"Hey, Izzy, did you hear that another expedition to the ruins of the Temple of Juatchadoon came back empty handed?" called Ohio Flynn from the dining room table.
His wife Isabella was serving their dinner in the kitchen. "Yeah I did. I read Candace's article about it. I'm glad they all came back alive, though. Some of the others haven't."
Ohio sighed, turning the page of the newspaper. "I wish I could get back out there, sometimes," he said. "I know it's dangerous, but I miss the old days. You know, just me and Rhode Island Fletcher, out searching for adventure and riches."
Isabella smirked as she lay the plate of food in front of her husband. "I know which old days you mean. Have you had much contact with him recently?"
"Not since Mel was born," Ohio replied, taking his feet down off the table so that he could begin eating. "Speaking of which, wasn't she supposed to come back for dinner?"
"Yes, yes she was. She's probably lost track of time yet again."
"Well, if YOU were able to travel through time and space, wouldn't YOU lose track of time too?" Ohio pointed out.
Isabella shrugged. "I guess I would. I bet she'll be home soon, though."
As if on cue, the door suddenly burst open, and the couple's twelve-year-old daughter came hurtling through, clutching her little brown satchel. She was flushed and giggling. "Mom, I found the cure for F.D.S.I.!"
"F.D.S.I.?" Isabella repeated, taking the satchel from her daughter and hanging it on the door handle. "What is that?"
"And which year did you go to this time?" Ohio asked casually.
"I went to 2067," replied Melody excitedly, hopping up onto her chair. "There was an outbreak of F.D.S.I. and I found the cure!"
"You didn't meddle too much, did you, Mel?" Ohio lowered his newspaper and looked his daughter in the eye. "Remember, you're outside of time now. Anything you do may affect the future in bad ways."
"I didn't meddle, don't worry, Dad." Melody beamed. "I just helped the scientists find the cure. They were already looking for it."
Isabella smiled as she placed her daughter's plate down in front of her. "Did you learn a lot?"
"I learnt what F.D.S.I. is," replied Melody. "F.D.S.I. stands for Fever, Dizziness, Seizures, and Internal pain. It's the illness's four symptoms. Did you know that it can actually kill you if you leave it too long?"
Ohio and Isabella exchanged a glance. "No, honey, we didn't," Isabella said slowly. "You didn't catch it, did you?"
"Oh, yes!"
Her parents' heads snapped sharply up, their eyes widening. "What?!" Isabella gasped.
Melody seemed oblivious to her parents' reactions. "I had to see for myself what it was like. Besides, I was working in the hospital alongside the doctors treating the patients and apparently F.D.S.I. is REALLY contagious, so I didn't really stand a chance!" She sounded extremely excited for someone who had caught a rather painful and potentially deadly disease. Luckily, she caught sight of her mother's expression and hurriedly added, "But it's okay, Mom. It's only deadly if left untreated for too long. As soon as I got it, the doctors began treating me. I was really safe, I promise."
Her parents exchanged another glance. Ohio seemed to be more worried than Isabella, who grinned and said, "Does that really sound more dangerous than most of the stuff you and Rhode Island used to get up to?"
Ohio raised an eyebrow. "I guess that's true…" He looked back at his daughter and sighed. "But please don't do that again, Mel, okay?"
"Okay, Dad."
What Melody was sensible enough to not tell her parents was that F.D.S.I. had been an EXCRUCIATING experience. The internal pain had been almost unbearable, but the worst part was definitely the seizures.
But it was okay. It was a learning experience for Melody, and she now knew not to go near the disease again.
"Did you meet any of your descendants this time?" Isabella asked, halfway into the meal.
Melody regretfully shook her head. "I didn't have time. After I was finally cured of F.D.S.I., I had already been in 2067 for over two weeks, and I've told myself that the maximum period that I should stay in one period for is four weeks. But that's the absolute maximum. Besides, I missed you guys too much."
"Aww." Ohio grinned. "We missed you too, honey. Though to us, you were only gone for the day."
Melody smiled at her parents. "Dinner was amazing, Mom. Thanks!"
"It was just chicken," Isabella said amusedly.
"It's still delicious."
"I agree," Ohio said with his mouth full.
Giggling, Melody hopped off her stool, grabbed her satchel, and began rushing up the stairs, stopping halfway up when she remembered what she wanted to ask her parents. "Can I go out again tomorrow, Mom?"
Isabella paused for a moment. "Where?"
"I wanna go to 2008."
"Really? Why?" asked Isabella curiously.
Melody shrugged. "I wanted to go to a year between 2000 and 2010, so I just picked one at random. Besides, I worked out the math: one of my descendants will be the same age I am in that year, so I think I'll have a better chance of meeting him or her."
"That'll be exciting," Ohio commented. "What do you think, Izzy?"
"As long as you're careful, you can go," Isabella replied.
Melody cheered and continued running up the stairs. She rushed into her room and shut the door behind her.
Being able to time travel was very exciting. Melody had been afraid of the power at first, but now she saw it as an amazing opportunity. Melody had a thirst for knowledge, so being able to travel to any time period she wanted was the best gift she could have been given.
And meeting her descendants/ancestors was even better. She just hoped that she'd be able to find one of them during her next trip.
She had no idea what awaited her in 2008.