Time Traveling Hero

In the now light-grey room, quiet sobs echoed throughout the room as the boy lay there, the only movement from his otherwise still body the shakes that overcame him from his cries. Having completed another part of the Trial of the Past unwittingly, he was nearing his conclusion of his long awaited confrontation with his forgotten past.

Sniffling, I uncovered my eyes, resting my arms back down on the floor, looking up at the endless ceiling in wonder.

"It's light grey," I murmured, marveling at the sudden development the room had taken. When it had changed color, I had no clue, but I assumed it was a good thing and left it at that.

"She wants me to be happy...?" I asked myself in the quiet room, her words slowly starting to take root in my head. It seems that Eris had been right all those years ago. Well, it looks like I'll have to thank her somehow once I get out of here.

And yet, I couldn't find the will to get up. I already had the strength to stand now, but something else was blocking me from getting up now. Even her words had been true, could I really be happy?

"Can you truly be happy without her?" The voice of the Trial once more whispered into his head.

I adored my mother, from the bottom of my heart. Even to this day, I wished I could talk with her, see her smile, and enjoy time with. That was happiness there. But, it had been a long time since I felt that sort of happiness, the happiness that a mother could bring.

"So, can you?"

I didn't have an answer to that question. I missed her so much now, that it was starting to hurt. The feelings I thought I had long overcome were back with triple the strength, and these of feelings of sadness were starting to take over.

Can I really be happy?"

"Can you?"

My experiences thus far haven't exactly been the greatest. Year after year, it feels like I'm walking in a mute world, ever since the day my dad told my my mom was dead. There was some noise here and there, like Eris and Luna, but otherwise it felt as if I was forced to fight off this incredible weight, every single day, hidden behind a face that my mother used genuinely.

"Can you?"

My mom was like a shining light to me, one that kept me excited day in and day out, that brought a smile to my face effortlessly, that loved for me so deeply, that helped me understand many things about the world, that let me be my quirky, untroubled self, that was what she brought me.

"So, can you?"

So, can I be truly happy without her? The hole that she had left, the one once filled with happiness, warmth, and positivity, had now been replaced with sadness, bitterness, and pessimism beyond repair. It had nearly become a part of me now, and my heart started to sway as these feelings of regret filled me.

"Can you?"

How could I possibly think I could be happy? She was gone, gone for good; never again would I see her smiling face, her warm smile, feel her tender hugs, never again.

"So?"

The soul crushing realization as I finally came to terms with her death was too much to bear after she had passed away. My constant suicide attempts had been proof of that, unable to find happiness in a world without her. I missed her, I missed her so much, that back then, dying would've been a small price to pay to see her again. I hoped, I prayed, I cursed, I wailed, it made no difference to the cruel world. Death had taken her away, cackling at my misfortune, trying so desperately to take me too.

And his wish, his wish long forgotten, was starting to surface.

"Can you?"

"...No, I don't think I can."

I came to terms with this realization, wallowing deep in my own despair as those fateful words rang through my head.

"Failure."

And he had finally reached his final hurdle.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trial of the Past: Attempt 1000

I don't know how long I was there after, but I eventually felt something other than the ground underneath my body. It was soft, and it tickled my arms and legs, bringing me out of my self-made prison of despair.

I opened my eyes to find light grey clouds spread throughout the entire sky, a breeze flowing gently over my exhausted body. I looked to my side and saw grass growing from the ground, with trees far off in the distance.

I g.r.o.a.n.e.d as I sat up, my entire body soaked in a puddle. I frowned and looked beneath me, seeing a puddle of blood, sweat, and tears underneath me. How much of each I needed to make a puddle this size was beyond me at the moment, but I had a feeling it wasn't good.

I started to stand up when my legs wracked with pain, causing me to kneel back down onto the grass. I examined my legs and found deep claw marks all over my legs, most of them easily deep enough to warrant serious medical attention. They had, at the very least, stopped bleeding, although the minuscule amount of movement I had done had caused some of them to almost reopen.

Deciding against standing for the time being, I scanned the area, confused at what was going on. It was a large plain, stretching out far beyond the horizon. The sun was presumably above the overcast clouds, although where was anyone's guess. In front of me was a tree, big enough to give shade to the table and chairs underneath it. And sitting down in one of the chairs, her legs crossed as she leaned back sipping on her soda, was a woman with short, spunky hair.

My eyes became glued to the woman in shock, as my body started to get up by itself, my wounds reopening. However, I could care less about the pain right now.

I slowly shuffled my way over, traversing over a small hill to get to the table. The woman noticed me and set down her cup, a reassuring smile on her face, a face I knew all too well.

I reached the top, and the woman got up from her chair, looking down at me.

"...Is it really you?"

She grinned. "That's for you to decide."

At the sound of her voice, it was all but confirmed. I collapsed down onto the ground, staring at the woman I had longed to meet for so long.

"...Mom?"

"That's right, Mr. Troublemaker!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We were sitting down on top of the hill, overlooking the wide expanse of green. My mom was happily drinking her never-ending soda, occasionally burping really loudly. I could only stare at her, my eyes unable to believe the sight before me.

"Hey, you want some kiddo?"

Even the way she spoke was exactly as I remembered it. I accepted the drink and held it quietly in my hands, pondering over this strange situation.

"You're awfully quiet you know? You alright?" Her face appeared in my vision, and I was once again staring at her.

"Hello?"

I poked her face with my finger, and she reeled back, rubbing her cheek. "What was that for kiddo?"

"...It was warm."

"Hmm?"

I turned back to my mom, and I finally relaxed a little. "Your cheek. It was... warm."

She started to laugh. "Of course it is, why wouldn't it be?"

I smiled to myself as I drank a little of my soda. "I was just making sure of something is all."

"Well, enough of about that! I wanna know what's been happening with my wonderful boy! You've grown up quite a bit since I've seen you, but I still want know everything, so tell me all the details!"

I looked into her sparkling eyes and chuckled. "Yeah, alright Mom. Let's see, I guess I'll start after I turned six..."

I told her all about my life since then, about my adventures with Eris, Dad remarrying and gaining a cute lil' stepsister as a result, how I was the top of my class in high school, Luna's curse, and my middle school blues. She laughed as I told her about my encounters with all the strange people around town and gave me that parent look whenever you tell them about a friend that's a girl when I told her about my meeting with Model 114141, otherwise known as Anna. She nodded in approval at the roles I described Anna and the other members of the Hidden Club in and shed some tears at when I told her about all the bad, how I turned myself into an outcast for Luna's sake, the fight with the alternate Anna. She even applauded me for my awesome skills in the Hidden Club's water gun fight, as I was the only one who didn't get wet.

And when it was all said and done, I found myself finding the happiness I had long lost and wished for this moment to last forever. However, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end...

I finished my story, my spirits high as I laughed along with my Mom.

I gazed at her laughing face and came to a startling realization.

"I never realized you were so young." She looked like she could barely be in her twenties, looking young enough to possibly be even 19.

"Well, I couldn't wait to have my son after all, so of course I would be this young. 25 and still hip with the cool kids!" she said proudly, holding out he c.h.e.s.t in pride.

"You totally sounded 10 years older from saying that."

"Eh!? You really think so?" She asked, grinning. I couldn't help but grin with her, her happiness contagious.

She rested her chin on her hand and gazed out toward the plain before allowing her eyes to get a wistful look.

"You know, I really have missed a lot of your life," she murmured, gazing out toward the endless plain. "I really wish I could've been there for it all..."

Reality had slowly started to come back to me, the high I was on now dissipating, as if it was never there. I clenched my fists, wanting to this moment to last a lifetime.

I had to remember, that there was no way she was possibly my mom. After, the dead can never come back to the living. My face grew dark at this realization, and my thoughts started to pervade my head once more.

"Can you?"

Can I be happy without her? Right now, in this moment, none of my experiences could compare to this brief time I spent with her. She really was the only one who could fill that hole. After all, how could I expect anyone to make me feel the same way she does?

"So?"

And right when I was about to respond, my mom interrupted my dark thoughts.

"You know, I really was worried about you Mr. Troublemaker."

Huh? I turned toward her, and she had a melancholic look on her face, clearly reminiscing over my tale. A breeze sent her short hair blowing gently in the wind, and then she faced me with that reassuring smile.

"But, after hearing all that, it seems I didn't have to worry after all."

How could she say that? I wasn't, I couldn't accept that! How could she possibly not worry, especially when I feel like this!?

"But, as your dear Mommy, even I know that you're probably still thinking that no one can fill the gap I left, right?"

I was left in silence. She saw right through me after all. She sighed before positioning her body so that it faced me.

"But, I know that's not the real reason your feeling like this. I bet you know why it could never be filled as well."

"That's-!"

"You're already plenty happy from what you told me, so your feelings and your actions don't match. So, what's the real reason you're like this, my precious son?"

The real reason I'm like this? What could possibly be preventing me from the closure I thought I had already gained? What was missing?

"I, I don't understand. There's no one who can fill it, not a single person mom! So why do you think that it's something else?"

I felt her hand press up against my cheek, her tender eyes looking at me with a sad knowledge. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's really bothering you. What did you feel, when you woke up in the hospital, and found out your only mother was dead?"

"Hic!" Those words brought back painful memories, ones I longed to forget. But, as if ignoring my will, the feelings behind those memories came back in overwhelming force, and I was almost crushed beneath its weight. I clutched my shirt as I gasped, trying to desperately hold it in.

"It's okay kiddo, you can finally fulfill the wish you wanted to be granted."

My wish, the only thought that came after hearing those words from my dad, was a simple one. It was one that all people wished they could have when loved ones died suddenly, the one wish that created such discourse in my very soul. That wish, that special wish.

I looked up at my mom's reassuring gaze, and I gathered up the courage to tell her my one and only wish.

"We never got to say goodbye."

She nodded, her face pained as she heard my wish. "I know baby, I know."

"Why did you have to leave without saying goodbye?"

"I'm sorry baby."

"WHY!?" I wailed out unto the open sky, my wish finally being recognized after so long. I finally said it, and I could feel all the emotions that I had from so long ago well up exponentially.

"So, what do you wish to do now?"

I held back the tears that threatened to come and looked at my mother's thoughtful gaze.

What I wanted to do? But, is it really okay?

"Are, are you really my mom?"

She smiled at the sudden question and got up, looking at the expanse of green. "That's for you to decide sweetie."

What, what should I?

"If you believe hard enough in something, then it's bound to become true, right?"

Then, maybe, just maybe I could believe?

I got up and faced my mother, who was smilingly knowingly, as if she already knew my answer.

"Mo-Mommy?"

"Yes sweetie, it'll be alright now."

The tears finally came out as I embraced my mom, crying out into the sky. She stroked my head, and I felt her soft tears fall gently onto my shirt.

"Goodbye, Mommy!"

"Goodbye, kiddo."

"Success."

And the room faded to white, the Trial of the Past complete.