Time Turned Forward

After a long and boring day of high school, homework, and binge-watching some TV shows I was tired. Naturally, I got ready for bed and flopped down onto my mattress exhausted. How can monotony be so tiring? Before I nodded off I remembered that it was daylight savings time and I needed to wind my clock forward an hour. Although my watch and phone automatically synced to the new time, my grandfather’s old pocket watch needed to be wound. It had been stuck on what is right now the correct time for as long as I can remember because it was missing some gear but I got a new one from the pawnshop to fix it. It was a beautiful watch, gold and shiny on a gold string. I looked up online how to put in the gear and turn it to the right time. I finished and fell asleep quickly.  

When I woke up nothing was the same. No bed, no house, nothing I remember but my phone and my grandfather’s watch in my hands. Instead of my house, I was in a small alley between extremely tall buildings with moss and vines growing on the sides of them. They didn’t seem overgrown, just adorned with this green embellishment. Where am I? I thought before I realized that was not the right question. As I thought this, lights and images were scattered across the buildings, the walls, and the sky. They didn’t come from screens; it seemed to be more like a projection but seemingly nothing. Hologram? 

I checked my phone but it was useless. It wasn't dead, it just didn’t work right. The screen flickered like a dying candle and when I tried to find my GPS location it just flooded my screen with probably a million updates. God, I hate technology sometimes. I tucked it into the elastic at the top of my pajama pants and started to look around. 

If I don’t know how I got here it could mean I was kidnaped or that I have some kind of memory loss. I need to figure that out. It might be dangerous. But I felt surprisingly calm, like some part of me knew that I wasn’t really in danger. 

A woman emerged on a balcony far above my head. She was tall, probably 5 foot 10 inches, but it was hard to tell from down here. Her hair was curly and she was a race I could not discern, not that it matters. It just intrigued me. Her clothes were clearly some kind of linen but still had eccentric embroidery on them. But before I could ask her where I was or what was going on she stepped back into her home. 

I walked down that alley until I reached a strip of very green grass and clover that seemed to be a walking path. What kind of city is this? All the people walking down the “street” looked like the same kind of tall, indiscernibly mixed-race people as the women from the balcony. All curly hair and dark-ish skin, but their eyes were all different colors. Brown, green, and blue of course, but also purple, red, and yellow. I had no way to know if it was natural. 

“Excuse me? Can you tell me where I am?” I asked the closest friendly face. 

“Yes. The Trandis Path.”

“No, I mean… What city? In what country?” This was the hardest and weirdest thing I ever had to ask. 

“Oh,” they were hesitant. “Were in Jauns City, Nieuwe,” They answered and then quickly walked off, probably terrified of why I didn’t know where I was. Great, that was nonsense and I can’t even google it because of my damn phone. 

For a while, I just stood there dumb in the middle of the path. I had no idea where I was, how I got there, or what to do next. 

“Excuses me, mam? Are you the new arrival we’re trying to locate?” A man in a uniform somewhere in between that of a police officer and a military personnel approached me. I had no idea what he was talking about. “Right. You may not know that information… Anyway, it was mostly a formality anyway. Please come with me.”

“Am I in trouble?” 

“Depends, how did you get to now?” He must have made a mistake with his words. 

“I have no idea how I got here,” I answered. 

“Right. Just wait until we get to the Temps officer. He’ll sort you out.” After he said this we were both quiet. I must not have been in that much trouble because he didn’t put cuffs on me or even make me walk fully within his sight. 

As I walked next to the man all eyes were on me. It made sense, I was far shorter and paler than any of them walking behind a man that must be some kind of official. It was a long walk, probably thirty to forty minutes. The scenery stayed consistent with its giant moss-covered buildings and grass laden paths instead of streets. There didn’t seem to be any kind of transportation. So either I’m in some weird part of the world I’ve never heard of. Or I’m dreaming. I really wished that I was dreaming. 

We finally arrived at a building that I guess was our destination because the official I was following walked right through its glass doors without even looking to see if I followed. I did of course because it’s not like I knew how to go where I was supposed to be. Several escalators were zig-zagging their ways up stories and we rode them up about twelve. All the while still walking. I wished we could just stand and let them do the work but my guide didn’t seem to understand that they move so we don’t have to. 

The official had me wait on a bench outside a door that had the words “Reise Temps Office” in wooden letters on it. My guide fiddled with his wrist for a second and then a news real popped up on the wall ahead of me.

 A woman smiled and chimed a new story, “More historical districts are now being closed due to the need for more farms. Please get ready to welcome new individuals into your communities!” Then the screen paned over some normal looking houses with average looking families and their luggage outside. It was then replaced with computer-generated models of what these vertical farms would look like with all kinds of weird technology. 

“You may come in now Jenna,” said a voice on the inside. I guess I didn’t have time to dwell on the weird news message, I was just confused. 

“How do you know my name?” I walked into the large office and sat in front of his desk without being told. 

“We can guess most of the travelers based on when they historically went missing,” He gave me no time to process. “First we need to access why you came and by what means to see your punishment. I know it wasn’t a crime when you came from but our citizens would uprise if we didn’t give you some kind of punishment like they have to go through for the same crime.” 

“Crime? Missing? What?” 

“Have you not figured this out yet Jenna? Your time machine worked a good job, as far as you need to know you are the first person to make a time machine. Sadly you won’t be going home to receive that award and now we don’t reward carelessness.” He was angry. 

“I didn't make a time machine. I just tried to reset my grandpa’s watch and then I woke up and it was all different. Oh god am I really in the future? No. no! This has to be a dream just like I thought and I’ll wake up to my alarm in a few minutes and I’ll have to go to school and I’ll hate it but at least it’ll be better than this!” I lost it. This was too much. 

“Okay, well this is a new occurrence. Perhaps a short trial.” I said nothing even as he waited for me to respond. “How about we find you a job huh?” 

“I’m still in high school,” I mumbled staring at the floor, it was all I could manage. God, I still need to graduate. 

“Oh yes, historically you still would be at that age. It works a little differently now I’m afraid. While we do have schools like yours, you would be out by now. And I’m afraid I can’t put you in a historical district with other travelers like you, because as you saw, they are closing. The best I could do is a job with other young people on a farm. A nice one. That’s probably all that will take you.” He smiled. I just nodded and cried. 

“Can’t I go back?” I asked in a screech of what was left of my voice. 

“That would mess with the timeline, and this is too good for too many people for us to let you mess it up.” As he said that I held tight to the watch, but the officer pulled it from my hand harshly. He won’t give it back. Goodbye, Grandpa. 

They just took the last thing I had of my grandfather. I could never see my family again, or my friends, they had all died about a hundred years ago. So I cried for days, as they led me away, as a short trial occurred, and they chose my fate without my say. I cried as they got me in a dorm for other youth farmers, and as they gave me old worn-out clothes. I couldn’t do anything else. Everything I loved was ripped away from me!

“Hey, welcome. My name’s Zara what’s yours?” My new roommate walked up to me. I didn’t want to talk so I just turned over. I didn’t want any of this. I just wanted to go home or rather to my home time. I laid back into my new bed and rolled over towards the wall and away from this unwelcome friend. 

“Okay then. I’m gonna go eat dinner with some of the other farmers. Do you wanna come?” Once again I didn’t answer. Maybe I should have, but I just felt too broken to do anything. 

This place seemed just like a college dorm I would have gone to in a few months anyway if I was still back in my own time. There were two beds per room each of which was connected to another room by a small bathroom. The difference is that downstairs, which took up the equivalent of ten stories,  was filled entirely with plants and planting things. No classes, no professors, no clubs to join, just plants. There was both a hydroponics section with water that automatically poured through and a moving Ferris wheel type contraption holding beds of vegetables and fruits that were better in soil. Our plants were apparently superfoods that contained more nutrients than any food in my time. 

 Although I didn’t have grades to worry about, I fear I would worry about quotas and how to get maximum yield from minimum resources. I like plants and food but not enough that I want to spend my whole day with them. I want to be with my family. 

When Zara got back she brought a few other girls with her. 

“So you’re from the past right?” One of the girls asked before being hit by Zara. 

“Shut up! She’ll talk when she’s ready” she directer herself to me. “I’m sorry about her, she’s never met a temps traveler before.” I guess that’s what I was. 

The first girl looked at me with the biggest eyes, intrigued. She was smaller than the other girls but still far above my hight. The last girl hid behind the other two waiting for me to talk but not being able to look me in the eyes. 

“Yeah I’m from your past,” I finally said. 

“Didn’t you like not know how to run society and so like pollution was everywhere? Were cars fun or scary? Are all people from the past so pale? Do you think your family will be excited for you? Do you…” she just kept asking but after the questions about my family I broke down. Tears streamed down my face and my chest felt tight. Would they be excited for me if they knew? 

“Oh. I’m sorry. Which question bothered you?” 

“I’ll never get to see my family again. They’re all dead now.” No one spoke for a while. The girl in the back seemed to be softening her tense shoulders and taking occasional glances at me. 

“I thought you were dangerous and was afraid of you. I’m sorry,” the girl from the back said, starting to cry herself before leaving the room. 

Zara came and sat next to me on my bed. “Her parents died too. Not in the past but a couple of months ago.” 

Eventually, we all became friends. We would work together in the day and in the evenings we would hang out or walk around and they would fill me in on their school days and the history I missed. The evenings were fun and the work was not as hard as I thought. Although my dislike for science fogged my judgment before, working the fancy machines and watching our plants grow actually made me happy. I knew I couldn’t work anywhere else because of people’s misconceptions of people from my time. But I’m not sure I would have wanted to work anywhere else if I had been given the chance. My world was lost to time but at least I knew that the future was better than I thought. 

There was still air for us to breathe, there was clean water, and they found a way to house the large population of the new world. All my family lived well too. My parents, of course, mourned my disappearance, but my sister helped them through. They lived to be 90 years old each. My sister lived to be 92 and had a wonderfully big family with two twin daughters named after me. One Jenna likes me and the other Carol, my middle name. I may technically live to be 220 (practically 120). I hope that that can be enough for me.