They came alive as I slept.
And I never would’ve known, had I not accidentally seen them one night, after laying restlessly in bed for hours.
The tiny figurines that lay atop my shelf would socialize, laugh, and dance, living an entire life as I slumbered. They would come together in various groups, swaying as if listening to the same invisible tune. I saw them go through heavy periods of celebrations, with weddings, pomp, and laughter. Then I saw the wars and famines, the intense periods of drought. I saw them coming together after such strife, turning over a new leaf and removing all divisions.
Once I stayed up all night, watching as they strode around conversing. I could not hear them, nor would I probably be able to understand them. That thought saddened me. All I could do was imagine the joy, sadness, and understanding that filled their conversations.
One night my curiosity got the better of me and I moved closer to finally hear them. Like Icarus, I chose to finally move closer to the very thing that I yearned for. But as my wings melted and I watched their society crumble, most of the figurines throwing themselves off the shelf to escape me, I realized that to them I was the monster who came alive as they slept.
The gleaming spud shone in the hot summer heat as we walked up to it.
Marge excitedly ran inside as I lugged our suitcase up the spindly steps into the central room. I hadn’t been as excited as her to be spending our 1 year anniversary in a glorified french fry.
The month before, I’d grown tired of her trying to convince me that we should book it for a week for our anniversary. I’d put my foot down and told her that we would not be spending such an extraordinary amount of money for so little.
Yet here we were, already sitting inside. Apart from being in the middle of nowhere around 25 miles from any known civilization, it was still really cozy. A beautiful fireplace dotted with cushy couches were littered across the main room. Above it hung a beautifully crafted antler chandelier, dotted with thick candle wax and lights gleaming out of it.
The bedroom was off to the side, with a massive window with thick curtains. The bed was absolutely huge, almost filling the entire room, which Marge hopped into with a sly smile and I thought to myself that maybe this wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
We didn’t hear anything unusual the first night, other than a strange rustling outside and a flavorful smell of baked potatoes, which I thought was an odd choice for an air freshener.
On the second night, we heard more rustling outside. The smell of the potatoes returned again. Marge had fallen asleep in the bed, and as I was closing the curtains and preparing to sleep myself, I noticed a strange humanoid shape outside our bedroom window. I grabbed a flashlight and shone it through the window, seeing nothing at all. I chalked it all off to me being exhausted, and went to sleep.
On the third day I woke up to an extreme heat in the potato. It felt like I was being boiled alive. I ran outside to see the fireplace roaring. I quickly turned it off, before looking around and noticing that Marge wasn’t there.
There was no sign of her, no sign of a struggle or anything. Everything had been left exactly where it had been. I tried calling the police and got no responses from them either.
As the day drew to a close with no sign of her, I ran outside and started wandering around the flat fields. I started calling Marge’s name as I ran around, although it was too flat for her to get lost.
As the sun finally set I looked back towards the potato and noticed a face staring back at me through the window. It was Marge.
Relief coarse through me, and I ran back to the potato.
As I moved closer to the spud I noticed how white her face was. Her devilish smile.
How her eyes seemed almost black.
I stopped running closer and stared at Marge.
Through the window, she just stared at me, the same inhuman smile on her face. After a few moments, the curtains were yanked shut.
I ran inside, and looked around the dark potato. There was no one there. All that was left was the strong smell of baked potatoes.
I didn’t want to look up. I heard the gentle sway of the antler chandelier.
I ran inside the bedroom, and slammed the door shut as a loud scream rang through the potato.
I heard my name being called over and over.
I barred the door and stood trembling.
It started smashing against the door, still yelling my name in the same voice. It was so human. So like Marge. Yet there was something else in it that made me shiver.
All the while the smell of baked potatoes started to get stronger. After a few moments of hearing my name, the door starting to splinter, and the growing heat starting to become unbearably hot, I began to laugh.
I collapsed on the floor, still manically laughing as my blood began to boil and the potato started to cook, ready to be devoured in a glorious meal by the creature who we’d served a full buffet to.
“You messed up.”
Those were the only words it took, uttered so carefully by Veronica. The red of the fire sucked all of the oxygen out of the mouths of the others as they sat with their mouth gaping.
A sharp scream broke the silence. Someone had discovered something. Bruce’s body in the tent all life seemingly lost, and a blood-red knife in his stomach.
Immediately all eyes turned to each other surrounding the campfire. Accusatory and distrustful.
Veronica opened her mouth again, directed at the boy who lay in front of her, “You were supposed to strangle him.”
The roar of the Lion sent all of the animals skirting away through the jungle. Gazelles leaping over sharpened rocks, Monkeys scrambling up the side of rough-hewn bark, and Jackals frantically trying to outrun each other. All the animals vanished from the clearing, except for one lone hare.
It stood upon the stones, trembling slightly, but refusing to budge from its perch. The stones around it started to shake as the Lion slowly advanced. Within a few moments, the lion was staring straight into the wide eyes of the terrified hare. Yet the Lion didn’t budge, simply trying to understand why the hare had decided not to move. The hare couldn’t even understand it either, it’s like it simply refused to be bullied by animals larger than it anymore.
After a few more moments of staring at each other, both animals cocked their heads up, hearing a piercing sound above them. Suddenly, a wide net was thrown over both of them as a crowd of humans surrounded the clearing. The Hare was pinned against the body of the Lion as it thrashed around, trying to break free. But it was no use. They were stuck.
The net was hefted into the back of a moving truck. As it rumbled along the dusty road, the hare once again looked into the eyes of the Lion. This time, the Lion’s eyes were filled with terror, while the Hare’s were as calm as can be.
That’s because the Hare had a plan.
The Hare slipped through the wide tendrils of the net as the Lion watched it, scarcely making a sound. It then jumped off the speeding truck and disappeared into the deep forest of the park.
The Lion closed its eyes. The Hare had taken the opportunity and escaped. The Lion couldn’t blame it. But it now knew that it would die.
As the truck continued down the dirt road, a crack of thunder suddenly made the Lion open its eyes. It had started to rain, the torrential downpour making it difficult for the truck to make it through the patchy road. The Lion started to breathe heavily, there was a slim chance he would make it out.
He started clawing at the nets, hoping that while the humans were distracted, he would be able to break free. But it was no use. The ropes were too tight for just his claws to scratch through. For that, he would need a whole host of claws.
As he was about to give up hope again, he heard another crash, but this time coming from the jungle.
It was the Hare.
Sitting atop an Elephant’s head, the Hare led hundreds of animals: Panthers, Monkeys, Tigers, Jackals, and Gazelles to surround the truck. With one fell swoop, the swath of animals were able to rip the net that contained the Lion to shreds.
Finally free, the Lion snarled and jumped in front of the truck. With a powerful roar, he sent the humans running down the road, where they didn’t stop until they were far away from the terrible jungle with the magical animals.
Finally free, the Lion looked up at the Hare, the creature that had saved him. He had lived his life by pushing others around, but he would’ve died had it not been for the small creature.
He bowed his head down.
The Hare jumped down in front of the Lion and bowed back as the crowd of animals began to trumpet with glee.
From then on, the animals in the jungle lived together in peace until the end of their days.
The first time he met her was in chains.
He jumped into the midst of a great castle, and was immediately caught by the guards of a small island nation. He was taken to the king himself, who scarcely recognized who he could be. At first believing him to be a spy due to his unfamiliar clothes and strange accent, the king was ready to execute him.
The traveler was terrified. Terrified that his first trip had ended so disastrously. Miraculously, he heard a voice call out then. It was a beautiful, amber haired girl. The daughter of the king. She strangely tells the king that she recognizes the traveler. That he couldn’t be a spy because he saved her life years ago.
The traveler had no idea what she was talking about, but he kept quiet as the king regarded him following his daughter's words. Finally, he released him with a wave of his hand.
The princess waited until the king had walked away, before walking up to the traveler.
“Would you like me to show you around the castle?”, she said coolly.
The traveler still had no idea what was happening, but he decided not to say anything and simply accept the princess’s offer, “I would love to.”
The princess took his arm, and stepped outside of the enormous castle.
As they walked outside, he looked around the gorgeous vistas with wonder. The castle was on top of a hill, and the entire island’s beauty stretched out in front of them. But something felt off. There was a strange tension in the air. The traveler noticed torches at the base of the cliff, with multiple tens parked out.
The princess noticed the traveler looking at the tents in bewilderment. “They’ve laid siege to our castle.”
***
“Who?”, the traveler replied in shock.
“The spartans”, she said quietly.
She continued to stare down at them for a moment longer before saying, “They all expect me to end this war.”
The traveler sharply looked up at her, “How…”
“My father…the king found me a few years ago. They believe that I’m a gift, given from the gods. They named me Diana… the one who would never miss and finally end this war.”
She sighed then, and looked up at the traveler. Despite how young she looked her eyes reflected a deeper wisdom, as if the weight of the expectations on her aged her considerably.
The traveler didn’t know what to say, but opened his mouth anyways and said, “They call me Magnus.”
Diana nodded in his direction once.
Magnus paused for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak again, “Why did you tell them I saved your life?”
Diana stared into Magnus’s eyes for a single moment…an entire eternity.
Then, a blast of fire separated them. Magnus was thrown backwards towards the opposite railing, straight over, directly hurtling towards the cliff.
He heard guards screaming, and it felt like he fell for a million moments, still thinking about why Diana had chosen to save him.
Somehow… like a reflex, his hand slammed into the device at his wrist, and he heard a crack as he was sent away, a moment before cracking his head open on razor sharp rocks.
Magnus felt like he couldn't breathe as he hurtled through time and space…then he realized that the weight of a million tons of water was actually starting to crush him.
***
Magnus gasped as the sudden chill overtook him. He flailed his hands up, trying desperately to make it out of the deathly embrace of the ocean.
He kicked his legs. Once. Yet to no avail as the cold seeped dipper.
Twice. He was starting to get light headed.
Thrice. He could feel the darkness coming in around him as the strength of his kick started to decrease.
Then his head broke the surface of the water.
He reconsidered whether he’d actually died and made his way to hell.
The surface was littered with flames licking away at the air around him. Shards of wood floated around, which Magnus gratefully held onto as he surveyed his new environment.
All around him, it seemed like a war raged. Blasts of smoke were flying out of bright vessels with various insignias on the flags.
A cannonball skipped across the water, narrowly avoiding collision with Magnus.
“Guess we’re out of Ancient Greece”, he muttered, before starting to paddle towards a boat that was lying still in the messy waters.
***
Magnus shook his soaked clothes as he climbed aboard, only to find himself in the middle of a skirmish happening in the very middle of the dock. It seemed to be some sort of coup.
At this point Magnus was very tired, and desperately wanted to get back home so he danced through crowds of screaming people brandishing swords, and fixed and clicked his watch just as he’d taken the steps down in the brig of the ship.
But it seemed like he’d taken himself further back. He was in a landscape that seemed very familiar, very much like what he’d seen in Greece. Bright sloping hills, and a wide array of colors met him in the landscape. The air felt hotter though, which he just chocked up to the beginnings of global warming.
As he was looking around, he noticed the statue nearest to him seemed very familiar. He knew he was staring into the familiar face of Diana. She had barely aged a day, still left how he remembered her, hewn into the rock. It seemed like she’d taken over from her father, the king, shortly after Magnus had visited her. She was wearing a crown, and in her hand was a gleaming sword, raised up as if she was telling her enemies to come at her.
There was still a nagging feeling in Magnus’s head, as if something didn’t add up about her. But like the other times it had happened, Magnus simply ignored it and finally specified his own time into his machine so that he could finally go home. If he’d taken the time to observe a little bit more he would’ve seen that the sword in Diana’s hand wasn’t a greek sword. Nor had he even been in Greece to begin with. But that’s a story for a later time. Upon returning home Magnus decided that a good long rest would do him good for now.
***
Magnus decided that another jump wouldn’t hurt him. He repositioned his device to the next period he wanted to visit, then was about to click the button when a massive storm caused his lab to rumble. Magnus pitched forwards, and slammed his head on the floor, pressing his hand into the device at the same time.
With a sharp crack, Magnus was thrown forwards once again. He landed on a sandy dune, and rolled down the hill, all the while clutching onto his pained head. He could already feel a swollen lump starting to form, but he ignored the pain and started looking around at his surroundings.
Not like there was any point as his surroundings matched exactly where he had landed. Just sand dunes, as far as the eye could see. He had landed in the middle of the desert. He groaned, and pushed his hands into the ground to lift himself up.
At that moment he noticed two things. One was that his device was starting to smoke a little, which definitely didn’t mean anything good. Two was the fact that his hands were perched onto something very much solid, and not at all clumps of sand.
Ignoring the smoking device, Magnus started brushing the sand away from where he stood. After a few moments, he saw a roughly hewn coffin, with a symbol etched into the wood. It was beautiful work, and Magnus studied the symbol for a moment before continuing to brush the sand away. It looked like two roses coming out of each other.
***
Magnus brushed to the side of the coffin, and noticed a clear edge where he could pry it open.
Now normally, Magnus wouldn’t be down with disturbing the dead, but at this point, there wasn’t much else for him to do, and there was a possibility that Magnus might die out here if his device didn’t work.
He opened the coffin easily, and was suddenly met with something much more interesting than a coffin.
There was a small book where the head of the corpse would’ve been. But that’s not what caught Magnus’s attention. Underneath the book was a beautiful blue necklace. It reminded Magnus of something he’d seen before, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He took the items out, and was about to start fidgeting with his machine before he heard the sound of hooves drifting through the sand.
Magnus looked up and noticed a caravan rapidly approaching his position. The dust storm forming above them definitely made them seem more threatening.
Magnus started pressing the machine on his wrist, desperately trying to get out of this situation but it was too late. The caravan of horses surrounded him, making any attempt to run nearly impossible.
The head of the caravan had a cloth around their face, masking everything apart from their dark eyes. They grabbed the package from his arms, before walking away, nodding in the direction of a few of their guards.
As they approached Magnus, taking rough sticks out of their packs, a massive dust storm suddenly swept through the area. Magnus slammed his hand on his machine, finally hearing the familiar crack as he was yanked through time and space once again.
***
Magnus spent the next few days tinkering with the machine. He couldn’t have any more mistakes as he continued with his journey. Somehow, somewhere contact was made. Information was passed on that should never have been. Ancient Greece was too soon, also he wasn’t sure if he would be able to blend in as well back there again. Not without some more experience.
Maybe he could track down more signs of interference at one of the most turbulent points in human history. When it seemed like the whole world was locked in an endless war.
Magnus inputted the time, and the location into his machine. UK: 1941.
With a crack, he was swept away, ready to join the terrible times.
As he walked through a crowded train station of departing soldiers, he thought a lot about how so many of those people were going to die. To be honest, it was very tempting for him to want to go warn all of the people in the train station about what atrocities they were about to witness. Even if they didn’t die, they would never be the same smiling boy that was leaving their families, like in that moment.
But could Magnus even stop that bloodshed? What if he went back in time and warned the jewish people in Poland and Germany about what was going to happen. Better yet, what if he just went and shot Hitler.
Not only would all of the world’s events be completely reshaped, Magnus could have no way of telling what it would look like. It’s very probable that some other massive dictator would come along, starting a different type of World War. With what they knew about the world, nothing could be changed, or else it wouldn’t stay the exact same.
Magnus sighed. He would just have to let all of the people be.
Magnus’s musings were interrupted as he crashed into a girl who dropped all of the notebooks she was carrying. Magnus bent down to pick them up, before standing up tall and looking directly into the amber eyes of Diana.
***
Magnus gasped, staring up at the girl. There’s no way it should be possible. He was thousands of years in the future. Everyone who existed from that time and probably most of their lineages were all long dead.
But despite all of that logic, here she was in front of him.
Magnus handed Diana back the papers, looking into her eyes for some kind of recognition. But he didn’t see it.
She took the papers back from him gratefully, without letting off any indication. He was about to question her further when loud alarms started to blare around the city.
Diana looked up sharply, recognizing the sounds, then started running down the street.
Magnus followed her, intent on figuring out what exactly was going on.
He saw hundreds of people being shepherded down a staircase into the metro tunnels. He followed Diana down one of the staircases, then knelt down next to her where they were instructed.
“What are you doing here”, he finally hissed at her.
“Excuse me”, she said in a perfect British accent.
Magnus gaped like a fish at her, opening and closing his mouth, “You… you don’t remember me?”
It had been hard for Magnus to forget about her, ever since their first meeting on that island in Greece.
Diana tilted her head at him, “I’m sorry… have we met before?”
It must’ve been a coincidence. The million times great grandchild of Diana.
Magnus felt awkward. He’d gone too far, intruding on this poor girl’s life.
“I’m sorry…you just reminded me… of someone close to me.”
The girl smiled at that, “I can stay close tonight.”
And they stayed huddled together like that for the rest of the night as the city rumbled and shook as hellfire from the blitzkrieg rained down on it.
When Magnus woke up in the morning she was gone.
***
Magnus had failed at getting any further information in 1941. He’d wandered through war torn London, still looking for the mystery girl. Finally after finding nothing, he decided to jump into various other spots at that time. He went through various cities in the US before hitting the European and Pacific front lines. He stayed well away from the fighting, just trying to sneak through some of the military establishments. The security was tight in some places, but he managed to find nothing out of the ordinary, no unseen force that was guiding the combatants.
Finally, he decided to head back to his time.
He sat in his lab, looking at the massive whiteboard that covered one whole wall. He’d set up a few potential time periods where the interferences could’ve occurred, but nothing seemed to make sense.
For the next few days, he tried to do some research, but his mind couldn’t stray from that woman he’d met in london. She intrigued him, much like Diana had. Maybe it was her mannerisms, or the soft smile that it seemed like they both shared. Regardless, he had to see her again. If he went back to 1941 he’d just be interacting with himself, a time paradox that definitely didn’t need to happen.
The woman definitely had a British accent, so he decided to go to 1945, the end of the war, where she’d hopefully be back in London.
With a crack, he appeared in an alleyway in London. He could hear the sound of wild cheering happening all around him.
Wild ecstatic cheering, born by people who were finally rid of the terrorist of the past 6 years.
Magnus stepped out into the crowd and was immediately pushed forward by the huge throng of people.
Everywhere he went, people were embracing and passionately kissing, or chugging bottles of champagne.
He looked around for the woman, but knew it would be futile. There were too many people everywhere. But Magnus went along with it regardless, enjoying the wonderful celebration.
The hours started to blur, and he eventually staggered and fell down a few short steps in a sunken alley away from most people, landing with a crack on the solid concrete.
The darkness took him away as his body whisked away to parts unknown.
***
Magnus woke up, not remembering much of where he was. He felt the sun beating on his face.
He must've jumped randomly somewhere. His mind began to wander as to where he could possibly be. Trapped in the middle of a terrible jungle perhaps? Or maybe he was lost in medieval europe. In a land filled with disease, scourge, and violence.
He then began to feel a strange sensation at his feet. He heard the low growling of some terrible animal.
At that point he decided that he was about to die, and with trepidation, opened his eyes. Sitting in front of him was a cute little puppy, along with a small child staring at him cautiously.
He looked around, scratching his head as he tried to figure out where he was. Then he saw a shuttle fly overhead and sat up, causing the kid and the puppy to run away in fear.
He was back in his time, he was sure of it. Monorails littered the entire city, and he could see various shuttles flying back and forth through the atmosphere.
He had fallen on the ground in a clump of bushes in the middle of a beautiful park. Nothing made too much sense, but he did notice that he was in London.
He walked straight out of the park, and noticed that he was back at a familiar looking subway stop. Even over a 100 years later, the name had remained the same. Curiosity overtook him, and he slowly walked down those steps. Memories rang forth from his time during WW2. He could still imagine how he clutched onto the woman that night who had looked so much like Diana.
He thought he was still imagining her face as he saw a woman widen her eyes at him. She’d been about to get up from a seat at the station when she noticed Magnus.
She froze.
The woman had a scarf on her face so Magnus couldn’t really see who she was clearly, but he approached her anyway.
“Excuse me? Are you o-”
The woman threw her arms around him and whispered into his ear, “It’s me.”
She said it in the same way he remembered from so long ago. She clutched onto him the same way she had in the very same subway over a 100 years ago. It really was her.
Diana.
***
They sat together in the small cafe. She looked at me with a beaming glance. The sudden departure in her mood completely confused him.
“I’ve been coming to that station once a month, just like you told me. I was beginning to think that you’d forgotten. Today was gonna be the last day I would go there. But you came…you actually came.”
She said this with tears in her eyes. Magnus was still at a loss of what to say.
“Our lives have been intertwined for so long… I was so scared that I’d finally lost you forever.”
Finally she paused, looking at me with beaming eyes.
“Diana… I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
For a few moments, all she did was stare at him. Then it seemed like she finally understood what had happened.
“Oh god… it hasn’t happened yet. I’ve said too much haven’t I.”
With that she dusted herself up, and got up to leave. Before she could Magnus grabbed her arm.
“Wait please… if you could just explain. Why did you not tell me who you were in London the first time.”
His eyes widened in shock as he realized that she was crying. Before he could even move she planted a watery kiss on his lips, before wiping her eyes and running out of the cafe.
Magnus stood there, flummoxed with what was happening,
If she really was a fellow time traveler, why did she seem so sad. And why did she run away?
He ran outside a few moments after her, but she had vanished.
Magnus returned to his lab, still unsure about what had happened. Diana from Ancient Greece, as well as the woman that he’d met during WW2 were one and the same, she’d practically confirmed it talking about the place she waited for him.
He stared at the whiteboard on his wall, still deep in thought,
She’d spent an awful amount of time in each of the locations for a time traveler.
In Greece she’d been part of the royal family, having lived there for years.
It was only then that the possibility finally reached his mind. Diana wasn’t a time traveler. It couldn’t have been possible anyways, he was the only one who’d been able to invent such a device. And he would never give it up to anyone.
She had to be immortal.
Magnus sat down in his chair, his head still reeling from that fact. She’d lived for thousands of years. And somehow, throughout that she’d remembered who he was.
But now, he had no way to track her. He couldn’t return to any of the times he’d previously been to. All he had was this stupid whiteboard. A whiteboard with no answers. Just a bunch of unanswered questions. He was done planning. Done overthinking.
With barely a few seconds to prepare himself, he turned his device to the first location he could think of, then clicked the button. He would visit every possible location until he found her.
***
After around twenty jumps, he finally caught wind of her. In the scorched desert of Arabia during the height of the Trans-Saharan trade route. It was around 600 AD, and he was in a small town in the middle of the route, wearing a wrap around his nose and mouth. He heard the clutter of horsebacks in the distance.
He had no idea how long he’d been traveling through time, but something had told him to slow down. To stop and wait. That he’d finally find her this time.
The parade of horses finally came into view, and he recognized it as the caravan that had tried to beat him up earlier. At least it looked similar. It probably wasn’t the same people, however.
That logic was discredited when he suddenly saw the leader get out, wearing the same scarf as earlier. The hooded figure was carrying the same book that he’d taken out of the coffin. He couldn’t see the necklace, however the fact that this person had stolen something he’d found instantly made his blood boil.
He followed the hooded figure and the caravan into the tavern in the center of town, where they all sat down to be merry. The hooded figure had his back turned to Magnus, so before anyone could do anything about it, he grabbed the figure and punched them square in the face. Instantly, all of the guards around the figure leaned over to snatch Magnus away, but the leader helped them. They pushed Magnus away from them, then took out a wickedly sharp looking knife. Instantly, Magnus froze, slightly backing away.
The figure threw down the knife, then readied their fists.
Magnus charged forwards, but that instinctual move only earned them a trip straight into the ground.
The figure drove an elbow down, straight into Magnus’s face twice. The second time around, Magnus was ready, and he grabbed onto the hood of the figure and yanked, hoping to pull them down.
The hood came tumbling off, which revealed a mess of dirty hair, but unforgettable amber eyes.
“Diana”, said Magnus incredulously.
Diana had a hard look in her eyes, but regardless she held her hand.
Magnus sat up, completely befuddled for like the 20th time.
‘What are you doing here? Why do you have a gang? And why did you try to kill me earlier?”
Diana looked around at the other members of her gang watching this exchange, before grabbing Magnus and pulling him outside.
She was sporting a bloody nose, but Magnus definitely knew he looked much worse. His nose hurt like hell, and he was pretty sure he had a bruise starting to form under his eye.
“What are you doing here Diana..”, he pressed again, wanting an answer from her.
She pulled the knife to his throat, “How do you know that name…?”
Magnus’s eyes went wide. She didn’t remember him.
“I…I-”
“That was a name I used long ago. It shouldn’t be possible for anyone to still remember that.”
Magnus took a deep breath then spoke, very much still aware of the knife held under his throat, “I know what you are.”
Diana drove back, her nostrils starting to flare so Magnus added, “I know you’ve lived a long life. But the first time I met you was far away in Greece.”
She stared into his eyes for a few more moments, before realization dawned in her face.
She dropped the knife in the sand next to them, “Oh gods…Magnus?”
He nodded, massaging the spot where the knife had been.
She clutched onto him, her eyes wide.
“I thought you’d died back there on the island. Are you… are you like me?”, she added the last part with a hopeful breath.
Magnus shook his head sadly. Oh how he desperately wanted to be like her. To spend eons in her company. He felt drawn to her. He had no idea why… or when it had even started. But he was sure of it.
“I’m not like you.”
He could see the disappointment in her face, but a question still tugged at the back of her mind, “Then how are you here…”
“I can travel through time. For me, it’s only been a few weeks since I first met you in Greece”, he said simply.
Diana’s eyes widened at that.
“Thousands of years lived by me.”, she whispered, ‘Yet to you barely a week? You still look the same too.”
“So do you”, I whispered back as my hands grazed her cheek.
For a moment, they just stood there, for what felt like an eternity.
They broke apart as a man came out of the tavern.
“Diannese”, he asked cautiously, seeing the two of them together.
Diana shook her head at that, as if breaking out of a trance, “Yes… I must go now..”
“So do I”, Magnus said sadly.
“You could stay”, said Diana desperately, “You could stay with me.”
Magnus shook his head at that. The resources he had in the future had enabled him to do a lot. Create the ability to travel through time. Even a universal translator. But it couldn’t help him break a time paradox. Every time he traveled back in time, if he stayed for too long, more than a day maybe, it could create ramifications that would shift the course of the future. Somehow though… this one woman was the constant, the one thing that would always be there and would never change, no matter what would happen.
It’s at that point that Magnus realized that the potential disturbances he’d been trying to track for so long was all one thing. And she was standing right in front of him.
“I will find you again” he promised.
Diana looked heartbroken at that, just for a moment, before the steely gaze returned and she nodded.
And as she left Magnus surveyed her retreating figure. He intended to keep his promise to her in any way he could.
***
Magnus never strayed from his promise to Diana. He spent weeks researching more of the potential rumored disturbances.
While many were just that, local superstition, he found his way back to Diana so many times.
They observed so many earth shattering events as well. They got to attend a discussion by Leonardo Da Vinci, battle their way through medieval Scotland, and even get tied up into one of the crusades. They attended a lecture by Albert Einstein, fought next to Joan of Arc, listened to a play directed by Shakespeare, and drank with Mary Reed.
And throughout it all, Magnus fell more madly in love with Diana. But it was a cruel love, one brought on by the gods just to make Diana suffer. Between every one of their meetings, it seemed to only be a day for Magnus, but for Diana sometimes it would be 10, 20, or even 50 years. He couldn’t track all of her whereabouts throughout history. There were many years where she vanished from the pages of documentation. A rumor would spring up here and there, but it would never mean much.
In that time, Diana would often fall into a deep depression. At first she’d settle down, marry, and have children. But her children never borse the same curse as her. She grew weary of seeing so much death around her. Eventually, all she could do was wait for Magnus to come back to her.
Finally, Magnus made it to the last disturbance ever recorded. New York City. September 11th. 2001.
He landed in the city the exact same time tragedy struck. The towers were starting to crumble. Dust penetrated everywhere in the streets, and he saw so many terrified people.
It broke his heart.
But he had to find Diana. He knew she’d be there somewhere. He wandered through the city, calling her name.
Dust streaked his face and clothes, and he was continuously wiping his eyes.
He heard her before he saw her.
And suddenly, she was in front of him, with dust streaking her hair in the exact same way. Although she still hadn’t aged a day, for a moment, he considered what life would’ve been like if their circumstances were different. If she hadn’t borne the curse, and if he had been able to stay with her for longer than a day. He stared into her beautiful amber eyes, and imagined the lives they could’ve lived together. Standing together at the end, with gray streaked hair. It was the biggest tragedy of his life.
But staring into her eyes, he knew he had to make the most of their time together. He led her out of the ruined streets, into the safety of a building.
Diana was crying, “So much senseless tragedy…why?”
Magnus didn’t know what to say. He wished he could have warned her about everything she would witness in her lifetime, but he also knew that it simply wasn’t possible.
He embraced her, glad that she was ok. He kissed her as both of their eyes began to water. They had survived for so long together, but throughout it all they’d seen just how cruel humans could be to each other.
He couldn’t even imagine what it was like to a person who’d seen it all for thousands of years.
“This might be the last time I see you..”, whispered Magnus.
He had no idea where Diana had gone in his present day. He’d spent weeks trying to track down her location, but it seemed like she’d completely vanished after meeting him once again. And with no future disturbances out there, Magnus didn’t know what to say or do.
Diana nodded at his words, still clutching onto him. The fate of an immortal was that they had nothing but time. But all of her time spent with Magnus was forever limited. She wished she could just reach out and hold onto him for an eternity. She wished she could give him her powers.
Magnus knew this.
Diana finally whispered into Magnus’s chest, “I have loved you for most of my time”
She then stopped and looked into Magnus’s eyes, ‘And I will love you until the end of it.”
Magnus could say nothing but hold his loved one close as the tears began to fall earnestly from his eyes.
Meanwhile outside, the entire country began to mourn the senseless loss.
***
Magnus sat in his lab, head resting in his hands. All around him lay the tattered remains of the whiteboard.
Once he’d gotten back he’d smashed it to bits. He’d spent hours scheming, trying to figure out some way to find his way back to Diana. She was somewhere out there in his time period. He could spend the rest of his life with her.
He had spent some time thinking about that. Even if he was able to find her, the chances being slim, having the might of an entire corporation, would it really be fair to her. She’d spent thousands of years without him, seeing all the people around her die. Was it really fair for him to tortue her with his own aging and eventual death.
No he couldn’t do that to her. He had to be better. He would do better.
It was the hardest thing in the world. But he decided to stay in the lab.
He remembered all of his memories with her. The happiest moments of his life. In a few short months he’d lived several lifetimes. They’d been national guards, royals, and servants. They’d fought, run, and hid their way throughout much of human history. But throughout it all they’d loved. He’d loved more than he ever thought he would be able to.
But now it’s finally done. Magnus felt like a part of him would be lost forever. He’d never be able to feel whole again. Something about his last time with Diana was still going through his head. He remembered what she’d said to him. That she would love him until the end of her time.
Magnus suddenly shot up.
He knew what he had to do. The one way to see her again where they could be together again.
Magnus calibrated his time device all the way to the farthest possible setting. Just like the device could track the beginning of time, so could it also track the end. That’s where he would be able to find her again. Magnus didn’t care about the money or power anymore. The only thing he cared about was spending his last moments in her arms.
He put on one of his extra nano oxygen suits, then took a deep breath, his hand hovering over the time device. He had no idea what could happen. There really was so going back.
Then he pressed the button.
He felt like he was being dragged through time and space once again. But this feeling didn’t go away after a few moments. It lasted until his entire body started to hurt. The feeling didn’t go away until he was practically begging for it to stop.
Then suddenly, with a massive crash, everything cleared up.
Magnus really wasn’t sure what he expected from the end of the world. There were so many theories. Maybe a massive black hole sucking everything into the vast emptiness of the void. Or maybe a huge explosion that would instantly vaporize even the tiniest of atoms.
There were a lot of thoughts for what it could be, but none of them came close to what the actual truth was.
As Magnus started to focus on the world around him, he discovered the final terrible truth about the end of the world. It was simply another beginning. Magnus looked around and saw all of the particles of the world, of everything that he’d ever known, and everything that he would ever have known, being collected into one massive collection, growing larger by the moment. He knew what would happen when it reached its max size. It would explode, creating an entirely new universe.
Magnus felt crushed. It was almost like nothing made sense in the world. It seemed like he was just being recycled, getting scrapped so the new universe could exist in its full glory.
Magnus shook himself away from the growing volume of the sphere. For the moment, he was actually able to move. Horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, everything seemed possible.
He needed to find Diana. Quickly. Before it all ended.
Magnus started zooming through the vast nothingness of the end. As he cruised along, trillions of particles flying past him, he could almost feel something pulling him in one specific direction. He complied, and allowed his senses to take over.
After what seemed like an eternity, he noticed someone sitting cross legged within their own miniature sphere. Magnus glimpsed a flutter of brown hair, and knew it was her. He started to slow down as he neared her.
As he came closer, the sphere opened up, almost as if it was welcoming him in.
He gently landed inside of it, and realized that he could properly stand. He turned towards Diana, and realized that she was watching him.
He couldn’t believe it, she looked like she hadn’t aged at all from that quiet night in Greece. But her amber eyes told the truth. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend how long she’d been alone, simply existing. Her eyes held an exhaustion that seemed neverending. It was the plight of someone who knew that they would never be free.
He held so many emotions inside, and without even thinking yanked off the oxygen helmet that separated him from the one person he’d ever truly loved. As he did she too got up. They both collapsed into each other's arms. Their love was one that truly knew no bounds. Time couldn’t even pull these two apart. At the edge of everything they’d ever known, quite literally before the end, they kissed.
It seemed like they were together for another eternity, one Magnus was sure Diana would prefer, but eventually, they finally broke apart.
Magnus held her in his arms, and they both turned to face the rapidly growing sphere.
“This is it…the end”, Diana murmured as she put her head against Magnus’s chest.
Magnus faced the matter that was on the fringes of creating a new universe. It was a physical embodiment of creation. Only before it could get to that, it would have to destroy them.
Magnus knew that he could easily go back to his time. but he also knew this was the only place where he wanted to be. He was finally together with Diana.
He gripped her shoulder with his arm, “We will face it together.”
Diana turned her head sharply towards him, “What do you mean?”
Magnus looked down resolutely, “I’m saying I’m not leaving you behind.”
Diana looked at him and smiled, although Magnus noticed that it was a smile that held deep sadness behind it, “You can’t do that. You have to find me in your own time.”
Magnus looked into Diana’s eyes. He could tell this wasn’t like last time, when Diana had known her and Magnus had met up again. Magnus knew that he would never find her if he went back. He could go through 100s, maybe even 1000s of years, but he would never find her.
Firmly, Magnus shook his head, “You know we don’t. Why are you trying to push me away, this is the only thing I want.
“You’ve hardly lived a life”, argued Diana, “I’ve existed through billions of lives, I’ve worked every job that has ever been possible. You still have so much to do.”
Magnus gripped Diana’s hands, “I have nothing I want to do without you.”
Diana put one hand on Magnus’s, while with the other she put her hand to his cheek, “And that is why I will always love you.”
Saying so she leaned in and gave Magnus another long kiss. Magnus felt like he was melting through time, and all sensations left his body.
After a few moments he heard the soft click of his time device whirring to life.
Magnus opened his eyes with alarm, only to see Diana watching him with tears in her eyes, “I’m sorry Magnus. I have loved you longer than the very atoms of this universe have survived. I love you so much that I know I have to let you go. Give me one last goodbye.”
All Magnus could do was watch as the love of his entire being slowly vanished in front of his eyes as he was whisked far away once again.
***
Magnus crashed into thick mud, getting in almost all the way to his hands and knees. For a moment, all he did was sit there, silently shuddering with grief. Diana… she was done. The girl that he’d gone through all of history to be with, had told him to live his life. How could she not know that she was his life. That he was leaving behind everything that he was with her.
Magnus felt like his mind was fracturing in two. He wanted so desperately to lay there, overcome with grief until he was taken away. Even then though, he knew that he would never see his love again. She was part of this universe, born of the very atoms itself. She would never be taken away, not until the very universe was brought to an end.
He silently forced himself to stand up. It was like an unseen voice was controlling him, reassuring him, and allowing him to grieve. Magnus knew that the pain he felt would never again go away.
As he sat, staring into the indentations his body had created in the mud, he heard someone walk up behind him.
“Who are you… stranger?”
Magnus turned around, and nearly staggered to the ground.
He was face to face with Diana, but not exactly how he’d known her. She looked slightly younger, with hair that was slightly shorter. Her amber eyes remained the same, but he didn’t get the same weariness that he’d seen in the girl at the end of the world. Here, her eyes were only filled with curiosity. All Magnus wanted to do was embrace her, but he held back, instead staring at the watch on his wrist. Egypt: 635 BC.
Diana had told him to give her one last goodbye. She had given him the means to do so.
Diana had been alive for around 100 years before he’d first met her. In terms of the length of time that she actually lived, it was barely a few seconds of her lifetime.
All of his time with her, in the long run, had barely been a few seconds. But somehow, through all of that, she had never forgotten about him. She had waited for him throughout all of that.
Thinking about that, and seeing her when she was still young, before she stopped aging, was too much for Magnus and the tears began to fall from his eyes.
Diana’s eyes widened, and she tentatively came up and put her arm on Magnus’s shoulder, gently brushing away the falling tears.
“No good will come of that”, she said soothingly, “What happened?”
Even to a total stranger like himself, all this girl wanted to do was help. Magnus felt like his heart was slowly being clawed out as he gently pushed himself away from her.
“I’m…I’m fine. You just…remind me of someone close to me.”
Diana looked at him puzzled, but then shook her head, “No matter then.”
She smiled at him, “My name is Diania”.
Magnus started at that, Diana had never been the name she’d been born with. But it’s the name he’d always used to describe her. It’s the name she’d always used to describe herself.
It was because that’s the name she had born when he’d first met her. And she’d respected that. Never wanting to tell Magnus the truth behind it.
Magnus smiled back at Diania, and was about to whisper one last thing to her when he saw movement behind her.
“Get back”, he yelled as a massive snake erupted out of the tall grass towards Diania.
Magnus spun her away from it, then pounced on it, stepping on its head in the exact way Diana had taught him so long ago in the grasslands of Kenya.
After making sure that the snake was dead, he turned his attention to Diania, making sure that she was ok.
“You saved me”, she said, looking up at Magnus with wonder.
After making sure that she was ok, Magnus finally turned with a sigh. He knew what he had to say.
“Listen…”, he whispered as he pulled Diania close to him, “You may not know it yet, but you mean more than anything else in this universe to me.Thank you…for teaching me so much about the world…and for being there for me through everything…and for loving me. You will always be in a permanent place in my heart. And with that I tell you now…goodbye.”
Magnus had no idea what that had translated to through the universal translator, and Diania’s puzzled expression definitely lended itself to that argument, but Magnus didn’t care. He only had one last thing to do.
He turned away from Diania, walking back to his spot on the bank of the river.
He could still remember the tears flowing down Diana’s face as she let him go.
He slowly started to twist the time machine at his wrist, looking for the specific moment that he wanted.
Diana had let him go because she loved him, just as Magnus was doing with Diania now.
Slowly, Magnus started to twist the device even further than the end.
Magnus remembered the smile on Diana’s face whenever she would tell him she loved him.
The device was starting to vibrate in his hands. He continued twisting.
In his last moments, Magnus smiled and remembered the feeling of Diana’s lips on his.
With a burst of energy, the time machine pushed past the end, catapulting Magnus through time and space.
He could see the eruption of the singularity occurring.
He wanted to be there when it happened. He wanted to join Diana.
At that moment. he was simply a being of pure energy, existing in the universe.
He could see Diana sitting by her perch where he’d left her. She looked up at him and smiled…one smile. It was something he’d never seen on her face. Relief.
The singularity erupted outwards, and Magnus watched as Diana dissolved into the existence of the universe.
Magnus waited for it to happen to him, but instead felt himself being violently thrown forwards once again. He tumbled through time and space, before hurtling to a stop once again.
He sat up wildly, seeing surroundings that looked normal…way too normal. He began to wretch and sob, realizing that he’d been launched into a different plane of existence. One without Diana.
After holding back the darkness for so long his mind finally couldn’t take it anymore. With a last heart wrenching scream, it finally broke.
He would never again be the same. Not without Diana.
Terrence eyes followed the dying star in its final moments. Soon, it would be gone. Vanished from the world. And all they would be left with was a memory of its warmth. It was an unexpected feeling, caught in the last throes of light cast on a bitter world. It was almost as unexpected as the doctor’s appointment, the one that had brought the worst news to Terrence’s life. The sun’s rays moved far too fast for him to hang onto anything but its diminishing presence, which made everything just seem so pointless. How could he watch another sunset, knowing that each was a countdown until his own inevitable end.
Terrence felt a gentle touch nearby and closed his eyes. He felt spent, filled with such sorrow, yet unable to falter. He had to be strong, had to show that there was still life left inside of him. Or else he knew that all that would be left was despair. Yet it was difficult. For years he’d been unfaltering, the epitaph of strength, but now it felt like he was crumbling, reaching for something to grab onto lest he fall into the bottomless chasm. As he opened his eyes, he turned to look at the person standing next to him. The sunset reminded him of the passing of another day and the deepening of the gap between them. It was a reminder that things would further stray, until that conciliatory void was everywhere. Until every ounce of his being, his entire life, would pass on. Sunset brought more than just the cold. It brought on a bleakness that threatened to tear at his very bones, at the sinews of his own reality that couldn’t keep going anymore.
Margo watched the last beams of light tuck under the horizon with a soft smile on her face. Colors bloomed in a finale that seemed to echo well past its own existence, brightening up Margo’s thoughts with a simple reminder. The sun hurried away, ecstatic to continue its daily travels and once again brighten the shores in the morning, bringing more wonderful opportunities to her world. Soft colors deepened in the sky, a gorgeous array of purples and blues that reminded her of so many late nights with the people she loved most.
Margo sighed contently as she nestled closer to the spark of warmth nearest to her. A prickly breath of wind washed over her skin, combining the salt of the sea with a touch of pine and cinnamon. Stars were already starting to come out, peeking out of the ever darkening sky like tiny dews of life. As if all the joy in the world was packed up inside to sparkle against the backdrop. It strengthened Margo, warming her heart as she was reminded of so much of the beauty in the world. The sunset was the passing of another day, but at the same time it was a grand celebration of survival — of a constant, ever-burning existence that wouldn’t ever cease. And in that moment Margo felt so lucky. Lucky to be able to glimpse even a fraction of its glorious presence. Lucky to enjoy the cool breeze ruffling her hair, reminded her of the breath that still filled her lungs. Lucky to be here with the only part of her own life that truly mattered.
Margo reached out and squeezed Terrence’s hand. His hands were cold, too cold, and she pushed some of the warmth that she felt throughout her bones into his. His eyes hadn’t moved from the horizon, and she nestled closer as she tried to catch his gaze. Every day recently had been so wonderful, an analog of memories that he’d be able to look back on long after she was gone. But she wanted it to be more than that. And as she moved her hand slowly over to his heart, he finally came back to her.
Terrence turned away from the vast emptiness, eyes finally clearing from its fog as he gazed at his whole life. He opened his mouth, but Margo gently put a finger over his lips, silencing him. She learned her head on his shoulder as the twilight dawned deep and plentiful and he nestled closer, glad that she was so close.
All that mattered to Terrence was every additional day he got to spend with her.
All that mattered to Margo was this unforgettable moment in time that would live on long after her.