Out of time

200 years

   Once upon a time, there lived a curious and vibrant 25-year-old girl named Mary Rain. There was most certainly a more beautiful woman than she, but still, her simple sandy brown bob, golden hazel eyes, and light Carmel skin made her just as breathtaking as an old painting; full of life and mystery.
She was an old soul, always yearning for a closer connection to people and nature. Little did she know that very soon, her deepest desire would be granted, and her life would never be the same.
     It all began on a golden misty autumn afternoon, the sun was just shining through clouds and dew. Mary’s husband Louis had just left for work so it was time for her to do some cleaning and prepare for dinner. Homemade baguette with olive oil and garlic sauce on a bed of homemade noodles. She heads to her fridge and takes out 10 eggs.
One by one she puts on the counter as she says with vigor and rhythm:
“This egg is one, the day has begun.
This egg is two, through and through
This egg of three, so I will it be.
This egg of four has the power I store.
This egg of five, my food be alive.
This egg of six, any illness I fix.
This egg of seven is better than heaven.
This egg of eight is the best of fates.
This egg of nine is sweeter than wine.
And this is the egg of ten. Will bring down all men-“
Mary started chuckling and smiled as she held the last egg in her hands. Rolling it over and over, as if it might change colour or shape. 
But quickly her smile loosened and she suddenly felt cold. A deep feeling of melancholy rushed through her, she stopped rolling the egg around and froze for a moment.
“ I do suppose it's fun to pretend. Too bad my food won't taste as full of life and flavour as I wish it be.” She whispered to the egg.
Almost teary-eyed now, she tried to picture how silly she must look and sound in the middle of her modern-day 2018-built home saying some silly incantation to say eggs so her food would be better tasting.
“hmph” She shook her whole body, and with it the feelings and thoughts of anything magical.
She swiftly went to set aside the 10th egg on the counter with the others, but as her fingertips left the shell, a strange tingling sensation washed over her, and as she turned around to get the milk out of her refrigerator, It was gone. Her sink was gone.
She found herself standing in a whole new room. Everything was wood, the walls, the flooring, the counters and the table. Where her electric 6 burner stove had been was a huge heavy cast iron range that had only 2, what looked to be burners of some sort and a hanging cast iron pot over a small crackling fire. It appeared as though everything had traveled back in time to the 1800’s.
Suddenly she heard a Crack and a Splat.
She turned around to see the tenth egg had rolled off the counter and cracked on the floor. Her floor. Her new laminate, black and white tile floor.
Mary made a quick 360 turn and it was all back to normal. Back to current times.
"Alright. What just happened?"
Mary yelled to the eggs, quite desperately.
" Did I do that?..." she paused.
Looked down at the palms of her hands and continued pleading to the eggs-
" Can I do it again?..."
Immediately after a loud rumble went throughout the house. All the lights went out as a lightning bolt caused a fireworks show to spark up her house. Mary quickly grabbed her red pea coat and ran out of her kitchen's side door. What else was she supposed to do?
Mary is not very good at making decisions under pressure, so all she thought to do was go to her safe spot in the town's square park. Under an old evergreen, a tall red cedar.
It was more than raining cats and dogs. Mary could barely see more than a foot in front of her, with raindrops the size of ping-pong balls pelting her and covering her glasses.
" just keep running" she whispered to herself. She was only about a block from her safe spot.
"You'll be fine. Just get there and you'll be safe."
She took a deep breath and gave herself a boost of energy. Only looking at the ground, what seemed a few minutes later she finally saw the familiar green bed of grass the park housed. She knew she only had a few more feet, so she closed her eyes and put her arms out to hug the evergreen for safety.
Through her eyelids, she saw another flash of lightning and felt the thunder echo through the skies and down to the earth.
Instantaneously, she felt the tough bark of the tree she was running to, and then. It was quiet. It was dry. There was no rain hitting rain puddles and the feeling of thunder had gone. In fact, she felt warmth on her cheeks. And a song from a bird she knew she should remember the name of.  Bugs. Lots of bug sounds. An orchestra of buzzing and crickets playing their legs as loud as possible. Then what grew to be louder, a very specific sound. A clip-clopping sound and heavy breathing. Followed by something heavy on wheels, and an overpowering smell of musky farm animals and hay.
Mary shut her eyes just a bit tighter before opening them to see a horse-drawn buggy and driver squeak and neigh past her, not nearly 10 feet away.
Amazed and bewildered, Mary looked around her town, recognizing the familiar faces of the townspeople she knew so well, but their clothes and surroundings spoke of a different era. She marvelled at the horse-drawn carriages, buggies, carts, donkeys and even oxen that now traversed the cobblestone streets and the charming houses lit by flickering gas lamps.
" I did it. "
She sighed with relief.
" I did this. I went back in time.... this is crazy...." Mary now let go of the tree and started to pace in circles taking in more of what her surroundings meant.
"But how?" She said still flabbergasted.
She paused and looked down.  Her jeans, white tee, and red pea coat were gone. Mary now was donning a goddess-like, floor-length dress. It was the most beautiful shade of light blue and had a high empire waist tied with a yellow ribbon.
She chuckled as the thought of needing answers left her head.
"Who cares?" She let out a laugh as she went to discover her town and exactly what year it was.
Days turned into weeks, and Mary found herself growing increasingly fond of the simpler life in the 1820s. She embraced the elegance of the era,  high teas, balls, and learning the art of calligraphy. She was living her greatest dreams. It seemed impossible and yet it continued to get better. The townspeople learned to admire her for her knowledge and wisdom beyond her years.
However, as Mary delved deeper into her newfound adoration for that time period, she stumbled upon a mysterious book in her favourite bookshop on witchcraft. Intrigued by its ancient whispers, she couldn't help but wonder if she could use its power to prolong her stay in this captivating dream she didn't want to end.
So she became one of the greatest healers and witches in the land, and with each incantation and potion, Mary's connection to the 1820s grew stronger. She revelled in the ability to walk among the historical figures and lands she had once admired from books and the internet.
Unbeknownst to Mary, whispers began to circulate through the town, tales of a maiden who was out of time. As these rumours of Mary's alleged witchcraft reached a fever pitch, one by one the people she helped and healed. Her friends turned against her. Fear and suspicion clouded their once-admiring eyes. Mary's heart broke, realizing that the very people she had come to love now saw her as a threat. Realizing her 5th-grade history teacher told her about this. History repeats. She read about the Salem witch trials, but now she fully understood what happened.
Mary hid out in her small cottage, for weeks trying to come up with a spell to make contact with her husband.
Mary had realized it had been almost 1 full year since she had been in 1820. It is about to be autumn again. She had somehow almost forgotten about her Louis. She needed to at least let him know she was alive. She at least owed him that much. She had come up with a special brew she believed would act as a sort of face time. All her ingredients have sat and stewed. She is ready to say her incantation and hopes to see and hear Louis. Mary took a deep breath and stirred her potion as she exlahed and said these words:

"Alder, almond, and anise.
My words you shall feast.
I come not to scare you. With camomile and berries of blue.just these the turmeric and saffron,
You shall believe this no con
North. East. West south.
We can talk if you use your mouth.
Just believe and see oh babe.
In reality, I can reshape"
Sure enough, Mary's big pot of potion started stirring itself and bubbling. Different colours and shapes soon turned to a blurred version of her Louis.
"MARY?"
Louis yelled for he was stirring a pot of ramen on his stove in the year 2022 when suddenly it started to stir itself and bubble and formed a blurred version of his thought-to-be-lost wife Mary.
"YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Mary chuckled and thought
"of course, he wasn't going to question seeing me in his ramen but give the most silly grins and yell at me"
Of course, he was just simply glad she was alive. Mary quickly explained everything that had happened to her since day one in their kitchen a year ago and the storm.
His eyes filled with concern. He pleaded with her to abandon her dangerous journey into the past, convinced that she was losing touch with reality.
Mary's heart broke. She had hoped he would be as bewildered as she was with travelling through time and come join her in 1821 to live their lives together in a simple life. But now feeling betrayed by who she thought she held dear and held her as close, tears streaming down her face, Mary made a heartbreaking decision. She blew a kiss to Louis dumped over her pot.
Somehow just as liquids, herbs, and other ingredients should have splashed and sloshed all over her dirt floors, simultaneously three tears from her eyes fell to the floor. Her potion simply turned to bubbles and blew out her open window. She decided to make her most powerful spell yet. A spell she would perform to sever her ties to the present and make the townspeople forget all about her. Specifically, making her go back in time once more to the first day in autumn she found herself in 1820.
All she ever wanted and yearned to be was accepted, to live a life where her love for the past would never be questioned. Where she could help people, and be closer to nature. To live the way be believed was true.
Months later she gathered the town to the evergreen tree in the town square. They watched with a mix of awe and trepidation as Mary chanted every ancient incantation she found about time travel.
But fate had other plans in store for Mary Rain.
As the final words left her lips, a blinding light engulfed her with a sparkling show of colours. When it faded, Mary was gone. She had been ripped through time and space.
The townspeople stared for a long while at the evergreen, everyone knew her to be found of. Which now had a raindrop-shaped gaping hole in the bark, forever marked by the memory of a girl who dared to defy time itself. For years to come, they whispered tales of a girl who embraced the past but lost sight of the beauty that lay right before her eyes. Some believed and told the stories to their children. Some heard the stories and thought it was just a tale.
The story of Mary serves as a bittersweet reminder that sometimes our deepest desires can lead us astray. It teaches us the importance of cherishing the present, for it is in the here and now that true happiness can be found.
For every story, whether filled with joy or sadness, holds a powerful lesson that weaves its way into the tapestry of our lives, shaping us into the people we are destined to become.