Hi!
I hope you enjoy this story. A little something that I thought up. Review, please!
This takes place in 1930s or so, and it's all human.
A blinding flash of light was all it took to change my world and my perspective forever.
Mother had sent me to go to the baker's and get some bread. "Nothing will happen," she insisted. "Besides, it might be good for you to…to get out of the house for a bit." She cast an anxious look at the other room, where we could both hear coughing. "It will be all right, Bella. I'm sure of it."
I sigh now as I head out the door. I have to hurry back home, no matter how unhealthy my mother thinks it will be for me. I have to see Alice one last time before…before…
I push those thoughts aside. Clutching my basket tighter to my arm, I hurry as fast as I can across the cobblestoned road. This street is always one of the quieter ones, but today it's positively abandoned.
This is why it takes me by surprise so much when there's a blinding flash of light.
I scream and topple over, shielding my eyes. It's brighter than the stars, brighter than the sun, and it's right in the middle of the street. What is going on?
The light dims and goes away. There's silence and smoke. Coughing, I try to fan it away as my watering eyes open again.
Sitting before me, right in the middle of the street, is the strangest contraption I have ever seen. There are lots of odd handles and adjustments and attachments. It appears to be made out of some sort of metal. There are strange things on the middle that I think are called gears, and the machinery is so complex that I can't even begin to understand it.
And in the middle of it all is a man.
He's coughing, too. Maybe it took him by surprise just as much as me.
Standing up, he looks around and surveys the scene. He's got a shock of bronze-colored hair, but he doesn't look like anyone I've ever seen. It's styled oddly. His eyes are a bright, wonderful green. His skin is smooth and dark. I shiver and touch my own skin, which I wish was as light as Mother's.
He's wearing some sort of white dress. Why is he wearing a dress?
"Hang on," he exclaims. "This can't be right. Am I in the past?"
I frown at him, confused. I don't understand what on earth he's talking about.
He stomps a foot on the ground. "No! I was supposed to go into the FUTURE, not the past! What a horrible mistake. Of all the idiotic, boneheaded…" His words trail off into mutterings as he looks around.
Then he looks at me.
I stare at him. Mother has always told me not to converse with people that I don't know, and even so, I shouldn't say anything unless I'm spoken to. But I can't help myself this time. I've got to say something. He's staring right at me, looking like he's just seen a ghost…
"Why are you wearing a dress?" I blurt out.
He stares at me. "This isn't a dress," he says stiffly. "This is a lab coat. I'm an inventor, and wearing one is a safety precaution. Haven't you ever seen one of these?"
"Er…no," I say, not sure how to respond to this strange man. What on earth is going on here?
He relaxes slightly. "I suppose you're as good of a person as any to show me around," he says at last. He hops down from his contraption and bounces toward me, rubbing his hands together eagerly. I stare at him in astonishment. Why is he walking so oddly? No one walks like that.
"All right, then," he says. "Show me your entire town. I want to see everything!"
I shake my head, forgetting to be respectful in my panic. "No!" I cry. "Please, sir, I have to get home. I have to go back to my home right now."
He stares at me, seeming shocked. "I thought you were all supposed to be obedient back in the past," he said at last. "What time period am I in, exactly?"
I stare at him, not comprehending.
He sighs and points to his machine. "I am from 2013," he says, his voice slow, his words loud.
I still don't get it.
"This machine helps me time travel," he snaps impatiently. "I'm from the future."
The words hit me like a wrecking ball. He's from…from the future?
How is that possible? It's not. It can't be. This is impossible.
But if it is…
I feel sunburned, afraid, thirsty, and half-insane as the sun beats down on me. Maybe this is just a hallucination. My nerves have been stretched so thin these past few days that I feel ready to snap. Maybe I have snapped already. Maybe that's why I'm imagining strange men in dresses and contraptions traveling here from the future.
The scene swims oddly before my eyes. He's from the future, I think wildly.
If he's from the future, can he help Alice?
I lurch forward and grab his hand.
"Say, you don't look so well," he says slowly. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Come with me!" I gasp. "You have to come back with me right now!"
"I can't leave the time ma—aagh!" He's dragged forward as I yank him along behind me. I don't have enough sense left to tell myself that I shouldn't be behaving this way. I just need to get him back home with me. To Alice. Now. Before it's too late.
"What's your name?" he manages at last, still stumbling along behind me.
I consider this for a minute. Surely it's safe to tell him…
"Bella," I say at last. "My name is Isabella.. And yours?"
"Er…Edward," he says, sounding confused.
I frown. "Hmm," I say quietly. "I don't know anyone around here with that name…"
Before he can respond, we're back home. I drag him into our house. I can hear coughing on the other side of the curtain.
My mother comes forward to meet me, her face pale and sweaty. "Bella," she whispers, looking terrible. "I think that…I think that Alice is going to…"
"No," I gasp. "No, no, no! She can't!"
"Bella, you can't go see her, you might catch it—,"
"I have to," I yell at Mother, tears running down my face. "I have to see her, and you can't stop me."
She looks positively appalled at my behavior, but I'm past caring.
Alice…
I shove past her and into the next room, dragging Edward behind me.
"Wait! Who is that man?" Mother shouts after me, but we both ignore her. Edward looks confused and a little frightened.
I see her instantly, of course. She's in the bed, the weak light shining down onto her face that's been so cheerful and happy in the past, her black hair that should be bright and spiky but is now limp and plastered to her face. She used to be so happy, so healthy… That all seems lifetimes ago, though.
The covers are pulled up to her chin. I can see how she's shivering, but I can see the sweat on her face. It's been so healthy and rosy, but now it's a frightening shade of ashen.
"Alice," I say quietly.
She turns her head—it seems to take all of her energy—and sees me. Her face splits into a weak smile, only an echo of her famous grin, but still there all the same.
Her skin is so red that it looks burned by the sun. It's peeling in many places, and I see Edward's face screw up into a disgusted grimace. I glare at him. It isn't her fault that she looks this way.
"Bella," she coughs. Her voice is so weak and frail that I have to strain to hear her. "I'm glad…I got to see you…one last time."
"No," I say frantically, dropping to my knees beside her bed and taking her little hand in both of mine. "No, Alice, don't talk like that. You're going to be all right. It will be just fine. You're going to get better!"
"What's the matter with her?" Edward whispers.
"Scarlet fever," I say desperately. "We don't know how…we can't…" I don't finish.
My sister on the bed coughs and looks up at Edward. "Who's that?" she whispers.
"This is Edward, Alice." I say it in a very quiet voice so I don't disturb her. "He's from the future, or so he says."
The old Alice, my sister before she got sick, would have laughed and questioned this. But now she just smiles weakly up at Edward.
"Please," I beg him. "If you're really from the future, you can help her, can't you?"
He looks afraid. "I don't think I can, Bella," he whispers. "I don't know how to cure scarlet fever. I'm an inventor, not a scientist. And even if I did, I don't think that you have the right medicines in this time."
I feel like I'm collapsing onto myself. Everything I know, my entire world, my beautiful baby sister Alice, is all slipping away from me. This man was my last hope. But he can't help her. He can't save her.
I let out a dry sob and fall back onto my knees.
Alice stretches out a frail hand, and Edward takes it, looking awkward and confused.
"The future," she whispers. "What is it like there? Is it better than it is here?"
"Well, I…" Edward is uncomfortable now. "What is it like here?"
Alice begins to speak, but I talk over her, speaking only to Edward now. I don't want to make her talk and tire her out more than I have to.
"It's terrible," I say roughly. "Everything is hard and cold here. Almost no one has jobs, and even fewer have money. The economy has been completely thrown into the trash." I sigh and slump down next to the bed. "I'm not sure if America will ever recover from this depression."
It's like a light comes on in Edward's eyes. "The Great Depression…" he murmurs.
I don't know what he means by that, so I choose to ignore it and continue. "It's like the Yankees are all anyone cares about," I mutter bitterly. "Lots of people have to leave because there aren't any good job opportunities." I'm quiet.
"Like Dad," Alice whispers.
I stare at her, wide-eyed. I don't know how she always understands what I'm thinking, what I want to say but don't.
"But there are good things about this time period," Alice says in a raspy voice, using up a lot of her energy just to get the words out. "There are the Fireside Chats…and President Roosevelt, don't forget about him! And all these wonderful inventions that are coming out…like board games."
"But we don't have good food or money or an economy or medicines," I say miserably.
"What's the future like?" Alice whispers to Edward again, not listening to me.
He sighs. "I don't know what to tell you," he says sadly. "There are good parts and bad parts, I guess…our economy in 2013 isn't very good, either. Gas prices are really high, and…"
"How high?" I interrupt, barely understanding what he's saying.
"You don't want to know, trust me." His voice is grim. "There are lots of cars…and stores…there are a lot of mean folks out there. People get murdered and robbed, and crime is everywhere…"
"What about the good things?" Alice whispers. I want to scream at Edward, to hit him. Why is he bringing up so many painful things from this future when my sister is clinging to life?
"We have hospitals," he whispers back, and his face begins to brighten. "Wonderful medicines. People are cured of illnesses and diseases everywhere. We've made so many different scientific discoveries, and we have lots of new inventions. There are wonderful things in life. Like fairs or theme parks or roller coasters. Like picnics and fireworks and celebrating holidays. Like friends and family." He grins. "We have board games in our time, too. And you know what? I love them."
"And this depression that's taken over our economy." Alice's voice is so small that we can barely hear her. "Does it end?"
"Yes," Edward tells her firmly. "Yes, it does. Things get better, Alice. Times get better. People are employed. We dig ourselves out of this hole. We have a brighter future."
Alice smiles, seeming at peace for the first time in quite awhile. Her tiny pixie face shines with a new light, a new hope that I haven't seen in a long time. For a moment, it's like she isn't sick, like she's going to be okay. "Thank you," she whispers before her eyes close.
I frantically lunge forward, but she's still breathing. She hasn't died. She's just sleeping.
"I should go back now," Edward whispers. "Back to my own time. I don't belong here."
I stand up, my heart heavy. "I'll take you back to your machine," I whisper.
We leave out through the front door. Mother doesn't even try to stop us, only stares with wide eyes.
As we stroll down the street, Edward closes his eyes. It bothers me. I don't want him to cover up his beautiful eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I'm sorry I couldn't help your sister."
"You did, though," I say gently, touching his arm. "You gave her hope. Maybe…" I let out a shuddery sigh. "Maybe she'll pull through this after all."
We've reached his machine, and he climbs in. "I almost feel that I lied to her, though," he says miserably. "There are so many rotten things in our future that I didn't mention…"
I touch his arm again. "But there are also good people," I say quietly. "People like you who will comfort a sick child with stories about their world. And as long as there are good people, I don't mind so much."
He winks at me. "You'll be an old lady in my time," he tells me. "Maybe…maybe you'll be…"
"I hope not," I say. "Try to find me, all right? I'll be waiting for you. Bella Swan."
He nods.
I take a step back as there's another flash of light. I can barely make out the sight of him grinning and waving at me, and then he's gone.
I slowly wander back down the street, wondering if maybe I dreamed about Edward. He came and went so quickly that it could be.
Then I think of the smile that Alice had on her face just before we left, and I wonder if anything but a strange man from the future could have put it there.
Times sure are hard in the 1930s, but from what I've heard, we've got some good days ahead of us. We just have to keep on going until then.
I see a car in front of the house. It looks like the doctor's here.
"—don't understand it," I hear him saying. "It almost looks like her fever might break!"
I smile.
I'm going to do an epilogue, for those who are interested. Review, please! I hope you enjoyed the story so far.