THE BROKEN TIME MACHINE
ARUL DAS
Copyright 2012 by ARUL DAS
Smashwords Edition
Deke didn't know what time it was. He only knew was early afternoon; on a fall
day in 1195. He stood atop the hill where he had often come to think, over the
years. It was said to be haunted.
Down below, the annual harvest festival was going on. He had wanted no part in it.
He'd passed through it earlier, and people had turned to look at him; a tall man with
shoulder length light blond hair, limping badly. In his arms he'd been carrying a
toddler, female with dark hair and eyes. Everyone knew it wasn't his child. Where
was he taking her? He couldn't care less.
Also, some girls turned around and gave him glances. He didn't notice that either.
The toddler twisted in his arms. He didn't dare put her down.
He stood there reminiscing.
He'd been born the youngest child to fiftyish serf parents. A miracle baby. His
brothers and sisters were far older. When he was ten, his parents, unable to support
him sent him to live with the most wealthy serf of the village, who did carpentry
work for the Lord. His hut had two rooms. Palatial.
Bart (Bartholamew) was the youngest; picked on by his five older brothers. They
became fast friends. So much so that when king Richard called for troups, and Bart
and his brothers had to go- thier father being friends with the Lord and all- it was
only natural for him to go too.
Outside Jeruselem, he, Bart and two others-on a scouting mission- were attacked
by Sarecens. Deke surprised everyone (including himself) by diving under the lead
thug's scimitar and stabbing upward, leaping out of the way just in time. Then they
fought. He was to kill more than the others, who may have died. After the last one
was felled, they had run for thier lives,Deke badly wounded in the leg.
Back home, Bart inherited the house, his brothers being dead. He cultivated a
beard; Deke remained clean-shaven. He married his sweetheart; no one would have
Deke, who lived Bart, as he he was lame. She died giving birth to Lillian- or Lilyand
it fell upon Deke to care for her while Bart worked the fields or in this case,
went down to Festival to search for a wife.
And if he finds one I'm gone. I'll just be in the way. There was a large storage-shed
in back, about the size of a small room. He suspected he would have to live there.
Bart thinks he loves me- but he'll get along without me fine. And the girl- will she
remember me at all?
She broke his reverie. "Daddy!"
He laughed. "I'm not your daddy!"
He heard a noise.
It was coming from the center of the hill, where the grass grew long. Whispers and
voices. The hair on his arms stood up. it was they those people. The "fairies." Ever
since childhood, he'd felt he was being watched. Well now, he was going to
investigate!
He carried the child over to the nest of ferns and laid her down. "if you love meand
I know you do- then don't move!"
Then he strode, slowly, to the center and looked around. Just what was was the
source of that n-
Lily had been by Bart's side just a minute ago. Now the 8-year old seemed to have
vanished. "Lily" Barthlomew called out. ""Lily!"
Five years had gone by since his friend Deke had , on that hill, vanished into thin
air. Five years ago at the Festival, he had had an odd feeling about Deke; that
something had gone wrong with him. He'd seen him go by on the way to the hill;
he followed him up there. He'd found Lily shrieking her head off in the nest of
ferns; she'd not moved. Everyone knew how much he loved Lily. He wouldn't
leave her.
He heard someone call "Over here!" Turning he saw a tall man with light hair, Lily
beside him. To his great relief, he recognized it as his child. At first he thought the
man was his friend, returned from the "dead". But he'd gotten it wrong. He was
much too tall.
Walking over to her, he grabbed his daughter by the hand. "I was just talking to
him, daddy!" she said. Bart bowed to the man. thank you," he said. Leading her
away, he glanced back. The man had vanished, as though he had never been.
Just as I'd figured.
"I told you this before." he said. When you meet a person who is not familiar to
you- who is tall, and looks ot be in his early twenties- stay away from him."
"Was he one of them, daddy?" she asked.
"Yes, I believe it was. When I turned around to look at him, he was gone. Just like
that. You know...they probably took Deke."
"Could you talk to me more about that? How did he go away?"
"I don't know," he said in a heavy tone of voice. "Please. I don't want to discuss
this anymore." But he could and did. No one else would listen to him; about the
Crusades, and tales of the fairies. About Deke, most of all. Not even his wife, for
he had remarried. Bart needed someone to talk to. And the only person he could
really communicate with was his daughter.
"Sh*t! F***! Damn!"
Deke only understood one of those words. Just minutes before,something had
tripped him. He dared not look up.
"Seems like we have a visitor" someone said.
He did not look up. "Please sir. You can sit up now." this was spoken in a woman's
voice. He could see her feet.
He sat up, and beheld 3 men and 2 women. All looked to be in thier early 20s. The
men stood about a head taller and the women nearly as tall. Beyond them he could
see squarish building with green feathery stuff on top- he figured them to be trees
(he was right.)
"You are fairies, aren't you?"
"No, we are not" a man said. "We're not. There's no such thing as fairies. We are
exactly like you but with one exception. We don't age."
(As they were telepaths, they actually spoke to him in his lingo.)
"Then where am I?" He tried to keep his voice calm.
One looked at the other, who said: "Tell him."
"You havn't gone anywhere. this is the 31st century."
"Oh," was all he could say.
One of the women- she wore white, and a long red braid- said, "Now sit there and
don't move! Don't ask any more questions. We'll get you home straight away,
inside of ten minutes."
"Ten minutes! I left a little girl back there. It might be too late!"
"You'll arrive only seconds after you departed." she said.
The immortals left Deke and stood by the by the small machine at the edge of the
circular clearing where he had found himself. "Bad news" one of them muttered.
"We can't send him back now. The machine's not working right; that is what got
our friend into this; there was a time leakage. He heard something, and came up to
investigate."
"Which is bad for poor little Ivanhoe here." This was spoken by the woman with
the long red braid.
"He's just a serf , Jeanine." the other woman said.
"He was wounded in the Second Crusade. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
I've been watching him."
A snort. "I'll bet you have."
She waved her hand. "Never mind that. I have something in mind for him."
"You mean we don't just freeze him?" a man said.
"No, I've a better idea. Send him to our world headquarters in New York. They'll
see fit to study him, I think."
There were groans all around.
I'm serious. I see something special in him. And after what he's been through, why
not give him some fun? Even though he won't....."
"Very well, Jeannie, you tell him."
Deke saw the woman separate herself from the others and walk over to him. He
knew that it was bad news.
"I am sorry," she said. But we cannot send you back right now after all."
"Why?" he said.
"The machine is broken. If we sent you back now we would be risking your life. It
will be a month untill we get a replacement. But we have something in mind for
you."
"What is that?"
We will sending you over to the city of New York. That's where our main
anthropological center is. After a month you will be returned here, and you will
still arrive home only seconds after you left. And if you decide to to stay- or
something happens to you- we will see to it that no harm befalls the child."
He sighed. "Do I have a choice?"
"Yes you do. We could freeze you in time for that period- from what I've heard it is
not very pleasant."
"The answer is yes, then."
The girl turned away from him, expecting him to follow, like an obedient dog. He
did so; but he bent over and winced. His old wound was acting up.
She turned. "Is something wrong?"
"War wound. It is hard for me to walk. Could you possibly help?"
She turned to one of the men, who shrugged. He pulled an insrtument out of his
belt, then ran it along Deke's leg. The pain went away immediately.
The four walked out of the clearing, Deke following, asking "Would you mind
telling me where New York is?"
He was carried across the Atlantic in a 3-story craft which sped across the ocean at
a height of 50 feet. While they had airplanes in this era- closer to shuttlecraft
actually- they suspected taking him on it might give him a heart attack. They were
right about that.
He was given a large room to stay in, and spent almost all his time there. With him
was a taciturn male immortal whose job was to look after him. They said little to
one another.
On the third day he was informed that that afternoon they would be docking in
New York. Nervously he'd wolfed down his breakfast- a kind of fairy dish known
as "flapjacks"- and followed his companion up the rickety metal stairway to the
observation deck.
There he beheld the New York skyline, which looked much the same as a thousand
years ago. The afternoon sun and turned it golden. And at the Statue of Liberty too;
she had been faced in white granite, and in her hand she carried a sword.
"Look upon this Deke," said his normally silent companion. "Here is where all the
legends began. Some of those we send back- we allow to keep some of thier
memories."
"Oh,Oh."
He pointed to the statue. "Who is that?"
"Liberty Enlightening the World," he said. "It is supposed to stand for freedom,
about a thousand years old. Long ago, the sword was a torch. We once were
attacked, you know. I would have liked the torch better."
Then he was herded (he thought the term applied) into a smaller craft; it took him
to the shore. He got out and saw a woman detach herself from a knot of people and
run to him across the sand- for this was now a beach. Tiny (for an immortal) and
dressed in pastels, with layered reddish-brown hair. She looked like Susan
Sarandon at age 20. She took both his hands in hers.
"My name is Valerie. Call me Val. I am the assistant director, and during your stay
here you will be living with me."
They were taken via motorboat up the many canals which wound through
Manhattan. For the sea level had risen. The buildings, which came down to the
water's edge, looked very old; they had moss on them too, as did the huge trees at
the shoreline.
It was a beautiful city.
It was getting near evening when they came to the centuries-old building where she
lived. he was led up a flight of stairs to the 5th story. Once inside, she sat him
down on the overstuffed couch, gave him water and something called a
"sandwich." She told him she would be leaving for a couple hours, and for him to
be sure not be sure not to touch anything.
He listened to her retreating footsteps, then got up. He looked around the room,
which was about the same size as the main room in Barts's house. Is this how
fairies live? He gazed on the strange looking wicker furniture, piled with pillows.
A house gecko darted nearby to behind a picture on the vine-laced wall.. At the end
of the room was a picture window, half hidden by crocheted curtains. He walked
over to it, and gingerly drew it aside.