“You are, silly. Are you feeling all right?”
All of a sudden, Natalie couldn’t breathe. She gasped for air, the girl running over and taking her arm.
“Are you okay, Mom? Here, come and sit down for a minute.”
Feeling faint, she sank into the nearest chair, fighting for a breath like she was drowning, history washing over her in waves that threatened to knock her out. She looked up in a daze at the girl standing over her, all doubt leaving her, mind replaced by shock. She reached up, touching her cheek. “Tanya? Is that you?”
The girl smiled a cheeky smile. “That’s right. Well done, you’ve remembered your daughter’s name. Is this what happens when you don’t get enough sleep because if it is, I’m sending you back to bed right now.”
“You’re my daughter.”
“And you’re my mother.”
Natalie leaped up as if zapped by electricity, throwing her arms around Tanya. “I can’t believe you’re alive.”
“I won’t be for long,” came the muffled response. “Unless you let me breathe.”
Reluctantly, she loosened her grip, kissing Tanya on the forehead. “You’re really alive.”
“Did you think I might have died while you were in the dungeon?”
“How did you know I was in the dungeon?”
“Because you went down there to find out what the noise was. Was it a rat?”
“No, it wasn’t a rat.”
“What was it then?”
“I think you should come and see.”
Tanya shook her head. “There’s something up with you. I think you should sit down. Let me make you a coffee.”
“I…you can’t be alive. You died.”
“I died? What are you talking about?”
Natalie shook her head. “The butterfly effect,” she said to herself. “Never mind. Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
“In the dungeon?”
Natalie nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly.”
“I’m not moving until you tell me what’s going on. You’re acting weird.”
“All right, I’ll tell you but when I do, you have to promise you’ll believe me.”
“I can’t do that. What if you tell me you met analien down there and he’s going to turn me into a giant space cat with antlers?”
Natalie grinned. “You really are my daughter. Now listen.”
She told her a short version of what had happened to her since she went back in time, omitting the part where Tanya was supposed to be dead. She didn’t want to freak her out too much. The rest of the story was weird enough.
When she was done, Tanya looked at her with a strange expression on her face, halfway between humoring her and anger at such a nonsensical story.
“You want me to believe that? You went back in time and fell in love with a Scottish highlander? I mean, I know you want me to have a new dad and everything but making up a story like that? Why?”
“I’m not making it up. It’s true.”
