Chapter 1: Echoes of Despair

Allison, a woman in her 30s, lived a life overshadowed by depression and unfulfilled dreams. She was a beautiful woman with a loving husband. Her husband, Adam, a brilliant and absorbed scientist, seldom spared her a moment's attention. Adams day to day occupied profession often keeps them aloof. Allison, seeking solace from her loneliness, could not bear the weight of her inability to conceive a child, which she perceived as a cruel accident from her past. She always regretted the day she fell down the stairs while returning from her friend's house. She got severely injured and doctors had to remove one of her fallopian tubes. They told her from that day that chances of her conceiving a baby were nill. Adam married her despite knowing about her infertility. That's how much he loves her. She yearned for the happiness that she believed motherhood would bring, an undeniable cure for her isolation. She started believing that Adam is now regretting his decision to marry Allison because she couldn't conceive. On the other hand, Adam didn't even have time to think about all that, he was just busy with his research. Allison's monotonous and lonely life finds new sunshine when she starts visiting the mystic fortune teller. She started practicing mysticism which gave her an escape from reality and kept her hopeful believing in miracles.

One fateful Sunday morning in the early months of 2013, Allison delved into her regular meditation practice, desperate to reach out to a guardian angel and transcend her heartache. As she immersed herself in the psychic rituals she had honed over the years, a mystical knock sounded on her front door, disrupting her otherworldly connection. Curiosity tinged with a glimmer of hope compelled her to answer.

Chapter 2: The Enigmatic Visitor

To Allison's surprise, an old man claiming to be her husband's grandpa stood before her. Skeptical but intrigued by his uncanny resemblance to Adam, she reluctantly allowed him entry into their home. She couldn't refuse him as he seemed very weak old and confused. The old man kept looking at Allison with tears in his eyes. Allison gave him food and water but he denied it. He didn't answer any queries Allison had. Where is he from? What does he want? Why did he come here? Adam never told anything about his grandfather till now. When Adam returned, he expressed his disarray, stating that his grandpa had passed away when Adam was a teenager.
Adam:That could be dangerous. Where is the man? Why did you let him in?
Allison:Adam, he bears so much resemblance to you, and when I opened the door, he hugged me and started crying saying "Allison how are you dear"
How could he know my name? His touch seems so familiar as if I have known him. He is your relative. Go and see by yourself
Adam went to meet the old man
Was this peculiar old man an angel, sent by a higher power to grant Allison's dearest wish? Somewhere deep in her heart, this thought enlightened Allison's heart.
Allison: Maybe his soul came to visit us
Adam:what nonsense! Let me meet the old man
Allison:Sure but be kind, the old man seems very weak. He even forgot what day is today. Maybe he is suffering from amnesia.
Adam's suspicion grew, and he demanded the old man's departure. However, their plans were rudely interrupted when the old man was found lifeless beside a mysterious and brilliantly shining briefcase.
Allison was so shocked to see the dead body that she failed to notice a handwritten letter lying beside it. Adam picked up the letter. It was written in very bad handwriting as if it was written with very weak hands. A hastily written note accompanied the enigma, cautioning Adam that if he did not destroy the briefcase, Allison would vanish forever. Aware of its significance, Adam concealed both the letter and the briefcase, his curiosity piqued. The esoteric design of the briefcase and a mysterious handwritten note added to his interest in the briefcase. He wanted to solve the mystery behind the skeptical letter. It was written"Adam destroy the briefcase, I came to warn you but the journey withered my body. I have no time left to explain just do what I couldn't do as I am breathing my last. If you open the suitcase, Allison will vanish."
Adam thought that maybe the old man was insane but his resemblance to him made him find the old man somewhat sensible. Adam hid the briefcase in his office. Allison believing in her mystic practices keeps enquiring about the briefcase but Adam tells her every time that he destroyed it.

Chapter 3: A Twist in Time

Despite Adam's silence, Allison's determination to uncover the truth intensified. She knew from Adams's expression that he never destroyed the suitcase but hid it somewhere. She longed to believe that the briefcase held the key to rectifying her past, allowing her to rewrite the story of her shattered dreams. She kept searching for it until she found the key to his office. Her intuition enlightened her to search his office. Fortunately, Adam was out of town for some project. She in no time drove to his office. When she eventually stumbled upon the hidden briefcase, the veil of uncertainty was lifted, exposing its true purpose as a time machine. It was a time machine. So certainly it was not spiritual it was science. But still, Allison believed that her way to lighten her burden was all spiritually aided by Science. She didn't know how to use it, or how would it benefit her. One thing that didn't stop her from opening it was the date. It was written "13 April 2013."To Allison's surprise, it was that day's date. Now she was convinced that some blessing was waiting. What added more to her belief was the journal found inside the briefcase that instructed on how to use the machine.
Allison pondered her choices. She could prevent the past accident that had robbed her of the ability to conceive or perhaps alter other unfavorable events. Yet, deep down, she recognized that tampering with time would carry consequences beyond her comprehension. Contemplating the value of her present love with Adam, she wrote a heartfelt letter explaining her intentions, leaving it behind for him to discover. As she switched on the machine, and typed the date and time of her terminus, the portal opened nearby. She took the machine and journal with her and entered the portal.

Chapter 4: A Desperate Wait

Adam returned home, bewildered by Allison's sudden disappearance and the absence of the enigmatic briefcase. He now understands what happened. Allison traveled back in time to prevent herself from the accident. He decided to wait as he thought if Allison was smart enough to access the machine she would also return using the machine. As he unraveled the truth hidden within her farewell letter, regret consumed him. Too late did he realize the depths of his love for her, now lost in the river of time. He vowed to patiently await her return, just as the letter suggested. Days passed by but Allison didn't return. Who was the old man? Why did he come with the machine if he knew what would gonna happen in the future? But the future is inevitable. Had he not come with a machine, Allison would not have disappeared. He was certain that the old man knew the future because maybe he kept visiting the timelines very often and he only wanted to prevent the mishap from happening. Maybe his grandpa wasn't dead. Maybe he was lost in time and space. One thing he knew about his grandpaa was that he was a genius and his mom always told him that he (Adam)/inherited his genes of intelligence from her dad. Maybe his mom provided him with the wrong information. Maybe she didn't know his father was not dead but vanished. Now Adam was convinced that his grandpa had come to help them. Because the future is certain if he hadn't brought the Time Machine, it would eventually come to them and Allison would have vanished. But if the Future is inevitable then the Past should also be unchangeable."Oh...Stupid!Allison" He thought. What had she done?
Year after year, Adam carried the weight of his remorse, teetering on the edge of madness. He was sure that Allison couldn't come back or maybe she was trapped in space-time. "Something should be done," He thought."I will bring her back, I will travel to the time she went with the help of a time machine. Obsessed with the hope of being reunited with his beloved Allison, he dedicated his life to constructing a time machine that would enable him to traverse history's tapestry. Decades passed as he meticulously labored, refusing to abandon his self-imposed mission.

Chapter 5: A Timeless Reunion

Finally, after fifty long years, Adam completed his life's work - a testament to his unwavering love and eternal remorse. As he activated the time machine, he braced himself to prevent Allison's journey into the past, hoping to alter the course of their tragic separation. He dedicated his whole life to searching for his beloved wife. Finally, the machine is ready. He tested it several times before traveling to the year Allison went. He learned and experimented with how to visit the past and how to come back. But as he had grown old, he had become very feeble. Moreover, his experimental travel through space and time has deteriorated his health. With the last hope of finding Allison and meeting her, he finally typed the date he wanted to go, took the machine with him, and turned on the machine. Yet, as the machine whirled and shimmered, he found himself transported not to the year he wanted, but to the year 2013 right beside the door of his house. He was confused as the machine just transported him out of his house but the house seemed so new. In confusion, he rang the bell and to his surprise, Allison stood there opening the door. He was so happy to see her as young and beautiful as before after a long time.
Allison:Who are you? What do you want?
Adam:I am...(mumbling)
What is the date today
Allison: 31 January
Adam:Year
Allison:2013?Is everything ok? Can I help you?
Adam thought for a while, then hugged Allison and started crying asking Allison
"Allison, how are you dear?"Let me in I am Adam's grandpa.
So Adam mistakenly ended up in the year when Allison disappeared. He bought the time machine for Allison's disappearance by mistake. The cycle keeps repeating. Adam realized it was his future self who visited his house 50 years ago and he was responsible for the repeating cycle of space and time. He wanted to explain everything to Allison but was unable to speak as the stroke stuck him right when he entered the room. He couldn't call her so he wrote an incomplete letter with his trembling hands.
His entire existence has become intertwined with a paradoxical loop of past and future, love and loss. In the depths of his time-traveling endeavors, he inadvertently became the catalyst for his separation from Allison. The heart-wrenching truth dawned upon him – some paths, once diverged, can never be reconciled, even through the boundless expanse of time itself.

With tears in his eyes, Adam comprehends that Allison's journey is irreversibly trapped, forever concealed within the fabric of time. In this bittersweet ending, the reader is left pondering the power of love and the unforeseen consequences hidden within our deepest longings. We never let go of things we can't control. We refused to accept the fate. Allison couldn't accept the fact that she couldn't bore the child. She wants to change her fate by twisting the reality. On the other hand, Adam never lets go of Allison as he always regrets and blames himself for not loving her the way she deserves. His regrets and his temperament to not let go of what is destined create havoc in their life.


© Shaesta