[SPOILERS AHEAD] A Deleted Scene from The Timekeeper's Daughter

WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.

Do NOT keep reading unless you've already read the book or you just like to spoil it for yourself. You've been warned (but I'll warn you again because I'm so nice). Also, I might add that there are some people that LOVE things like this and some that HATE it. If you love reading extra content, have fun! If you don't like it, I respect that. You don't have to read it. Please don't if you want to keep the original ending in your mind.

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I wanted to share with everyone a deleted scene from The Timekeeper's Daughter. While some may consider this an "alternate ending," I consider it a deleted scene because for me the novel ends how I ended it in the published version. The ending in the published version is the third ending that I wrote for the novel. I want to reflect on a couple of reasons as to why I had written so many endings (other than the fact that I'm a perfectionist sometimes), so here we go...

FINAL WARNING.

If you do not want to be completely SPOILED, then please click the back button now. There's no going back after this.


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Ending #1

The original ending for the novel took place immediately following Phillip's death. Literally. Abigail found her way up to the clocktower in Big Ben and fell asleep. She then had a dream in which Mrs. Baxter, her parents, and finally Phillip visited her. They comforted her, told her she would be okay. And that was that.

Here are the reasons for why I chose to not end the novel in this way:

  1. It was the first ending to the first novel that I had ever completed. To be quite honest, it felt amateur and not very thought out. I'm not saying that the final ending was the greatest in all of literature, but for me being as meticulous as I am, it felt good.

  2. I didn't feel like I gave Abigail enough time to process what had happened, not that she wouldn't need A LOT of time, but I felt like ending it directly after Phillip's death didn't allow for that.

  3. The characters Ian and Bridget were NOT in this first draft of my novel. Bridget came first after I felt like I had written a novel in which the main character only had one friend, her fiance. I didn't like that. I added Ian after I felt that the main character should have more than just two significant relationships (other than family) in her life and I also wanted someone other than Mathias that was tied to this world she would be thrown into.

    So basically, I had ended the novel without even mention Ian or Bridget again, and to me, that just didn't work.

  4. In her dream, she was flying over London, and I'm not against flying, and I get that my book is quite clearly about supernatural stuff, but just no.

    Please note that ending #1 is not the ending I'm showing you. I'm not even sure if I have a copy of it anymore. And if I did, I still don't think I'd want to show it to you.

Ending #2

The reason I am calling this ending a deleted scene rather than an alternate ending is that I feel like this is what happened directly after the original ending of the book. There are a couple of variations that would have to take place such as the fact that Bridget and Abigail had not made up yet. I needed to move that into the new ending so that everything would wrap up nicely, but still, I feel that this is what would have happened. This particular ending takes place a few days after Phillip's death and covers his funeral as well as Abigail leaving for America.

Here are the reasons for why I chose to not end the novel in this way:

  1. I felt like I had now added TOO much time between Phillip's death and the ending. I wanted an ending where Abigail had some time to process her initial reactions, but I also didn't want the novel to keep going.

  2. Everything was resolved (except for some mysteries which have yet to come to light). The only thing in this original ending that resolved anything was the Bridget/Abigail storyline. Once you take that out of the equation, everything else just seemed like unnecessary fluff. So I cut it.

  3. I had to learn, and I'm still learning, that when you are writing a book, it isn't about the word count. Yes, that's important in terms of whether or not your story is a novel versus a novella or short story (and maybe even to some publishers or agents out there) but when you are writing a story, the story needs to be the important aspect. Just like a movie your story needs to be tight and well-paced.

    By no means do I think I'm a superstar when it comes to that. There are areas that I think could still have been tightened up a bit, but what I'm saying is it is something that I had to learn. In the beginning, I was so uptight about word count that I was adding things that just didn't need to be there. Even now, as I work on the sequel, I'm still that way. It's a learning process for me.

Alright, so now for the reason I am writing this post to begin with. Here is ending #2. Enjoy. Also, please note that this hasn't been edited. When I had my book professionally edited, we made a lot of changes such as capitalizing terms specific to the world (Timekeeper, Time Line, etc.). Just beware that it might be rough.

       My attention was drawn to a slight crack in the mirror. It was in the same position as my face, almost making it appear as if I had a jagged scar down my cheek. In a way, the crack resembled my emotions. I was torn inside, right down the middle. As I gazed at my reflection, I wondered what had happened to the girl from three months ago who was simply going about life. What had happened to the girl who was engaged to be married? Even though I thought the questions, I knew the answer. The girl was gone. She was growing up now; she had to grow up.
       By the end of the day, I would be on an airplane taking me to a new home. A plane taking me to a new country. Mathias had said that I would be traveling the regular way, with all of my luggage. Since I had never been trained to travel with the time line, by plane was the only way. I wondered if I would be able to start fresh in America. I wondered if there would be new opportunities there; new friends to be made.
       I pulled the sleeves of my simple, black, funeral dress down. Normally, I would probably wear my hair up in a bun for a funeral, but I decided to wear it down.
       “You look so much like your mother.”
       I turned my head to see Mathias standing in the doorway. He was dressed in a black, button-down shirt and slacks. His expression was somber. 
       Mathias entered the room and stood behind me. At some point from when he had been at the door to being behind me, I had lost myself entirely. Tears fell from my eyes, and painful sobs erupted from within me. I turned and fell into his arms, clutching tightly to his back. He put his arms around me and comforted me. His hold on me was strong and fatherly. The room began to blur as the tears continued to fall. My eyes began to sting, and the tears only worsened. I managed to bring myself together just a little to notice a painting by the door. The painting was a sunset on an ocean. The ocean was a vast array of blue waters and calmness. Orange and red made up the stunning sunset. I thought about the sun setting on this part of my life. Phillip was a part of my life that was now gone and it killed me inside. It ripped at me, made me cry in agony. I cried because I knew he would die, because I had to know it was going to happen, say goodbye, and then watch it happen. I wasn’t sure what was worse. Was it worse to know someone was going to die? Worse to be able to say goodbye. Or was it worse for it to tragically happen, and to never say goodbye? I knew in a way that I was fortunate, but I was also cursed. Because knowing, knowing made it personal. It made you want to prevent it. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop it.
       “I love you, so much,” Mathias whispered into my ear. “They say you never appreciate something until it is gone. I’m sorry for only trying to be your teacher and not your father. I should have been your father. I should have let myself in.”

       I wanted to say something. But I couldn’t. I was choking on my tears and my sobs. His apology only made it worse. I think he knew I wanted to say something but respected that I couldn’t. He respected that I just needed to mourn. Mourn not just for Phillip, but for my parents, for Mrs. Baxter, and for him and the time we had lost, and for my biological mother.
       After what seemed like hours, Mathias finally pulled away. I wiped my eyes with a handkerchief and looked at him.
       “In order to make the transition smoother for you,” Mathias said, “it has been decided that Ian will go to America as well. He needs to study elsewhere as well so it will be good for him.”
       My heart felt happiness for the first time in days. I would not be going to America alone. I would not have to do this all by myself without the comfort of a friend nearby. My heart leaped at the thought of Bridget. I had gone to her apartment once, but she had not been there. Later I had called and we had spoken briefly. She said that she would attend the funeral. I couldn’t bear to tell her I was leaving over the phone so I would have to do it at the funeral. But at least, in America, I would have one friend with me. But I thought about Mathias as well. He would be lonely again.
       “But what about you?” I asked.
       He smiled, “I have lived many years on my own. I can do it again. I will keep in touch with you though, that I promise.”

       Mathias left me alone for a moment. I turned back to the mirror and wiped my eyes. I straightened my dress and then picked up a black cardigan and wrapped it around me.
       I picked up the bags that I would be taking with me and made my way out of the guest bedroom and into the study of the headquarters. Ian was sitting on the sofa, reading a book. His possessions were on the floor in front of him, ready to be taken. He looked up when I entered the room and then walked over to me and took the bags out of my hands.
       “I’ll take care of those,” he said, placing them down by his feet. He put his arms around me and I wrapped mine around him. We stood like that for just a moment, before letting our arms fall.
       “Are you ready to go?” 
       I looked up to see Mathias standing in the archway. I only nodded and then walked ahead of him. As we ascended up in the lift, I admired the headquarters one last time, before it faded from view.

       In the car, as we left the city, I couldn’t help but look at everything we passed. I saw the streets I had grown up on, the places I had gone. I saw the life that I had lived. Even in a war, London was still beautiful. It was beautiful because we didn’t give up. We kept fighting. We stayed strong. It was beautiful because we protected each other, we stuck together. The car drove and drove, and slowly, London began to fade away. I silently said goodbye.
       “Hey…” 
       I felt a hand carefully touch my shoulder. My eyelids slowly began to open up and Ian was smiling at me.
       “We’re here,” he said. “You fell asleep.”
       I looked out the window of the car. We were at Glasgow Necropolis. Phillip’s parents had a family plot here. The ceremony would be held in the Glasgow Cathedral.
       Ian opened the car door and held a hand out for me. I took it and saw the many people that had arrived for the funeral. The mourning color of black was everywhere and everything suddenly felt even more real than it had before. Mathias got out behind me and we made our way toward the Cathedral.
       As I ascended the Cathedral steps, I could already see inside the large building. The vaulted ceilings, as well as works of art, were breathtaking.
       Phillip’s mother, father, and grandmother were standing by the entrance to the Church. Mrs. Hughes held her arms open and I fell into them.
       “He loved you,” she whispered into my ear, “he loved you so much. I know you loved him too.”
       Mrs. Hughes stepped back and his father and grandmother hugged me as well.
       “Thank you,” Mr. Hughes said. “Edna and I are back with each other. We are still going through counseling, but if you and Phillip had not come for Christmas, I do not know if I would have gotten help. If anything, I’m going to get better for Phillip. I owe it to him.”
       “Phillip would be very proud of you,” I responded. “He cared for all of you very much.”
       “Would you like to see him?” Marie asked.
       My heart leaped. The idea of seeing Phillip one last time scared me. Because that would be it. There would not be another time. But I knew that I needed to. I needed it. I needed closure. I nodded and Marie held out her hand. After hesitating briefly, I took it.
       She led me into a room at the side of the church where the casket was open. There were a few people in the room, viewing the body. We waited until they were gone. I realized I was shaking terribly as Marie led me up to the casket. For just a moment, I closed my eyes. And then I looked opened them and looked down.
       Phillip looked at rest, at peace. He was wearing a black suit and had his hands folded up. It was Phillip, but at the same time, it wasn’t. He truly wasn’t there anymore. The Phillip I knew, the way he joked, his attitude and outlook on life, those things were gone. I believed he was in a better place. I knew he was.
       The mass and the burial passed by in a blur to me. I was there physically, but emotionally I wasn’t. I was in my memories with Phillip. I remembered the way he held me, the way he kissed me. I remembered how we would say I was his girl, that he knew me. He knew who I was. My memories of him were important to me. I needed them.
       After the ceremonies were over, I found myself alone, looking at Phillip’s grave. I couldn’t stop looking at the headstone that read Phillip Hughes, April 28, 1923, to February 23, 1944.
       “The car is here,” Mathias said. He placed his hand on my shoulder. “There is someone else going with you.” 
       I looked up at him.
       “What?”
       “Come with me.”
       He led me to the entrance of the cemetery where there was a car waiting for us. Ian was talking to Bridget. Bridget. I had not seen her the entire time.
       Bridget saw me coming and walked over to me. We looked at each other for a moment and then we fell into a hug. I broke down in her arms and she held me tightly. She held me the way a friend would. She comforted me the way a friend would.
       “I’m sorry,” I whispered through choking sobs. “I should have told you, I’m sorry.”
       “It’s okay,” she said, “I’m sorry too. We just can’t be like this to each other. We will have plenty of time to work on that though.”
       I pulled away and looked at her curiously. Mathias had said someone else was coming.
       “Are you…?” I didn’t have time to finish asking and she was nodding her head.
       “I talked to the councilor and she agreed that Ian, as well as Bridget, could come with you,” Mathias said.
       “There is nothing here for me now,” Bridget said, “except for you. I need you, Abby.”
       “I need you too,” I said.
       “Well,” Ian said, “I don’t mean to break up the reunion, but we have to get going.”
       I turned to Mathias and threw my arms around him. He returned the hug.
       “Thank you,” I said, “I love you, father.”
       “I love you too,” he said, “my beautiful girl.”
       Ian rounded up all of the bags. I had already told Marie that I was leaving, but I went and said goodbye to Phillip’s parents. They understood that I couldn’t say much about where I was going, but I told them that I would write to them.
       And then we were in the car and it was pulling away. I waved at my father until he was gone from view.
       As the car drove on, I looked over to Bridget next to me. She had laid her head back and was resting. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful, but she was coming with me. We were going together. I vowed that our friendship would be stronger than ever. It was our time now. Next to her, sat Ian. He caught me gazing at him, but he didn’t say anything. He smiled at me, and then looked out the window.
       I turned my head and looked out the window. The streets of Glasgow passed by. I saw children out playing, enjoying their life. The war in London was behind them. The war, while it was still going on, would be behind me. I rested my head against the window glass and closed my eyes. The movements of the car slowly lulled me into a dreamlike state. I let it take me and a premonition pulled me in. It was the same one I had had a few months prior, about being at a cliff on the seaside.
       I stood on the cliff. The waves crashed against the cliff. The sea mist sprayed lightly on my face. I was wearing a long, white dress that blew in the wind. Behind me was a small cottage.
       A hand touched my back and I knew he was there. I could not see his face, but his touch made me feel protected. I felt safe. I knew the premonitions were a part of me.
       My eyes opened and the car was continuing to roll along the streets. I continued to gaze out the window and thought about the premonition. Did it mean anything? I decided not to think about it. I simply placed it in the back of my mind. There was tomorrow to worry about it, and the next day.
       My heart continued to grieve for Phillip and my family. I held myself from crying, but it so constantly tried to erupt from within me. But I was strong. I would keep going.
       For the first time in a long time, it was only whispers again.
       I let them carry me forward.

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