Never Try to Alter Time.

Imagine for a second reliving the most terrible moment of your entire life, over and over again. Like a loop that you can't break, no matter how many choices you change that day, you always have to watch the outcome. This was my punishment for messing with Time. She has many names, some people call her Fate, some call her Destiny. Her real name is Horatia, which also means timekeeper, and she is very, very serious about her job. However, let's back the story up to a week after the worst day of my life, a.k.a the day my mom died, I know, confusing right? My dad is a freelance inventor and had been trying to create a time machine. In our house, we had one rule: "Jack, don't go into the garage." My dad would say on many occasions, so naturally, I went into the garage every chance I had. I was fumbling around in the dark with an opened water bottle looking for a monkey head screwdriver when I tripped over a leaf blower and spilled some water on an open wire. Something shorted and a fizzing sound emitted from behind me. I ducked just in time as a missile of pure light shot over my head and a small hole appeared in the middle of the air. I also heard my dad yelling at me and thundering loudly down the stairs, being a curious 13-year-old, I weighed my options (either get chewed out by my dad or go through the hole into an unknown place), quickly stepped through it, and entered what Horatia called Limbo. Have you ever been to a planetarium? I have, for my 8th-grade science field trip. You lay in these really comfortable chairs and looked at a domed ceiling where a projector cast galaxies and listen to someone tell you about the planets. It was like being in space. That's where I was, in space. Only nothing was moving, and a deafening humming noise like the sound of fifty rock concerts wrapped in a howling tornado was coming at me from all angles. In the middle of Limbo, was the Ribbon of Time. It was spread out in all directions, constantly overlapping in places, and entangling in others. Some faded away, signifying the death of a loved one, some appeared, announcing a new life, revealing the past, present, and future of every single human being on the planet. Sitting in the middle was Time herself. Her hair was the cosmos, sparkling with a million stars, her eyes were all-knowing, yet gentle and kind, and her coffee-brown skin had the golden aura of an ancient being. "Welcome, Jack. Son of Edward and Sally." Said a voice that could make planets and stars implode on themselves. "Um, hi? How do you know who I am?" I so stupidly asked. This was when I should have turned tail and gone home. "I am Time, I know every that is, was, and will be. I know all about you, your hardships and triumphs. Your sorrow and pain." She replied, "Do you wish to see your ribbon?" I vaguely remembered nodding my head still holding the water bottle like it was my only lifeline. She pointed me toward my ribbon and said "Be warned, do not go beyond the past, and do not touch to Ribbon." she then explained that the Ribbon of Time was like a newspaper, printed as things happen. I was reminded of the Greek myth of the Three Fates, weaving the destinies of every person. Whoever came up with that nearly hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, I only listened partly because my mind was forming a plan, a plan that would bring back my mom. The plan was this: if the ribbon of time was printed in ink, then water could wash it away, and if water could wash it away, then it would never have happened. While Time was babbling on about her job, and how nice it was to have a person to talk to, I followed my Ribbon until I came to the day my mother died. I poured the rest of my water onto that single day and started to rub it clean with my hands. One thing I did not think about, was that ink does not clean with water, it smudges. I watched with horror as the day started to loop over and over, and the rest of my future disappeared. I turned back to see Time, now with the face of a thundercloud, pointing a finger at me. "You! You broke time, you've messed not only with your future but with every other person who's future is tied to yours! You are a Sisyphus, trying to cheat Death and Time, and you will be disciplined as such. You are to forever relive this day, for all eternity, you will watch your mother expire, until the dawn of destruction." Before I could open my mouth to protest, I was transported back to the hospital room where my mother lay, hooked up to IVs, a cannula tube snaking out of her nose. I watched her take her last breath, heard the heart monitor flat-line. I felt the same numbness day after day; the numbness of losing my family. Watching her die day after day, knowing that I could never die myself, doomed to live forever. I almost went crazy, I tried everything, I went with her to the store, tried to tell her not to go, but no matter what I did, there was always another she died. whether it be a heart attack, a car accident, or cancer. Finally, I decided to begin writing it all down, as a warning as well as a testimony, and here's my story. Imagine for a second reliving the most terrible moment of your entire life, over and over again. Like a loop that you can't break, no matter how many choices you change that day, you always have to watch the outcome...