Clockworks of the Heart

Numbered Days

I need to get there as fast as I could. I've only got a few minutes before Elena and my past self arrive at the pedestrian lane. I always thought about this but I always come a few seconds too late. “Yet again, I failed...” This statement was a routine of mine every time I fail to change the past. Again, the de ja vu of a scene is in front of me, mocking me because I couldn't do anything about it.

“Damn it!” I scream my lungs out and said some inappropriate words that children shouldn't hear. By-standers start to stare at me, wondering who this crazy man is. I knew that I was starting to get unwanted attention. Luckily, the time machine kicked in and transported me to the present just in time before anyone noticed my resemblance to the pitiful man on the street who just lost his loved one in a car accident that happened right before the latter's eyes.

Like usual, after the head-spinning experience of traveling back to the present, I wake up in the time capsule in the laboratory. I stood up with all my strength while Aaron turns off the machine. My brother turns around to face me and had a concerned look on his face. “Not yet, huh?” he said.

I shook my head in disappointment and said in a discouraged tone, “Not yet...”

“That's too bad... I thought I set the time earlier than usual. This was even the fourth time of the day.”

“Looks like the machine is smarter than it looks 'coz it brought me to the other side of the city.” Strange. My voice sounded a little hoarse and my head is still spinning.

“I really think that this thing is broken or something.”

I raised my own eyebrow of doom, which gives more of an aura of skepticism than annoyance. Aaron just ignored my gesture and turned to the computer to turn it off, but I know I had him shivering inside because I got him traumatized by that look of mine. I'm not going to say how, but let's just say that I was one of the judges in a science fair of their school while he was still in his junior high school.

I stepped out the capsule and went to the table beside the computer that Aaron was using to get the keys to my car. Beside my keys, there was a photo of Elena and me during our trip to Florence, Italy. We went to Florence because she wanted to see the place itself, saying that it was the number one artistic and cultural center in the world. I unconsciously smiled while recalling our trip to Italy.

We traveled by ship because it was much cheaper that way than to travel by plane. I was just a fresh graduate that year and Elena just quit the job she applied to after she graduated college a year before, reasoning out that her boss was harassing her, which was true. I even punched that leech on the face and I sported a new bruise on my chest. She kept worrying on our trip, saying that the ship might sink. She wasn't a very good swimmer; rather, she really didn't know how to swim.

I once tried to teach Elena how to swim in our university's pool, but she was too shy to even get out of the girls' locker room. I tried to resort to dragging her out of the locker room, but she was a sly tactician. She threatened to call a guard and tell him that I was trying to harass her, so I waited in the pool for her to get out. It was almost night time and she still hasn't come out. I wasn't worried that the guard might lock us in because the university's pool is open until 10pm every weekdays. My skin was starting to look like a prune from exposure to water for too long.

It was around 6pm that Elena, fully-dressed in shorts and in a shirt that I used to wear in my high school days, finally came out of the locker room. I lurked in the water near the exit of the pool area, like a predator waiting for its prey. The moment she was near enough, I suddenly came out of the water and grabbed her around her waist. She screamed to let her go and I was about to, but I “accidentally” slipped and both she and I fell into the pool. She was flailing in the water, but it didn't seem like she'll be above the surface anytime soon. I went up to the surface and inhaled a great amount of air and went back in. I swam beside Elena and she looked at me with panicked eyes. I knew that this would happened, so I swam closer and suddenly gave her a kiss on the lips as well as some air to intake.

That was the first time we kissed and I couldn't have planned it better. That's right. I planned the whole thing, from the time I offered to teach her how to swim up to this underwater romance, even the part where she refused to leave the locker room was part of my plan. Everything has gone through according to all my calculations. I was too overwhelmed by the moment that I forgot the she couldn't swim. I swear I saw her suddenly turn blue, so I rushed to bring her out of the water. In the end, I never got to teach her how to swim, but that was one of the most unforgettable days we had. After that day, she didn't talk to me for a week, but, of course, I made excuses just to hear her voice. Hearing her voice was enough to make me feel happy for the whole day.

 

I snap out of my reminiscence and grabbed my keys. I went to the power-box and asked Aaron whether he's ready.

“Almost,” he said. “Thanks for letting me borrow the computer. This is some powerful stuff. I could research my materials at the speed of light or something.”

“Yeah, right. That computer's internet speed isn't anywhere near the speed of light... well, almost. Anyway, we gotta go. Whose turn is it to make dinner tonight?” I eyed him while I said that. Hm? I just noticed that my headache still hasn't left me.

“Yeah, yeah. I got ya,” he said in annoyance. “Oh yeah, Dr. Reeves called earlier while you were in the past.”

“Oh? What does he want from me?”

“Hey, be thankful that he's even bothering to check up on you. Normal people pay doctors for check-ups while you pay them to do nothing on you. What's the sense in that?”

“Chill, bro. Even if you say that, I'll never like their kind. Besides, Dr. Reeves is only in debt to our old man.” I suddenly coughed uncontrollably and covered my mouth so I don't spread a disease or something. Strange. I feel like something came out of my mouth and stuck onto my hand. I looked at my hand to see what it was and I froze. Blood... You've got to be kidding me. This can't be happening to me. I have too much work to do and too many things I'll leave behind. Crap. I can't believe I'm dying.

“Whatever. Anyway, he called to ask whether you're feeling okay. The results he got from your last check-up did not look very good and told me to make sure that you need to use the time machine less often. Dan? What's wrong?” Aaron noticed that I looked like I've seen a ghost. The moment he saw my hand, he turned pale. I didn't notice that some of the blood dripped in between my fingers, so it didn't surprised me when Aaron started to panic. “Look, man! That's blood! No wonder Dr. Reeves sounded so stern! Time traveling is killing you!”

He paused to get a response from me, but I just stood there thinking what might happen to me if I keep on time traveling. Convinced that I won't be giving him my thoughts, he continued “Look, I really think that you should stop this. This isn't worth killing yourself over.”

At that moment, I snapped. Something that Aaron said really made me heat up. “What, are you saying that Elena isn't worth a damn thing? There's no way I'll stop; not until I save her!”

“Just shut up already!” The room froze and dead silence engulfed the area. It was the first time Aaron shouted at me; not even our past arguements did he shout. However, I didn't let that falter me. I was not planning to lose this fight.