P ea/ie ce

*WARNING: Contains Death.*

He went to see his peacemaker. If his calculations were correct, he did not have much time. The peacemakers: a group of scientists, focused on giving peace to those haunted by the mistakes of their past. With the 2070’s rapidly approaching, peacemaking was the latest innovation in therapeutic technology. Yet, those in less financially fortunate positions were forced to seek out less… sanctioned means of making peace. 

He found himself in a city blanketed with clouds of smog and ash. Cables flooded the streets. The only way to travel was on foot. And though this place appeared desolate, those who dared to travel there knew they were never alone. Hidden in the wreckage, someone was always watching. This technological no-man’s land was best known as The Dark Web.

Limping, as that was the best walking he could do, the man made his way through the city. He stopped at a sign that read:

TEMPUS ITINERANTUR

He turned the corner and entered a door. He was met by a man in a black trench coat wearing sunglasses in the dark. A blue stream of light reflected off the sunglasses as he stared in the man’s direction. His name was Tobias. No one ever saw Tobias without a purpose. That was not his way. Anyone who met with him needed something, and Tobias knew exactly what this man needed. He took off his sunglasses and held out his hand.

“How do you intend to pay?” Tobias said, “This kind of travel isn’t cheap.” The man swallowed hard.

“With my life,” he replied.

“You’re already old. You would sell your life to The Dark Web in exchange for a moment of peace? I’m sure reruns and long walks in the park cost significantly less.” Tobias laughed. The darkness made it seem as if Tobias’ trench coat walked on its own. The man said nothing. This was all he had left. “Very well then. You look healthy enough. After all, some people only find peace in death”. Tobias placed his sunglasses back on his face and opened a door. “Do whatever you must to make peace. This door will appear again when your time is up.” The man limped through the door. Tobias closed it behind him.

_____

Friday was taco night at the Wellman’s house, and though that is what they called it, they collectively agreed the tacos were not actually good. What mattered was the quality time they got to spend together. If Tom and Jane could be with their children: PJ, Laura, Alaina, and William, nothing else mattered. At this time in the evening, Laura and Alaina could be found comparing outfits. They hated showing up places wearing the same thing, and their great minds seemed to think alike rather often. William could be found in the kitchen eating grapes and playing with his toy truck. Those were his two favorite things. PJ was late today on account of his lousy car.

PJ drove a very old passenger van, and it behaved like one. The left passenger side door did not have a handle, the trunk only opened from the inside, and the seatbelts would not always unbuckle when people tried to take them off. Car trouble was not ideal in a car that was almost always in trouble. He slammed his car door, rushed into the house, and begged his father to evaluate his brakes.

“When I’m driving, they still stick.” He said.

“PJ, you need to go see a mechanic,” Tom replied as he stole a grape from William. “We’ve tried to fix this before. Honestly, I’ve done all that I know how to do.”

“Okay, well how do I do that?” PJ asked. Tom, in an uninspired manner, handed his son a business card off the refrigerator.

“You call this number, tell them what’s wrong, and they can tell you when the best time would be to come in.” PJ looked worried.

“You’re not gonna help me?” Tom snagged another grape from William thinking the boy did not notice.

“I will answer questions, but no. You can figure it out.” Tom Shrugged.

“Dad, I’ve never had to do anything like this before.”

“And now you’ll learn!” PJ Thought for a moment.

“Okay,” He said, “So do you want me to bring you the bill?”

“Why would you do that? You’re taking care of this.”

“What?” PJ stood aghast; his father never treated him this way.

“You are going to pay for it.” Tom said, spelling it out for PJ.

“Dad, where am I gonna get that kind of money?”

“That’s the beauty of it! You’re an adult. Isn’t that what you told your mother last night? You get to figure all of this out!”

“What are you talking about?” PJ was undeniably confused. Tom placed his hands on the counter and spoke slowly.

“Last night, your mother called you down for dinner four times. You ignored her. When she came up to your room to let you know the kitchen was closed, you said you were an adult, capable of finding your own food. I think it might be time to test how grown you really are.” Tom leaned in, getting in PJ’s face. He spoke softly. “You are going to handle this, because if you want me to handle it, you’ll be grounded from that car for a month.” There was a moment of silence between them. PJ took a deep breath.

“Dad I can’t handle the cost of fixing my brakes!”

“And I can’t handle disrespect in a house where everything you have, we give you!” Tom snapped back. “If we don’t deserve your respect, what makes you think you deserve our money?!” PJ fixed his gaze on his mother Jane. She could feel his eyes on her and refused to look up. She said nothing. PJ grabbed his keys and left just as quickly as he came. Tom looked at Jane. Finally, she lifted her eyes from the pot of ground beef bubbling on the stove. She threw a grape at him. He caught it. Jane rolled her eyes.

“That was supposed to hit you.” She said, “You’re being too hard on him.”

“No, I’m not.” Tom said. “I saw PJ fiddling with his brakes before he left for school this morning. I called Roy over at the shop and asked if he could help me out. He’s gonna give PJ a hard time for me. PJ will probably call you and ask you to pick him up. Roy’s gonna fix the car, but PJ’s gonna come home with a bill. What he doesn’t know is that I’ve already paid it. That boy needs to be taught a lesson about respect and gratitude, and when this is over, I hope he’s learned it. Brakes are expensive as hell.” Tom said. Jane smirked in agreement.

“If they cost this much now, in 2022, I can only imagine how much they’ll cost 50 years from now.” Tom reached for another one of William’s grapes. Like lightening, William whacked Tom’s hand. His parents gasped. Not only did the smack seem to come out of nowhere, but it hurt. Then He shot is father the dirtiest look Tom had ever seen and said one word:

“Mine.” William grabbed his things and went out to the front yard. His parents stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. They laughed.

_____

A black stream of light came down from the sky. The man landed on a bush and rolled himself onto the concrete. He dusted himself off, looking around to see if he recognized anything. He noticed a tree on the corner he vividly remembered climbing as a boy. He sighed in relief. He was in his childhood neighborhood. The world he stepped back into was vastly different from the world he lived in. Even the way it smelled was fresher and less pained than his reality. It all felt… ignorant… and something about that felt safe. He walked down the street and saw a boy playing in a garden-- just the person he was looking for. He crossed the street to talk to him.

“Nice truck, William,” He said. William stared up at the man. He had no idea who this elderly person was, yet the person knew his name.

“Who are you?” William said. Who am I? The man thought. Seeing the absolute purity in the boy’s face, he thought it best to just tell him the truth.

“My name is Paul.” The man said. William smiled.

“Hi, Mr. Paul. Nice to meet you.” William, a 7-year-old boy, put out his hand to the old man with every bit of confidence he could muster. Paul smiled, shaking William’s hand firmly. “My brother’s name is Paul!” He said, returning his attention to his toy truck. “We call him PJ. He’s the best brother ever.”

“Really?” Paul's smile softened. “And what’s so special about him?” William thought briefly.

“Hmmmm…. Well, he reads me comic books sometimes, and every Saturday he takes me out for breakfast if we’re the only ones up.” William snickered as if that was his best-kept secret. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. Where are you from?”

“If I tell you, you can’t tell anybody. Promise?” William nodded, eyes widening at the suspense. “I am from the future,” Paul said. The excitement left William’s eyes as if it were flipped off with a light switch. 

“Yeah right.” He rolled his eyes. “Prove it.” And Paul did just that. He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to William. William was astonished. “That’s a P4301 Thrasher! This truck isn’t supposed to come out til next year!” His eyes grew as he looked at Paul. “You are from the future!!!”

“I told you so.” Paul said gently.

“Okay!” William pushed his old car aside. It slid all the way to the tree at the end of the yard. “Tell me about the future.” Paul fell silent. He knew many things about the future, but most were not the kind of things one would advertise to a 7-year-old. He began carefully.

“Bacon is even better than before.”

“REALLY?”

“Yes, really. All video games are made in 3D, and we only have 2 seasons: Summer and Winter.”

“Wow! That’s cool!” William cheered. His cheering slowly faded into wonderment. “What is my family up to?”

“Laura is a college teacher, so a professor. Alaina is a writer. Your parents lived in this house for a long time and grew old together. Your family is full of love.” William smiled at the old man.

“What about PJ?” Paul breathed deeply.

“PJ is fine.” He said, “He worked as a mechanic for some time, but his injury made that hard.”

“PJ’s gonna get hurt? Oh no…” William said. “Well, am I okay in the future?” Paul’s eyes grew sad. Just then, Jane called to William and let him know it was almost time to come inside. Paul used this interruption to change the subject.

“William, in the future your brother and I know each other well. I might be his only friend. He asked me to come and find you. He wanted you to know that… he’s sorry.” Paul spoke frantically, “He never meant for anything to happen to you. He loved you with all is heart, and he’s sorry.” The boy had no idea what to say. After all, he was 7. He paused and then turned to Paul.

“You said you’re his only friend?” Paul nodded. William threw his arms around the old man in a tight embrace. “Give him this for me? Please?” Paul held back tears. He nodded. Then, William ran into the house. He came back with a piece of paper and crayons. With the best handwriting he had, he wrote a letter. He asked Paul for help with spelling. He drew a little smiley face next to his message, folded the paper, and held it out to Paul. “Could you give this to him?” Paul closed William’s tiny fingers around the piece of paper.

“Actually, I think it would mean even more, if you held on to it, and gave it to PJ when he gets home.” William nodded. “You have a great day, okay?”

“It was nice to meet you, Mr. Paul,” William said.

“It was good to see you, Mr. William.” William held the note tightly in his hand as he went inside. 

_____

 Jane’s phone rang. Roy was calling. She handed the phone off to her Husband. Tom answered.

“Hey, Roy. What’s up?... What do you mean he wouldn’t let you fix his brakes?... Yes, you were supposed to give him a hard time, but after you told him the total, you were supposed to tell him that I paid for it. You didn’t tell him?... Okay, well when he gets here, I’ll send him back. Thank you for calling Roy. Alright, bye-bye.” Tom handed the phone back and went outside. He found crayons, a truck, and a bowl in the yard. “William, you left your things in the yard. Could you come and get them, please?” William came running.

"Sorry!"

"That's okay son. Thank you for cleaning up." Tom stood there for a moment, seeing what looked like PJ's car from a ways off, and walked back into the house. William quite enjoyed being outside, so he took his time.

           PJ was going to run inside and beg his father to pay the bill. He didn’t care how long it took to fix, he just knew he couldn’t afford it. He sped down the road. As he approached the house he attempted to slow down… the brakes stuck. He kept pressing and pressing his foot down on the brakes, but the car would not slow down. Too focused on his brakes, he took his eyes off the road. Before he knew it, he was headed for the tree at the end of his front yard. PJ took his hands off the wheel, shielding himself from the danger ahead. His van rammed into the tree. Glass flew, leaving nothing but shards in the windshield’s frame. PJ lost feeling in one of his legs. He was hurting in places that had never experienced pain. His eyes went dark as he fell unconscious. At the sound of the collision, Jane rushed outside. She shrieked the name of the Child she saw first.

“WILLIAM!!!!!!” 

_____

Laura, Alaina, Jane, and Tom sat in the waiting room at Promise Hospital, awaiting news about William and PJ. They wept together in fear of what the doctor could say. At the doctor’s call, they rose slowly, holding each other’s hands, and followed the doctor to PJ’s room.

“Paul suffered a concussion. He also has a broken rib and several broken bones in his left leg. He may never walk the same, but he will make it.” The doctor said this, but the expressions on their faces remained unchanged.

“What about William?” Jane said. The doctor fell silent. “I need you to tell me. Where is my son?”

“... I’m sorry Mrs. Wellman. We did all that we could to save his life. The impact of the crash did a great deal to his internal organs. Our doctors couldn’t stop his internal bleeding. I am truly sorry.” Tom and Jane crumbled. The weight of the world was on their shoulders and neither of them knew how to carry it. They shared the news with their daughters. They wept. Their parents Consoled them as best they could. The 4 of them transitioned to PJ’s hospital room. They seemed to take turns crying and sitting in silence. A nurse brought in a bag containing William’s clothes. Jane pulled his T-shirt out of the bag. She wrapped her arms around it and wept. Tom took the shorts from her lap and held them up to look at them. He felt something in the pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and opened it. William’s message brought him to tears. Tom went to the front desk and asked for tape. Once he had received it, he took the note and taped it to the wall for everyone to see. It read:

Dear PJ,

I love you. And I forgive you. 

Love,

William

Jane read the note and buried her face in William’s shirt. Alaina began to cry even harder than before, and Laura smiled through tears at the memory of how thoughtful her little brother always was. Tom walked over to his son PJ and watched as he slept. He kissed his head and stroked his cheek. 

“I’m so sorry PJ. I love you. I hope you know that.” Tom said, “Everything is going to be okay.”

_____

The Old man could see the family from the window in their hospital room. He smiled at them from a distance. A door appeared, ready to take him back to his life. Closing his eyes, he stepped through to the other side. He was back in Tobias’ dark lab. Tobias was there… holding a knife. 

“Did you get the peace you were searching for, old man?” Tobias asked. Paul reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“Yes.” Paul smiled. “I got my… piece.” He said. Paul chuckled. He laid himself down on the table in the center of the room, closing his eyes. He was ready.

“Funny,” Tobias said, “If only there was something you could have done to keep your little brother from dying at all.” Paul thought for a moment. Is there something I could have done? The thought made him uneasy. Tobias raised the knife over his head.

“WAIT!” Paul cried out. But it was too late. He may have traveled through time, but his time… was up.