A Glance Through Time

Chapter Two

  I closed my eyes and once again felt the energising jolt of electricity course throughout my body. I opened my eyes to a concrete jungle, surrounded by intricate sky scrapers and floods of civilians scurrying down the sidewalk. The streets were stopped to a standstill of brightly coloured vehicles full of angry drivers honking and cursing at those in front of them. At first sight it was like chaos, but then again it felt strangely calm and organised. I walked down the sidewalk, watching all of the mesmerising billboards flaunting their flashy logos and beautiful models. The scenery was drastically different than the one I had visited earlier, and in a way it reminded me of home. 

  I stopped and sat down at a bench alongside a building. The bench and the area around it was deserted, I suppose everyone had somewhere to be and no time to sit. I watched the people and the cars rush by in front of me, blurring together into a sort of uniform machine. I could've gone somewhere more calm, like Maine, and watched the cows graze on a farm or something, but I've always enjoyed watching people from the past go about their daily lives. They're always in such a hurry to get somewhere, and once they've gotten somewhere they just keep going to somewhere else. It's nothing like that back home. Everyone has somewhere to be, but no one has any goals or aspirations for their life. We all just become a part of the same uniform machine and never dare deviate from it. 

  I sighed quietly to myself and stood up from the bench. I'm not sure how long I've been sitting here but it has to have been a while since the traffic has dwindled, and the sky has turned into a swirling mixture of purple and orange. I looked out at the bustling world before me and pulled the time box out of my sweatshirt pocket. I slowly turned the knobs back to present time, and my thumb lingered over the fingerprint reader. I looked wistfully back up towards the street and my heart skipped a beat. Amongst the sea of suits and trench coats, my gaze locked with a pair of sun kissed hazel eyes. I never thought brown eyes could be so striking, but his resembled pure honey, and glistened starkly under the setting orange sun. 

  My breath caught in my throat. He was looking right at me, but how could that be possible? The time bubble only allows me to observe, no one from these places is supposed to be able to see me. The boys gaze lowered, and he continued walking until be bled into the crowd, indistinguishable from the rest. I felt my legs moving, and then running towards the direction that he vanished. My mind felt empty and body electrified with confusion and excitement all at the same time. I kept running until I could no longer breathe and my face felt hot and red. He was gone. Swept away by a wave of people that all looked and sounded the same until there wasn't a trace of him left. I shakily took my time box back out, which still had my homes place and time displayed, and touched my thumb to the reader.

  I didn't close my eyes this time. The world around me warped and blurred into a white light until it faded into the image of my room. I fell back into bed, panting and sweating, millions of thoughts racing through my mind. My mind focused on those beautiful hazel eyes, watching me from afar. No distinguishable thoughts or emotions behind them, but at the same it felt like they spoke a thousand perfect words. 

 My eyes suddenly felt heavy, and I gave in to my body's weakness and closed my eyes. My body numbed and my surroundings slipped through my fingers, until I felt myself slip into a heavy sleep. 

-

  I woke up to my alarm chip ringing deafeningly in my ear. I opened my eyes reluctantly and allowed them to adjust to the harsh light seeping in through my window. My body felt sore and tense, and I was still wearing my clothes from yesterday, so I decided to take a cold shower. I walked into the washroom and stripped off my clothes, then I turned on the shower and stepped in. As the water hit my face I began to recall the previous events from last night - those hallucinatory hazel eyes. He was looking right at me, I could feel his gaze cutting through me like sharp glass, but it just couldn't be possible. I've visited hundreds of places of  places throughout the years, and watched billions of people go about their daily lives, and no one has ever seen me or felt me. My mind felt cloudy and confused. The only way for me to know for sure what I saw is to go back to that exact place and time, and see it all over again.