Past or present

I rolled my eyes as my brother and I trudged down the stairs to the living room. Mom announced that it was time for a "family meeting". I sighed to myself. Our family has never been the same ever since dad died, Colin doesn't really remember him, but I do, and so does mom. She always tells us to look on the bright side but the day we got the phone call that his plane crashed she could barely function. It was up to me to take care of her and Colin. I had to cook, clean, make sure Colin was doing his homework while keeping my grades up. Mom barely went to the office and when she did they sent her straight home. She got fired and had to find a new job. Luckily, she's always loved drawing and was extremely talented so she became a children's book illustrator. Even though it's been six years and everyone ignores that period of time I don't. Even though those years were terrible, I still relish in the memories that we made together, the countless nights when we ordered pizza at 1 in the morning or when we couldn't breathe while laughing at my brother when he put his shirt sleeve in his hand and was stuck. The bad memories haunt me every night, but the good ones make me smile. Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only one who remembers dad. "Bella!" she sighed in exasperation, "Come on, don't complain. This is important." Colin and I flopped on the couch. "So, as you all know the basement is a huge mess and I feel like we should do something about it." She began. "Mom! I don't want to clean it. It's not that bad! Why can't Bella do it?" Colin complained. "Excuse me? I've been cleaning up after you for ten years now! It's time you do something in return!" I retorted. If this was the only reason she called us down here, it was a big waste of time. We all know the real reason no one wants to clean the basement is that all of dad's military stuff is there and no one wants to get rid of the only piece of him we have left. "Okay, I know that none of us are too excited about cleaning but I've made a schedule. We need to get this done!" "Mom-" "Bella is going to go down first and sort things into piles. Keep, donate, and trash. Next, Colin and I will put all the donate and trash items in bags and get rid of them and put away and organize the keep pile. Then, we are all going to dust vacuum, and sanitize everything." I was about to open my mouth and say that it wasn't fair that I had to sort then realized that if Colin did it he would cry and if mom did it she would block out everyone again. I sighed. What I wouldn't do to get dad back and have our life be normal again. "Fine" I surrender, "When should I start?" "Tomorrow afternoon!" My mom declared, excited about her victory. 

The next day, I walk down the stairs, well, more like around all the things on the stairs, and start looking around. There are so many pictures and medals and awards. No wonder Mom doesn’t want to come down here. Suddenly, I notice a trapdoor on the floor. I debated whether to tell mom or just open it. I went with the latter. There was a ladder and as I crawled down it, it got colder and colder. But there was also a strange white-blue light all around the tiny room. When I finally got to the bottom and turned around there was a glowing blue mirror. I stepped forward to take a look at it and instead of seeing my reflection, I saw my dad. It was as if he hadn’t aged a minute. I couldn’t believe my eyes. When I went to rub them I felt tears. Then, the most unbelievable thing happened, he spoke. “Bella! Come here! I haven’t seen you all morning!” I stood there. Perplexed. If I really just went there, could I go back? As if none of this had happened? I wanted to. I stepped forward and reached my hand through the mirror. It was like a light waterfall. With tears in my eyes as I was questioning everything, How is this even possible? What about Colin and Mom? Will I go back in time? Will we all go back in time? Will dad come back to us? I walked through the mirror. “Bella! Where have you been?” “Is that really you?” I asked. My voice quivered. I was so shocked I couldn’t move, I could barely breathe, I couldn’t speak. “Dad!” I couldn’t believe that after all these years I could hug my dad. “Yes honey, it’s me.” He hugged me and I held on tightly. “How is this even possible?” I asked. “What do you mean? Come on, it’s time for dinner.” He replied, confusion crossing his face. The realization came over me, we got a second chance. I wonder if Mom and Colin would remember. I craved going back, living those terrible years all over again, together as a family, but I couldn’t. As terrible as those years were, we made memories, we lived maybe not as happy as we could’ve been, but happy. I couldn’t sacrifice everything that we built just for the sake of my own joy. Who knows what’ll happen to the universe if I do this. What is this whole thing isn’t even real? What if this is just a trick? I grit my teeth as I made my decision, “Dad, you know what? I’ll be right back.” When I turned around, I couldn’t breathe. The tears coming from my eyes were uncontrollable. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I couldn’t breathe. I slowly walked toward the mirror, dragging my every step. Suddenly, I turned around. “Hey, Dad!” I said. He turned around, “You know what? Nevermind, I’m coming!” I said with a smile on my face. “Awesome! Let’s go! I wonder what your mother made for dinner…”