Chapter 27: Paradoxical predicament
Moving our way through the fully intact glen, I recounted the memory I had of the place caving in from a massive bomb. Shuddering from the near death experiences from my journey through time, I continued to walk, watching the time stone for any reaction. The last thing that I wanted was to accidently transport myself even farther into the past or future. The problem Rose brought up to me was also burning at my mind. What would happen if I met my past self? Would existence itself collapse, would I disappear or even my past self, or would nothing happen at all? I would soon find out as I caught a silhouette attempting to stay ahead of us. Knowing Selina and Ella, I turned to see if they noticed, and sure enough they kept their eyes on the moving figure's every move, ready to strike it down if need be. Suddenly the silhouette tripped over a small rock and rolled into the light of the torches. I stood in shock the moment Cubbi stood up from his little stumble. "Aw, and I was doing so well too." He said to himself while dusting off his dirty legs. He looked like he had hit a growth spurt and was beginning to catch up to my height. His dark pink fur and his red and white stripped jester's tunic and blue hat with a red wing-tip feather brought back fond memories of when we used to argue and compete with each other as brother and sister. Again, I couldn't hold back any of my tears or emotions and I fell to my knees and began crying with joy.
"Uh, what's wrong Sunni?" Cubbi asked, clearly worried about me and thinking that he did something wrong. "Hey," Eric asked placing a hand on my right shoulder, trying to help me calm down. I turned my head to meet his kind eyes and stood back up while wiping my eyes and answering Cubbi, "It's nothing. I'll tell you all later. Sorry." Both Cubbi and Gruffi looked at each other in confusion and Gruffi shrugged his shoulders to make his confusion known to the little cub. We continued to travel down to the quick cars, which was a sight for the others to see considering that Eric, Luna, and Rose had only seen it in disarray. Their jaws fell in awe once the view of a fully constructed and functional quick tunnel track came into sight. Still remembering the tracks well, I asked Gruffi, "Would you mind taking Rose, Ella, and Selina with you? I'll meet you in a second quick car with Eric and Luna." "That's a good idea." He responded with his slight lisp every time he pronounced an 's' in his words. Every time he spoke, it sounded as if he was forcing all the air out of his lungs all at once, or at least trying to sound like an Italian mob boss minus the accent. "I'll take Cubbi with me. He's in big trouble for wandering off." Gruffi exclaimed glaring at the dark pink cub. Cubbi simply grinned bashfully at Gruffi, realizing that he disobeyed his elder brother.
"So, what day is it today?" I asked Gruffi hoping that I wasn't too close to that horrible night. "It's a week till your birthday, why?" He answered. A feeling of doom nearly set in as I tried to understand and remember what I was doing a week before my eighteenth birthday. My mind also raced with thoughts and questions on how I was going to stop the disaster. I then turned to look at Eric and soon found myself wondering if I even should stop it from happening.
We soon reached the quick tunnel platform leading back to Gummi Glen from the water source. We climbed in and were off in two separate cars, Gruffi in front and Luna, Eric and I behind. Memories of the last time I rode the quick tunnels with Eric, Luna and Rose ran through my head, making me feel both nervous and nostalgic. "So, what are you going to do if you meet yourself?"
It wasn't long until we stopped at the Glen's launching platform and the first car piled out. Ella stumbled out and collapsed to her knees, covering her mouth with her only hand and looking like she could be sick. I halted the car that we were riding in skillfully before it even had a chance to collide with the car in front of it, applying the brakes gently at first to slow the car to a stop. We then climbed out of the quick car and continued in toward the glen. Soon would be the moment of truth and I would have a lot of explaining to do, especially to Zummi. After entering the glen Gruffi led us toward the kitchen where Grammi Gummi spent the majority of her time, cooking away. "Guess who I found wandering around far from home." Gruffy huffed trying to sound macho. "I was wondering where you went, Gruffi. I need help in the kitchen." Grammi huffed back. "Sorry Grammi, I'm not certified for the kind of help you need." Gruffi retorted snidely, and then Grammi responded by smacking him hard on the head with a large wooden spoon. Oh how I missed their quarreling after my tragic experiences. I couldn't help but simply watch them with joy in my heart, even though they were fighting and calling each other names. A couple more tears came to my eyes and I attempted to wipe them away before Grammi and Gruffi noticed. That attempt met with an utter failure.
"Oh, what's wrong child?" Grammi asked in her kindest tone. She then noticed the rest of the group. "Who are your friends? And, who is the new gummi bear? She looks almost like you." I wiped away the rest of my tears before answering her questions. "Sorry Grammi, I'll tell you 'what's wrong' later. Right now I want to introduce you to Eric Lohengrin, his sister Ella, Selina Alumsdale, Rosemary Lavender, and the new gummi bear is named Luna." "Welcome to Gummi Glen, Luna. It's always good to have another member in our little family." Grammi answered without even passing a thought as to asking where she may have come from. She then turned to the rest and shook all of their hands while kindly greeting them and saying some things about be probably being 'more than enough trouble'. She then turned back to me and said, "Come to think of it, weren't you going to Dunwyn Castle to have Calla take your measurements for the dress she is making for your birthday next week?" Memories of that dark night flashed through my mind, remembering my birthday present that Calla wanted to give me before she died. The memory caused my knees to buckle and my head to start pounding. The pain flooded back to me like a dam wall being smashed open and the waters came raging through. I gripped the sides of my head with my paws and screamed as loud as I could to try and drown the memories with no luck. Then, complete darkness.