Chapter 3

Back in this time, fifteen years ago, I treasured every single day. Those fifteen years with James felt more and more like a ridiculous farce, fading with time.

In the blink of an eye, it had been over half a year since I came back. Today was Adam's birthday, so I took him to the tech expo he had been dreaming about.

In one of the youth exhibits, Adam became fascinated with a homemade rocket. I told him to wait right there while I went to buy him ice cream.

But as I stood in line, the quiet hall suddenly filled with chatter.

"Wow, look at that! Two kids are fighting."

"No—it's one kid bullying the other. You can tell they're not even close in age."

Over the commotion, I heard Adam's voice cry out, "Why are you taking my stuff?"

I rushed back, pushed through the crowd, and saw Adam lying on the ground. There was a teenage boy on top of him. They were fighting over Adam's backpack, neither willing to let go.

It was obvious Adam wasn't strong enough to fight back; all he could do was cling stubbornly to one of the straps.

"Adam!" I called out anxiously and quickly picked him up. Adam loosened his grip, and the other boy, not paying attention, fell straight to the ground.

Adam's face was red, showing he'd just used a lot of strength.

When he saw me, he finally sobbed. "Mom, he tried to take the backpack you got for me!"

I checked Adam closely and saw he wasn't hurt. I breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted his back. "It's okay, Adam. I'll buy you another one."

I noticed the headphones that had fallen from the other boy's head—an expensive foreign brand.

He was dressed head to toe in designer clothes, clearly from a wealthy family. Not the type I'd expect to be stealing a backpack.

I shielded Adam behind me and demanded, "Where are your parents? Why did you try to take my son's backpack?"

The boy lowered his head and stayed silent. I held back my anger and took the backpack.

Since Adam was unharmed and the boy's parents weren't around, I wasn't about to make things harder for a teenager.

I took Adam's hand and started to leave when the boy suddenly blurted out, voice thick with hurt, "Mom, I got hurt too. Aren't you going to look at my injury?"

The crowd gradually dispersed after hearing this.

"So they're a family. Maybe some influencer is shooting a skit here."

"Yeah, their acting is pretty convincing."

The boy finally raised his face. I looked at the familiar face and, surprised, I asked, "Ethan?"

"Why are you here alone? Where's James?" I added.

Ethan's eyes were red as he picked up his headphones and slipped them back on.

"James would never care about me," he said.

I opened my mouth, hesitating before asking, "What about Olivia? She's your mom—"

Something in my words set him off. Ethan shouted, his voice breaking, "She's not my mom!"

Seeing how upset he was, I took both him and Adam to sit on an empty bench.

Adam stared warily at Ethan, pouting, then held out his smartwatch for me to see. "Mom, Dad said he'll pick us up at the science museum entrance in a while."

I squeezed his little hand lovingly. "Okay."

Adam brightened immediately.

Ethan turned his head and looked at me, startled. "You're really his mom? You've been married for a long time?"

I nodded. "That's right. Adam's my child. And thank you for the time machine."

Ethan's lips parted, but no words came. His expression shifted again and again before he finally dropped his gaze, fidgeting with his fingers.

I was confused. "Why did you go after Adam's backpack?"

"I didn't want the backpack, I just... I just wanted that dinosaur keychain." Ethan's voice got smaller and smaller.

Dinosaur keychain?

It was the one I'd made for Adam when he was five, following a tutorial online—green yarn crocheted into a clumsy little dinosaur. Later, I'd attached it to his zipper with a metal ring. He loved it.

I remembered I made the same one for Ethan, but the next day I found it in a stray dog's mouth near our house.

I thought Ethan dropped it by accident and the dog picked it up, so I chased the dog for a long time before I finally got the keychain back.

After I cleaned the keychain, I gave it back to Ethan, but he threw it straight into the trash can right in front of me.

"My classmates said it looks like some cheap street stall junk," he'd grumbled. "I already threw it away, why'd you bother picking it up again?"

Even now, the memory made a dull ache bloom in my chest.

I still didn't get it. "I thought you didn't want it."

Ethan's face looked even paler as he bit his lip hard.

At that moment, Adam tugged at my hand. "Mom, look, Dad brought a cake! Let's blow out the candles together."

I followed the direction Adam pointed. Daniel, dressed casually, walked towards us with his long strides.

He held a white box steadily in his right hand. When he saw me, he tilted his head slightly, looking just like a college kid sneaking out to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday.

He naturally took my hand and teased Adam. "Where else does our birthday boy want to go today?"

Adam happily threw herself into Daniel's arms. "Nowhere. Dad, Mom, let's go home!"

After speaking, he glanced at Ethan, then held my hand tightly, afraid that I'd get distracted by Ethan.

Kids' ways of competing for attention were obvious. I couldn't help but pat Adam's head.

I saw more envy and sadness in Ethan's eyes.

I stood up and reminded Ethan, "You should go home early too. Your family will worry."

Daniel looked at me, puzzled.

I explained softly, "A friend's child."

As I turned to leave, Ethan suddenly called out, "Today is my birthday too."