AUTHOR'S NOTE: I had writer's block again, so I looked up some writing ideas, and one of the ideas inspired me to write this story. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to "Meet the Robinsons."

STORY #24: Cornelius' Letter

STORIES OF REFERENCE: Disaster; Trouble (Ch. 1); Saving the Future

NARRATOR: Cornelius/Lewis

MAY 1, 2037 – TODAYLAND, NORTH MONTANA, USA

I sat in the lab at home, trying to think of what to invent next. I was already tired, but, as always, I am too inspired to sleep. However, no ideas came to my mind. I had decided to turn in for the night.

"Good evening, Lewis."

I turned to my left to see Carl, my second real invention, enter the room with a smile on his face, and I returned it.

"Good evening, Carl."

"Everyone is in bed, including Wilbur," Carl announced happily.

"How is Wilbur?" I asked. "After everything that has happened, I'm concerned for him."

"I could say the same thing about you," Carl replied. "Your life has literally changed drastically because of everything Wilbur's done."

"Carl, it wasn't completely Wilbur's fault. Karena and Wilbur helped me see that."

"They are quite a couple, aren't they?"

I chuckled. Wilbur surprised me with the news that he and Karena had started a relationship. I told him I was concerned, but I allowed Wilbur to visit Karena in the past to let him reveal any feelings he had hidden from her.

"How is Wilbur doing?" I asked. "Has he been doing better since our visit with Karena?"

"Well, he's still depressed," Carl answered. "But sometimes, I'll visit him in the time lab and I'll see him writing. He would tell me that he was taking a break from cleaning and writing his thoughts down on paper."

"I wonder where he got the paper from."

"Trees?"

I opened my mouth to retort, but I thought better of it. We didn't carry paper in the house, but knowing Wilbur, he was resourceful.

"I hope Wilbur truly learned his lesson from all of this," I said out loud.

"Just from seeing the look on his face every day, I think he has," Carl replied. "Well, is there anything you need from me, Lewis?"

"No, thank you, Carl. You may shut down for the night."

"Good night, Lewis."

"Good night, Carl."

I watched Carl shut himself down, and I continued to stare down at my desk with a blank piece of paper in front of me. Then, I started writing words down.

"Dear Lewis,

I'm you from the future – 2037, to be exact. As of this writing, we have met almost two years ago from your time when Wilbur, your future son, brought you here. I hope your new family is everything you have desired throughout all those years in the orphanage. Lucille and Bud have been the most inspiring people I have ever met, and I hope they have inspired you as well.

I remember everything that I had gone through before and after Wilbur brought you to the future, and I just wanted to give you some advice from all that I had learned since that fateful day 30 years ago. Things had been hard for me the first year of being adopted, and I'm sure it was hard for you, too. You graduated from junior high, and you're taking both high school and college classes. And you're almost ready to graduate with your bachelor's degree! I hope that you are very proud of yourself after all you had gone through to get there. With that said, take a long, deserved break. But, knowing you and me, you'll be spending your whole summer trying to come up with new ideas for new inventions. Don't give up with Carl. Carl is the greatest friend Wilbur and I could ever ask for.

As far as Franny goes, just always keep her on your mind and communicate with her. I know at first, it was a struggle just trying to start a conversation with her. You had known that she would be your wife in the future, but don't let that stay in your head. Just treat Franny as if you didn't know her from the future and be yourself around her. One of the things I have done is inviting her to watch me invent things. She loves science, too. Knowing her, she would love to watch you work. Franny still loves watching me work to this day. Also, invite Goob over and have him help you just like he did at the orphanage, and help him in return. He may resent you for it, but it will also serve as a good reminder to why you two are such good friends.

Always ask your parents for advice. Both Lucille and Bud are fantastic with it, and you'll need it for the future with everyone you encounter, not just with Franny and Carl. And you may not get along with everybody you will encounter at first. But do not be stubborn. Learn about them and find some common ground, and they will respect you for it. I am telling you this because when Art and Gaston move in, they will go through some tough times. They will need you there to guide them to a new future. And the same goes for Laszlo and his family, and for Aunt Billie and Uncle Joe. They all will have gone through some sort of hardship before moving into the house. I just wanted you to be prepared for that and be able to guide all of them, to the best of your ability, to a fresh start in Todayland.

And last, but not least, always keep moving forward. I was discouraged at first when I couldn't come up with any new ideas for new inventions, just as I am today. But don't ever give up. You have your whole life ahead of you, and so do I. And I'm serious. I'm 42 years old as of this letter. I still have years to go before my time's up, and I refuse to spend it feeling sorry for myself, which I still do from time to time. Keep your head held high, Lewis, and you will soar across the sky someday.

To infinity and beyond,

Cornelius Robinson."

I glanced at the clock, and I started heading up to my room at three o'clock in the morning.

MAY 17, 2037

"Wilbur," I said, shaking his arms to wake him up.

He moaned after I singsonged his name, and he was awake after a few minutes of my shaking his shoulders.

"Morning, Dad," Wilbur said sleepily.

"Happy birthday, son," I told him with a smile on my face.

"Some birthday," Wilbur replied, and he sounded depressed. "I'm still grounded, even after I cleaned up the time lab."

"Well, go on and get dressed. Grandma Lucille made a delicious breakfast for you."

"Thanks, Dad."

I walked onto the levitation platform and felt myself go down to the first floor, and I walked out of his room and into the living room where Aunt Billie's train was already waiting. I got in the train and was greeted by my aunt.

"Hiya, Cornelius! Where to? Robinson Industries?"

"No, Aunt Billie. Take me to the basement, please."

"You got it! You're going to love it now that Wilbur's cleaned it up."

I smiled as I felt the train move throughout the house, and it eventually stopped at the basement. I walked out of the train and walked toward Evelyn, the robot receptionist.

"Good morning, Cornelius."

"Good morning, Eve," I replied with a smile, walking past her and into the halls, which was just as clean as I made them to be.

The floors were shiny as well as I continued to walk along, and I saw that the doors were fixed.

"Maybe Karena was right," I thought out loud, running my fingers all along the red door. "Wilbur is just as smart and capable as I am."

I continued to walk into a big room where my prototype time machine was in display behind a dome-shaped window. But, I didn't go through the main door, because Wilbur was restricted from going in the time lab. Instead, I went the way he went to get the prototype time machine, which was the longer way around to the time lab.

When I got to the robot security control, I saw that they were fixed. I remembered Wilbur telling me that right after he fixed it, he got sent right back to his room. I had to explain to the robot sentries that Wilbur was cleaning the time lab for me, and they backed off on doing what they were built to do. I had to say the same thing to the advanced robot sentries as Wilbur had moved on to the next rooms.

One thing that Wilbur did not find was the hover board that I had kept hidden while building the entire time lab. I took the hover board out of a nearby closet and used it to go around the soda paths. The entire area looked clean with no scraps left behind, as did the rest of the halls leading up to the time lab.

Lastly, I went into the time lab itself, where I had previously found a mess that Wilbur had made. Wilbur had destroyed the robot guardian that I had upgraded so that no one would be able to steal that particular time machine. Little did I know that it was the second time machine that needed guarding, and that prompted Wilbur to go through all of this. And even that was clean. The only thing that was missing was the robot guardian.

"The robot guardian! Why didn't I think of this two weeks ago?"

I paused and smiled, convinced that Wilbur did a good job cleaning the time lab. I got out the main door and back to Aunt Billie's train, which took me back to the living room. I was tempted to take the travel tube from the living room to the dining room, but I walked there instead, not wanting to disturb Wilbur's birthday breakfast. I walked around the table until I got to my wife Franny, and I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Can we talk for a minute?" I asked in a whisper.

Franny followed me up the travel tube to Wilbur's room.

"Lewis, why are we in Wilbur's room?" Franny asked.

"Because it's about Wilbur."

"What did he do now?" Franny asked with a raised eyebrow, as if she was not surprised if he did anything wrong.

"What, no! He didn't do anything wrong! He did the opposite, actually."

Franny relaxed her expression.

"Do you know of how I grounded Wilbur by making him clean the time lab, a mess he made?" Franny nodded before I continued. "He did. Not only did he clean the entire time lab, but he also fixed the doors."

"What do you mean by 'fixed the doors?'" Franny asked, still not believing me.

"He made completely new doors, just like the ones I made. He fixed everything!"

"I've gotta see this for myself," Franny replied, still carrying that flat expression.

"Trust me, Fran, it looks brand new."

"Lewis, you were right," Franny said, coming back to Wilbur's room twenty minutes later. "Wilbur outdid himself."

"I think Wilbur has been grounded long enough," I replied with a smile. "What do you think? When I woke him up, he sounded depressed."

"I've noticed that, too," Franny replied. "I think he really is guilty for everything he's done. Usually, he's optimistic, even after he's grounded, but this time, I haven't seen a smile on his face at all."

"It is his birthday."

"It's not just because it's his birthday," Franny said, shaking her head. "Karena's a part of his life now. What if he spends his birthday, all day, depressed because he can't see her?"

"What do you think of Karena?" I asked.

"I absolutely adore her!" Franny replied with some enthusiasm. "Sure, I helped fix her up and give her new clothes that day because she looked like a mess, but I'm more impressed with the way she helped our son move forward. I think Wilbur needs to see her on his birthday."

"Karena did show some affection toward Wilbur when he and I traveled to the past using the remote," I explained. "They really do care for each other. Wilbur's done more than prove that he's learned from his mistakes."

I watched Franny let out a sigh.

"You're right."

"And so are you, Fran. Let's go talk to Wilbur. But let me get something first."

I grabbed the letter I wrote to my younger self and waited for Franny and Wilbur in the latter's room, who arrived ten minutes later.

"How was breakfast, Wilbur?" I asked.

"It was delicious," Wilbur answered with half the enthusiasm he usually carried. "I love that Grandma put orange slices on the top of my pancakes."

"So, we need to talk," Franny started.

"I talked to your mother about what you told me, and we've come to a decision."

"We both went to the time lab and we both agreed that you did an amazing job at cleaning it all up."

"Thank you," Wilbur replied, but he still looked depressed.

"I was the most impressed that you took the time to fix all the doors and make new ones," I told him.

"And we both agreed that you have proven to us, and more, that you have learned from your mistakes," Franny finished.

"So, Wilbur, how are you feeling?" I asked.

"I think the worst punishment is being away from her," Wilbur answered. "Mom, I know you've grounded me for life, and Dad, I know you've brought that down to a month. But I don't know if I can wait anymore."

"Do you feel that you've learned from your mistakes?" I asked.

"I've learned them long before you grounded me to the time lab, Dad," Wilbur answered. "Karena helped me understand that. She taught me what it means to take responsibility for my actions. I promise to be a better person from now on."

"Wilbur, you already are just from accepting your responsibility to clean the time lab," Franny assured him. "And you upheld your end and made the time lab more impressive than it was before."

"I couldn't build a new robot guardian, Dad."

"Don't worry about that, Wilbur," I replied. "I ran out of ideas a couple weeks ago. I had forgotten about the robot guardian until this morning. I'm going to make a new one. Actually, there's something I want to show you."

Wilbur gave me an interested look as I handed him my letter.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Open it."

He opened the letter.

"You're writing to yourself?" he asked with a perplexed expression.

"Not just myself," I answered with a smile. "To myself in 2008. I was inspired to write that, but not to come up with any new ideas."

I watched Wilbur read the letter out loud. When he finished, he looked up at me with hope in his brown eyes.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"He'd like it," Wilbur answered. "Are you actually planning on giving this to him?"

"I think that is up to you to decide."

"Why me?" Wilbur asked, clearly confused.

"You know me, and you know him. And we've decided that you're not grounded anymore. I'm still hesitant on letting you use the time machine, but if it's just for that one purpose, then I don't see why not. If you do decide to go back to the past, just drop it in the mailbox, all right?"

"I think that's perfect," Wilbur replied with a smile on his face, which quickly faded. "What about Karena? I was hoping to see her."

"We're going to let you see her," Franny revealed.

"Really?" Wilbur asked with his jaw dropped.

"You need to see her, Wilbur," Franny explained. "She was there for you when you were unsure of where to go. I know this is what you want, Wilbur, so please, go see her… for me? And for you?"

"I'll tell her you said hi," Wilbur answered, his smile coming back before wrapping both of us in a hug. "I love you both."

"We love you too, Wilbur," I replied.

"Dad, can you walk me to the time machine?" Wilbur asked.

"I'd love to."

Wilbur and I took the travel tube to the living room, and I entered in the code I created for the garage. We went outside, and then I applied my hand to the secured door to let us in.

"Don't take too long, Wilbur," I told him, and he gave me a thumbs up as he left the house in the blue time machine.

It only took him a minute to come back.

"How was it?" I asked as Wilbur got out of the time machine.

"It felt surreal seeing what this house looked like back in 2008," Wilbur answered. "But I dropped it in the mailbox. I traveled back in time to his birthday."

"My younger self would love it," I replied with smile on my face. "Here."

I handed Wilbur the remote that transported Karena to this world.

"Go to her now. And have fun."

"Thanks, Dad," Wilbur replied.

I watched him push the button on the remote, and a portal showed up. He walked through the portal before he and the portal went away. After he was gone, I took the travel tube back to the living room and walked back to my lab.

NOVEMBER 2, 2008 – TODAYLAND, SASKETCHAWAN, CANADA

It was my birthday, and it was my goal to finish building Carl. I didn't care about the birthday cake or ice cream. I just wanted a sense of accomplishment.

I put the last missing piece on my new robot friend, and I flipped the switch to turn him on. But, I heard whistling, instead, and I prepared myself for an explosion.

BOOM!

"Argh!" I exclaimed angrily. "What am I doing wrong?"

"Cornelius!"

I heard my mom call my name from downstairs. I decided that I needed a break and walked through the hallway and into the living room.

"What is it, Mom?" I asked.

"There's a letter for you," Mom answered. "But there's no return address. I wonder who wrote it to you?"

"Thanks, Mom."

I took the letter from my mom and sat down at the kitchen counter that both my parents worked together to build. I opened up the letter and smiled at the first sentence:

"I'm you from the future – 2037, to be exact."

The letter was from the future, written by me. Somehow, I knew Wilbur was behind the letter, and I even wondered if he wrote it to inspire me. But the more I read, the more convinced I was that Wilbur did not write the letter; Wilbur never called his grandparents by their first names, and he never called his mom by her first name.

The letter continued to inspire me and put a smile on my face every time I read it, especially the part where I told myself to not give up on Carl. Feeling inspired to keep moving forward, I went back to the lab, and I tried again to build Carl. This was the third attempt at making Carl, and suddenly…

"Lewis, it's time for your birthday cake and ice cream!" my mother called out.

"Could you bring it in here, please?" I yelled back.

"It's your birthday!" Mom yelled. "Dad and I want to celebrate with you!"

"Can't you two celebrate in here?" I yelled back. "I really want to start on Carl again!"

There was a moment of silence, and then I heard footsteps coming from my left. It was my mom, holding a single slice of cake and a scoop of ice cream to the side.

"What happened?" Mom asked with concern in her brown eyes.

"Carl blew up again," I answered with a smile on my face.

"And you're happy about it?"

"This letter told me to keep moving forward, so that's what I'm going to do."

"Who was the letter from?" Mom asked with a smile on her face.

"A friend," I answered. "A very good friend."

"Franny?"

Yes. Thank you!

"Yeah."

"Keep her around, Lewis," Mom advised me. "May I celebrate your birthday with you?"

"Sure!"

I ate my cake and ice cream before working on Carl again with my mom's help. By the end of the night, we already had all of the parts in place, but could not finish him yet. I'd have to wait until tomorrow to try to finish him.