“So? What about Blake? What’s wrong with him? You guys seemed to dance so well together.”
Caitlin tried to think. Blake was amazing. There was no doubt about that. And her feelings for him—they were very real. Why had it all had to happen at once? She felt so torn, so conflicted. She knew, intellectually, that Caleb was taken, and that it wasn’t healthy to dwell on him anymore. But at the same time, to be with Blake, right now, so fast, at this moment…it just felt too soon.
“There’s nothing wrong with him,” Caitlin said. “I just… I don’t know. I guess I just haven’t figured it all out yet.”
Polly nodded. “I hear you there,” she said. “Guys are impossible.” She sighed. “Anyway, sorry for all the questions. I was just really curious. I missed you. You have a way of growing on people.
Not to mention, it’s almost dinner time. And someone very important wants to see you.”
Caitlin wracked her brain. Who could that possibly be?
“Aiden,” Polly said. “He asked me to summon you.”
Caitlin walked down the outer corridor of the cloister, past column after column, through the low, arched ceilings along the inner courtyard. All throughout the courtyard she could see her fellow coven members training, heard the click-clack of their swords, as they relentlessly sparred with each other. It made her think back to Pollepel, made her realize that nothing really changes over the centuries.
Caitlin continued, heading towards the main church of San Michele, where Polly told her she’d find Aiden.
Aiden. She was excited to see him again, another link to her past, and yet nervous at the same time. Would he remember her? It seemed that some people, like Caleb and Polly, didn’t, while others, like Blake, did—or at least somewhat. What about Aiden? He seemed to see more than most, both in the past and the future. She had a feeling that if anyone would remember her, it would be him.
As always, her meeting with Aiden seemed to come at an opportune moment. She herself was brimming with so many questions left unanswered, felt so much at a crossroads. She couldn’t stop thinking of her morning’s dream, of her father, of those huge golden doors. She wondered what it meant. She felt, more than ever, that there was a mission burning inside of her, and that she needed to be on it. But she didn’t know exactly what it was, or where to go. Should she give up on Caleb altogether? Should she be looking for her father? If so, where? And what about Blake?
Was her journey back in time a huge mistake?
Or was it all for a reason?
She felt that if anyone knew the answers, Aiden would.
Caitlin opened the door to the ancient church, and walked inside.
It was completely empty, save for one person, kneeling at the far end of the room, before the altar. Caitlin did not need to go any further to know who it was. Aiden.
She walked down the center of the long aisle, her footsteps echoing.
She stopped a few feet behind him. He knelt there, his back to her, hands raised, apparently in prayer. He was so motionless, so still, she wondered if he was even alive. Before him, at the altar, was a huge cross.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, just before she was about to say his name, he spoke:
“Caitlin,” he said.
It was a statement, not a question. As always, he managed to make even the simplest thing mysterious.
“I’m glad to see you again,” he added.
As always, it seemed like everything he said could be interpreted many ways. Did that mean that he remembered her?
Caitlin was unsure how to respond.
Finally, he rose to his feet, turned and looked at her. His eyes shone an intense, light blue, and seemed to look right through her. He still had long silver hair and a silver beard to match, and he looked exactly as he had on Pollepel. It was incredible. He seemed like he hadn’t aged at all.
“Thank you for taking me back in,” Caitlin said. And then, added: “Again.”
Aiden broke into a small smile. “This isn’t quite Pollepel, is it?”
Caitlin’s heart soared. So. He did remember. Did that mean he remembered everything?
“What do you think?” he said, in response to her thoughts.
Then: “Follow me.”
Caitlin and Aiden walked slowly, side-by-side, along the outskirts of the island, right along the water’s edge. Caitlin was struck by the tranquility and beauty of the place. The island was covered in a lush, green grass, dotted with Italian Cypress trees, and, in the distance, lined with small cemeteries. Water was visible from everywhere.
They walked slowly in the silence. Caitlin began to wonder if Aiden would ever talk.
Finally, she could take it no longer. She had so many burning questions she needed to ask.
“How much do you remember?”
“Remember is a funny word,” he said. “It’s more like…seeing what might have been.”
Caitlin was alarmed by his choice of words. “Might have been?” she asked.
“When you travel backwards, you of course affect your future. Everything is connected. Your future, after all, is only the sum of your past. Whatever you are doing now, your actions last night, this conversation we’re having—all of your actions in this time and place—will change the future you would have had. It is all a chain of events. Alter one link in the chain, and the entire chain alters with it. You’re changing your future right now, by being here. And you will continue to change it, with every choice that you make.”
He turned and looked at her.
“The consequences are infinite. You are not just affecting this time. You are affecting all times to come.”
Caitlin’s mind reeled with the implications. She felt scared to say anything, to do anything; she felt burdened. Had she made a mistake to come back here? Then again, what choice had she had?
To just let Caleb die?
“I’m so confused,” she said. “I don’t know why I’m here anymore. At first, I thought it was for Caleb. It was for Caleb. I wanted to save him. I wanted to be with him. But now…he’s with someone else.”
Aiden sighed. “Time is a tricky thing, isn’t it? You want things to be exactly as they were. But they never are.”
“Then tell me,” she said. “Why am I here?”
“That is something you will need to find out for yourself.”
“But is there a reason? A point to all of this?” she pressed.
“There is always a reason. You look through a too-narrow lens. What you still fail to see is that Caleb is just one piece of a very large and complex puzzle. He was the driving force that brought you back, yes. But perhaps he led you back in time for another reason. You assume you brought him back in time. But perhaps all the while, he was leading you.”
Caitlin’s mind reeled.
“You do have a mission, don’t you?”