In The Time Being

It was the morning of October 25 and leaves of yellow, red, orange and brown swirled upon the ground in a vortex upon my feet. The sound of a mourning dove coos in a distant tree in search of a mate, and the sun begins to rise like a volcano of colour out of the horizon to the east.

I stroll along the waterfront in the cool Autumn air, sipping on a large cup of coffee I picked up on the way. The path appears to be nearly deserted at this hour except for the various squirrels and gulls scrounging for their morning meal.

A sudden noise startled me. I looked over my shoulder to see a slender, brunette woman appear suddenly from behind a tree. The way she was dressed seemed to be from another time. Our eyes met briefly, but then she turned her glance to the side as if to say she wasn't interested. I began to continue my walk when I heard the woman shriek out as if in pain. When I turned back towards her, I now saw her clutching at her side and a red patch had spread silently around her fingers. Without hesitation, I moved towards her asking if she needed some help. Tears formed in her distant eyes as she dropped to her knees.

“My name is Paul”, I said. “Can I call an ambulance for you?” “No”, she replied. “No ambulance. They won't understand.” I responded by asking if I can call someone else for her then; perhaps a family member? “I have no family here. Please just find me a bandage so I can stop the bleeding.” “Yeah, sure. Whatever you need. What's your name?” “Rita”, she said. “I'm going to take care of you Rita. How did you get cut?” “I just scraped myself on a piece of metal getting out of my vehicle.”

After further investigation, we discovered that the wound was only superficial and the bleeding eventually stopped. I asked Rita if I could get her something to eat or drink. She coyly agreed and followed me to my car. A short distance up the road was a small cafe that had just opened for breakfast. I handed her my jacket to cover the blood stain on her blouse. We went inside and ordered. Our conversation over breakfast was much more pleasant. I had discovered that Rita had come from a small town that I had never heard of before where she worked as a Biophysicist. I found this fascinating considering her shy, timid demeanour. I ordered 2 eggs over hard with bacon and toast. Rita ordered a short stack of blueberry pancakes and a coffee.

After breakfast, Rita asked if she could tell me something, but I had to be willing to keep it a secret. I was confused, but agreed. She brought me back to a small cabin not far from where I first saw her. In behind the cabin was a tool shed and beside the shed sat a silver, metallic orb about 8 feet in length. It looked as if it had been beaten with a baseball bat several times. “What is this Rita?”, I asked. “I feel that we were meant to find one another Paul, and I believe I need to be honest with you. This may sound crazy, but I have the ability to travel through time, and this is what I arrived in.”

I stood dumbfounded for a moment wondering how I should react. All I could think to say was “How does it work?”

A smile appeared upon her face as she said “The ship is not the time machine; it is just a vessel to keep me safe during my journey. The power to travel through time is within my heart. I discovered a formula which allows the molecular structure of my body to break down, then the molecules are stored within the vessel's containment unit, This process was supposed to be used for prolonged space journeys, but for some strange reason, because of a chemical reaction in my heart, it was able to project me through time to find the person who was best matched as my soulmate. At least that is what I assume happened. That is why we met. I believe I was brought here to find you Paul. My heart has been drawn across both time and space to find my true love. This is where...and when my heart wants to stay, and I want to stay as well. I understand your disbelief, but please believe in miracles just this once.”

Trust me, I have a hard time believing it myself, and I probably wouldn't if I didn't live it. Earlier today, I was in my lab back in New Angelica preparing to travel to planetary system on the other end of the galaxy and instead I woke up in the capsule in this city that looks like something out of the earth history archives that I studied in school. You see Paul, I'm from the year 2520. In my future, none of this exists anymore. There isn't anymore of this vegetation that I see growing wild everywhere here. Everything is metal and glass. Vehicles like the ones you have here are no longer a necessity because you can get everywhere through a high speed sky transit system. The only other vehicles are capsules like the one I have here, and they are only used for long distance travel.

My brain was telling me to run away from this crazy lunatic, but something in her deep brown eyes made me stop. I felt it too. My heart began to beat faster and I became dizzy, falling to the ground. Rita lunged towards me as if to catch me and asks if I am alright. “Well”, I said, “It would appear that I have fallen for you as well.” She stood there shocked for a few seconds staring into my eyes as if she were searching my soul, and then all of a sudden, we both burst into laughter. That was the beginning of our future together. Two star-crossed lovers destined to be together.

True love is not a product of your current life, but is a force that that can stand the test of time. Rita and I are proof of that. This was the one and only time that she had used this ability of hers. We spent the rest of our lives in wedded bliss and raised a beautiful family. The vessel was stripped down and the metal from it was melted down and remade into a plaque that hangs above our front gate which reads “Two hearts beat in time together”.

The End.