“So, what are we looking for again?” Jodi asked. The trio was now at the pawnshop in the back room.
Sebastian and Sylvie had spent the better part of the last forty-five minutes convincing Jodi that she really saw Sylvie disappear. She had begun to hyperventilate, so they’d had to explain.
“I don’t care what we’re looking for,” Sylvie put her hands on her hips. “I need to know why, even though I warned June, she was still murdered,” she shot Sebastian a glare.
“It’s the root cause rule,” Sebastian pointed to the journal he’d set on Dad’s desk. “Certain events can’t be changed unless you fix the root cause.”
Sylvie felt irritated Sebastian hadn’t shared this ‘root cause rule’ with her before she’d time jumped. She wanted to complain, but turned to Jodi instead. “I think we’re looking for a watch battery, so I can time my jumps exactly to the second. Mine died when I time jumped to June.” She paused, then added, “Honestly, though, I don’t see the point is, considering the fact that I can’t change June’s death.”
Sylvie looked back at Sebastian, unable to control her frustration any longer. “Sebastian, please explain to me why you let me time jump to warn June if you’d already read that rule?”
Sebastian sighed. “Because Sylvie. I thought that, by warning June, you’d stop it. I thought it was the root cause. Like you’d fix the root cause of her going into the woods. Besides, you were already so nervous, I didn’t want to make it any worse. I just figured we’d try it and see if it works.”
“Oh, it worked all right,” Sylvie scoffed. “I have a gift that can’t save my sister. It’s great.”
“I’ve got a watch,” Jodi interrupted. “We could use mine.” She held out her wrist, displaying the purple plastic Timex from Ames.
“No, no,” Sebastian said. “We need Sylvie’s. It’s special. There’s a special crystal battery we need that I think will only work with her watch. That’s what I’m looking for.” He turned away and rummaged through more boxes.
“What, like its magic or something?” Jodi asked before Sylvie could.
“Kind of,” he said. “It’s in Papa’s journal.” He glanced at Sylvie. “Sylvie, can you explain the watches and stuff to Jodi while I look?”
Sylvie gave him a blank stare. Oh no. This must be something he explained to me before, when I wasn’t listening. She felt a pang of guilt.
“Seriously, Sylvie?” Sebastian snapped as she clamored for words. “You weren’t listening, were you?” He stopped rummaging through the box in front of him and shot Sylvie an annoyed look. Then he turned to Jodi and said, “The journal talks a lot about crystals, special watch parts, and batteries. I think, with the right watch and one of these special parts, a watch can work like a tool. You know, like a passageway. If I’m understanding Papa’s journal right, anyway.”
“So, it will help me direct my time travel?” Sylvie asked. That would be something, she thought.
“Yes. It will direct your travel and help to control it.” He turned away and opened another box. Sylvie wasn’t satisfied with his answer. She needed more information.
“I don’t understand,” Sylvie said. “How can it do that?”
“Like I explained before, when you weren’t listening,” he said with his head buried in the box, “it reads your emotions. And like I also just said, it’s a tool to help you get started.”
“Like training wheels on a bike?” Jodi asked.
“Exactly! See? Jodi’s listening.” Sebastian smiled at Jodi, then looked back at Sylvie.
“So, can I go anywhere with this passageway? Can I go way into the future or way back into the past?”
“No, not exactly. Not now anyway. I told you; Papa’s journal is super confusing, and I’m still reading it. I don’t even think he knew. He was always experimenting. But it seems like, based on what I understand about the journal, that it takes a lot of practice to do that. And you know yourself how sick and tired you feel after. We already know time traveling is exhausting. I think some people just get better at it with time and I think, based on the different diagrams and notes in this journal, that there are all kinds of different time pieces and other tools which can help. Maybe. It’s just a thought based on what I’ve read so far. All I know is your watch is special.” He nodded at her wrist.
“This thing?” Sylvie held up her wrist. “Why do you think that? What’s so special all the sudden about my watch?” Sebastian had hardly noticed it before. Even Sylvie forgot she had it on most of the time.
“Because… Don’t you remember? Dad gave it to you last summer for no reason at all. I remember because I was jealous.”
Sylvie shrugged. It was true Dad had given her the watch, out of the blue, not for a holiday or anything. She hadn’t thought it was weird at the time because Dad sometimes found treasures at the shop and always gave them to whichever child he thought would like it best.
“Sebastian, you know Dad constantly gave us things. Remember, he gave you a special mug with the Smurfs on it once?” Sylvie reminded him.
“Sylvie, have you ever seen a watch look like that?” he asked, pointing to it. “Did you ever think you’d time jump? Have you read Papa’s journal?”
Sylvie shrugged.
Jodi grabbed Sylvie’s wrist and inspected the watch for herself. It was gold and silver, with a medium-sized watch face that resembled a compass. “He’s got a point, Sylvie. I’ve never seen a watch like that. Not in any magazine or on any other kid at school.”
“Dad said it was a special edition. An antique. But I don’t think it’s special. I mean, it didn’t make me time travel. I’ve disappeared when it wasn’t on. And why would Dad give me a time travel watch and not explain it to me?”
“Because,” Sebastian said, his voice waning patience, “either he didn’t know what it could do, or he gave it to you without the crystal battery, so it wouldn’t work the way it’s supposed to. Remember, the one I’m looking for?”
“So, Dad gave me the watch and then hid the special crystal battery that makes it become a time jumping passageway?” Sylvie’s head was hurting thinking about it all. Not to mention, Sebastian was right; time travel was exhausting. She just wanted to go home.
“Maybe he didn’t think you needed it yet,” Sebastian said.
Sylvie rolled her eyes, feeling irritated. First, Sebastian had kept the root cause rule away from her, making her time jump with false hope of saving June. Now, all this stuff about watches? Crystals? It sounded more and more like an old Twilight Zone episode.
“So why didn’t we do this already, Sebastian? Why didn’t we look this morning for this battery? Or crystal. Whatever it is.” Sylvie asked.
“It’s a crystal battery.” Sebastian reminded her. “And because, Sylvie, I didn’t think we’d need it. Remember, I said, let’s keep it easy. You know, just get used to time traveling. I’d hoped that, if you made it to June, you could just warn her, and see if it worked. I didn’t want to waste time looking for the crystal if we didn’t need it. I wanted to know what you could do on your own first. Like, in research you need a baseline, you know? That’s what Mr. Burlington, my science teacher, always says.”
“Can I see the book?” Jodi asked, interrupting the banter. “Maybe I can try reading, too, and help figure things out.”
“No,” Sebastian said, quick and to the point.
Jodi frowned.
“Sebastian, really? Don’t be rude,” Sylvie snapped. She glanced at Jodi with an apologetic look.
“Sylvie, this book is our Papa’s. I can’t just share it with anybody. Besides, there’s too much at stake. We need to focus right now on finding the crystal. We all just need to look for that.”
“But Sebastian—”
“No, it’s okay, really. He’s right,” Jodi said. “We have to stay focused.”
“But what’s the point?” Sylvie asked again. “I keep asking and no one answers me. I went back, I warned June, but she’s still dead. Who cares about any of this?” Sylvie sighed. She knew she was being difficult. She couldn’t help it. Sylvie had tried to save her sister and failed. She didn’t want to get her hopes up again.
“Sylvie,” Sebastian said, “we still need to find Dad. There’s still a killer out there, or did you forget? Don’t you want to use your gift to figure out who the killer is? Besides, maybe, with more time, more investigating, we can find the root cause and fix it. Right? We can’t give up. We have to try.” Sebastian stared into Sylvie’s eyes, pleading.
Sylvie looked away, feeling another pang of guilt.
“Yeah, I agree with Sebastian,” Jodi said. “You can’t give up, Sylvie. You have such an incredible gift, but it’s all new, you know? Maybe with some more time and practice, like Sebastian said, maybe the three of us can figure something out.”
“I suppose,” Sylvie said. She wanted to believe it. She really did. “I guess… I guess it makes me feel better you saw it, too,” Sylvie added as she looked at Jodi. “You saw me disappear. It helps me believe this is really happening and not all in my head.”
Jodi her gave a sympathetic smile.
“I’m just so aggravated that my warning to June didn’t work. And I can’t believe my camera died, too, right along with my watch,” Sylvie complained.
“Maybe it died because you disappeared?” Jodi suggested.
“What do you mean?” Sylvie asked.
“Well, maybe, you know, since you are time traveling. Maybe when you disappear, it affects the magnetic field or something. Like how ghosts supposedly can cause lights to go on and off or make your radio full of static. Maybe when you disappeared, the energy of it did something to your camera.”
Sylvie thought for a moment. “Maybe,” she finally said. “Do you believe in ghosts?” She stared at Jodi, curious.
“I believe in everything after seeing you disappear.” Jodi laughed. “Do you think there are other people like you?”
“There are!” Sebastian chimed in from across the room as he searched a new box. “Starting with Dad. I’m sure he can time travel, too. I think that’s where he is. I think he disappeared because he was trying to save June.”
“Do you believe that?” Jodi looked at Sylvie.
“I mean…” Sylvie paused, considering it. “It’s a theory. But, if it were true, wouldn’t June be here? Wouldn’t things have changed? I mean, I couldn’t save her because of that, what’s that rule again, Sebastian?”
“The root cause rule,” he said. “You can’t change certain events unless—”
“That’s right. Unless you know the root cause. And we’re going to investigate to find the root cause,” Sylvie said. “Got it. What I’m trying to say is, if Dad went to save her, she’d be here.”
“I didn’t say he saved her,” Sebastian corrected. “I said that I bet he’s trying. And there could be lots of reasons she’s not here. Maybe Dad didn’t know the rule. Or he didn’t read Papa’s journal as carefully as me. Maybe he ignored it and tried anyway and—”
“Hey, look!” Jodi interrupted as she pulled a blanket off what looked like a hidden cabinet.
“A safe!” Sebastian said. “Is it open?”
Sylvie moved closer to it and tried the handle. “It’s locked.”
“Ugh. I bet there’s something in there. We’ve got to find the key. I bet Dad kept the watch parts in that safe,” Sebastian said.
“It has a combination,” Sylvie pointed out. “Not a key.”
“I’m good at combinations,” Jodi offered. “My brother, before he drowned, always wanted to play detective. We used to play around with old locks and try to figure out combinations.”
“Okay, let’s give it a shot,” Sylvie said. “I’m up for it.”
“What numbers do you think Dad might choose?” Sebastian walked over as he dusted his hands on his jeans, dirty from all the boxes.
“I don’t know. Let me think. Our birthdays?” Sylvie suggested.
“Too obvious. I mean, if he’s really trying to hide something, wouldn’t he pick something harder to guess?” Sebastian challenged.
“I mean, yeah, but Dad can’t remember random things and probably wouldn’t want to write a unique combination down. He’d want something he could remember,” Sylvie argued. “Dad always remembered our birthdays. He even bragged about it, remember? He said he couldn’t remember our phone number, but he’d never forget our birthdays.”
“Let’s try it,” Jodi said. “First, I’ll turn the dial three times to clear it.” She set her hand on the dial.
“Wait,” Sebastian said, peaking over her shoulder. “What number is it on now?”
“It’s near fifteen,” Jodi answered.
“That’s Sebastian’s birthday!” Sylvie exclaimed. “See? It is our birthdays.”
“Well, could be,” Jodi said. “It would make sense, being on fifteen, if he was in a hurry and didn’t move it past the last number. Let’s just see.” Jodi moved the dial three times, then said, “Give me June’s birthday.”
“The twenty-second,” Sylvie replied.
“Okay.” Jodi moved the dial to twenty-two, then in the opposite direction, one full turn.
“Okay, and Sylvie’s?” she asked. “Wait, could it possibly be the twenty-fifth?”
“The twenty-fourth,” Sylvie said. “How did you know? That was a close guess.”
“It feels sticky the closer I get to that number.” Jodi lined the dial up on exactly twenty-four. “Okay, got it.” Jodi smiled. “Let’s do the last one. What’s Sebastian’s again?”
“Fifteen,” Sebastian reminded her.
Jodi moved it to fifteen. The lock made a clunking noise. “It’s open.”
Sylvie stepped forward and unhitched the lock. She opened the safe as Jodi and Sebastian crowded behind her, peering over her shoulder.
Inside, there was cash. There were also some gold bars.
“Look at all that gold!” Sebastian exclaimed. “Are we rich?” He turned to Sylvie, a surprised look on his face.
“No,” Sylvie said. “This is for the pawnshop. We have to keep it here for when Dad gets back.”
Sylvie stepped back and eyed the safe up and down. She moved closer, then began to move some of the cash, checking to see if there was anything behind it.
“There! Look!” Sebastian pointed.
Sylvie looked. There, behind the cash, was a small manilla envelope with her name on it written in all caps in black permanent marker.
Sylvie picked it up. It felt slightly heavy.
“Open it,” Jodi urged.
“Yeah, what are you waiting for?” Sebastian asked.
Sylvie ripped the top open and reached inside. She pulled out a tiny watch battery, complete with a small sparkling crystal smack inside the middle of it.
“It’s…” Sylvie paused. “So, it is a watch battery . . . with a crystal.”
“With your name on it,” Jodi said.
“See? I told you! Dad does know about time travel!” Sebastian said.
“Do you think he left it there, so you’d be able to help him?” Jodi asked.
“I don’t know. He had it locked up.” Sylvie studied the crystal battery in her palm. She almost felt hypnotized by it.
“I think he was saving it for when you were ready,” Sebastian theorized.
“But why me? Why not a crystal battery for June or you, Sebastian? We don’t even know if this thing does anything,” Sylvie said.
“Give it to me.” Sebastian grabbed it from her hands. “Let’s open up that watch and stick it in to find out.”
Sylvie unhooked her watch and gave it to Sebastian.
The girls watched as Sebastian used his father’s tools to insert the crystal battery.
Sylvie couldn’t help but see a glimpse of Dad as Sebastian worked on unscrewing the back of the watch. She saw his future self as she realized for the first time that her little brother would grow up one day. It wouldn’t be long until he was twelve, then thirteen, and his voice would change the way she’d seen Peter Brady’s voice crack on The Brady Bunch reruns. He’ll need to start shaving. It was as if his life was flashing before her eyes. An entire life without Dad. Without June.
“There. It’s set.” Sebastian screwed it back together. “The battery is in.”
“Well, let me see it.” Sylvie grabbed it from him and put it on her wrist.
“Are you going to set the time?” Jodi asked.
“Of course. What time is it?”
“It’s six o’clock,” Sebastian pointed to the clock.
“Okay,” Sylvie turned the knobs to set the time. “Wait.” Sylvie said as the knobs felt tight. “That’s weird.”
“What?” Sebastian stepped closer.
Sylvie scrunched her eyebrows while looking down at the watch. “Well, when I turned the knob here, it felt stuck, and look, the hands are spinning. Like fast spinning. See!” She held out her wrist for them to look.
“Maybe it’s doing something,” Sebastian said. “I think it’s going to work!”
“But there’s no dial, no way to pick an exact time and location to go,” Sylvie said.
“Maybe there is, but we don’t know how to set it?” Jodi asked.
“Hold on, let me get the journal,” Sebastian said.
“Hurry Sebastian,” Sylvie called after him. “The ground is starting to sway.”
“Oh boy, you’re doing it again!” Jodi exclaimed.
“Okay, okay.” Sebastian panicked as he flipped through the journal’s pages and headed back toward Sylvie.
“I don’t think there’s time, Sebastian. She’s fading. Look!” Jodi called.
Sebastian threw the journal down. “Sylvie, try to control it like you did before,” he ordered.
But Sylvie didn’t want to stop it. She turned away from Sebastian and Jodi and looked at Dad’s desk. She spotted a photo of her and Dad and the rest of the family among the random piles of paperwork. All her feelings of restlessness and sadness overpowered her body as she stared at the picture.
She looked back at Sebastian. He needed Dad. She needed Dad. And if Sebastian was right and Dad could time travel, he’d know what to do, how to find the killer.
She didn’t need a root cause to see Dad.
Sylvie shut her eyes and thought about no particular day or time. Instead, she thought about the things like sticky pancakes, being pushed on the swing, midnight snacks, and long walks in the woods. Sebastian said the crystal battery would connect to my emotions, right? If I think about all the special things about Dad, maybe the watch will know when to take me. How could she pick a moment? What would be the right moment? She decided to wing it.
And, just like that, a light shone out of the watch. The ground swayed like all the times before, except this time, the roof and the walls of the shop flew off as a tornado had ripped it away, though there wasn’t any wind. When the shop was gone, there was nothing, only a shiny, bright path stretching into the darkness.
Sylvie stepped into the light.