My dad's jaw shook before he spoke. "Juliana… it's really you. You're even more beautiful than I remember," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I thought… Shit, I thought your mind had been infected by that virus."
Gently, she ran her fingers through his hair. She gazed into his eyes, but she did not recognize any of us in the way I had imagined. Something was off. "What happened on that day is what needed to happen," she said. "There's no going back. Please forgive me."
A cold shock filtered through my body as I realized what she was trying to tell us. There was no fixing her death because, in her timeline, she had yet to experience it.
"Do you even know who we are?" my dad asked.
She nodded and looked away. "I know versions of you," she admitted. "You have visited me all my life. And in turn, I have visited you."
My dad's Adam's apple caught against his shirt as he swallowed. "Why are you here? To torment us?"
Slowly, she came closer to him. "I'm here to give her something that she needs," she said. "And I'm here to tell you that you need to go to the past. You need to get away from this place. The end is near.”
"Jesus Christ, are you even listening? We needed you," Dad cried. "It's been so hard."
She leaned her forehead against his and kissed him, deeply. "You are a good man worthy of so much," she said.
"If that's true, why did you leave me?" he asked. "Tell me. I deserve to know that much."
As I watched the tears fall from my father's eyes, Lucian came to my rescue. He held me and made me feel so warm. He gave me what my father had to give up so long ago. Comfort and love.
She let go and eyed all four of us. "Because I had to fix what happened."
"That's what I don't understand. How do you know what happens?" my father asked. "You’re from the past. How do you know what will happen to the world?"
"I just know," she urged.
"It doesn't make sense," my dad argued. "None of this makes any goddamn sense."
Tears drenched her face, and heavy ripples of emotion shook her body. "I'm the one who ends it," she said and turned abruptly. "I'm the one. Me."
"Mom." I tore away from Lucian and held her. "It was… you?"
She angled her head and whispered, "We couldn't stop it from spreading."
"Who, Mom?" I asked, but I somehow knew the answer.
"All of us with Project Onyx."
"You’re the leader of Project Onyx," I muttered.
She gritted her teeth and shook. A loud crack in the sky brought our attention elsewhere. Above our heads, a giant meteorite ripped through Earth's atmosphere. Its tail illuminated the entire night sky. "I am the morning star. The light that guides the seekers of redemption."
Lucian grabbed my hand and watched the meteorite. "What is that?" he asked.
My mom's watch started to beep. She glanced up and smiled, head aglow from the reflection of the flames. "Would you believe me if I told you?"
It fell miles away from us, but the crash reverberated and shook the forest. "Please, Mother," I said. "Tell me."
She wiped the tears away and kept her eyes focused on the area of forest it hit. "That is my parents' starship. Their names were Talis and Mia. I am graced with the blood of the Nyelan race. I am… alien."
My jaw dropped. "What…"
That meant I was part alien. I didn't know what to feel.
She continued. "In about one minute, they will meet a woman named Adeline. Once they get situated, it will be time for me to leave. You and the rest will go where you need to go. I'm sorry, child, but we don't have much time left. Someday, we will have more. I promise."
Someday.