Chapter Two

Thalia dropped her head on the table, her head swarming with thoughts of disappearing. But where would she go? 

Moments like this made her feel lonely because she truly didn't have anyone in the whole wide world; friends, relatives, or even close acquaintances. No one.

Maybe something was wrong with her.

Something under the table caught Thalia's eye under the table. She bent and picked it up slowly, examining it. It was a black ancient-looking book. 

How didn't she see it before? 

She examined it. Its worn leather cover showed the test of time, revealing faint traces of intricate inscriptions that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly glow. For some reason, Thalia's heartbeat sped up in excitement. She traced the inscriptions on the book with her fingers. They were etched in silver and gold, and they formed a mesmerizing tapestry of arcane symbols. 

The book felt like it held magic. It made her feel powerful even though she hadn't opened it yet. Thalia felt like she'd found a hidden treasure or something of the sort. The thought made her chuckle. She wasn't on the sea digging for any treasure, she just picked up a book at a restaurant.

She studied the book for a while, both drawn, entranced, and worried at the same time. 

Thalia finally opened the front page. She had to squint to read what was written on the front page.

"In the realm of time travel, the past is but a treasure chest of lessons, the future an untamed wilderness of possibilities, and the present the delicate thread that weaves them together. Travel wisely, for in the tapestry of time, our choices shape not only our destiny but the very fabric of existence."

The quotes gave Thalia chills. She flipped to the second page where something was also written.

"Memories from a realm you do not belong to are not yours. Every adventure you seek in the new world won't be in your possession once you go back to your world." 

Did this mean if time travel existed and that if she took part in it, she wouldn't remember anything from the new world? Like she would lose her memories? Thalia doubted it. She flipped through the book, inspecting it more cautiously. She wasn't exactly a superstitious person in any way, so there was no way all this was real. 

Shrugging her shoulders, she searched for a pen in her bag and recited the popular saying under her breath, "There's no harm in trying…" 

When she held her pen and opened the first blank page of the book, she paused. 

What date would she write? 

History was the subject she failed the most in high school, so she didn't know any particular event or time she would like to travel to. The only country Thalia had ever learned about or been obsessed with was the tropical island nation, Rivenland. It was the only class she'd paid attention to because its history captured her, so she knew its history by heart.

It didn't matter anyway, because it wasn't going to work. 

Or would it?

An idea came into her mind. She'd been reading a hardcover historical romance recently, so she searched her bag for the book. 

Thalia's bag always contained everything she needed at any moment, and her mom used to call her a handy person because of it. Even as a child, she carried around things like scissors, tissue and stick-on notes, which made her the go-to person for people who needed to borrow things.

She finally found the book after rummaging in her large tote bag for so long. She opened the first page. Alas! Conveniently, the first word was a year. 

1780 

So she made her decision and wrote the year down on the first line of the book. 

Nothing happened.

Thalia sighed, put the book away, and put everything back inside her big tote bag. Although it was false, the book was nevertheless attractive and went well with the rest of her collection. 

She stood to leave the restaurant and suddenly she felt a tingle at the back of her ears, which made her pause in her tracks. She scratched it a bit and continued to walk. 

It continued to itch her as she went to the counter to pay, but she tried not to scratch it anymore to avoid sores. After settling her bill, she turned to leave and waved at the table where the little girl was still sitting with her family. The little girl waved back. And as Thalia always does, she pulled the door when 'push' was printed in black ink on a white paper. After struggling with the door a little, she succeeded and stepped out of the restaurant. 

It was still drizzling a bit, but it was bearable. After all, Thalia loved the rain. She loved to get drenched and play in the rain. She only pretended to not like it because it wasn't socially acceptable to not avoid rain or to go around looking like a drenched rat. Her favourite memory with her mom was playing in the rain in her favourite rain boots after school. Her mom also loved the rain, just like her. Her mom loved life in its entirety.

And it was taken away from her so horribly.

Thinking about a good memory of her mom made her smile, but it also made her tear up as well. She hadn't walked far from the restaurant before she felt the tingle behind her ears again and her body got hot. Extremely hot. 

Her vision went dark for a moment, then something like a tunnel opened in front of her. It looked like a portal of some sort, but she couldn't see what was on the other side. Thalia was in awe at what she was seeing. What the hell was going on? 

She looked around to see if anyone else noticed what was going on. Instead, people just passed by like there wasn't a huge portal open near them. As the portal swirled open in front of her, Thalia hesitated. She had always dreamt of time travel, but now that the moment was here, she couldn't help but feel a pang of fear. What if something went wrong? What if she couldn't find her way back to her own time?

Did she even want to?