"Your mother?" Rebecca with a confused look on her face.
"Yes. She is the… the best person in the world."
"Even better than Elena?" Rebecca asked curiously.
"Yes. She is on the top. I… I tried to become like her, but I couldn't. She is far above my reach. But I recently found a new way to reach her, and I hope everything works out well."
"Was your mother a good person?"
"Yup."
"What is she like?"
"I cannot tell you…"
Rebecca smiled and said, "I understand. You don't want me to become like you because you think you are not how I think you are."
"That's one way to put it, yes."
"The other day… when I said I want to be your sister… I wasn't lying. I really do want to be your sister. But… sometimes… I wish that you were my father. It's been so long since I last saw him, and I have no idea where he is. Did he leave us behind? Were we a burden to him?"
Rudy had searched for Rebecca and Jessica's parents since day one, but he couldn't find any information about them. He had even talked with Anthony, who was supposedly Albert's best friend, but he didn't know anything about him either.
Anthony said they slowly became distant over the past decade, and the last time he saw him was when Jessica was born. Rudy didn't miss that opportunity to ask him about their mother, but even he was unaware of that.
Unlike in 2008, Rudy could use the internet or any other type of database to search for Albert. he had to rely on physical data such as newspapers. Daily, he checked the names of dead people in different newspapers and even visited the neighboring towns and cities' local shops to learn more about them.
He also regularly checked all the cemeteries and graveyards for the gravestone of his name. But even after searching for Albert for a year, Rudy gave up. The best way to make Rebecca and Jessica forget about Albert was to never remind them of him.
'I don't know where he went or if he is even alive, but I have no empathy towards that man.'
When Rudy was a kid, his classmates teased him as he had no father, so he would often complain about it to Rebecca, who would try to do the same thing Rudy was trying to do right now.
She wanted Rudy to forget about Albert, but that was impossible in Rudy's case as he was teased about it at school, and only Alice, Eric, and his twin sister— Erika, would come for his help.
Even Eric and Erika didn't have a father, but they were made fun of like Rudy because Rudy was poor.
One day, when Rudy asked Rebecca about his father, she lied to him by showing her father's picture to him and said that he died in an accident when he was small.
Rudy believed Rebecca and told everything the same thing, after which he was never teased for the same topic again.
However, now that Rudy had learned the truth, he blamed Albert even more.
'Still, something must have happened to him. Sadly, I can't find anything.'
To change the 'father' topic, Rudy decided to ask her about school.
"How do you feel after skipping school today?" he asked.
"Nothing in particular. I don't like going to school anyway."
"Wait, what?" Rudy raised his brow and asked, "Are you being bullied or something?"
"It's not like that. I just… I don't like wasting my time in school when I can do something better. I wanted to give Jessica a better life, but everything has changed ever since you came."
"But school is important, you know? Don't you have a dream you want to achieve? What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I haven't thought that far yet. But to be honest… I don't have that kind of dream. What about you? What do you want to become?" she asked curiously.
That question hit Rudy right where he should be. In his past life, Rudy had goals, but for only one reason; he wanted to give his family a better life. He still had the same goal, but his ways had changed.
He no longer had to study or rub his head in front of other people. He could do everything on his own, no matter the cost or consequences.
"I guess… I just want to take care of my loved ones," Rudy calmly responded.
"I want the same thing."
"Well, I will be honest and say my life goal is not actually a life goal. That's something obvious and what every living being should do."
Rebecca pondered for a while and said, "I want to be a mother."
"Huh?"
"Uhmm… I want to be like you. To be a… guardian of someone who needs a parent. Just like how you found Jessica and me, I want to be there for someone who deserves better."
TING~!
Rudy's ears twitched after hearing the chiming sound.
'What was that? This is the third time I have heard that sound, and something happens every time I hear it. The first time was when I found out mom was not my real mother. The second time I heard it, I was time-traveling here. And now… I wonder what will happen now.
Wait… don't tell me… my time in this timeline is over, and I am about to return to 2008 soon?!' Rudy panicked.
He had no way of knowing that, so he decided to tell Rebecca his final words that could give her strength and wisdom. But he had already said the things he wanted to say.
It was a crucial moment, and he didn't have time to waste on other things. So he narrowed down his words and tried to tell them to Rebecca.
Those words later became a prophecy, some of which were written in the diary Rebecca possessed in the 2008 timeline.
