Xendo plodded the short journey back home to his mother. Instead of enjoying the scenery, Xendo was now lost in thought. I’m trioka. Why are so many people afraid of us? Why would they hate me for something I can’t change? 

Xendo held up his face to their front door’s scanner. It beeped and let him in. Xendo forgot his troubles when he caught his mom shaking her bum to old lady music and sweeping the floors. Xendo chuckled and placed the food on the kitchen island. 

“Oooh, what did you get me?” Blinda called out while turning the music down, not at all embarrassed of her weird mom dancing. 

“A sandwich from Lakeside Deli,” Xendo replied while his mother gasped in delight, “and a green tea kombucha to cool you down.” 

“Oh! Their salt beef with garlic mustard on einkorn sourdough!” His mother chirped with glee as she unwrapped the sandwich. “Is there—” 

“Extra dill pickle spears are in the bag,” Xendo cut her off with a smile. “I didn’t forget. I chose their super-green salad.” 

“I love you,” Blinda cooed while taking a huge first bite. 

The pair ate their lunch before moving on to finish their last cleaning job: sorting through old belongings in Xendo’s childhood storage pods. Blinda opened a pod that she hadn’t seen in years and gasped with excitement as she looked inside. It had old photographs, Xendo’s baby toys, and napkins with old recipes scribbled onto them. 

“Why do you have so many printed photos, Mom?” Xendo wondered aloud. “It’s easier to just keep them in Earth’s Database.” 

“It’s like you and your old books! I like to hold them in my actual hands. A sweet way of saving memories,” she purred while looking at each of Xendo’s baby photos endearingly. 

“After I started at the café,” Blinda continued with a pout, “life became just a bit too hectic. I miss these easy days.” 

Xendo nodded. His mother was the hardest worker he knew. 

“Aw, look!” Blinda whipped out a photo from a folder at the bottom of the pod. “Here’s one of your father!” 

“Really?” Xendo remarked while moving closer. “Oh, wow!” 

Xendo rarely saw images of his father. He peered over at the photo to notice six friends posing in front of the large glass doors of SIYT. The school’s name, “Superior Institute of Young Trioka,” was scrawled above the entrance behind their beaming faces. A younger Blinda was on the very left, standing in the cleanest chef whites Xendo had ever seen her wear. She must have ironed them and everything. On the right side was a friendly-looking older woman in a sensible gray suit. 

“Is that Superintendent Pearl?” Xendo asked, shocked. 

“It sure is!” Blinda proudly replied. 

“I didn’t know you were friends that far back.” Xendo looked to his mother. 

“Of course! How do you think I got my job?” she laughed. 

Next, Xendo’s eyes moved to the four people in the center, dressed in all black, head to toe. They carried large backpacks and morphstaffs. 

“This was taken before their mission back to 2005. We were all about thirty then. Well, except for Nova, of course,” Blinda stated simply. 

“No way!” Xendo said, grabbing the photo to peer even closer. 

“Yep! It was still pretty hush-hush back then. They traveled back that afternoon, and then my life went up in smoke.” 

Sure enough, between Superintendent Nova Pearl and his mother, was the infamous 2005 team. Standing next to his wife was Xendo’s father, Jerome Quaker. He was an incredibly handsome man with a sharp jawline and messy silver-gray locks, just like Xendo. It’s funny how all the Quakers seemed to have messy hair. Xendo could barely remember his father at all. Jerome Quaker’s team had failed their time travel mission when he was only two years old. 

“And see,” Blinda sighed solemnly, “there’s Daryl Irwin. Poor boy. He was a bit younger than the other three. He didn’t know how tragic the mission would become. He returned a completely different man.” 

The young Daryl Irwin was grinning from ear to ear. He had jet black hair, brown eyes, and a welcoming expression. He is now known as Ambassador Daryl Irwin and works as the Global Government’s advocate for the trioka people of Earth. Xendo was always proud that the ambassador had been friends with his father before he died. 

Blinda shuddered and placed her hand on her chest. Her voice wobbled as she recounted flashbacks of that fateful day. 

“All four of them entered the time portal. We expected them to return in just a second so we could celebrate. But no, Daryl fell out the portal alone with his legs cut off, blood everywhere! It was horrifying, but not as terrible as the news about your father, Daniel, and Ava.”