Chapter 18 One Thousand

Morgan chewed on his lip for concentration as he folded the paper with as much precision as he could muster. Anna had taught him to fold cranes and told him that there was a myth that if he managed to fold one thousand cranes somebody would visit him and grant him a single wish.

He had to admit, he wasn't much for superstitions but the thought seemed nice. And no one had ever folded one thousand cranes before. Well, not to his knowledge anyway. Who knew, maybe it was true. He kept folding, and when he was finished one he placed it to the side of his table.

Cranes were strewn over his table and his tent. He had tried to organize them but pushed the thought aside. If he was going to fold one thousand then he didn't have time to clean all the time.

"Whoa, what are you making in here?" Robin's voice came through his tent and he turned. He smiled as his mother, a much younger version of herself that is, walked through his tent flaps.

"What happened to asking before coming in?" He chuckled and turned back to his work. He heard her take a step in and pick some of his cranes. No matter how young she was, it seemed as though his mother was still his mother.

"I did, several times too." She gently placed the cranes on his table and leaned against it. Morgan paused, he hadn't heard her? Funny. "Why all the cranes?" She asked as he continued.

He shrugged. "Just a… project I'm working on." It sounded silly to be making all of these cranes for a wish. He didn't believe in these myths but for some reason he wanted to believe in this one. If he could time travel then maybe… it all seemed too silly to mention to his mother.

When he looked at her, her brows were arched. "Well, you'll need a box to take all of these with you. We're leaving this camp in a few days, you know."

Morgan nodded, absentmindedly. He was sure Sumia would have spare boxes, or Anna would. He didn't need to think about that right now. Morgan chewed on his lip again as he folded the paper. He heard his mother pick up one and inspect it.

"It looks lovely; who taught you?"

"Anna," he answered.

"And how many are you making?"

"One thousand." He answered hesitantly. He was sure that if anyone heard he was making one thousand of these they would maybe freak out and call him crazy. Morgan looked at his mother. Her eyes were wide. "I'm keeping count."

She laughed. "One thousand? Why one thousand?"

He pressed his lips together and paused his folding. He felt silly. "For a wish," he said very slowly, looking up at his mom. His mother arched a brow and smiled. It was a look he was familiar with. It was a look of disbelief and amusement.

"What are you wishing for?"

Morgan continued to fold. That was a question he wasn't quite ready to answer aloud. But he wanted his memories back. He wanted to know what life was like before he had jumped through the portal. He wanted to remember the memories with his mother and father.

He always just knew that he had great memories of them but whenever he wanted to access them they seemed to have been locked away. It was frustrating, angering even.

Robin gave his shoulder a small squeeze. He must have looked somber or worried. "Are you alright?" She asked.

He cleared his throat. "Fine." He smiled again.

Robin eyed him and then pulled up a small chair next to him. Morgan stared as she sat down and slid a piece of paper towards her and began to fold.

"You know how to fold a crane?"

"Your mother knows how to do a number of things that don't relate to strategy." She paused and gave him a knowing smile. "Whatever this wish is… I hope it comes true."

Author's note

This series is coming to a close soon! At the twentieth chapter, I'm going to end this series. I hope you had as much fun reading this as I had writing it :) Big thanks to my housemate who is not my housemate at the moment for constantly finding time to read these shorts!

Thanks so much for tagging along and reviewing!

Please continue to leave your thoughts in the review box!

xxSC