It was the year 2050, the city of Neo-Tech was buzzing with people in flashy clothes. Youngsters gliding in hoverboards and adults in flying cars. Floating buildings like they were dancing to techno beats. A city with a burst of different colours , a time of advanced technology. It was the city of the future.
Deep in her laboratory was the famous Dr. Cassie Reynolds, a smart scientist, who was filled with the knack for invention and science. She had several awards to her name for her contributions to the invention of several scientific experiments in Neo-Tech City.
But this time what bothered her more was to save her friend Emily who was in a deep coma. Emily was involved in a dangerous accident while helping her in her laboratory months back. And since Dr. Cassie had blamed herself for it.
She picked up her steaming mug, and headed to the window. She needed some air. She has been working for over twenty hours now seeking a solution to her friend's ordeal.
Is there a way to save her? Dr. Reynolds wondered, her fierce loyalty to her friend served as a strong force driving her. She sipped on her coffee, staring out the window of her lab, her gaze settling on the neon-lit streets below. It looks chaotic yet beautiful. It was one of her inventions.
What if she could harness the power of technology to restore life? She pondered again. She could save Emily and others like her at the brink of death. But was it possible to create life?
These questions filled her mind, she shook her head and took another sip of her hot coffee.
Then it dawned on her, what if she can zap back in time, and prevent the accident from happening.
Looking at her coffee cup "You're such a helpful fellow, you black Joe".
With that she got to work, and for days she worked hard on a machine that could zap her to the past. Finally she succeeded. Now it was time for the journey.
"You're gonna be okay. I promised" she said, staring at a picture of Emily hanging on her laboratory wall. She turned and looked at her time machine. It stood there blinking like a stubborn firefly. With a deep breath
"Okay, let's roll," she mumbled.
She got into the machine and pushed the zap button. Immediately her laboratory shook and after a worthy merry go round. She found herself in the past.
The past
Cassie found herself in the past as she emerged from the time machine. She felt like a popcorn kernel bouncing in a hot pan. It was the exact same day Emily was involved in the dangerous laboratory accident.
Cassie watched as chaos loomed in the laboratory. Just as Emily was about to press the wrong button, Cassie burst into action, and yanked her friend to safety, the room became a blur of swirling lights.
For some seconds everything stood still. She had altered the course, averting the accident, but she never knew that she had pierced a deep hole in time.
Present
When Cassie returned, everything felt different. Her company, Neo-Tech looked like a junkyard, all messed up. And Emily, who she had travelled to save wasn't the same; she acted like a stranger from a sci-fi movie.
Infact Emily couldn't recognize her again.
For days Cassie felt like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, she tried to fix things, telling Emily who she was but the more she tried, the more she got confused as Emily acted like she was some villian in a sci-fi movie.
Out of frustration, Cassie got back into her laboratory. She worked day and night to figure out what was wrong but the more she tried the more she understood that her travel back in time had altered everything and everyone she knew. Sometimes it was better things were left the way they were.
Finally she found the solution, and it was to destroy the time machine. Inside the time machine held the gap in time that turned her friend into a stranger.
With so much anger, Cassie destroyed the time machine making sure that no scrap was left behind.
But yet nothing happened. Then she cried herself to sleep.
She was woken by a loud bang on her door. With sleepy eyes and a hangover from excessive drinking last night she pushed herself off the bed and dragged her legs to the door. Without asking she opened and on the other side was her friend Emily.
"Hey Cassie," Emily called, smiling. "It's been two days and you've not showed up to see me after I got out of coma"
" Two days?" Cassie paused. "Just yesterday you couldn't recognize me and now you're…" she paused again with questions in her face. "Did you say you got out of coma two days ago?"
"Yes I did. Can you at least let me in, plus you're acting weird. That doesn't mean I'm not angry with you "
"Yes of course" Cassie pushed the door open as Emily stepped in. She glanced at her watch and it turns out she had been asleep for over two days after she destroyed the time travel machine. An effect for her carelessness and for everything to return to normal, so she thought.
She didn't care she knew she would research about it later, but at that moment she was glad that everything was back to normal. Not just normal Emily wasn't in a coma again.
She was happy to have her friend back again. She also vowed not to mess with time travel anymore.