is even slimmer. You’ll still have some incredible years ahead, but they’ll feel brief. And over time, you’ll start to lose all of your mental faculties.”
“Like Zach,” Jessica said.
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“But if I go and you’re successful?”
“That means we’ll have righted the course relative to managing the virus. Then we get to turn back time, in a sense, and Zach will be released.”
“If going with you is the best way I can help Zach and regain my memory, then it’s an easy decision to make.”
Ori smiled and extended the envelope and pen toward her. “I figured you’d say that. Here is everything you need to travel to the Point.”
Jessica scanned the envelope to see trust yourself written on one side. She tucked it away. “So, what’s next?”
“Now, I go back to make sure that things are still going according to plan.”
The fog had thickened and was shifting closer and closer to the parking lot. Jessica watched as the people walking their dogs promptly got back into their cars. Ori chuckled and opened the door. “I should get going before people lose their minds.”
Ori, now standing outside of the car, bent down and looked in at Jessica from the open passenger door. “See you soon.” He closed the door and was instantly covered by the fog. Just moments after Jessica lost visibility of Ori, the fog dissipated, and so returned the clear blue skies.