Embedded Files
Back to More Beyond Simple Stories
The line to the checkout counter at the gas station was unusually long due the Millionaire jackpot sitting at $400 million. Everyone wanted to purchase a ticket including Ethan Stoppard. He was a tall thin man with brown hair and brown eyes. Ethan was like most of the people in line, middle to low income with dreams of hitting it big. He knew the chance of winning was astronomical, but at least there was a chance. The only thing not playing insured was no chance. Besides, he never spent very much money on the lottery, only when the jackpot was in the hundreds of millions and then only a few spare dollars. He was an honest and decent man who prided himself in not taking anything away from his family needs in order to purchase a ticket.
He and his wife, Hannah, had two beautiful daughters, Maria and Kelly. They were the light of his life. He would do anything for them and now Hannah’s health was failing. She needed surgery but they couldn’t afford it and the hospital demanded full payment before treatment could be given. Ethan was to the point where he was wishing to win the jackpot for Hannah more than anything he personally could wish for himself.
No one paid attention to the man standing beside the coffee machine silently sipping on a latte. He quietly observed all the people as they made their way to the cashier to either pay for their purchase or to simply buy a lottery ticket. Many were doing both. His eyes narrowed when he noticed Ethan. Taking a sip out of his cup, he intensely watched every movement Ethan made. Without a word he strolled outside the store to stand in the crisp morning air.
Ethan purchased two tickets. He slid them into his coat pocket and with suppressed hope left the store and walked toward his car. When he was within earshot of the stranger standing against the building, the man asked, “Do you think you have a shot at winning?”
Ethan started to ignore the question as he glanced at the man, but there was something disarming about the way he asked. He stopped and studied the stranger for a moment. The man was of medium height with graying black hair. Ethan would have taken him to be a regular businessman instead of a homeless person wanting to start up a conversation that would eventually lead to the asking for a handout. His eyes were intense and unyielding but not threatening.
“Excuse me?” Ethan asked.
“Oh, I was just curious as to what you thought your chances were of winning the jackpot?” the stranger asked.
“Well, you never know,” Ethan replied. “The odds aren’t very good, they’re so many other people buying tickets. But, you have to play to have any chance of winning.”
“That’s true,” the man agreed. “I’ll tell you what I think your chances are.”
This caught Ethan by surprise as he was expecting the next words out of the man’s mouth to be some wild story about how he needed money to buy food, clothes, or bury a family member who had died. “Uh, you think you know whether I’m gonna win or not?” he stammered.
“I have a good idea,” the man replied.
Ethan thought for a moment and then asked, “Then, why don’t you buy a ticket so you can win? That is if you’re that sure you know.”
The stranger didn’t bat an eye and simply answered, “I don’t need it.”
“It must be nice,” Ethan smirked.
“It is,” the stranger quickly shot back. “You can know that feeling, too, if you’re willing to listen to me.”
“Look, I don’t what scam you’re running, but I don’t have time for it,” Ethan smirked as he turned to leave.
He stopped in his tracks when the stranger said, “I thought you were interested in doing something good for Maria and Kelly, not to mention, having the money for Hannah’s treatments.”
“How do you know about them?” Ethan asked as coolly as he could.
The stranger shrugged and replied, “I know lots of things.”
“How dare you even mention my family!” Ethan almost yelled. “What are you, a sick pervert, or something?!?”
The stranger shifted his weight from one foot to the other and calmly answered, “I know you’re an honest person who loves his family and would do almost anything for them. I know you’re a hard worker who has sacrificed for that family and has been rewarded very little by society in return. I believe of all the people who have a chance at winning the lottery, you would treat your winnings with respect and wisely use them.”
“Well, I don’t know about all that,” Ethan quickly said as his mind raced to absorb what was happening. “You’re wrong, I have been rewarded. I have a family I love and they love me.”
“Ah, you’re humble, too,” the stranger asserted. “Look, I just want to offer you the opportunity to have your dreams come true.”
“What are you, a genie or something?” Ethan smirked.
“No, I’m a Timekeeper,” the man replied. “I collect time.”
Ethan wondered if he had stayed too long talking with the stranger. It was possible the man was mentally unstable and maybe even dangerous.
“Look, thank you for your concern, but I need to go,” he finally blurted out.
“All I’m asking for is fifty-nine days,” the stranger tersely said. “You give me that and I guarantee you’ll win the lottery jackpot.”
Once again, the man’s words and the strangeness of the situation caught Ethan off guard. “Fifty-nine days of what?”
“I take fifty-nine days from you, that’s all,” the man replied. “Your life will continue normally as if it never happened. You won’t be able to tell the difference other than those days will be missing from your life.”
Ethan knew he should simply leave, but he was somewhat intrigued at the man’s madness. “So, what do you do, shorten my life at the end by fifty-nine days?”
“No, not all,” the stranger offered. “There’s too much uncertainty about when life ends to do that. No one can be totally sure when their life will end, unless of course, they commit suicide. I’m afraid if I waited until everyone’s end, death would only cheat me out of collecting the time owed me. So, I must collect the time now.”
“Just exactly how does this work?” Ethan asked rather amused at the prospect.
“You simply agree to give me the days,” the stranger answered. “You leave here and when you awake in the morning it will be fifty-nine days from now. You’ll remember nothing of the missing time and those around you will act as if you were there all the time and won’t notice any difference.”
“Do you know how weird that sounds?” Ethan smirked.
“Yes, I do,” the stranger agreed. “You will awake to find you have the winning ticket. You’ll have one day to cash in your ticket before the sixty-day deadline.”
Ethan pulled on his right ear lobe as he pondered what the stranger had said. “So, what’ve I’ve got to pay you to make this happen?”
“Nothing,” the man replied as he pulled a smart phone from his coat pocket. “I just need your word that you agree to give me fifty-nine days.”
Despite himself, Ethan laughed and said, “If that’s all, then why not? When I wake up in the morning and it’s tomorrow, then I’ll know you’re the whacko I think you are.”
The man touched the screen on his phone and asked, “So, Ethan Stoppard, do you agree to give me fifty-nine days of your life?”
“Sure, why not?” Ethan laughed. “You’re a weird man, dude.”
The stranger slipped his phone back into his pocket and simply said, “Thank you.”
With a laugh Ethan turned and walked to his car. He grabbed the door handle and turned back toward the stranger. “By the way, what’s your name?” The man was gone. Ethan shrugged and crawled into the car.
###############
Sgt. Nick Jamison tossed and turned in his sleep. He had been stationed in Afghanistan for nine months and had only one week of deployment left. Even though he was only a few days away from packing up and heading home, it brought him no comfort. He was surrounded by too much danger and uncertainty to feel at ease. Already he had seen three of his buddies shipped home in flag draped coffins due to IEDs and he had a haunting feeling he wasn’t going to make it out of the war alive.
He bolted straight up in his cot. Was it another nightmare or a strange sound outside his tent? Either way, he was awake now and knew sleep would evade him the rest of the night. Quietly slipping his boots on, he moved out of the tent into the night air. It had cooled down to the mid-60s and he soaked up the fresh air. His attention was caught by a figure lurking in the shadows. He was about to sound the alarm when the man called him, “Sgt. Jamison.” The enemy wouldn’t know his name, and besides, they had guards posted through the night around the encampment.
The figure made its way toward him. Even in the dark he could tell the man was older than most of the soldiers in camp. He was wearing army fatigues and a helmet that didn’t fit very well.
“Do I know you?”
The man stepped closer, and the Sergeant could make out the streaks of gray in the man’s hair. “No, I don’t think you do,” the man answered.
“Then, how do you know me?” Jamison asked.
“That’s what I do,” he replied. “It’s hard to explain, but I know things about people.”
“If you say so,” the Sergeant sneered.
“I know you’re married,” the man offered.
“Yeah, so?”
The stranger looked off into the distance and then revealed, “I know you’re worried about making it out of here alive and getting back safely to your wife, Cori, and your son who was born after you were deployed.”
How did this stranger know these things? However he knew, he now had the Sergeant’s attention. “I think you’d better explain yourself,” he coldly stated.
“All I want is to offer you a sure way to leave here alive and join your family back in the states,” the stranger declared.
The thought of it being that simple made the Sergeant laugh. “What are you, a god, or maybe the Devil here to bargain for my soul?”
“Neither,” the man answered. “I’m a Timekeeper.”
“What kinda timekeeper?”
The stranger looked toward the sky and fixed his gaze on a bright star. “I collect time and that’s why I’m here to offer you what I can. If you will give me six days, then when you awake tomorrow it will be time for you to go home.”
“I’m supposed to believe that I’ll go home tomorrow,” the Sergeant smirked. “You’ve been out in the sun too long.”
“You can believe what you want,” the stranger declared. “I’m not collecting believers. I’m collecting time.”
The stranger’s unflappable attitude had an unnerving effect on the Sergeant. For some reason, the man’s words were intriguing, even though, the mere thought of what he was offering was ludicrous.
“Okay, humor me,” he sneered. “How will this work?”
“You give me six days and when you awake it will be time to go home,” the stranger restated. “Everything and everyone around you will never notice the missing days. You will not remember anything that happened during that time and everyone will never realize you were missing.”
“Do you know how weird this sounds?” the Sergeant smirked.
“Yes, I do,” the stranger replied. “But being weird is not the same as being untrue.”
The Sergeant was still not convinced. “So, what are the hidden costs?” he asked.
“There are none,” the man answered. “You agree to give me six days and that’s all there is to it.”
He studied the stranger’s face and then said, “I don’t know.”
“I see,” the man said. Then softly he revealed, “I know the truth as to why you’re anxious to go home. You’re like everyone else, you want to live, you want to hold your wife and new baby, but that’s not what’s driving you to worry so much about dying here.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, we both know it’s true,” the stranger continued. “I don’t believe you’re as afraid of dying as you are of the effect it will have on your wife. She’s already lost way too much. Her grandfather was killed in Vietnam, her father was killed by a drunk driver when she was only ten, and she lost an older brother in Iraq. Now, if something happened to you, there’s a very good chance she won’t survive either. There’s only so much misery a person can stand before they simply give up.”
“Yeah,” was all the Sergeant could muster to say.
The man reached into his coat pocket and brought out a phone. “So, do you agree to give me six days of your life?”
Studying the stranger’s face for a moment, he finally agreed. “Sure.”
“Thank you,” the man simply said.
Sgt. Jamison was lost in thought as to what the stranger had said about his wife and what he had offered. Finally, he turned and asked, “So, what do you do with all the time you collect?” The man was gone.
“Oh, well,” he shrugged as he opened the tent’s flap and tip-toed to his bunk.
###############
Sgt. Jamison didn’t want to open his eyes. There was a noise off in the distance, but he wanted to ignore it. The sound became increasingly louder until he could avoid it no longer.
“Nick! Nick!! Wake up, man.”
Slowly opening one eye he looked into the smiling face of Sgt. Bentley. “Just give me five more minutes,” the Sergeant mumbled.
“Well, aren’t you the cool one,” Bentley laughed. “Most guys would’ve hardly slept a wink last night and here you can’t even roll out of bed.”
“What are you talking about?” Nick warbled as his body yearned to grab one more second of sleep.
“Oh, come on,” Bentley smirked. “You’re just trying to rub it in. Now, get to your feet. Your plane leaves in two hours.”
“My plane?!?”
“Oh, brother, you’re gonna play this to the end,” Bentley laughed again. “That’s okay, you just lay there and get some more beauty sleep. I’ll gladly take your place for the trip home.”
“Trip home?!?”
Nick’s eyes shot open, and he bolted upright in his bunk. “What day is this?”
“Give me a break,” Bentley cried.
“No, really, what day is this?” Nick asked again with a hint of agitation.
“Okay, I’ll play along,” Bentley sighed. “It’s time for you to go home, you lucky dog.”
Nick quickly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and strained to understand what was happening. He wasn’t going home today. He had another week to go before leaving. It must be a joke.
“Man, don’t play with me about something like that,” he almost shouted at Bentley.
“Hey, I don’t know what your problem is, Nick, but just can it,” Bentley yelled back at him. “Get your gear together so I can drive you to the airfield.”
How could it be? Nick was serious. Then like a splash of cold water in the face, he remembered the stranger from the night before. Or, was it from a week ago? While trying to understand what was taking place he hurried about packing his bags for the flight home. When finished he turned and asked, “What’ve we been doing for the past week?”
“That’s a crazy question,” Bentley smirked. “The usual, you know, patrols and all.”
“You remember seeing me there?” Nick continued.
“Of course,” Bentley replied. “Or, I think I do. Yeah, I do. You were there.” Then after a pause he added, “Except for when the sniper hit us.”
“What do you mean, sniper?” Nick asked as he moved closer to his fellow soldier.
“Hmm…two days ago a sniper took aim at us,” Bentley explained. “The rounds hit the Jeep and the seat you usually sit in before we got him. But they didn’t hit you. This is weird, because you were there…you had to be there.”
The two men looked at each other as they tried to remember what had happened that day while patrolling. “I don’t remember any of that,” Nick confessed. “I don’t remember anything of the last week.”
Bentley shook his head and offered, “Well, I remember. We did everything together like we always do. But how you didn’t get hit I’ll never know. Like I said, you’re a lucky dog.”
Nick grinned and simply said, “Yeah.” He would never have believed it possible, but it appeared the stranger had been able to do exactly what he said he would. He took six days of his life and moved him forward in space and time to where it was now time for him to leave and go home. Not only that, but the missing days evidently prevented him from being seriously injured or even killed by a sniper. He had no memory of those events, but he did know, it was time to go home.
“Hey, you take it easy driving me to the strip,” he laughed. “I’ve made it this far and I don’t plan on going home all banged up.”
“You got it,” Bentley returned the laugh. “I’ll get you there on time and in one piece!”
“Good,” Nick said. Then seriously, “Look, you take care after I’m gone.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me,” Bentley grinned. “I’ll be okay. Besides, now I won’t have to worry about you, so I can concentrate all my time on looking after me.”
“You do that,” Nick offered. “I’m going to be there when you get back to the states. I want our families to get to know each other. I need you there to make it happen.”
“You got it, buddy.”
As he climbed into the Jeep beside Bentley, Nick took one last look at the camp he was leaving. It had been home for almost a year. He had got to know some outstanding people and he had seen some of them leave there crippled and others in coffins. Most would go home to face the challenges of forgetting war and trying to remember what a normal life was. That’s what he wanted to do. He knew it would take time, but thanks to a stranger, he felt certain he had enough time to make it work.
###############
Something was ringing way in the distance. It started as a faint bell sound but was getting louder with each second. Ethan Stoppard moved ever so slightly as he slowly recognized the ringing was his alarm clock. Without opening his eyes, he reached over to the nightstand and pressed the snooze button. Why had the alarm gone off? It was Sunday morning, and he never set the alarm unless it was a workday. He was too sleepy to think much about it and was drifting back into a restful slumber when he felt a kiss on his cheek.
“You’re going to be late for work,” the soft sweet voice whispered in his ear.
“Humph?” he mumbled. “Don’t be silly. I don’t work on the weekend.”
“Weekend?!?” his wife Hannah almost shouted. “What kind of trick are you trying to pull?”
Her tone was enough to bring him fully awake. “It’s Sunday,” he meekly replied.
“I don’t know what world you’re in, but here it’s Tuesday,” she sternly asserted.
He sat straight up in the bed, rubbed his chin and mouthed, “Tuesday?”
“Yes, and if you don’t get a move on you’re going to be late,” she continued. “You know you don’t have any more PTO left and they’ll dock your pay.”
“That is so strange,” he declared. “I thought for sure it was Sunday.”
She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the TV remote. “Here, see for yourself.”
Ethan was still mulling over why it was Tuesday when the TV burst to life. He paid little attention until the reporter started talking about the unclaimed Millionaire jackpot.
“Wait a minute, turn that up,” he barked.
“Well, aren’t we Mr. Grumpy this morning!” Hannah smirked.
“Shhh.”
“Well, if you have the winning ticket number, today is your last day to claim the jackpot,” the reporter declared. “That’s $400 million waiting for one lucky person, but if no one claims it, then it’ll go back into the pot for future jackpots.”
Ethan was stunned. A chill slowly crept up his spine as his memory of the stranger he met at the gas station came back to him. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.
“I’m sorry Hannah,” he quickly said. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“I know,” she sighed. “It’s not easy on you.”
“No, but that’s no excuse,” he added. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek again.
“I need to ask you something,” he continued.
“Sure.”
“What have we been doing for the past two months?” he asked.
“That’s a weird question,” she declared.
“I know, but humor me a little,” he requested. “I’m having difficulty remembering what we’ve been doing for the past sixty days.”
“Are you okay?” she asked as her face turned to concern. “I knew all of this would take its toll on you.”
“No, no, I’m fine,” he assured her. “I just need to know what we’ve been doing for the past two months.”
“Well, the usual, you know,” she replied. “You’ve been working, and you’ve taken me to the doctor three times. They still want me to have surgery, but there’s no way we can do it. The insurance won’t pay for it, and we don’t have the money. But you know all that.”
“Do you remember me being with you?” he continued. “I mean, you do remember seeing me all that time, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah, don’t be silly,” she laughed. Then after a moment’s pause she declared, “I’m sure you were there. You had to be.”
“The truth is I don’t remember any of it,” he revealed. “It’s a strange feeling.”
In his confusion he had forgotten about the lottery ticket he had purchased. Then in a flash he remembered. “Oh, my God!!” he shouted.
“What?!?”
He jumped out of bed, found his pants, pulled his wallet out of the pocket, and found the tickets. Could it really be happening?
“What’s wrong with you, Ethan?” Hannah sternly demanded.
He caught his breath and said, “Hannah, I think we won.”
“Won what?”
“Let me check the numbers, but I think we won the lottery!” he quickly said.
“What?”
Ethan grabbed his notebook and logged in. Within a minute he had found the Millionaire jackpot’s website and compared the winning numbers to his tickets with Hannah looking over his shoulder.
“This numbers all match,” he quietly breathed.
“We’ve won?!?” she said with wonder. “We really won!”
“Yes, we have!!” he yelled as he jumped to his feet and hugged his wife. They both hollered with delight, kissed each other, hugged again and then repeated it all over again.
When he had gained some self-control, Ethan ordered, “Quick and get the girls up. We’ve got to go and claim the money today.”
“Okay, okay,” she agreed as she tried to calm her nerves. “We’ve got to do this right. We can’t just rush in without knowing what we’re going to do.”
He gathered her into his arms again and gently said, “I know what we’re going to do. I’ve dreamed, plotted, and planned this moment ever since you got sick. I’ve been hoping beyond hope that we’d find a way to pay for your surgery, but I never really believed we had a chance until this moment.”
She kissed him again. “Okay, I trust you. I always have.”
“Good, now, please get the girls up and ready,” he restated.
She started to leave the room but stopped and turned back. “Why have you waited until the last day to tell me about this?”
He shrugged and replied, “I just realized it.”
“You’ve had that ticket for two months and you just now realized it was the winning numbers?” she asked with a puzzled look.
“Yeah, it’s strange but it’s true,” he answered. “Look I met a Timekeeper. He wanted me to trade some days for the winning ticket…well, it’s a long story. It’s really weird, too. Let’s get going and I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”
“Okay,” she simply said and turned toward their daughters’ room. She stopped and gushed, “But, what about school, and your work?”
“Really?” he asked with a smirk on his face.
She grabbed her mouth when she realized what she had asked. With a wide smile she spun around toward their daughters’ room.
Ethan sank back down onto the bed. He laughed when Hannah hollered one more time. This was it. This was really it. He reached and opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a legal pad. On it was his detailed notes as to what steps they would take if they ever won. He studied the writing even though he had it memorized. Since they would need to hurry to meet the deadline for producing the winning ticket, they would have to shift some things around and do them after they’ve collected the money instead of before. But it was a good plan. It was doable.
He had no doubt the Timekeeper was responsible. Maybe their paths would cross again one day, and he could properly thank him. Then again, maybe all the thanks he needed was the fifty-nine days he took of Ethan’s life. How could fifty-nine days ever equal $400 million?
Pulling on his pants he yelled, “You ladies hurry up!! Time’s a wasting!”
###############
The hospital waiting room was empty except for the doctor and the distraught mother clutching tissues. She was desperately trying to keep from completely breaking down. Her whole world was being shattered, and she was helpless to do anything about it.
The doctor held her hand and gently said, “I’m so sorry, Mel. Martha’s condition continues to deteriorate. We’re doing everything we know to do, but nothing’s working.”
Mel bit her lower lip in an effort to remain calm and blubbered, “She’s only three years old.”
The doctor dropped his head and offered, “Her little body just isn’t strong enough to fight the virus. Normally, it wouldn’t be that bad, but with pneumonia on top of it, well, it’s just too much.”
“How much longer?” Mel finally was able to ask.
“I’m afraid it’s only a matter of hours,” the doctor sighed. “It’d be a miracle if she made it through the night.”
Mel gasped for air between her sobs. “My husband is on his way, but he’s got a two hour drive. Please don’t let her die before he gets here.”
“Well, all I can do is promise we will try,” the doctor asserted.
“Can I see her?” she asked between sniffles.
“Sure, but let us work with her a few minutes,” the doctor answered. “She’s not conscious, but I want to make sure she’s resting as comfortable as can be.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll send the nurse to get you as soon as I can,” he continued. “Do you want me to call your clergy or anyone?”
“No, thank you,” she replied. “We’re new here and we haven’t had time to make many friends. I just want my husband here.”
“I understand,” the doctor said. “I’m going to go back and see if there’s anything else we can try. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I will.”
After the doctor had left, Mel closed her eyes as she shook with emotion as the prospect of losing her only child sank in. Her daughter had been the light of her life. Everyone loved her as she was the cutest little girl around. She was smart, never met a stranger, and was a delight to be with. As much as this was affecting her, Mel knew her husband would be equally devastated. He loved their little girl and was as close to her as any father and daughter ever were. Mel didn’t want to think of what his reaction would be. She buried her head in her hands as she freely wept.
Finally, she regained some composure and dabbed her eyes with the tissue. That’s when she noticed a man sitting in a chair against the other wall. He was staring at her. She didn’t have the energy to speak to him or even acknowledge him.
She was surprised when he spoke to her as if he knew her. “Mrs. Harding, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled. She took a long look at the stranger. He was an older man, maybe in his early fifties with thin gray streaks in his otherwise dark hair. His gaze and attention were unwavering and for the briefest of moments it diverted Mel’s worries about her daughter.
“Do I know you?” she asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” he responded. “But, I do know your daughter will die tonight without my help.”
“How can you help?” she cautiously asked.
“Death is always inevitable,” he explained. “But, whether it happens now or in the future is always a matter of inches and seconds. An inch here or there or a few seconds more or a few less can mean the difference between life and death.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not interested in a philosophical discussion tonight,” she declared with a hint of hostility.
“I can imagine you’re not,” he agreed. “Nonetheless, Mattie needs time to heal, and I can give her the time she needs.”
Mel glared at the stranger. Was he mad, or was this a joke told by a sick man? And how did he know Martha’s nickname was Mattie? It wasn’t on her hospital records, and she hadn’t told anyone there about it.
“How do you know her name is Mattie?” she carefully asked.
“I know things,” he replied. “I know I can help if you will allow me.”
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“I’m a Timekeeper,” he answered. “May I explain what I can do?”
She wasn’t sure, but his words and manner were enough for her to say “Okay.”
“Mattie’s weakened condition prevents her from successfully resisting Death,” he explained. “Normally, she would be able to do so, but not now. You see, Death is always present. He is always nearby. In our everyday lives we really never notice because our bodies, our very being, is made to resist Him. We have the strength and energy to avoid Him overtaking us, and as a result, we can live a long time. Even if we’re injured or become sick, our bodies continue to fight as hard as they can to avoid Death. There have been people who have held on to living when they should’ve died days or even weeks before. That’s the fight for life that’s inherent in all of us. It’s only when we become so weak we can no longer resist, due to age, sickness or even injury, that Death is able to overcome us, and we succumb.”
Mel simply nodded her head. The stranger’s words were puzzling, but he spoke in such a reassuring tone it made her listen. She asked, “So, what can you do?”
The Timekeeper rubbed his chin and offered, “I can give her some time. I’m willing to give her four days. Death will not be able to touch her within those four days. By the time they’re over she will have regained enough strength to be able to resist Death on her own. This will give her the chance to grow up and be the special person she’s destined to be.”
“How can you do this?” Mel asked as her mind struggled to embrace what she was being told.
He shrugged and replied, “People give me time they don’t need, and in turn, I’m able to give that unused time to others who do need it.”
Could this be true? Could this strange man help Mattie live?
“Why are you willing to do this?” she questioned.
“It’s what I do,” he answered with a nod of his head.
“How much will this cost?” she anxiously asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ll give you everything I have if what you say is true.”
This caused the Timekeeper to raise an eyebrow before replying, “I have no doubt you would, but there’s no charge...I guess, other than the cost of raising your beautiful little girl the best you can.”
“I want to do that,” she blurted out. “I want to be able to do that.”
“Then are we in agreement that I can do this?” he asked as he pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket.
She didn’t hesitate and answered “Yes.”
He pressed some keys on his phone and then declared, “It’s done. She has four days which I think is plenty of time.”
“Just like that?” she asked with a surprised look on her face.
Ignoring her question, he declared, “The doctor will be here in a few minutes to give you the good news that her condition has made an about face and she is showing signs of improvement.”
Mel still didn’t know whether to believe the stranger or not. Desperation made her take no chances and she meekly said “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” the Timekeeper declared. “Now, if you will excuse me, as you can imagine, they’re quite a few people in this hospital I need to give time to.”
With that being said, he stood and briskly walked away. Before reaching the elevator, he was passed by the doctor with a big grin on his face as he hurried to find Mel. Before the elevator door closed the Timekeeper glanced back in time to see Mel shout for joy and throw her arms around the doctor’s neck.
###############
“This is your Captain speaking. Ladies and gentlemen, we have just reached our cruising altitude of 32,000 feet. We’re holding steady at 610 knots and are on schedule to arrive in LA at 3:35 pm local time. Please feel free to move about the cabin, but please, for safety's sake, keep your seat belt buckled while in your seat. Thank you.”
The man moving down the aisle looked to be any ordinary businessman. It was the Timekeeper. He looked straight ahead as he worked his way to the rear of the plane. When he reached halfway, he stopped and looked down at a little boy sitting beside his mother. The boy stared up at him.
“Hello, Mister.”
The Timekeeper thought for a moment and then said, “Hello.”
“This is my first airplane ride!” the young man excitedly exclaimed. “My Daddy and sister are waiting for us in Los Angeles. They took a train, but we get to fly!!”
“Now, don’t be bothering the gentleman,” his mother chided him.
“I’m sorry,” the boy exhaled.
“That’s okay,” the Timekeeper offered. “Mrs. Davis you have a fine son here.”
“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” she asked as she did her best to recognize the stranger.
“No, we’ve never met,” the Timekeeper replied. “But, you do know that Chisom has great potential, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” she stated. “He’s only four years old.”
“Time will tell,” the stranger declared. “Chisom.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Always listen to your heart, and of course, your parents,” he said. “They’re good people.”
“Okay, sir.”
The Timekeeper resumed his trek to the rear of the plane as the boy’s mother scratched her head in wonderment. Chisom stood up in his seat and yelled, “Hey, Mister!”
When he looked back the boy was waving at him. He returned the wave and then took an empty seat in the last row of the plane.
It wasn’t long before he felt a presence in the empty seat beside him. He recognized the person. It was Death. The Timekeeper knew it was only a figment of his imagination as Death was everywhere, not just sitting beside him. But he didn’t mind as there were times he welcomed the illusory company even if it was someone best avoided.
He leaned his head back against the headrest and observed, “So, you’ve come here.”
There was a gravelly laugh followed by the familiar raspy voice as Death asserted, “And you’re here to stop me.”
“That’s my plan,” the Timekeeper said.
“Ah, but the question, as always, is: Do you have the time?” Death snorted.
“I always try to keep some in reserve,” the Timekeeper answered.
“But the all-important question is: Do you have enough?” Death snickered.
The Timekeeper took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I suppose we’re about to find out.”
Death simply nodded his head and grinned through dark stained teeth. The Timekeeper leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and waited.
On the flight deck the copilot didn’t like what he was seeing. Before he could speak, the plane lurched and then banked to the right before diving nose down.
“Get the auto off!” shouted the pilot.
“Christ! What’s going on?” the copilot yelled as he switched the autopilot to off.
“Look at the VSI!” the pilot hollered. “We’re gaining speed.”
“Pull up!!” bellowed the copilot. “We’re dropping too fast!!”
“It’s not responding!” the frantic pilot cried. “Help me pull the stick!!”
The plane rocked side to side as it dove toward the ground. “Pull! Pull!! It’s starting to respond!” the copilot shouted.
“We’re not going to have time!!” the pilot yelled as the men continued to struggle to bring the plane under control.
“Oh, Christ!!”
The passengers were screaming as the plane continued its arc to disaster. Those in their seats were trying to hold onto the seat in front of them or anything they could use to steady themselves. Some unlucky ones who were in the aisles were violently thrown to the floor and slid helplessly toward the front. Everything had happened so suddenly that the flight attendants had no time to react. The look on their faces was enough to tell anyone what the fate of the plane was to be.
Death turned toward the Timekeeper and beamed with morbid pleasure. The Timekeeper opened his eyes and showed no emotion as he stared back at him. Without saying a word he reached into his coat pocket and brought his phone out. Not taking his eyes off of Death, he pressed some keys on the phone.
Death watched him intently and then asked, “How much did you give them?”
“Four minutes,” the Timekeeper replied.
“That should do it,” Death smirked. “They only needed forty-two seconds. They were bound to regain control, but it was going to be forty-two seconds too late.”
“I gave them some leeway,” the Timekeeper stated.
“You always do,” Death snorted. “Well, I guess I have nothing to do here now.”
“It appears so.”
On the flight deck the crew gave each other high-fives as the plane leveled off after sluggishly responding to their control.
“Wow! I thought that was it!” the copilot breathed a sigh of relief.
“It should have been,” the pilot asserted. “I don’t know how we saved it, but we did! Let’s get this bird to the nearest landing. I don’t want to go through that again!”
Some of the passengers were praying while others were crying. No one was quiet. The attendants were busy checking on everyone to find those who needed medical assistance. They found a few but the injuries were minor.
Death watched as the Timekeeper put his phone back into his pocket.
“Hmmph, a creature like you stoops to use such a primitive device,” he snorted.
The Timekeeper just shrugged and said, “It works, and it doesn’t draw undue attention to what I’m doing.”
“Well, I for one, have never understood why you people care about such a puny and sometimes pathetic species as these humans,” he declared. “I mean, you migrate from a far distant galaxy to try and help them avoid the inevitable.”
“Dying is inevitable,” the Timekeeper agreed. “But that’s not the reason we do what we do.”
“Then, what is the reason?”
“It’s all about second chances,” the Timekeeper replied. “It’s ingrained in our DNA to help where we can.”
“Second chance,” Death mocked with a snicker.
Ignoring the sarcasm, the Timekeeper continued, “As in most things, we never understand the true value of something until we come close to losing it. For those who receive a second chance at life, it can mean a great difference to them and the ones around them. Many have been inspired to achieve much more simply because they have another chance.”
Death sighed heavily and declared, “So, in your mind, that makes travelling so far across the universe worth it? Don’t you ever miss your home?”
“Yes, it’s worth it, and yes, I missed my home world the first few years I was here,” he answered. “But I, and others like me, knew it was a one-way trip. We had no allusions when we volunteered.”
Death pondered this for a moment before gathering his thoughts. “You know, I’ve known thousands of Timekeepers over the centuries, and I don’t understand some of them, like you.”
“How’s that?”
“Most of your breed do their job because it’s their job,” he explained. “They stay hidden in the shadows and no one knows what they’re doing. People wind up with missing hours and days but have no clue as to what’s happened and just shrug it off as a lapse of memory. Then others miraculously survive without realizing they’ve been given extra time so they can gain enough of their strength back to where I can’t overpower them.”
The Timekeeper glanced out the window and simply said, “That’s true.”
“But, there are a few, like you, who seem to take a delight in people,” Death observed. “You talk to them and interact with them. I find it quite strange. It’s almost as if you enjoy being around them. That is difficult for me to understand.”
The Timekeeper nodded his head and simply declared, “I like them.”
A wide grin spread across Death’s weathered face as he reflected on the implications of the Timekeeper’s admission.
“Ah, I see. You know I’ll always be near you and the ones you love.”
“Yes, I know.”
“One day you’ll run out of time,” Death asserted. “You’ll lose your edge. You’ll get sloppy and not do your job the way you should. It’s bound to happen and I’ll be there to take advantage of the opportunity.”
“I’m sure you will,” the Timekeeper agreed as he turned to look at his old nemeses. “But not today.”
“Well, until next time,” Death breathed as he slowly vanished from sight.
The Timekeeper resumed staring out the window as the pilot came on the speaker to announce their landing in five minutes. It was an emergency landing, but he assured everyone that the plane was now operating normally and the landing should be routine. He thanked everyone for remaining calm and asked them to respond to the flight attendants’ directions. The passengers cheered.
###############
The Town Car drove along the coast in Malibu until it came to a secluded mansion. After driving up the winding road it came to a stop at the front door. As soon as it stopped, a butler came scurrying down the steps and opened the back door of the car.
“Welcome home, Mr. Smith!”
“Thank you, Peter,” the Timekeeper said as he exited the car. “It’s good to be here.”
“I take it you have some bags, sir?” the butler inquired.
“Yes, there’s a couple in the back,” he replied.
“I’ll fetch them.”
“Thank you.”
The butler retrieved the packages and lead Mr. Smith up the steps and into the home. Once inside he asked, “May I, sir?”
“By all means,” the Timekeeper said with a wide grin.
Taking a deep breath, Peter yelled, “Girls! Your father is home!!”
There was a commotion of sorts in the back of the house. Someone yelled “Daddy!” Before long two young girls came running to embrace their father. He gathered the younger one into his arm and hugged the older one with his other arm. Peter watched the maddening scene with an approving smile as the father tickled his daughters and they playfully fought back.
It wasn’t long until a woman in her late thirties came around a corner and joined them. She laughed at the sight of her daughters pawing all over her husband.
“Okay, girls, it’s my turn,” she demanded.
Mr. Smith lowered his daughter to the floor and embraced his wife. She stroked the hair above his right ear and said, “It’s so good to have you home.”
Peter took this as his cue and offered, “Okay, girls. It’s time we let the grownups spend some time alone.”
“Ahh…” they both cried together.
“Well, you stay here then,” he continued. “I guess I’ll just have to open these presents myself.”
“Presents!!”
The girls excitedly followed the butler as they carried the packages to the back of the house.
“You spoil them, you know,” his wife said as she kissed him on his cheek.
“I know,” he admitted. “It’s easy to do and I enjoy it.”
“You like spoiling me, too?” she teased.
“Yes, I do,” he agreed as he drew her near and held her tight. “Wait until you see what I have planned for us tomorrow.”
They kissed long and hard until she finally observed, “You look tired.”
“I am,” he acknowledged. “But I accomplished quite a bit. It was a good trip.”
“I hope you can stay home a while,” she declared. “The girls would love having their father around and you know I want you to stay.”
He gazed deep into her blue eyes and kissed her again. Death had been right. He did enjoy being around people, especially the ones he loved.
“I think I can stay a few weeks,” he said.
“Are you sure?”
He smiled and replied, “I’ll find the time.”
THE END
Copyright ©2014 by Jerry W. Crews
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse