On this very day five years ago (23 August, 2008), I made an account with ff. So, in celebration of my five years here, I give you a thank-you story for sticking around and reading my stories, waiting for updates, and a special thank-you for your lovely reviews. This story is dedicated to my faithful readers, both old and new.

Here's to the next five!

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth.

Reminiscences of the Past

13th June, 1991

The first thing she noticed was the warm air and bright sun that hit her face the very moment she exited the taxi. She breathed it in deeply with closed eyes. Summer was finally here, she realised. Spring was delightfully nice, but nothing ever beat the summer.

Exhaling, she opened her eyes and they landed on her childhood home. Gazing at the house, Sarah sensed something was missing, like a fragment of her childhood lacked of something. She remembered days when she'd venture to the park with her dog and stayed there for hours.

A squeal from up above pulled her from her thoughts. Sarah turned around as the taxi driver lifted the fourth and final box of her belongings from the boot of the car to the front steps of the Victorian-style house. She thanked him and gave him a twenty-dollar note.

Before she turned around completely, she was almost knocked over by a small body; two arms hugged her waist. She laughed and spun the small child around.

"Sarah! You're finally home! We're going to have a lot of fun this summer," Toby shouted, clearly jubilee that his older sister was home.

"Really, Toby? I can't wait," Sarah replied as she crouched down to his height and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I missed you, kiddo."

"I missed you, too," Toby replied, squeezing with all his strength.

"Sarah, you're home," her father, Robert, observed as he removed his glasses. "I trust that your last exams went well?"

"Sarah, you're home." Her father's words echoed through her head like she heard them before.

Sarah nodded. "Yes, sir," she assured, with a smirk and a mock salute. She then walked up to him and hugged him. "They went really well, Dad."

Robert patted his daughter's back. "That's good to hear," he responded and pulled back. "I'll help you bring those up," he gestured to the boxes. "They're not all books, are they?" he joked.

Sarah laughed and shook her head. "Thanks, Dad."

Picking up two boxes and stacking them on top of each other, Sarah ventured up the stairs and into the foyer, and she placed them on the chair closest to her.

"Sarah, welcome home, honey," a female voice said. It was Sarah's step-mother, Irene.

Sarah smiled. "Thanks, Irene," she replied as she moved in to hug her step-mother. "It's great to be home."

Home. There it was again. A gush of nostalgia and déjà vu swept through her. Her eyes settled on the bannister of the stairs up above. She could see herself, in a fit of anger and frustration, running up the stairs to her room. Whether it was a memory or something she dreamt Sarah had no idea.

"Lunch will be ready in about half-an-hour. That'll give you enough time to unpack your things," Irene offered as she moved toward the kitchen.

Sarah nodded and her recently cut, brunette hair lightly brushed against her shoulders. "Great. Thank-you," she said.

27th June, 1991

Two weeks later, Sarah found herself at home alone on a mildly stormy night. Her parents were out for dinner and Toby was attending his first ever sleepover. Sarah was about his age when she had her first sleepover.

The beeping of the microwave alerted Sarah that her Macaroni and Cheese was ready. Grabbing the plate and a fork, she wandered to the living room and proceeded to eat her dinner and watch summer repeats of The Cosby Show.

Thunder clapped outside, making Sarah jump a little in her seat. Returning to her attention to the television again, the lights started to flicker. They stopped as soon as they started.

Sarah finally finished her dinner and went to the kitchen to wash her plate when there was another clap of thunder, followed by strikes of lighting. Sarah wasn't scared of thunderstorms, she need not be; they were a part of nature. However, she searched for torches and candles, as well as making sure there were plenty of canned foods and bottled water in the pantry in case the power did turn off.

Being home alone gave Sarah some time to read in peace. Turning off the television, Sarah walked up to her room and browsed her bookcase. She was an avid reader, but finding the time to read at university was quite difficult with the amount of work she had to do. The bookcase housed some of her favourites that ranged from classics to thrillers to children's books.

Searching the spines, Sarah looked for a book that she hadn't read in quite a while. By the time she browsed through the last shelf, she didn't see one she would have liked to read. Biting her lip, she sighed softly.

Turning her head slightly, she gazed at her vanity. Remembering she used to store books in the vanity drawers in her early teens, books that she considered valuable and that wouldn't get damaged, Sarah frowned. For all she knew, every book she owned was sitting in her bookcase.

Sarah sat on the chair and opened the left drawer and found it to be empty. Reaching for the right drawer, déjà vu struck her again just as there was another clap of thunder. Shaking it off, she opened the drawer and found it riddled with photographs of her mother, Linda, newspaper clippings about her mother's stage plays, a music-player figurine and, under the newspaper clippings, a little red leather-bound book entitled "THE LABYRINTH".

Sarah frowned again. She didn't remember this book. Looking back at the pictures and clippings, she remembered them; they were of her mother, but she didn't, for the life of her, remember the leather-bound book she was holding. The music-player figurine, though, was a birthday gift from her mother a few years back. Why did the drawer contain things that were affiliated with her mother? She had a healthy relationship with her mother and saw her on holidays.

Outside of an opened window, a white owl, perched on a tree branch, hooted. Sarah glanced at it, but opened the book to the bookmarked page. The text was small and slightly faded. There was no doubt that the book was old.

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen…" Sarah read aloud. The words were vaguely familiar. Thunder struck, lightening soon followed after.

"You have no power over me," she finished while looking in the mirror, staring at her reflection with confusion. "Why do I remember this line?" she asked no one.

"Actually, that was one of the lines you had trouble with," a male accented voice answered.

Sarah gasped and turned around, book still in hand. There was a blonde man at the end of her bed. He was dressed like he stepped out of a historical or fantasy film. There were specks of glitter on his cheeks. Odd.

"Who are you?" Sarah demanded and stood up.

The man smirked. "I think you know very know well who I am," he informed and stepped forward. "However, I shall introduce myself to refresh your memory. I am Jareth, King of the Goblins," he announced, and bowed down. The sound of the rain had gotten louder and heavier on the roof.

Sarah stared at the man – Jareth. He was a king, apparently. The book, The Labyrinth, mentioned something about a city of goblins, and a baby… Sarah gasped again. Flashes of goblins, orange-coloured creatures removing their heads and other body parts, talking door-knockers, and dancing in a bubble appeared in her head. Lastly, she saw three creatures, a dwarf, a small fox, and a big, fluffy beast; her friends.

Sarah shook her head and tears threatened to pour out. "How could I have forgotten? My friends…?" she trailed off as she sunk to her bed. "Years have passed and I do not remember a thing until tonight?"

"It's five years to the day, actually," Jareth reminded and stepped forward. "You forgot because you grew up, Sarah. Your trek through my Labyrinth, the things you face and the friends you made, it all made you see that you needed to let go of your childish ways," Jareth paused. "Your decision to save Toby was the mature thing to do."

There was a long silence. Thinking about it, after her time in Jareth's Labyrinth, it did make her think twice about her actions. Before tonight, Sarah couldn't remember the night she was late to babysit Toby – it was blurry and she didn't notice much change in herself other than being a little more mature (at least, for a fifteen year old).

That night, Sarah remembered putting her book, the picture of her mother and co-star, and her music-player figurine in the drawer of her vanity; possessions that represented her childhood, things that she needed to let go of.

Sarah sighed. "You're right, Jareth. I am a better person because of what happened… Though, I still didn't mean to wish Toby away, you know that, right?" she asked as she glanced back to him.

Jareth joined her on the bed, sat up straight, regal looking, and nodded. "I do." There was a slight pause in conversation. "What are you studying at university?"
he asked.

Sarah blinked and took a moment to respond. "Education, majoring in English Literature. I want to be an English teacher."

Jareth smiled softly. "Are you ready to take care of a class room full of children?" he asked, jokingly.

Sarah smiled in response and looked to the red book she was holding. It was quite small, she realised.

"Uh, the book mentioned the Goblin King fell in love with the girl…" Sarah wandered off softly, her eyes looking everywhere, but at him.

Jareth chuckled, but nodded. "He did," he admitted and abruptly stood up causing Sarah to almost fall completely back onto the soft bed. "But that is for another day," he finished and then disappeared in a flash of glitter. In his place, a white owl flew around her room before flying out the window and into the direction of the moon.

Sarah smiled at the possibility that roamed through her brain, but pushed it to the side for, as Jareth suggested, another day.

Until then, Sarah was content with her regained memories.

27 June was the date Labyrinth got released in the United States in 1986. I had thought about using my own anniversary, but decided to stick with the film's premiere date.

Upcoming story: A Very Gobliny Holiday, 24 December. I will upload this story on Christmas Eve, I promise you.