The Time Capsule

The Time Capsule

When I first saw the name of the book, I guessed it was a story about dreams; nonetheless, it was more than that. It was actually about the loss and gain inside a family after something unnatural happened to them.

Alexis and Adam are twins. They have the unique ability to see through each other’s feelings since they were little. They used to be a happy family, but things changed after Adam was diagnosed with leukemia at eight. Fortunately, he conquered it and survived. However, since he recovered from the illness, their parents started to devote themselves to their own career. One devoted herself to real estate promoting and endless election campaigns, while the other threw himself into one and another pile of law cases.

Now, Alexis and Adam are in their senior year in high school. Alexis couldn’t stand the situation anymore and wanted to change. After several attempts, she realized that it seemed to be impossible to fix the crack of their family. Out of the blue, Adam relapsed and this time it seemed to be more dreadful than before. The recurrence brought the whole family back again and changed them thoroughly.

I couldn’t help but sob while I was reading this story. Not only because of its really awesome plot, but also because of the apt expression of sorrow and struggle the writer used to depict people when facing the difficulties in their lives. For Adam, the rough experience of the medical treatment made him understand the feeling of loneliness, helplessness and the feeling of being treated as a freak. Even if he was at a young age, he was still conscious about others’ peculiar thought and the tension came along with his illness which had gradually spoiled his family. It made him a more sensitive boy than peers, for he could feel for others.

He desired to have a normal life, like any other teenagers, to have his own social life, to have a relationship with someone he loved. It actually describes about what every teenager wants--to find a way to connect with other people or the world. It is never easy to do so, even for the adults. That’s why Adam’s parents shift their attention to their work because they were once on the edge of losing their son. This kind of helplessness did them in, like what their father confessed in the end: “If you don’t care, then you can’t get hurt. Truth was, I couldn’t not care no matter how hard I tried or how many hours I worked.” People will always care about those who are special to us, though sometimes it makes us heartbroken.

Another amusing feature of this novel is that things are never what they seem to be. It brings me surprises in every chapter. Halfway through the reading, I guessed it would have a happy ending. However, I was wrong. It ended up as a sad but thought-provoking story. I used to hate stories with a sad ending, for they always leave me nothing but regret in the end. Nevertheless, this story convinced me that a not so perfect ending does not only necessarily represent loss. Life is never an easy and happy story. We are meant to face endless farewell to everything, even though we don’t want to. Like the book said, ”We are all ordinary people, flawed and desperately trying to find purpose and reason within a darkness too vast to comprehend.” Sometimes the loss is just like a darkness that was about to swallow us; however, we still have to struggle with it and find our own anchor in the sea of agonies.

Generally speaking, this book brought me not only pleasures but also crucial lessons in lives. The words are simple but they always strike a deep chord in my heart. The story allows me to think more about the imperfection in lives and the perplexity we will face in the future. After reading this book, I, inside my heart, obtain a sense of assurance toward the future, even if the way is still vague or perilous. Most important of all, it ignites the warm hope inside my heart.