“I wish I understood that man.” I got up too.
“We’ll figure it out, I promise, but it’s getting late. You should probably get some sleep. We can start fresh in the morning.” Clay walked towards the ladder.
I stood there for a minute, watching him. Once he noticed I was still there, he looked back. “You gonna get some sleep?”
“I’m not tired.” I shrugged. “Not yet.”
It was like he could read my mind because he sighed and said, “You want to go back, don’t you?”
“I just…I do. Just nothing too heavy.”
“Well, the floor is yours.” He pointed to the journal in in front of me.
I picked it up and flipped through. I wanted to go to an easier time, not something too complicated. I found one that held a soft place in my heart: a sketch I made years ago of me sitting on the front porch as Nan braided my hair.
By the time I looked over to Clay, his hand was already extended.
“We’re getting pretty good at this, aren’t we?” I said with a smile.
I extended my hand, and we met half way. Everything around us disappeared. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then suddenly I could feel my hair being pulled.
“Ow!” I yelled.
“Oh, I’m sorry, babe. There was a knot, but you’re doing great!” I knew that voice. I looked up to see Nan with a fistful of my hair.
The garden outside was alive, and ants were crawling in every direction towards the steps, but the traps kept them away. I tried to be as still as I could but I still laughed under the warm sun.
“Screaming one second and laughing the next.” Nan smiled.
“You do them too tight,” I replied.
“That was only one time. I’m a professional now. You have a healthy head of hair, and we’re gonna keep it that way.” She kissed my head.
I loved having braids. Always did, Mom wasn’t as good as Nan when it came to braiding, and Grampy didn’t have any idea how to do it at all. But it felt nice to be remembered, and to feel her tightening them again.
“I love you, Nan,” I said randomly.
“I love you too, sweetie.”
I could feel her breath on the back of my neck. I wished I could stay there forever.
“Anddddd, we are all finished here sweetie.” Nan held up a mirror. A little girl looked back at me, sitting with her grandmother on the front porch. Back when life was easy and the occasional knot in my hair was the only thing I had to worry about.
Nan stood up and said, “Well, I’m about to head in and make some coffee, hon.”
“I want a coffee too,” I said, knowing how she would reply.
“You’re too young to be caffeinated. Hot chocolate for you.”
It was the middle of summer, but I wanted that hot chocolate.
Inside, I sat and watched Nan put sugar in my hot chocolate, then add an inch of milk, then a piece of dark chocolate from her stash. The secret ingredient.
“Come and get it, sweetie.” She put it on a coaster for me.
I remembered this day. Grampy had taken Mom into town to get some shopping done. It was close to Nan’s birthday and they wanted to surprise her with a new TV. I peeked under the table and saw a younger Clay sitting beneath. I put my cup below and he took a sip. We always shared.
Nan made herself a cup of coffee and made her way to the living room. She put on the TV. It was mostly just static, but eventually it got to some fuzzy sitcoms. She sat in her rocking chair and I lay on the carpet. I looked to the left and could see Clay under the kitchen table. He could see the TV from that angle. We sat for what felt like hours, not really saying much—but we didn’t need to. I missed this version of Nan, the one who was the captain of the ship, gentle, loving, the beating heart of the house. I moved onto her lap, and she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big kiss on the cheek.
“I miss you, so, so much.” I spoke softly.
“Honey, what do you mean? I haven’t gone anywhere,” she whispered as I closed my eyes.
When I opened them again, I was back in the present, sitting in the tree house with Clay. I let out a breath, wishing the present wasn’t so difficult. I noticed one thing though, when I came back to the present this time I didn’t feel the motion sickness I had before. Maybe I was getting used to this whole thing. It even put me at ease. I didn’t feel angry anymore, I just felt calm for the first time in a while. I thought about Nan again—the present-day version. She was only a shadow of herself. Not the woman who held me tight, braided my hair, and knew how to make the perfect cup of hot chocolate.
But then I had a rush of an idea. My eyes widened.
“Can we bring her back?” I asked.
Clay looked at me as if I was out of my mind. Maybe I was. But it was worth talking about.
“How? What do you mean?”
“Is there a way that we can restore her memories?” I stood up and started pacing the tree house. I was half excited, half scared. But I hadn’t thought about it before.
“Are you…asking if I can cure Alzheimer’s?” Clay frowned.
I stopped pacing and looked at him. “I think it’s worth a shot.” I shrugged. Why not give it a chance?
“You barely know how any of this works.”
“Well, I think I’m getting the hang of it,” I replied.
“I don’t know if it would work, Anna. You know much it drains you.”
“But I feel fine this time! I don’t have any body aches or anything!” I waved my arms to show him.
“Yes, but unlike you, your grandmother isn’t sixteen years old.” Clay shook his head. “Who knows what
