Ines Kahnwald

* Adult
* Old
* Young

**Ines Kahnwald** was the adoptive mother of Michael and the adoptive grandmother of Jonas. She is a retired nurse at the Winden Hospital.

## History

### Background

Ines was born in 1940, to her father named Daniel, who was the chief of police during that time. She spent her life in Winden. She was friends with Jana.

### 1953

#### November 10

Ines drops by the clockmaker's shop, accompanied by Jana. She is picking up a watch that H.G. Tannhaus was repairing for her father, Daniel Kahnwald, the chief of the Winden Police. When she gossips about two dead boys being found, she piques the interest of a 2019 sitting time traveller named Ulrich Nielsen. While Ines was suggesting that they were abducted by aliens, Ulrich shakes her and demands for more information and storms out of the shop, leaving the three bewildered.

### Growing Up

Ines grew up as a nurse working in the Winden Hospital. She once had a son who died at a very young age. By the 1980s, Ines was a single woman.

### 1986

#### November 5

While walking through the hospital, Nurse Donata Kraus asks her to take over for the night shift. Later in the afternoon, she was called to the Police Station by Egon Tiedemann to pick up the injured Mikkel Nielsen, who didn't reveal his name yet and was actually a 2019 time traveller.

    At the hospital, Mikkel's injuries were dealt with but after a doctor leaves, she notices him crying and goes to comfort him. At night, Ines offers Mikkel to sleep at the hospital. Before leaving, Mikkel says that he came from the future, but Ines believed he just had a wild imagination due to the comic "Captain Future". Later, she notices that Mikkel escaped through a window.

Mikkel returned later on with a scarred leg.

#### November 7

Ines visits Mikkel in his hospital room to give him a children's book called *I Am Not Afraid* wrapped in a present. The boy remains silent, so she sits next to him. She calmly asks him to talk to her when he's ready, or at least explain who his parents are. She promised to keep any private information a secret. Ines then calls a priest at St. Christopher's Church named Noah to comfort Mikkel.

The Head of Child Protective Services, Selma Ahrens discusses with Ines about having Mikkel in their custody at a children's home until they find his family. Ines is skeptical about sending the boy there, asking if he could stay in the hospital for a while. Ahrens assures her that they would attend to his needs well. As they shake hands, Ines tells her that he was a peculiar boy. Even after Ahrens leaves, she was still considering the decision.

At night, Ines was reading her gift book as a nighttime story to Mikkel.

#### November 9

Ines is seen handing a plate of food to Mikkel outside the hospital.

#### November 12

Mikkel is showing her a magic trick that involved teleporting a sugar cube from one cup to another. He says that all Houdini dreamed of was to become a magician. Mikkel says that he has the same dream, but the magic he wants to do is impossible, which is to "wake up". Ines asks him about Master Zhuang's paradox. One day, she dreamt she was a butterfly, and woke up confused if she's still a person who dreamed she was a butterfly, or if she's a butterfly who's dreaming. She asks Mikkel what he would think he was, to which he responds both. He removes the cups, revealing a second sugar cube.

Later that day, Ahrens comes back to pick up Mikkel, but the boy refuses. Ines brings Ahrens outside the room, declaring that she wants to adopt him. Ahrens says that it's a complicated process, but Ines responds that she is the only person that he lets close to him, and that they have grown an attachment.

At night, the adoption process was complete, and Ines legally changed Mikkel's name to "Michael Kahnwald". They arrive at the Kahnwald family home, and Michael starts crying tears of joy. The two hug each other and begin their new lives.

### During the seven months

Ines and Michael lived as a happy family, and she enrolled him into the Winden school. However, Michael has been struggling to move on from his former family (the Nielsens), which is causing him anxiety. Ines tries her best to help him move away from the past. At the same time, she has been secretly drugging him with sleeping pills to calm him down.

### 1987

#### June 22

Ines was preparing breakfast and Michael's school bag when he wakes up from another distressing sleep. He tells her that it is his mother's birthday. She leans forward and reminds him that the past is past and now is now.

Later that night he returns home, where Ines has worried about him since the school said he wasn't present. She asks if something happened, but he remains silent. She tells him that there are days that would need to be forgotten and that she'll make him *Toast Hawaii* to cheer him up. It was her childhood comfort food, with cherries on top, and her father would dance like Elvis. He asks her whether she believes in God and if he has a plan. She says she does and that God planned for her to take care of him. He then goes to her and hugs her.

#### June 23

Egon Tiedemann visits her, saying that he wants to put closure to some of his old cases now that he's retired. He wants to speak to Michael but Ines responds that he's asleep, claiming that he's feeling ill. Egon asks about his old family, Ines says that he wants to move on from them. She further explains that he has never mentioned the names of his relatives. He further asks about the mentioning of "Ulrich" or "The White Devil", only for Ines to be more confused.

He tells her that he's going to talk to Michael on the next day, and that she should call him if she found more information. When leaving, Egon finds the sleeping pills, and Ines claims that she's been taking them. Egon asks for a picture of the boy, to which she applies.

#### June 25

At the hospital, Ines opens up the medication cupboard, looks around and seeing no one watching, takes some sleeping pills and puts them in her pocket. Another nurse walks out and sees her with the cupboard open. She pretends she has to take more Iodine. She asks Ines whether she has heard about the supposed child murderer (Ulrich Nielsen from 2019) escaping from the asylum.

Ines returns home, looking for Michael, but there is no sign of him. She sees the door ajar, goes outside, and notices two cups on the picnic table. She calls Egon, saying she is worried the man who broke out of the asylum might be involved with Michael's disappearance. Egon says he will notify the station and will come by to pick her up, as he has an idea where they might be headed.

She is running with Egon and policemen through the forest towards Ulrich and Michael. Near the Winden Caves, Ulrich is apprehended and Ines runs to hug her adoptive son. At home, Ines makes him hot chocolate, and secretly crushes her pills into the drink.

### September

Because of the events that transpired last summer, the adoptive agency sends Ines and Michael away for a while out of town to help them recover from the incident. They arrive back home a few days later, with Ines preparing Michael a sandwich for dinner.

### Getting Old

Ines raised Michael throughout his life. At some point of time, Michael decide to become a painter instead of a magician. Eventually, she calculated that Michael really was from the future. She also decided to retire from being a nurse.

As an adult, Michael gets married to Hannah Krüger, and in 2003, they had a son named Jonas. Ines remained close to the family in the 2000s. After Michael committed suicide on June 21, 2019, Ines somehow managed to collect his Suicide note (which said "Do not open before November 4, 10:13 PM") and keep it at her apartment away from Jonas. The whole family was left in depression, mainly Jonas, while Ines decided to distance herself from the other two relatives. Hannah was aggravated by Ines' lack in communication, deciding to tear her out of the family photo.

### 2019

#### November 4

Ines opens a box she kept the letter in, deciding to wait until the specified time. She turns on the radio, speaking a brief history of the Winden Nuclear Power Plant, which would be taken off the grid in 2020. In the evening, she listens to a voicemail from Hannah, who informs her that the power has gone out again and she should say if she wants them out of her house. She calls her sick because she hasn't contacted them in three months and that Michael would've wanted her to. Ines considers the suicide note again and looks at the clock: 4 hours to go.

Ines, having waited for the clock to turn 10:13 as instructed, opens the suicide letter the minute it does. She is visibly distraught by its contents and cries as she puts it back in the box.

#### November 7

She takes out the *I Am Not Afraid* book out of her closet, remembering it as the first gift she gave Michael. At night, she visited Michael's grave and places the book on it.

#### November 12

She is visited by Jonas at her apartment. He asks her if she knew Michael's secret, she remains silent, indicating that she did. Ines decides to give out Michael's letter to Jonas, since it was addressed to him. He was shock, considering he burned the letter (one that was from the future). Jonas asks how long has she known, so Ines told him a brief story of how she first met Michael, thinking he had a troubled past and an overactive imagination. Jonas asks that if she did know all along, then why didn't she stop it?

He is distraught, crying out that now he knows his true relatives are people that were close to him, the Nielsen family. He tearfully tells her that there's nothing wrong with them, and only he is the anomaly. Ines tells him that she believes that scenarios, even the strangest ones, happen for a reason. Now that Jonas exists, who knows what the future will bring. He says that he just want things to be normal.

### 2020

Ines was never seen in 2020. It's possible that she either left the town, died of old age or was killed by the Apocalypse on June 27.

## Personality

Ines was a kind woman who is concerned about the wellbeing of others. She became a nurse to help the sick. She always spoke calmly towards the disturbed Mikkel, even though she didn't understand his situation. Despite how mysterious the boy was, she kept him healthy and composed. After growing a close bond, she decided to adopt him as her son, willing to take care of Mikkel knowing that he's troubled.

She is capable of searching for the positive aspects in situations, since she believes that even the bizarre and tragic events in life happen for bigger reasons. Ines is apparently able to move away from any past problems, as shown when she tries her best to help Michael accept his new family. In spite of her tender comfort, she resorted to unacceptable measures to help others, such as when she was drugging Michael.

Her love for her adoptive son loomed throughout the years. After he committed suicide, Ines was willing to keep the suicide note and wait for the correct moment, knowing that Jonas would be too desperate to wait.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* Episode 1 "Secrets" (2019)
* Episode 3 "Past and Present" (1986, 2019)
* Episode 5 "Truths" (1986, 2019)
* Episode 7 "Crossroads" (1986)
* Episode 8 "As You Sow, so You Shall Reap" (1953)
* Episode 9 "Everything Is Now" (1953, 1986, 2019)
* Episode 10 "Alpha and Omega" (1986, 2019)

### Season 2

* Episode 2 "Dark Matter" (1987)
* Episode 3 "Ghosts" (1987)
* Episode 5 "Lost and Found" (1987)

### Season 3

* Episode 4 "The Origin" (1954)
* Episode 5 "Life and Death" (1987)

## Analysis

* The name *Ines* is a variant of *Agnes*. Jonas Kahnwald, who is Ines' adoptive grandson, is also Agnes Nielsen's biological great-great-grandson. In Christian tradition, Saint Agnes was a third century martyr who by legend was a young teenager who spurned the sexual advances of a Roman noble, who then reported her to the authorities as a Christian, for which she was executed.
* Ines wears a plain cross around her neck.
* The elderly Ines is not seen at all in 2020; however, her grave marker is not observed when Jonas walks through the graveyard in 2053.

## Gallery

*→ See **28** images of Ines Kahnwald at **Images of Ines Kahnwald**.*