Time Traveling and Toddler SkillsAs harsh and as sudden as the pains were, they were over just as quickly. Nikkila was overwhelmed as she stared down at her pink little bundle and wondered why she put this off as long as she had. Since she was born in a garden, Nikkila chose the name Lilya.
Mercy seems to be up to no good again. Most days she's still drilling in the backyard until she gets one of her glowing tunnels. Lately, she's been coming back empty handed from her explorations and decided a new course of action was needed.
Many years ago a device was bought at the consignment shop, the clerk was spouting claims that it allows for time travel. When it was brought home, Mercy immediately banned the use of it. She said that she had seen a similar machine in her past, the machine caused nothing but pain.
Without explaining her actions, Mercy hauled the machine out of storage and started pushing buttons. A strange purple glow began emanating from the door and before anyone could stop her, Mercy jumped right in.
The family was horrified and had no clue what had happened to Mercy. Some suggested that the police be called to start a proper investigation, others wanted to jump into the machine to go find her. Sam finally put a stop to all the fuss and suggested that they all go about their normal life for the time being.
With the arrival of little Lilya, Andre's son Alain was making a trip over to meet his sister. It was to be his first trip to Bridgeport, his first trip anywhere for that matter. Unfortunately since he was still so young, his mother would be accompanying him. Since she had no desire to make nice with anyone, Alain was staying one night with the family before heading back home to France.
After a long day of getting to know his second family, pillow fights galore and fawning over his baby sister, Nikkila noticed that Alain was starting to doze off. She offered to set him up in Mercy's room and read him a bedtime story.
That night Jessie got a welcoming surprise. Hours after everyone had gone to bed, she woke up suddenly feeling a familiar movement on her bed. When she turned over and opened her eyes, there lay her precious Spot.
She immediately got up and was ambushed with puppy kisses. Spot was just the same as he used to be, even if he was a ghost. After a bit of playtime they headed back up to Jessie's room and went to sleep next to each other, just like they always did.
A few days later it was time for Lilya's first birthday. The house was abuzz with excitement over having a toddler in the house but one thing was missing. Mercy had still not came back from her trip into the machine. Though everyone was worried, there wasn't much they could do other than continue on with daily life.
Little Lilya had everyone on their toes. If she wasn't getting into something she was crawling all over exploring everything she could.
Eventually Gabe broke down and ordered her some books that he was told would advance her writing skills. The day they came, Lilya holed up in her room and "read" them the rest of the day.
That night Mercy finally came back through the machine with a bang. She was singed from head to toe. As soon as she came in the house, she told Jessie to prepare ambrosia for all the elders, it was time they had a talk.
Mercy sat down at the table after her shower. Jessie had plated up servings of ambrosia for everyone and had them sitting on the table waiting. Sam went to ask his mother what the big fuss was about when she interrupted him. She asked if everyone remembered the story about her past and where she came from. At once there was a collective groan through the kitchen, they'd all heard this story many times through the years. With a sour look on her face, Mercy continued.
She told them that the dreams were back, she could hear the voices calling out to her. At first she thought that the glowing tunnels were the key to finding her lost family, they did after all have an odd effect on her. After coming up empty handed from each tunnel, she soon realized that she needed to find new ways of traveling. She remembered the evil machine that was placed in storage many years ago and that a similar machine was the undoing of her family.
She went on to tell them that during her time in the machine she was able to travel back to Sunset Valley. It wasn't the same as when she had lived there, it was some time after and that her families graves were still there. Mercy was beyond convinced after her trip that this was the key to reuniting with her long lost family.
Days went by and Mercy was doing a lot of time traveling. The rest of the house continued on with their normal life, convinced that Mercy was losing her mind with old age.
Each day began with Lilya being served her favorite breakfast, which more times than not ended up all over as she played with it.
Jessie had taken it upon herself to teach Lilya her toddler skills. One day we caught her telling her all about the Dynasty and how she had to grow up and fall in love to save the family.
After we suggested that such stories could wait until Lilya was a bit older, Jessie decided it was time to teach her how to walk. In Jessie's mind, the sooner she leaned to walk, the quicker she could grow up and be told the stories of the past and future.
