SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Forty-Two: Dimensions Apart
Chapter Forty-Two: Dimensions Apart
HYACINTH and Erin saw darkness at first.
They’re inside that mysterious realm again. It’s pitch-black and they can’t see anything except the glimmering thread in front of them just a few inches away.
“Can you see it, Erin? That thing?” She pointed at the object in front of them.
Is it an object, though? It doesn’t look like an object. It looked almost... magical. With its length glowing a bit but it doesn’t really light up to give light to their surroundings.
They can’t feel any ground beneath them. It is as if they’re floating.
It is as if their entire being and consciousness are deeply connected in that world.
Erin moved as if gliding in the air to take a closer look. Her daughter’s eyes even squinted just to see the string clearly.
“Yes, Mom. It is a thread, yes, but it’s a thick one. It looks like it’s composed of thin lines.”
Hyacinth clasped her daughter’s shoulders and smiled. “We need to explore it. I think it will guide us to where we want to go, just like how the threads guide me to the answers I seek from the past or future of the bearer.” Then, she took Erin’s arm to guide it to the thread.
“This is a different dimension?” Erin looked around. “Is this the string of fate? Is this how life looked like from a dimensional perspective?”
Hyacinth raised a brow. “Someone’s been researching theories, huh?”
Erin nodded in response. “I researched it way two years ago when I traveled back in time. The scientists’ findings lead them to the theory of dimensions. I think this is what they mean. They said that a dimension different from ours probably existed. They said that once we’re in a higher dimension than our reality, then we can view time and the possibilities or outcomes from a third person’s point of view. I never thought that it will look like this. So simple yet...” Erin pondered on the word to best explain her thoughts.
“So complex?” Hyacinth offered.
Erin chuckled. “Oh, yes, Mom. Complex.”
Hyacinth grabbed the string and urged Erin to do the same by tilting her head to the position of the string.
“I think this works exactly like how I would touch strings to gather information from someone’s past or future. You need to concentrate and feel the connection, honey. Seek the specific time you wanted to go to.”
Erin muttered, “Just like the first time I traveled in time. For a moment back then, I had been desperate to prevent Dad from meeting you because he was hurt.”
A lump formed in Hyacinth’s throat at the thought of her husband. Even if it had only been minutes for her, she knew that Max went through ten years without her in his life.
How would he react when he sees her? Is he alright? Did he meet new friends without her? Did he find a new love?
She bit her lower lip and tucked Erin’s loose hair behind her ear. “Was he really miserable? Lonely? How was he when I vanished?”
Erin’s eyes reddened. “Oh, Mom, he drowned himself with work and alcohol. I once saw him looking at your pictures on his laptop. Sometimes, he would drink just to help himself sleep. There’s this emptiness inside him that I can’t fill. He tries to be happy for me, Mom, and he sometimes forgets his problems every time Aunt Maine visits with Uncle Philip and my cousins.”
Hyacinth stopped herself to imagine those. The words themselves were too heartbreaking and painful to even think about. She’s afraid that she wouldn’t be able to recover from hurting herself once she allowed her heart to mourn for their lost time together.
“This is why we need to return now, Erin. Your Dad waits for us.”
“But I’m scared, Mom. What if I mess things up? What if I make a mistake?”
“Then, we’ll try and try. Over and over again until you get it right.”
Erin gave him a perplexed glance. “Aren’t we going to mess things up if we did it wrong?”
Hyacinth assured her daughter by shaking her head and locking her in her embrace. “Erin, we won’t mess things up as long as we don’t interfere.”
Erin’s body relaxed against hers. “Thank you for believing in me, Mom.” And she looked up to see Hyacinth’s face even though the darkness made it an impossible task. “And I realized that you never left me in the first place. You just happened to be with me when I need you the most.” She chuckled. “Dad had been right. I’ll soon understand everything.”
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MAX didn’t spare any second away from Hyacinth. He was a fool for wasting their time when he had deliberately pushed her away because he had been too afraid of his feelings.
But now, Max realized that a person has nothing to be afraid of if he’s afraid that time will run out if he didn’t use it wisely.
He immediately leaped out of the sofa like a spring and ran towards his daughter and his wife.
When his hand touched her solid form, he can’t help but drag her away from Erin and crush her into a tight embrace.
Erin giggled and patted his shoulder. “Dad, it had only been a few minutes ago since she last saw you.”
Hyacinth didn’t complain, though. She knew exactly how long it had been for him since the last time he saw her...felt her...embrace her against his length. She could feel his desperate need to touch her living form, to hear her breathing against his skin, to convince himself that she was really here.
His shoulders shuddered and his chest spasmed against her cheeks. Hyacinth whispered some endearments to calm him down, but Max didn’t. Not even a little bit.
Droplets of tears fell on her shoulder and he buried his face in the crook of her neck to cover his face. He was too ashamed to show his longing...to let her see him vulnerable and shattered. Hyacinth took a sharp breath as she pressed a kiss on his hair.
“I’m sorry for making you wait. I know it hurts but I’m here now.”
Erin decided to give her parents some privacy. She wiped the tears from her eyes and headed to the door. The young girl closed the door behind her as sobs and soft whispers of endearment and assurances filled the living room.