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As he entered the strange world, the air immediately got crisper, cooler. The fact that he had expected it didn't change how it affected him every time. The hair down his spine stood straight and he grabbed onto his jacket a little tighter. He was already out of place with his pair of jeans and blue button-down. His only hope was that the jacket shielded him against the oddity. Being transported to the new timeline was always strange. And the fact that he was always transported to the same date, July 28, 1914 even stranger.
As he shuffled out the alley, he knew exactly what to expect. Just like the other times, a woman came charging down the street with a kid. He always narrowly missed stumbling into them. So today, he made a point to take a pause before entering the street. He was learning, despite the fact that he didn’t know why or how he got sent to the same date again and again and by whom.
The whole thing was bizarre. The first time he got transported here, he’d been trying to get to work in the morning. As he walked out the door that day, he had found himself in the same alley. There was no plausible explanation for this. Still, he hadn’t feared the unknown. It’d felt like someone had finally used the correct key to unlock a door. He felt completely out of place yet right at home all in the same moment. He had felt a little frightened too because life around him was completely different than what he was used to in 2014. The clothes were different, the streets were different and so was the way people behaved. People looked stern yet happy. He was curious to know more about the people but was afraid to engage. It was bad enough that his clothes were different; he couldn’t risk being seen as an outsider so he decided not to talk to anyone at all. But, he had known it even then that there was more to this than what met the eye.
As he got to this point in his detour, he always felt a strange taste of nostalgia roll off his tongue. He knew where he had to go and it was always the same place, to the same person. He kept his head low and walked along the cobblestone street. He was almost there.
As he turned a corner, a park came into view across the street. When he saw her entering the park, his breath got hitched. She had always had that effect on him, ever since the first time.
He followed suit and quietly entered the park without garnering any attention. He trailed behind the lady reminding himself every few seconds that he shouldn’t engage. As she took a seat at a park bench, he went as far away from her as he could without losing her sight. He sat under a tree 10 ft away from her.
She was an attractive woman, soft curves of her body visible beneath the long dress she wore. She didn’t exactly have many distinctive features but she stood out. Like a firefly under a dark night sky, he never could look away. As she sat on the bench reading a book, he noticed her features minutely. She looked somehow different today. Like her eyes were too big for her face.
But that was impossible. When he time travelled, he always travelled to this exact date, into this exact moment. But how is it that he had never noticed how tense she looked. Surely he had missed it?
Something was surely up because she was clearly fidgeting in her seat. He had only ever known the woman to calmly read her book all the times he had been there. He had the slightest inkling that it all linked back to him. He retraced his steps in his mind. He tried his best to remember what he had done differently today.
He had been about to go for brunch with his family. And just as he had touched the door, he had been transported to this day. He had been thinking about going back though as he hadn’t seen her in over a week. But not so much that he could have triggered it somehow. He had not learned to cause it yet. After he had gotten here this time, the only thing he had done differently was not stumbling upon the mother and her child on the way to the park. Could an encounter so minor change the fate of events so drastically?
In the present timeline, fear poured into his bloodstream like lead. His mind started racing accompanying his heart. He stood up swiftly and tried to get away from there, from her, as inconspicuously as possible.
As he stood, so did the two men who were sitting across from him. He figured he was being followed. He tried to act like he didn’t notice it. However, the two men were quick to race up to him. Turning on his heels he ran out of the park as fast as he could.
He tried to run without stumbling onto anyone but that was quickly becoming impossible. People were all over the streets taking an evening stroll. He had to get to the alley quickly. But two men following closely on his heels was a great dilemma. The portal to the future only ever worked for him when he was alone.
If he got stuck here, he knew there would be no going back to where he came from. So he gave his all into putting a distance between him and the other two. But as he was reaching the alley, his jacket got stuck in a mail box. After promptly deciding to abandon it, he ran into the dark alley. Unsure if he'd make it till the final moment.
As he ran through the alley, a warm blast of air hit his face. And just like that, he was back in 2014 standing on the front porch of his house. He collapsed on the floor. After laying there for several minutes, he finally stood up and decided to cancel brunch as he was in no state to go. As he was walking into the house, his feet stumbled onto the newspaper.
As he picked up the paper, he saw the words "World war" sprawled out on the front page.
He straightened it out only to see "World war I- a century old tale" as the headline.
He had never known the world to have gone through a world war. As he checked the date of the war, a chill ran down his spine.
July 28, 1914.
As he shuffled out the alley, he knew exactly what to expect. Just like the other times, a woman came charging down the street with a kid. He always narrowly missed stumbling into them. So today, he made a point to take a pause before entering the street. He was learning, despite the fact that he didn’t know why or how he got sent to the same date again and again and by whom.
The whole thing was bizarre. The first time he got transported here, he’d been trying to get to work in the morning. As he walked out the door that day, he had found himself in the same alley. There was no plausible explanation for this. Still, he hadn’t feared the unknown. It’d felt like someone had finally used the correct key to unlock a door. He felt completely out of place yet right at home all in the same moment. He had felt a little frightened too because life around him was completely different than what he was used to in 2014. The clothes were different, the streets were different and so was the way people behaved. People looked stern yet happy. He was curious to know more about the people but was afraid to engage. It was bad enough that his clothes were different; he couldn’t risk being seen as an outsider so he decided not to talk to anyone at all. But, he had known it even then that there was more to this than what met the eye.
As he got to this point in his detour, he always felt a strange taste of nostalgia roll off his tongue. He knew where he had to go and it was always the same place, to the same person. He kept his head low and walked along the cobblestone street. He was almost there.
As he turned a corner, a park came into view across the street. When he saw her entering the park, his breath got hitched. She had always had that effect on him, ever since the first time.
He followed suit and quietly entered the park without garnering any attention. He trailed behind the lady reminding himself every few seconds that he shouldn’t engage. As she took a seat at a park bench, he went as far away from her as he could without losing her sight. He sat under a tree 10 ft away from her.
She was an attractive woman, soft curves of her body visible beneath the long dress she wore. She didn’t exactly have many distinctive features but she stood out. Like a firefly under a dark night sky, he never could look away. As she sat on the bench reading a book, he noticed her features minutely. She looked somehow different today. Like her eyes were too big for her face.
But that was impossible. When he time travelled, he always travelled to this exact date, into this exact moment. But how is it that he had never noticed how tense she looked. Surely he had missed it?
Something was surely up because she was clearly fidgeting in her seat. He had only ever known the woman to calmly read her book all the times he had been there. He had the slightest inkling that it all linked back to him. He retraced his steps in his mind. He tried his best to remember what he had done differently today.
He had been about to go for brunch with his family. And just as he had touched the door, he had been transported to this day. He had been thinking about going back though as he hadn’t seen her in over a week. But not so much that he could have triggered it somehow. He had not learned to cause it yet. After he had gotten here this time, the only thing he had done differently was not stumbling upon the mother and her child on the way to the park. Could an encounter so minor change the fate of events so drastically?
In the present timeline, fear poured into his bloodstream like lead. His mind started racing accompanying his heart. He stood up swiftly and tried to get away from there, from her, as inconspicuously as possible.
As he stood, so did the two men who were sitting across from him. He figured he was being followed. He tried to act like he didn’t notice it. However, the two men were quick to race up to him. Turning on his heels he ran out of the park as fast as he could.
He tried to run without stumbling onto anyone but that was quickly becoming impossible. People were all over the streets taking an evening stroll. He had to get to the alley quickly. But two men following closely on his heels was a great dilemma. The portal to the future only ever worked for him when he was alone.
If he got stuck here, he knew there would be no going back to where he came from. So he gave his all into putting a distance between him and the other two. But as he was reaching the alley, his jacket got stuck in a mail box. After promptly deciding to abandon it, he ran into the dark alley. Unsure if he'd make it till the final moment.
As he ran through the alley, a warm blast of air hit his face. And just like that, he was back in 2014 standing on the front porch of his house. He collapsed on the floor. After laying there for several minutes, he finally stood up and decided to cancel brunch as he was in no state to go. As he was walking into the house, his feet stumbled onto the newspaper.
As he picked up the paper, he saw the words "World war" sprawled out on the front page.
He straightened it out only to see "World war I- a century old tale" as the headline.
He had never known the world to have gone through a world war. As he checked the date of the war, a chill ran down his spine.
July 28, 1914.
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