UntoldwarLove
New York City was still humming behind her-the echo of traffic, neon lights, and the faint scent of solder from her cluttered apartment workshop. That tiny room, with its mismatched tools and half-empty coffee cups, was where Julianna, a sharp-minded young adult with a restless spirit, forged the impossible.
A time-traveler's watch.
Chrome-bright, gear-packed, and humming with blue light. A thing no one else believed could work.
And yet... when she snapped the final panel shut, sparks curled like fireflies. Her phone buzzed-her universal tether to the modern world-and she grinned.
"Alright," she whispered, sliding it into her pocket. "Let's see what history's got for me."
The world cracked open.
Light folded inward. A pulse like a train rushing past her ears-
And then there was dust.
Hot, golden dust swirling around her boots as she stood in the middle of a dirt road that stretched into forever. Instead of skyscrapers, the horizon offered rugged mesas, winding canyons, and a sun so enormous it bled orange across the sky.
The buildings nearby were weather-worn wood, their signs hand-painted and rattling in the wind. Horses snorted from the hitching posts. A tumbleweed rolled by, lazily-almost theatrically.
Julianna lifted her hat, a dark, wide-brimmed cowgirl's hat she had crafted for the occasion. Her outfit matched perfectly:
Leather vest, rugged trousers, twin pistols resting comfortably at her hips-though she hoped not to use them. She checked her smartphone; modern signal, zero bars. But the screen still lit up, ready to help her navigate any era.
"Well," she muttered with a half-smirk, "ain't this quite the surprise... the Wild West is interesting."
As she stepped into town, eyes followed her-curious, suspicious, intrigued. A few newcomers looked like her. Fewer walked with her confident stride.
But one pair of eyes lingered longer than the rest.
She muttered to herself now that this time machine works.