Chapter 6: Emma

The man stopped, staring into the space in front of him, as if trying to pick out a thought hidden in the folds of reality. He was silent for a moment, and then said quietly, as if each word carried the weight of a mystery.

- I know Emma, although the matter is more complicated than you can imagine. What you see is not just her.

Alex felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Emma, the girl he knew, suddenly seemed to be part of something bigger - a puzzle that went beyond mere logic. Before he had time to ask a question, the old man continued.

- You, together with her and Max, can try to unravel this puzzle. Accomplish what I and my companions were not able to do. You have something in you that intertwines your fate with this story.

Alex swallowed his saliva, knowing that he could no longer go back.

- What should we do? How can we help her? - he asked, his voice trembling, though he tried to sound confident.

The old man smiled in a way that seemed to be a mixture of satisfaction and sadness.

- The road ahead of you is like a maze: full of dead ends and dangerous turns. You must explore the past of this place, find the hidden connections. Only then will you understand how the Emma of the present is intertwined with the Emma of 1980," he said, as if each word was both a warning and a clue.

Alex, trying to organize his thoughts, asked a question that sounded absurd, even to him.

- Do I understand correctly? Emma of 1980... is trapped in time, as if suspended between the past, present and future?

The man looked at him with the patience of a teacher who sees his student trying to comprehend something extremely difficult.

- This is a good comparison. Imagine that time is not a river, but something like a multidimensional network. Emma from that time has been "anchored" in one of its nodes. Her presence affects the present and future, leaving traces that few can sense.

Alex furrowed his brow, trying to understand.

- But why does she look like Emma from the present?

The old man looked up at the sky, as if searching it for answers, before returning his gaze to the boy.

- It is the effect of this anchoring. Emma of 1980 is an echo that permeates through different moments in time. Her image is fixed, like a photograph etched in space-time, but it resonates in the present reality.

- And what about her memory? Why doesn't Emma from now know anything about it?

The old man sighed.

- Memory is a delicate thread that is easily interrupted in the vortex of time. Emma of the present doesn't remember, because for her it all hasn't happened yet. It's like a jigsaw puzzle that is scattered and just waiting for someone to put it together.

Alex looked at the journal in his hands, realizing that he held the key to a riddle that may have surpassed him.

- What should we do? - He asked with determination in his voice.

The old man pointed to the town around them, as if he saw something in it that Alex could not see.

- You have to find the roots of the story. Get to know every piece of it. This diary is only one of the clues. The rest are hidden in places you don't know exist. But be ready - the deeper you dig, the greater the risk.

- Why us? - Alex asked, feeling the weight of this responsibility.

The old man looked him straight in the eyes, and there was something in his gaze that Alex will remember forever - a mixture of sadness, concern and unwavering certainty.

- Time itself chooses its own guardians. You have been chosen, and I can only be a guide.

Silence fell, broken only by the rustling of leaves and the distant sound of a bell. Alex looked at the man, who seemed to know much more than he wanted to reveal. A mixture of fear and determination bubbled in his heart, but he knew one thing - he would not back down.

- If time has chosen us, then we must be ready," he finally said, though he wasn't sure if he was speaking to the old man or to himself.

Suddenly a slender silhouette of a girl flashed in the distance. Emma appeared out of nowhere, her figure illuminated by the golden rays of the setting sun seemed to vibrate on the edge of reality. Her eyes - glittering, as if they saw more than ordinary senses could encompass - looked straight at Alex and the old man.

- Alex, I thought I would accompany you," she chuckled with a smile that was both warm and full of vague anxiety.

The old man nodded appreciatively, his lips twisted in a soft, mysterious smile. Alex felt something in the air thicken, as if her very presence was bringing them closer to some crucial moment.

- Emma, I just explained to Alex," the old man began, his voice calm but infused with something like a warning, "that the three of you are inadvertently intertwined with this story. The unraveling of this mystery depends on you, but remember.... Time is a maze in which it is easy to get lost. Every step must be thought out.

Emma squinted, as if trying to find a hidden meaning in these words.

- But how should we do it? - she asked, a mixture of curiosity and skepticism sounding in her voice.

Alex tried to speak, but his thoughts were too chaotic. Finally, he spoke up with an effort.

- It all has something to do with the town's past.... and, as it turns out, with you.

Emma raised her eyebrows, her smile slowly fading.

- With me? Sounds like some kind of strange dream. But... why do I feel that there is a grain of truth in this madness?

The old man looked at her with seriousness, his eyes seeming to go deeper than time and space allowed.

- Dear Emma, time is a spiraling river that sometimes turns back, sometimes branches out into unpredictable streams. There are souls who fall into its whirlpools, and your fates are intertwined in ways you do not yet comprehend. You must find the beginning of the story before the vortex carries you further, beyond the possibility of return.

The clock on the church tower struck eighteen o'clock, its sound seemed unnaturally loud, as if space vibrated in response. The old man looked up at the sky and then at them.

- I have to go. Remember, my young friends: time is both a gift and a trap. It guides you, but it requires courage and prudence. Seek me, and I will find you when the time is right.

Without looking back, he walked away toward the long shadow cast by the city hall. Alex and Emma were left alone, feeling the cacophony of questions growing in their heads.

- This all sounds like something out of a nightmare," said Alex, looking at the girl. - How do we solve a mystery that seems impossible to comprehend?

Emma shrugged her shoulders, but her gaze became sharper.

- Maybe we should start with the archives. Let's see if we can find something about the town .... and about the girl from 1980," she said, trying to sound confident, though her voice trembled slightly.

They moved toward the small library building, whose neon sign flicked like a barely perceptible pulse in the thicket of everyday life. The elderly librarian greeted them with a smile, behind which there was something elusive.

- We are looking for information from the 1980s," Emma said.

The woman nodded with an expression of appreciation.

- Right. The archives are upstairs. I'll show you the way.

When they entered a small room full of dusty binders and newspapers, time seemed to slow down. The quiet rustling of pages and muffled sounds from outside created an aura of isolation from the rest of the world. Alex and Emma began to look through the documents.

- Check it out! - exclaimed Alex, pointing to an old report. - "Emma Harris, missing 1980."

Emma froze, and their gazes met in silent agreement.

- It's impossible... After all, this ... it must be some kind of mistake," she whispered look at the photograph with the image of her face.

- And if not? - Alex looked at her, his voice was barely audible. - If it's you from 1980.... are you somehow trapped in time?

- After all, this is absurd.... right? - Emma tried to find a foothold in logic, but something inside her told her that it was all more true than she wanted to admit.

- We have to explain it," said Alex with determination. - And if this old man knows more, we must find him.

Emma looked at him, her eyes shining with both fear and fascination.

- We will start with my family. Maybe someone knows this man.... Or remembers something more about these events.

Time seemed to whirl around them, as if the archives had become the epicenter of a mystery whose solution could change everything.

They spent the evening in the library, immersed in a silence broken only by the rustling of pages and the quiet clatter of pen against paper. Emma hunched over her journal, trying to find meaning in words that seemed to transcend time. Alex paged through thick volumes on the theory of time and physical peculiarities, while glancing out of the corner of his eye at the historical records of the forest that surrounded the town like a living organism.

When it struck 8 pm and the librarian announced closing, they gathered their notes and dispersed to their homes. The air outside was cool, full of anxiety that seemed to permeate the streets of the town. Alex returned immersed in his thoughts, trying to connect scientific concepts with the events they had witnessed.

Meanwhile, Emma, clutching the journal under her arm, walked at a brisk pace, struggling with the growing storm of questions she planned to ask her mother. Fear and curiosity fought within her like two opposing forces.

The house smelled of roast meat and mushroom gravy. Emma found her mother in the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner, standing by the old gas stove. The lamplight cast long, ominous shadows on the wall, heightening the impression that time here also hides its own secrets. Emma sat down at the table and began carefully.

- Mom, I found something unusual. In the library we came across a diary from the 1980s. It was written about strange disappearances and forests, and I.... - hesitated - I think I'm part of it. Do you remember anything from those years?

The mother, taking off her kitchen gloves, turned to her daughter, frowning her eyebrows.

- From the 1980s? Honey, what exactly do you have in mind?

Emma took a deep breath and recounted her findings: the diary, the conversation with the old man, and the puzzling entries that indicated that the town had long been an arena for inexplicable events. Her mother listened to her in silence, her eyes betraying something like hidden knowledge.

- Yes," she finally began. - It's true. When I was in high school, several people went missing, including one girl. Those were troubled times. Everyone was afraid to go out after dark. I remember that a curfew was even imposed.

Emma looked at her mother, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

- Who was this girl? What happened to her?

The mother looked away, as if hesitating for a moment whether she should continue.

- Her name was Emma. - Her voice trembled. - And she was about your age.

Emma felt a shudder run through her. Everything she had heard was beginning to come together in a disturbing way.

- What about the old man? - she asked, breaking the silence that had fallen in the kitchen. - Could the grandparents have known something about him?

Her mother looked at her investigatively, as if assessing how much more truth she should reveal. After a long moment, she replied.

- Your grandparents were involved in the neighborhood watch. This was their response to the fear that gripped the town. A group was organized to help find the missing. My father, and your grandfather, were very involved. They did everything in their power to understand what had happened. They even investigated on their own.

- Do we have any photos of grandparents from that time? - Emma asked, her voice trembling with excitement.

The mother nodded.

- In old albums in the attic. We can look through them after dinner.

Emma was devouring a potato roast at the speed of light during dinner. She wanted to finish as quickly as possible to get to the albums. She couldn't wait to find out if the old photos really hid family secrets. She hoped they would bring her answers to at least some of the questions that had been bothering her.