Chapter 12
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Johan opened his eyes and found himself lying in his own bed. He couldn't feel his father's presence in his mind anymore.
"JOHAN! WAKE UP!," yelled a woman. "YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL IF YOU SLEEP ANY LONGER!"
It was Johan's mother yelling. Alive and well.
Johan climbed out of his bed.
Gadra ... sleeping with her ... the monster ... his parents deaths? Could dreams be that realistic? He had heard cases of people being unable to distinguish between reality and their dreams.
Perhaps, it had been a dream.
"Not a dream," whispered Gadra's voice. "I have reset the timeline for you. I have given you a second chance to change things. Of course, what I want in return will come later."
Johan dismissed her voice as his imagination. It must have been a dream, he thought.
"I am up mom!," yelled Johan.
Johan quickly got ready for school and ran downstairs. His mother was eating breakfast and father was sitting on a chair next to her at the dinner table reading a newspaper. A sense of relief and joy washed over him, he was glad that they were alive and well.
"Hey pipsqueak," said his mother looking up smiling at him. "I made your lunch and some french toast. Eat it fast, you got 15 minutes until your school bus comes."
His father grunted, and said, "Boy, I took the day off to make things super special for your mom. It is our wedding anniversary, don't ruin it with your laziness."
Johan looked at his parents surprised. What they said was very similar to what they said in his dream prior to their death.
"Awww honey," said Johan's mother. "Johan is a good kid, be nice. He won't miss his bus."
In his dream Johan, had missed the bus that day and gotten a ride from his father to school. His father had lectured him on the importance of being responsible the entire time.
Furthermore, the way they were sitting and the french toast his mom had made was exactly how it had been in his memories.
Johan stared at them with his mouth a-gap, like he'd seen a ghost.
"Deja vu," muttered Johan.
"What's wrong honey?" said Johan's mother. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
He shrugged things off, happy that his loving family was still alive.
"Naw," said Johan with a smile. "Just a coincidence."
Johan grabbed a french toast and scarfed it down and ran for the bus, barely making it. The students piled on.
"See dad," said Johan gulping down the toast in one bite. "I am super responsible and are gonna catch the bus. This is why you guys should buy me a car. To reward me for being such a great son."
"Yeah yeah yeah," said Johan's mom. "Get to school, here is some money for lunch. Get straight As this semester and we'll consider it. Now scram along."
Johan took the money from his mother and sprinted out of his house, down the street to the bus stop. He got to the bus stop right on time and piled onto the school bus just as the final students were stepping on.
On the bus he looked around for a seat and was surprised to see Jade on it sitting next to her friend Michelle. They were giggling mischievously. Jade briefly glanced at Johan and then glanced away. Clearly she'd thought nothing of him.
A sense of shock hit Johan.
[How did I know exactly how she looks from my dream?], wondered Johan.
He'd never seen her before.
Johan brushed it off as another uncomfortable coincidence and continued to look for a free seat.
"Hey," said a girl wearing a hoodie. "This seat is free."
Johan looked and saw a seat free and hurriedly took it.
He sat down next to the girl and said, "Thanks."
"No problem babe," she said, "Only fair that I hold a seat for you."
Johan raised his eyebrow slightly confused. Her voice sounded familiar.
Johan looked at the girl he was sitting next to wearing a hoodie. She pulled it down and to reveal short black hair and purple eyes.
"Gadra!?," gasped Johan.
Gadra threw herself onto Johan and kissed him before he could react.
It was Gadra, still as beautiful as ever, but not nearly and sexually developed, and looked around the same age as Johan. Her skin had the rosy complexition of a teenager in their late development stages.
"This is the guy you were holding a seat for?," said an Indian student wearing a turban sitting behind Johan.
Johan looked back and saw someone who he recognised. Sumeet, one of kids in his grade.
"I don't get it," Sumeet said, "he is ugly. Why would you be with him."
Some students started snickering.
Johan frowned at Sumeet's rude comment. He wasn't the type to take it.
"I used to think so too," retorted Johan. "Until I met you. We aren't even friends, buzz off Sumeet ... or I'll smack you one."
"What a looser," said Gadra. "He is probably just trying to look cool in front of me."
Sumeet turned red and the other students snickered harder.
Johan smiled.
"What are you doing here?," said Johan.
"I wanted to make sure you took me seriously," said Gadra with her sexy smile, "You seemed to think that everything that had happened was a dream. Now you know that it was not."
Johan stared at Gadra and the sheer magnitude of the responsibility that sat on his shoulders at that moment suddenly hit him. The events he'd thought were a dream were not.
"Then my parents?," stammered Johan.
"Yes," said Gadra, "But you have some time. Don't panic. We can talk in private once we get some time. For now enjoy this wonderful ride, it is such a beautiful day."
Johan went quiet try to figure out what he was going to do.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, the bus was pulling up to the school's bus stop. The students began pilling off.
Johan stepped off the school bus and looked up to be greeted but what seemed to be the perfect morning. The sun shone high in the sky, the birds chirped happily and everything seemed relatively normal ...
Except it wasn't ....
Johan knew this very well.
This wasn't the first time he had lived through this day. As he looked around a strong sense of deja vu hit him. He remembered the way people had dressed that horrible day. The only thing different about this day verses the one he had already lived through was how he was reacting and Gadra being with him.
Gadra grabbed Johan by his shirt sleeve and pulled him behind some trees away from the other students.
"You are going to have to do something," she said. "Don't waste this opportunity, because I won't be able to do anything like it again in your lifetime.
I used up all the free mana in the mana well in order to reset the timeline. Plus, I wrote myself in. For now, I am powerless ... just like you."
She sighed, clearly depressed by this.
"I'll call the cops," said Johan. "Say someone threatened my parents. They'll station people outside my house."
"It won't work," said Gadra, "the web of faith will not allow for it. This is not how the universe works. The web of destiny will prevent you from changing the faith of other people indirectly. It will fight back. The only things you can do, is directly interact and prevent the deaths of your parents by killing the murderer. Otherwise, the killer will come back. To take out the variable, will eliminate the ability of the universe's destiny web to compensate. Think about faith like an elastic band stretched and attached between two points. There are key events, which are the points. You can pull the elastic band within reasonable amounts, and it will always spring back into place. However, unless you pull it so much that it snaps, those points will always be attached. Faith will try and force a minimization of the deviations in the timeline, so that it has less rework to do."
Johan paused and looked Gadra in the eyes and nodded.
He wasn't sure if he'd be able to kill if put in the position where he had to.
"Can't you do something?," asked Johan. "You wouldn't-"
Gadra frowned and said, "I have already done enough."
Johan turned red, recalling the previous day. He shook his head, pushing away the distracting thoughts.
"I'll stop it," said Johan.
Johan stormed off from Gadra with a sense of urgency and began asking students whether he could borrow a cellphone. No one seemed to have a phone to lend him, which was strange.
Gadra stood there shaking her head frustrated.
"Johan," Gadra whispered, "has to make all the mistakes himself, that is the only way he seems to learn ... he cannot learn from people explaining things to him ... just like the others ..."
-- Ø --
An hour passed with Johan trying to find a cellphone, without luck.
He eventually found himself in the principles office.
The receptionist rudly ignored him and chattered away on the school phone line talking to her boyfriend.
After waiting for her to finish her call for 10 minutes, Johan grabbed the phone from her, and hung up on her boyfriend, growling at her.
The receptionist had a looked at Johan surprised and irritated.
"I am calling the police," scowled Johan irritated. "Say something and I'll do everything in my power to get you fired. This isn't a room for talking to your boyfriend."
The receptionist paled and looked away ashamed.
John proceeded to call the police. To his surprise, he received a busy signal.
"Busy!?," said Johan gritting his teeth. "This is ridiculous!"
He finally decided to believe what Gadra had said.
Turning away he saw Gadra sitting in the receptionist's waiting area, watching him.
"So have you decided what you are going to do?," asked Gadra.
"I don't know what I'll be doing," said Johan. "But I will do something."
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Johan opened his eyes and found himself lying in his own bed. He couldn't feel his father's presence in his mind anymore.
"JOHAN! WAKE UP!," yelled a woman. "YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL IF YOU SLEEP ANY LONGER!"
It was Johan's mother yelling. Alive and well.
Johan climbed out of his bed.
Gadra ... sleeping with her ... the monster ... his parents deaths? Could dreams be that realistic? He had heard cases of people being unable to distinguish between reality and their dreams.
Perhaps, it had been a dream.
"Not a dream," whispered Gadra's voice. "I have reset the timeline for you. I have given you a second chance to change things. Of course, what I want in return will come later."
Johan dismissed her voice as his imagination. It must have been a dream, he thought.
"I am up mom!," yelled Johan.
Johan quickly got ready for school and ran downstairs. His mother was eating breakfast and father was sitting on a chair next to her at the dinner table reading a newspaper. A sense of relief and joy washed over him, he was glad that they were alive and well.
"Hey pipsqueak," said his mother looking up smiling at him. "I made your lunch and some french toast. Eat it fast, you got 15 minutes until your school bus comes."
His father grunted, and said, "Boy, I took the day off to make things super special for your mom. It is our wedding anniversary, don't ruin it with your laziness."
Johan looked at his parents surprised. What they said was very similar to what they said in his dream prior to their death.
"Awww honey," said Johan's mother. "Johan is a good kid, be nice. He won't miss his bus."
In his dream Johan, had missed the bus that day and gotten a ride from his father to school. His father had lectured him on the importance of being responsible the entire time.
Furthermore, the way they were sitting and the french toast his mom had made was exactly how it had been in his memories.
Johan stared at them with his mouth a-gap, like he'd seen a ghost.
"Deja vu," muttered Johan.
"What's wrong honey?" said Johan's mother. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
He shrugged things off, happy that his loving family was still alive.
"Naw," said Johan with a smile. "Just a coincidence."
Johan grabbed a french toast and scarfed it down and ran for the bus, barely making it. The students piled on.
"See dad," said Johan gulping down the toast in one bite. "I am super responsible and are gonna catch the bus. This is why you guys should buy me a car. To reward me for being such a great son."
"Yeah yeah yeah," said Johan's mom. "Get to school, here is some money for lunch. Get straight As this semester and we'll consider it. Now scram along."
Johan took the money from his mother and sprinted out of his house, down the street to the bus stop. He got to the bus stop right on time and piled onto the school bus just as the final students were stepping on.
On the bus he looked around for a seat and was surprised to see Jade on it sitting next to her friend Michelle. They were giggling mischievously. Jade briefly glanced at Johan and then glanced away. Clearly she'd thought nothing of him.
A sense of shock hit Johan.
[How did I know exactly how she looks from my dream?], wondered Johan.
He'd never seen her before.
Johan brushed it off as another uncomfortable coincidence and continued to look for a free seat.
"Hey," said a girl wearing a hoodie. "This seat is free."
Johan looked and saw a seat free and hurriedly took it.
He sat down next to the girl and said, "Thanks."
"No problem babe," she said, "Only fair that I hold a seat for you."
Johan raised his eyebrow slightly confused. Her voice sounded familiar.
Johan looked at the girl he was sitting next to wearing a hoodie. She pulled it down and to reveal short black hair and purple eyes.
"Gadra!?," gasped Johan.
Gadra threw herself onto Johan and kissed him before he could react.
It was Gadra, still as beautiful as ever, but not nearly and sexually developed, and looked around the same age as Johan. Her skin had the rosy complexition of a teenager in their late development stages.
"This is the guy you were holding a seat for?," said an Indian student wearing a turban sitting behind Johan.
Johan looked back and saw someone who he recognised. Sumeet, one of kids in his grade.
"I don't get it," Sumeet said, "he is ugly. Why would you be with him."
Some students started snickering.
Johan frowned at Sumeet's rude comment. He wasn't the type to take it.
"I used to think so too," retorted Johan. "Until I met you. We aren't even friends, buzz off Sumeet ... or I'll smack you one."
"What a looser," said Gadra. "He is probably just trying to look cool in front of me."
Sumeet turned red and the other students snickered harder.
Johan smiled.
"What are you doing here?," said Johan.
"I wanted to make sure you took me seriously," said Gadra with her sexy smile, "You seemed to think that everything that had happened was a dream. Now you know that it was not."
Johan stared at Gadra and the sheer magnitude of the responsibility that sat on his shoulders at that moment suddenly hit him. The events he'd thought were a dream were not.
"Then my parents?," stammered Johan.
"Yes," said Gadra, "But you have some time. Don't panic. We can talk in private once we get some time. For now enjoy this wonderful ride, it is such a beautiful day."
Johan went quiet try to figure out what he was going to do.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, the bus was pulling up to the school's bus stop. The students began pilling off.
Johan stepped off the school bus and looked up to be greeted but what seemed to be the perfect morning. The sun shone high in the sky, the birds chirped happily and everything seemed relatively normal ...
Except it wasn't ....
Johan knew this very well.
This wasn't the first time he had lived through this day. As he looked around a strong sense of deja vu hit him. He remembered the way people had dressed that horrible day. The only thing different about this day verses the one he had already lived through was how he was reacting and Gadra being with him.
Gadra grabbed Johan by his shirt sleeve and pulled him behind some trees away from the other students.
"You are going to have to do something," she said. "Don't waste this opportunity, because I won't be able to do anything like it again in your lifetime.
I used up all the free mana in the mana well in order to reset the timeline. Plus, I wrote myself in. For now, I am powerless ... just like you."
She sighed, clearly depressed by this.
"I'll call the cops," said Johan. "Say someone threatened my parents. They'll station people outside my house."
"It won't work," said Gadra, "the web of faith will not allow for it. This is not how the universe works. The web of destiny will prevent you from changing the faith of other people indirectly. It will fight back. The only things you can do, is directly interact and prevent the deaths of your parents by killing the murderer. Otherwise, the killer will come back. To take out the variable, will eliminate the ability of the universe's destiny web to compensate. Think about faith like an elastic band stretched and attached between two points. There are key events, which are the points. You can pull the elastic band within reasonable amounts, and it will always spring back into place. However, unless you pull it so much that it snaps, those points will always be attached. Faith will try and force a minimization of the deviations in the timeline, so that it has less rework to do."
Johan paused and looked Gadra in the eyes and nodded.
He wasn't sure if he'd be able to kill if put in the position where he had to.
"Can't you do something?," asked Johan. "You wouldn't-"
Gadra frowned and said, "I have already done enough."
Johan turned red, recalling the previous day. He shook his head, pushing away the distracting thoughts.
"I'll stop it," said Johan.
Johan stormed off from Gadra with a sense of urgency and began asking students whether he could borrow a cellphone. No one seemed to have a phone to lend him, which was strange.
Gadra stood there shaking her head frustrated.
"Johan," Gadra whispered, "has to make all the mistakes himself, that is the only way he seems to learn ... he cannot learn from people explaining things to him ... just like the others ..."
-- Ø --
An hour passed with Johan trying to find a cellphone, without luck.
He eventually found himself in the principles office.
The receptionist rudly ignored him and chattered away on the school phone line talking to her boyfriend.
After waiting for her to finish her call for 10 minutes, Johan grabbed the phone from her, and hung up on her boyfriend, growling at her.
The receptionist had a looked at Johan surprised and irritated.
"I am calling the police," scowled Johan irritated. "Say something and I'll do everything in my power to get you fired. This isn't a room for talking to your boyfriend."
The receptionist paled and looked away ashamed.
John proceeded to call the police. To his surprise, he received a busy signal.
"Busy!?," said Johan gritting his teeth. "This is ridiculous!"
He finally decided to believe what Gadra had said.
Turning away he saw Gadra sitting in the receptionist's waiting area, watching him.
"So have you decided what you are going to do?," asked Gadra.
"I don't know what I'll be doing," said Johan. "But I will do something."
Johan opened his eyes and found himself lying in his own bed. He couldn't feel his father's presence in his mind anymore."JOHAN! WAKE UP!," yelled a woman. "YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL IF YOU SLEEP ANY LONGER!"It was Johan's mother yelling. Alive and well.Johan climbed out of his bed.Gadra ... sleeping with her ... the monster ... his parents deaths? Could dreams be that realistic? He had heard cases of people being unable to distinguish between reality and their dreams.Perhaps, it had been a dream."Not a dream," whispered Gadra's voice. "I have reset the timeline for you. I have given you a second chance to change things. Of course, what I want in return will come later."Johan dismissed her voice as his imagination. It must have been a dream, he thought."I am up mom!," yelled Johan.Johan quickly got ready for school and ran downstairs. His mother was eating breakfast and father was sitting on a chair next to her at the dinner table reading a newspaper. A sense of relief and joy washed over him, he was glad that they were alive and well."Hey pipsqueak," said his mother looking up smiling at him. "I made your lunch and some french toast. Eat it fast, you got 15 minutes until your school bus comes."His father grunted, and said, "Boy, I took the day off to make things super special for your mom. It is our wedding anniversary, don't ruin it with your laziness."Johan looked at his parents surprised. What they said was very similar to what they said in his dream prior to their death."Awww honey," said Johan's mother. "Johan is a good kid, be nice. He won't miss his bus."In his dream Johan, had missed the bus that day and gotten a ride from his father to school. His father had lectured him on the importance of being responsible the entire time.Furthermore, the way they were sitting and the french toast his mom had made was exactly how it had been in his memories.Johan stared at them with his mouth a-gap, like he'd seen a ghost."Deja vu," muttered Johan."What's wrong honey?" said Johan's mother. "You look like you've seen a ghost."He shrugged things off, happy that his loving family was still alive."Naw," said Johan with a smile. "Just a coincidence."Johan grabbed a french toast and scarfed it down and ran for the bus, barely making it. The students piled on."See dad," said Johan gulping down the toast in one bite. "I am super responsible and are gonna catch the bus. This is why you guys should buy me a car. To reward me for being such a great son.""Yeah yeah yeah," said Johan's mom. "Get to school, here is some money for lunch. Get straight As this semester and we'll consider it. Now scram along."Johan took the money from his mother and sprinted out of his house, down the street to the bus stop. He got to the bus stop right on time and piled onto the school bus just as the final students were stepping on.On the bus he looked around for a seat and was surprised to see Jade on it sitting next to her friend Michelle. They were giggling mischievously. Jade briefly glanced at Johan and then glanced away. Clearly she'd thought nothing of him.A sense of shock hit Johan.How did I know exactly how she looks from my dream?, wondered Johan.He'd never seen her before.Johan brushed it off as another uncomfortable coincidence and continued to look for a free seat."Hey," said a girl wearing a hoodie. "This seat is free."Johan looked and saw a seat free and hurriedly took it.He sat down next to the girl and said, "Thanks.""No problem babe," she said, "Only fair that I hold a seat for you."Johan raised his eyebrow slightly confused. Her voice sounded familiar.Johan looked at the girl he was sitting next to wearing a hoodie. She pulled it down and to reveal short black hair and purple eyes."Gadra!?," gasped Johan.Gadra threw herself onto Johan and kissed him before he could react.It was Gadra, still as beautiful as ever, but not nearly and sexually developed, and looked around the same age as Johan. Her skin had the rosy complexition of a teenager in their late development stages."This is the guy you were holding a seat for?," said an Indian student wearing a turban sitting behind Johan.Johan looked back and saw someone who he recognised. Sumeet, one of kids in his grade."I don't get it," Sumeet said, "he is ugly. Why would you be with him."Some students started snickering.Johan frowned at Sumeet's rude comment. He wasn't the type to take it."I used to think so too," retorted Johan. "Until I met you. We aren't even friends, buzz off Sumeet ... or I'll smack you one.""What a looser," said Gadra. "He is probably just trying to look cool in front of me."Sumeet turned red and the other students snickered harder.Johan smiled."What are you doing here?," said Johan."I wanted to make sure you took me seriously," said Gadra with her sexy smile, "You seemed to think that everything that had happened was a dream. Now you know that it was not."Johan stared at Gadra and the sheer magnitude of the responsibility that sat on his shoulders at that moment suddenly hit him. The events he'd thought were a dream were not."Then my parents?," stammered Johan."Yes," said Gadra, "But you have some time. Don't panic. We can talk in private once we get some time. For now enjoy this wonderful ride, it is such a beautiful day."Johan went quiet try to figure out what he was going to do.Time flew by, and before they knew it, the bus was pulling up to the school's bus stop. The students began pilling off.Johan stepped off the school bus and looked up to be greeted but what seemed to be the perfect morning. The sun shone high in the sky, the birds chirped happily and everything seemed relatively normal ...Except it wasn't ....Johan knew this very well.This wasn't the first time he had lived through this day. As he looked around a strong sense of deja vu hit him. He remembered the way people had dressed that horrible day. The only thing different about this day verses the one he had already lived through was how he was reacting and Gadra being with him.Gadra grabbed Johan by his shirt sleeve and pulled him behind some trees away from the other students."You are going to have to do something," she said. "Don't waste this opportunity, because I won't be able to do anything like it again in your lifetime.I used up all the free mana in the mana well in order to reset the timeline. Plus, I wrote myself in. For now, I am powerless ... just like you."She sighed, clearly depressed by this."I'll call the cops," said Johan. "Say someone threatened my parents. They'll station people outside my house.""It won't work," said Gadra, "the web of faith will not allow for it. This is not how the universe works. The web of destiny will prevent you from changing the faith of other people indirectly. It will fight back. The only things you can do, is directly interact and prevent the deaths of your parents by killing the murderer. Otherwise, the killer will come back. To take out the variable, will eliminate the ability of the universe's destiny web to compensate. Think about faith like an elastic band stretched and attached between two points. There are key events, which are the points. You can pull the elastic band within reasonable amounts, and it will always spring back into place. However, unless you pull it so much that it snaps, those points will always be attached. Faith will try and force a minimization of the deviations in the timeline, so that it has less rework to do."Johan paused and looked Gadra in the eyes and nodded.He wasn't sure if he'd be able to kill if put in the position where he had to."Can't you do something?," asked Johan. "You wouldn't-"Gadra frowned and said, "I have already done enough."Johan turned red, recalling the previous day. He shook his head, pushing away the distracting thoughts."I'll stop it," said Johan.Johan stormed off from Gadra with a sense of urgency and began asking students whether he could borrow a cellphone. No one seemed to have a phone to lend him, which was strange.Gadra stood there shaking her head frustrated."Johan," Gadra whispered, "has to make all the mistakes himself, that is the only way he seems to learn ... he cannot learn from people explaining things to him ... just like the others ..."-- --An hour passed with Johan trying to find a cellphone, without luck.He eventually found himself in the principles office.The receptionist rudly ignored him and chattered away on the school phone line talking to her boyfriend.After waiting for her to finish her call for 10 minutes, Johan grabbed the phone from her, and hung up on her boyfriend, growling at her.The receptionist had a looked at Johan surprised and irritated."I am calling the police," scowled Johan irritated. "Say something and I'll do everything in my power to get you fired. This isn't a room for talking to your boyfriend."The receptionist paled and looked away ashamed.John proceeded to call the police. To his surprise, he received a busy signal."Busy!?," said Johan gritting his teeth. "This is ridiculous!"He finally decided to believe what Gadra had said.Turning away he saw Gadra sitting in the receptionist's waiting area, watching him."So have you decided what you are going to do?," asked Gadra."I don't know what I'll be doing," said Johan. "But I will do something."
