CHAPTER 5: LOVE’S PLOT TWISTS

Her mother rushed inside the house to see what's happening. She frowned when Sally was looking at the mirror with her jaw open as her eyes widened with shock.

"Mom, I am old already. And all I know is you're already dead—" She poked me on my head with gritted teeth. She looked really mad that she looked as if she wanted to crush me into fine bits any minute from now.

"You're a bad daughter! You seemed very excited that I will be dead and you're only fourteen years old. Who told you that?"

"Mom, that's not what I mean..." She said while putting her two arms in front of her mother as if putting a barrier shield between them.

Is she really talking to her mom? Did she go to the past or to the afterlife? Meeting her mom again for the second time is an odd feeling. She cannot even remember when they've become closer or not at all. Looking at her younger version getting mad to her right now looked like a nightmare more than a good dream. Of all the people! Her mother is dead already in the present time of 2020. That's what she's aware of, but now? They are facing each other on a normal day.

And there she is, right in front of her...scolding her right before her eyes.

"You better wash the dishes instead of doing outrageous things. You really want to get hit by my stick. I will really have a heart attack and die since you're not helping me."

"I am so sorry mom," She can't even believe she's trying to make a conversation with her.

"Don't make unnecessary noise if it's not even important. You're exaggerating things way too much, you know."

"Yes, mom. I will."

"Always follow what I am telling you because I'm your mother."

"Yes mom." She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from reasoning out even more. Even if she will explain to her mom that she came from the future, that she's already in her 70s, she will not believe her, either.

She will just tell her she's crazy. She will just assume that everything she will tell her is the result of her childish imagination of many things.

She walked to their kitchen and started washing the dishes. She tried her best to be very careful not to produce any sound from clunking glass or the sound of plates hitting each other. Her mom will surely think that she's acting up, that even washing the dishes would be against her will. Older people will tell that she's feeling bad, she will put her attention to the plates, put them all together noisily.

She sighed as she formed a lot of bubbles from the soap and transferred it to the sponge.

"You think life is always a fairytale, no it isn't. You have to work hard for your future self to be proud of you."

She could hear her mother telling her those words aloud from the living room five meters away from the kitchen.

"My goodness if only you know I will be a hit worldwide, you will be proud that you gave birth to me." She mumbled while washing the dishes. The glass slipped from her hands, it crashed on the floor. She swallowed when she heard her mother's giant steps towards her. This time, she's holding a stick. She hit her hard, she squirmed with pain.

"Mom, I am so sorry I didn't mean it." She said between sobs.

"You always say that but you're not changing at all. Sally, grow up. Don't act childish anymore."

"Yes, mom."

Right after Sally washed the dishes, she hurriedly went outside to look for the car that she drove from her future. She broke down in tears when she couldn't see it anymore

"Is this all a joke? Why would I be back to the past? I can't believe it! I don't want to believe it!" She looked around to also look for Graciella, instead, she was touched by the breeze of fresh air caressing her skin.

She doesn't want to look at her face, either. Seeing her younger face is almost a nightmare to her.

"Sally! Where are you?" Her heart almost skipped a beat when her mother called her again.

"Mom! I am here!" She ran going inside their house to avoid getting scolded again. Good thing it was summertime.

She simply looked at their calendar and it showed March 28, 1957. She felt like her world had fallen apart all of a sudden. So, it is indeed real. It is not a dream after all! She went back to her fourteen-year-old self!

"What is it, now? Huh?"

"Mom, I am supposed to be old...it is hard to believe but please, I need you to listen to me."

"Sally, stop hallucinating. It is not helping at all. If you're hungry, go grab some corn to eat." Sally scratched her head as she looked at her mother. She looked down as she followed what she just said. She doesn't want her mother to be mad at her for the third, damn time. She's hard-headed and childish based on her mother's description on her. It had to change so that she could return to the convention.

Night came and she noticed that her mother went to her own room, while she was still sitting on their dusty chair in the dining room. She is still looking through the window in front of her.

The car was nowhere to be found. She also couldn't see Graciella, the only person that could answer the questions that she's been keeping for herself ever since she got here in their house. She went to her room. She looked at her tiny bed and as she sat on it, she felt like sitting on a big, cold rock. She has a quilt of her own, being sewn by her mom but it is not soft enough to make her comfortable to sleep.

She tried turning to her left as she laid down on her own bed. However, it pained her back that she couldn't help but to get up from bed as she sat with her back straightened to the headboard. Both of her legs rested together as it stretched long half a meter from the end of the bed.

"My goodness! What did I do to deserve all of these? As far as I could remember, I was just being sarcastic to Hera but I am not mistreating her like others do." She muttered to herself. She didn't even notice that the corners of her mouth were lowered as she raised the inner portion of her brows. She never understood anything that has happened to her. All these time, she only wanted to go back from where she came from.

What will happen to the conference now that she's nowhere to be found? She wanted to blame Graciella because of what happened to her. It's like she lured her to a trap that she couldn't escape easily...well, could she?

Now that she's on her younger self, she is thinking of where to start...