Chapter 6: Secrets Unveiled

7.

Until the night of my eighteenth birthday, when my mom entered my room holding a slim notebook…

She sat at the edge of my bed, moonlight painting her face with silver shadows. Women’s rights, Susan B. Anthony and Thomas Edison, the Three Great Evils, human dignity, independence and freedom…

Listening to my mom’s slow narration, my mind suddenly exploded.

So many familiar terms made my DNA tingle.

I grabbed my mom’s slender hand, eyes brimming with tears, and blurted out, “Change is the only constant?”

I’d already pictured the scene: my mom would finish the next line of the quote, and we’d embrace, sobbing together.

I wanted to complain, “Mom, you’ve hidden this from me for so long!”

If only I’d known we were both from the same hometown, couldn’t we have just chatted freely behind closed doors?

I imagined late-night talks, the two of us giggling over memories from a world nobody else could imagine—a world of highways, lattes, and Netflix. But reality hung in the air, heavy and uncertain.

8.

But that scene never happened.

My mom’s hazel eyes widened in confusion: “Change is the only… what?”

Her brow furrowed, the notebook drooping a little in her lap. The silence between us thickened, awkward and cold.

9.

I was stunned too.

What’s going on?

The secret code doesn’t work?

My heart thudded in my chest, and suddenly I felt foolish. Was it all just wishful thinking?

10.

I didn’t let go of my mom’s hand—if anything, I gripped it tighter.

“Mom, you traveled here too, didn’t you? From modern times?”

At these words, my mom’s expression shifted.

After a moment, she sighed softly. “Traveled… that’s a fitting description.”

“It’s just, modern times…?”

Now it was my turn to widen my eyes. “Mom, which year did you come from?”

“1940.” She watched my reaction, then added, “And you?”

The air in the room seemed to thin out. We just stared at each other, the clock ticking so loud it felt like the world was holding its breath. My mind scrambled to piece together what that meant.

11.

I was silent for a long time.

“I came from 2023. From the United States.”

The words felt strange in my mouth, like a confession, a magic spell. I wondered what she’d think, whether she could even imagine the world I’d left behind.