Like we said, Mari retrieved the mysterious journal from 2035 that traveled to their time. The composition book was singed, wet, and damaged. She carefully removed it from the wall studs and set it on a table to dry. It was very delicate. Mari is clumsy but her artist friend Simon is not. She knew, from the appearances of this apparent mixed media journal, he would definitely want to see it.

Simon immediately came over. Both were astonished at this “message in a bottle” from a near future world. Why it landed in Mari’s apartment, they had no clue. Time travel and wormholes are mysterious. Of course, they decided to restore it.

Simon worked on the visuals, figuring out what the drawings were, what mediums were used, and where the dialogue bubble placement was, among other things. Mari deciphered the text and replicated Jerr’s handwriting.  Simon also tried to match the various tapes that Jerr used to keep the journal together.

Jerr had limited art resources, so only used what he could find. The journal was a “funky mess” (as Mari and Simon fondly called it.) Simon tried to emulate that “funkiness” as much as possible by mixing the tapes and restoring the grunge which was part of the journals organic style. Thankfully, Simon is a master of restoration as many pages arrived torn.  He can make and patch paper, which he did. His skills are of museum caliber.

The restoration took many years but Mari and Simon hoped it would be done in time for people to realize what was headed toward them and stop it. Yes, altering timelines is tricky yet perhaps that is exactly why Jerr’s Journal ended up in their hands. Maybe by knowing the future, we can change the present.