Golden Week.

No school.

No notes.

Just nothing.

After sending that chip to it's designated point, I just sat around the house moping like I always did. I thought something would happen to me when I mailed it like some weather balloon falling from the sky to give me a clue but . . . Asahina-sensei wasn't giving me anything.

I was wondering if all of this was just some huge joke on the antisocial girl to make her finally realize that what she was doing was pointless.

It was pointless, wasn't it? For all I knew, it was all a fantasy written inside my mind. If I asked my mom if I had left for the convenience store the other day I'm sure she would say that she didn't remember that ever happening. I didn't ask her though; I still wanted to stay sane.

There was just one thing bothering me.

"Do I . . . know you from somewhere?"

"Onee-chan! You awake?"

"Wah–?"

I looked up to see my little neighbor's face peering towards me with concern. I sighed as I picked up my pencil and began marking down a practice problem.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep last night."

I made a couple of other scribbles on the sheet. "Here, solve this. I'm going to go get some air."

He looked down at the paper in confusion.

"But . . . isn't this a bit too easy? We did this three months ag–"

"Yeah well . . . you need to review, so do it."

"Hrmph . . . Onee-chan, ever since you saw that paper you've been different."

I froze as I began to step out the door.

"How different?"

"Well, you seem a bit . . . I don't know . . . how should I put this? Confused? Stressed? Lost? I just want you to feel better . . ."

I remained silent as I stood situated by the door handle. He then took out the papers I had hastily given him that day.

"I don't really understand this, Onee-chan. Since you wrote it, could you enlighten me?"

Wait, wasn't I here to teach you quadratic equations? I don't even remember looking over that paper I had somehow written – I was too astonished. I sat back down beside him and flipped over the papers he had set onto the table.

It was pretty hard stuff, it talked about the cycles of time and how each person was made of data. It went on explaining that since we are data we could have the data of a microchip inserted into our brains giving us unlimited information. This would also give us the power to control the data surrounding us.

But it came with a cost.

The paper (or my paper) went on, warning the audience of the dangers of knowing too much or too little. To have the knowledge of the universe. . . what would that do too a person? If you knew everything, what would happen?

You would loss interest in this world.

It (or I) went on to say –

"If we ultimately learn how to travel through time, then someone has to pick this up. I want to warn the future generations of this planet that boredom could drive anyone over the edge. The reason I know this is because . . . someone told me so. This world has things that we can never explain, so this person told me. I don't want people to get bored of that uniqueness! So, people of the future! Limit yourself of information when you travel through time. Erase your own memories or something, I'm sure it could be possible if you could time travel. I just wish . . . that all that I have done would not go to waste. I will never give up on finding him. Never."

I gripped tightly to the paper and shivered. So close. So. Close. My mind was exactly like that. No one could mimic my thinking patterns, unless this person could read minds. However, I had been thinking about this over the past week. How could someone mimic thoughts I hadn't even yet begun to think?

"So, can you help out?"

I shook my head.

"No, can't."

He frowned at this and I slide the papers over too him.

"But . . . why not?"

"You should try figuring it out yourself, you can't always expect me to help you."

"Yeah but . . . I don't really think time travel isn't going to need a machine in your brain. I thought that was weird."

I paused and looked at him suspiciously.

"Oh yeah? Well, what do you think?"

He smiled as he pushed up his glasses.

"I'll be right back!"

He then ran into his room to get something. As I waited I peered to look at the problem I had written.

Yeah, this is way too easy . . .

"I'm back!"

"That took you awhile, I can't stay here forever you know."

"It just took me a second to find everything."

He dropped a sketch book with a picture of a turtle on it along with a couple of pencils and a container with –

"Wait . . . is that a turtle?"

"I actually think it's a tortoise but I'm not exactly sure . . ."

"Where did you get that?"

He sat down at the low table, highlighting the turtle with a pencil.

"On my way to cram school, some guy was at the river doing some weird stuff. I decided to go check out what he was doing. He had this turtle in his hand and looked like he was going to throw it. I yelled out to him what he was doing and he replied with 'releasing a turtle.' When I asked why he said 'no reason' and threw it into the river. I do agree with some of the stuff in your essay thing but something isn't right with it."

I remained silent as he flipped to the next page of his sketch book. I noticed that there was another drawing of a turtle however it was in a slightly different position. He began flipping the pages and the turtle went from high into the air, to the river below it. I always knew he was a good drawer but I never saw him do animations before. It looked so smooth that I would have thought it was some rough draft to a cartoon. It ended with the turtle being picked up by a hand.

I was astounded.

"You did . . . all of that? Based on what you saw?"

"Yeah . . . it was weird how it came over me. I never really did stuff like this before but it came so naturally."

He pointed to the turtle/tortoise. "After he dropped it into the river he picked it up again and handed it to me, telling me to keep it. I asked why since he just released it. He told me that it probably wouldn't survive in the wild anyway. When he walked away though . . . he was looking at something."

"Looking at what? Tell me!"

My neighbor jumped up as my voice rose, shaking the table and the turtle.

"I think it was a piece of paper or something . . . ? I don't know, I didn't get a good look."

So, that means that someone else was getting notes besides myself and was doing weird things in front of my neighbor. Did I do too poor of a job? Did Asahina-sensei like this person better then me? How dare she! What did I do wrong? I could've done that! Okay, I'm sorry that I complained about being a messenger boy but I actually enjoyed looking forward to something! Don't replace me just because of that!

I think he noticed my expression and backed off. Did I look that scary looking? Before I could lose him, I asked one final question.

"Well, what does this person look like? You could describe him, right?"

He blinked once after I had calmed down and flipped through his sketch book again.

"I think time is made of planes like my sketch book. This guy inspired me to think like that and your paper pin-pointed that inspiration to time travel. I knew you were going to ask who gave me this turtle so I drew a realistic sketch of him based off my memory, though it might not be correct . . ."

He sighed quickly as he saw the picture of my replacement.

"This is him."

You probably knew who he was talking about, except I had no clue what was going on right then and there. What was puzzling about it all was that I was more angered then confused.

Because Santa Clause had delivered a Christmas present seven months early.

I guess I lied, here's another chapter (I sure am generous). Merry Christmas.