Colette had been staring at the ceilings of her room since she entered it. She lay cuddled up in her bed , muffled up in her thick blanket, just thinking. How had she found herself four days in the past? She reflected on the physics lecture she had gotten from Chloe, and the possibilities of her time-travelling. Her mind went to the topic of the grandfather’s paradox. She knew most of what would happen that day. She was supposed to go to work with her parents, while Clement stayed home, with his video games, in which he kept losing in the boss level fight, and she wasn’t meant to come home until 9:30pm that night with her parents. Even the snow storm would pass in the evening around 6:30pm. Everything was going to order – expect the fact that she didn’t go to the restaurant today, and that her mother came home early.
‘Guess I’ve altered something huh,' she thought to herself. She turned to check the time on her alarm clock which was on the table beside the head-side of her bed. It read 2:56pm. She then picked up her phone to check for messages and notifications. All the messages were the same as she remembered, atleast that was until she got to Chloe’s. When she opened the message, she laughed a little. ‘Chloe,' she said to herself. The message read ‘hope my physics lecture wasn’t too bothersome for my student, hope nothing’s wrong, with all the questions you were asking me, felt like you time travelled haha’. ‘Wish you knew girl, wish you knew,' she thought to herself. She then dropped her phone and turned to her side. She continued to think about what was happening. Perhaps the medic in the ambulance which was supposed to take her and her brother to the hospital had sent her to the past, with all the wishes she kept asking, or perhaps it had something to do with her grandfather’s folklore story on Elise and Budu, or perhaps she might even have superpowers she knew nothing of, and they got themselves activated, somehow. “So the city’s square’s gonna blow huh,” she said to herself. ‘Wonder why anyone would wanna do that, especially on such a situation. Wonder what the police, or anyone would say if I told them; I’m crazy huh, will probably get lots of that, wonder what to do, no-one would listen to me if I said not to go to the square, if I did, that is. Haah, what to do, what to do.’ And with so much worry and lots to think of, she didn’t know when she succumbed to sleep.
Colette’s eyes went wide open as she suddenly woke up. She sat up while holding her belly with one thing in mind – food. She checked the time on her alarm clock and saw that an hour had passed. “Man, wish I could get some pork soup,” she said to herself. She then got changed into casual home clothes – a pink T-shirt, over which she wore a green woolen sweater and a pair of black trousers. She then made her way to the kitchen. To her surprise, she opened a saucer to see it filled with still hot pork soup, and another pot with rice. “Haah, wow, definitely didn’t expect this.”
“Rice’s all that’s left at home, unless you still wanna go for bread, we need to go shopping soon. As for the soup, pork’s all that came to mind, so decided to cook it,” her mother said. She was leaning on the door post at the entrance of the kitchen with her arms folded, staring intently at her daughter. “Also thought I’d prepare one of your favorites, given your state this morning.”
“Mom, you also like pork soup, bet you’d have also prepared it at the restaurant if we were there,” Colette said. In truth, on the 28th of December before she time travelled, the family had eaten pork soup and rice together at the restaurant, and Colette returned home with her parents later that evening. Only Clement remained at home, all despite her father watching The Blue’s game at the restaurant.
“Oh please, it really was for you, you know, Mia said while winking her left eye.
“Yaah, I can tell,” Colette replied sarcastically.
“Besides, he and his friends were going to watch another game at the restaurant, and I wouldn’t take it, so simply took off to come home, he said he’d handle it, but I told him he was going to have to watch the next game at the pub,” Mia said with a rather stressed face. “Serve yourself and eat up, I’ve already eaten, Clement too.”
Colette served some soup into a hollow dish, and rice in a flat plate, and set both in a tray. She then carried it, as her and her mother left the kitchen together.
“Mum, please help me with some orange juice from the fridge,” Colette said as she headed for the dining table. Mia opened the refrigerator and brought out a small bottle of orange juice, which she handed over to Colette, who was already set with a cup and her food. They both continued their chat while Colette ate.
“Naah, not again, can’t seem to get past this level,” Clement let out a frustrated cry.
“Perhaps you should just give up, you ain’t winning that anytime soon,” Colette said to him. She had finished her food for some time now and was leisurely sitting at an adjacent chair, watching her younger brother try and lose at his game.
“Get off sis, perhaps you’re the bad luck ruining my game,” Clement snapped back at her with a pained frown.
Colette let out a soft giggle. “Well, it’s already about time for the pink House show to begin, perhaps you might show some consideration, put your game on hold for the moment and cool off? We’ll watch it together.” She gave him a thumbs up and winked.
“Fine then, I’ve just never sulked this badly in a game before,” Clement said, still frustrated.
“Believe me, we all sulk” Colette said. She then moved to sit beside her brother and they both wrapped themselves in a blanket together as the storm outside subsided, and its winds calmed, while their mother was busy in the kitchen. The wood furnace in the house was already burning out, so Colette turned on the electric heating system in the living room with the remote control, which was on a stool in front of her.
“About time.” Colette had already anticipated the time her father would arrive, atleast if their absence from work didn’t derail that. It was 9:45pm already. Clement had dosed off on her left shoulder while they both binged watched ‘The Pink House’ on TV. They had already eaten with their mother, who had already gone off to bed fifteen minutes earlier, leaving Colette the only one awake in the house.
'Mum’s starting to sleep early huh, she didn’t sleep this early last time, she even back from the restaurant yet’ she thought to herself. ‘Although she slept early on the thirtieth, that was cus she did most of the hard work that day – not today.’
Just moments later, there was a knock on the door and her father came in.
“Welcome papa!” Colette greeted him.
“Hey Col, you still up?” Her father asked as he locked the door behind him.
“Hmnm,” Colette responded.
Argus then went to her chair and stood over his children at the back of the chair.
“You good now?” he asked as he put his right hand on her head.
“Good,” Colette responded as she kept watching the TV.
“Clement’s already in dreamworld eh,” he said as he moved his right hand from Colette’s head to Clement’s. “Where’s your mama?” He asked.
“She’s already sleeping, few moments ago,” Colette responded while still watching TV.
“Oh! Interesting…seems Clement takes from his mother than me huh.” Colette laughed.
“Atleast you took a lot from me as well, we don’t sleep early for one.”
“Yeaa,” Colette responded, “although you still sleep earlier, and you will today, given your hardwork today,” she said sarcastically, “and cus I know hmm.”
“Interesting. Well…,” he said as he yawned. “Well, just gonna enter my room then.”
“Hmm, could have just said you were going to sleep pops,” she said as she gave him a sly look.
“Ha, you really are a naughty one, you know!”.
“Goodnight papa!”
“Goodnight Col!.”
Colette sighed as she continued watching the show. She thought again on the events that would soon happen. ‘Could this all be a dream, it really feels as though I’m fooling myself, atleast not everything’s been happening one hundred percent. Might as well just keep on living.’ The next time she looked at the time, it was already 10:45pm. She woke Clement up and told him to go to his room, after which she checked to see if her father had locked the house door properly, and that all the windows were still shit. She then switched off the TV and lights, before heading to her room. 'Tomorrow won’t be as cold,’ she thought to herself. After brushing and changing into her pyjamas, she sat on her bed with her phone in hand and thought for a moment. ‘What can I change tomorrow then, perhaps leave the restaurant early and out with Chloe and Patience, they’ll both be available tomorrow afterall, mum and dad should be busy all day tomorrow, and Chris will follow us to the restaurant. That should be perfect,' she thought.
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