3 The Time Travel Machine

Sylvia looked at her grandfather with her brows knitted together. She leaned back in the chair while asking, "How much time it will take to bring this blue stone back?"

Mr. Rudalf smiled at her question and answered truthfully, "I don't know."

Sylvia: "..."

"Actually, it's not the main concern." Mr. Rudalf spoke after seeing Sylvia's speechless expressions. "The problem is whether we can bring it back or not because of the special universal power it holds within it." He added.

"Universal power..." Sylvia repeated his words.

Mr. Rudalf nodded his head affirmatively. "Because my time travel machine is not qualified to carry this stone that possesses the tremendous power of the universe. So the only solution is to go in the past and change its place." He said with certainty in his voice.

"I see." Sylvia nodded her head in understanding. "It doesn't look an easy feat. Those pirates must have found a unique way to get it." She said thoughtfully, wondering how could those pirates have touched a holy and powerful stone just like that.

"Indeed." Mr. Rudalf spoke while agreeing with her. "Only a person who has no worldly desires or selfishness can touch that stone." He said while jabbing his finger at the map in front of him.

"Someone like a holy sage?" Sylvia asked. "Or a selfless person?"

"Yes." Mr. Rudalf nodded his head and started to explain further, "If someone goes in the past, he cannot find this stone that simply. After all, we are talking about Rakshak, one of the nine eternal stones which are protecting our universe and keeping a balance between nature and living beings. Nobody knows its origin or where it came from. The only first mention of it I found in history is in the tenth century when Valdes Dynasty was governing the Northington region. So I believe that it came into existence at that time."

"So there is no exact time and date mentioned of the emergence of this stone," Sylvia said while tapping her fingers rhythmically on the armrests. It was more like she was talking to herself about a mysterious puzzle or an invisible thing that didn't exist in reality.

"Mm...hmm..." Mr. Rudalf hummed in response and added further, "In other words, if you want to go and search it in the past, you need to stay in the past until you find it and replace it." He then gazed at Sylvia meaningfully.

Sylvia furrowed her brows after hearing what her grandfather said. "Which modern person will go and stay in the past with strangers? There will be no internet, no smartphones or computers. The most difficult question will be the language issue!"

Mr. Rudalf's lips twitched slightly. "Language will not be a problem, Amie. And those people in the ancient era had many things to do to pass their time."

Sylvia made a weird face to express her disliking. But then a new question started to bug her. She instantly leaned forward to ask him, "But Grandpa, when we were experimenting on the apple in the afternoon, you told me that currently, a human cannot travel through the machine due to some technical issues. So how are you going to get into the past?"

"Soul Travel." Mr. Rudalf replied calmly but his words sent a chill down in Sylvia's spine and she shivered at the thought of a soul leaving the body.

"Did you try that?" She asked her grandfather dubiously upon which, the elderly man nodded his head.

Sylvia was astounded. She sprang up from her chair. "You had gone to the past. You met Grandma, didn't you?" She asked him with a shocked expression on her face.

Mr. Rudalf's eyes dimmed a little. "Yes. I saw her." He confessed while taking off his eyeglasses and rubbing his eyes. "I saved your Grandma by entering into someone else's body. But after that, I saw my son and pregnant daughter-in-law getting into another car accident. And I... lost the three of you..."

Sylvia stared at her grandfather with her mouth agape in shock. Tears started to flow from her eyes after imagining what her grandfather might have seen and gone through.

"It was the punishment I received for changing the past." Mr. Rudalf said and sighed heavily after that. "I went back again to redo it as it was... Predestined."

Sylvia looked at her grandfather for a while and abruptly leaped towards him to give him a big hug. "I am sorry, Grandpa!" She leaned over him and hugged his neck.

Mr. Rudalf smiled and patted Sylvia's back gently. "It's alright."

Sylvia straightened up and stood beside him. She then wiped her tears while asking hoarsely, "Grandpa, does it mean whoever goes to replace the blue stone, he or she will have to sacrifice something in return?"

The old man rubbed his moistened eyes and let out a soft 'Mm...'.

Sylvia felt her limbs turning numb along with her scalp. She couldn't imagine the consequence of changing history. Who would be willing to do the sacrifice?

"Sylvia,"

Sylvia heard her grandfather calling her name and came out of her reverie. "What is it, Grandpa?" She asked him attentively.

"Do you want to go?" Mr. Rudalf asked her.

Sylvia: "!!!"

The old man noticed the mortified expressions on Sylvia's face and smiled slightly. "Are you worried about the sacrifice thing?" He asked her gently.

"Will I lose my family?" Sylvia could not help but ask in concern.

"No." Mr. Rudalf shook his head in denial. "Because if you go into the past, you will go into the Northington Kingdom which is not connected to our family in any way." Mr. Rudalf replied calmly. "You will get your answers once you go there. Because priorities never remain the same. And I am asking you to go because I trust you, Sylvia. You have a kind and innocent heart who loves to help others. You can accomplish the mission without any obstacle."

Sylvia stayed silent as she contemplated over the offer of her grandfather.

In the current situation, she didn't want to face anyone who knew about her and Chris's relationship. The thought of Chris getting engaged to Norah was killing her from inside.

Neither she was ready to answer her family's endless questions about Chris nor did she want to follow her father who was ready to make her a soldier at any time.

She needed to be alone for some time to get over Chris and his memories.

"You need a break, my child." As if knowing what could be best for her, Mr. Rudalf said in a softer tone and held her hand in his. "What can be better than leaving this world and going on an adventure? Who knows you will find your true self in this journey?" His voice was deep and serious.

Sylvia looked at her grandfather with severe expressions on her face and admitted, "I indeed want to go away from this stressful situation but certainly not into the past, Grandpa. What if I don't come back? What if I stuck there forever?" She expressed her fear.

Mr. Rudalf stood up from his chair. He extended his hand to pat Sylvia's shoulder lightly. "Remember, nothing is bigger than humanity. Your one right decision can save humankind in the future. I assure you, your sacrifice will not go in vain. I will bring you back. That's a promise." He said reassuringly.

Sylvia didn't say anything in response as she was stunned and scared at the same time.

Mr. Rudalf didn't wait for her answer either. "Take your time but not more than half an hour." He told her as he placed his arms around Sylvia's shoulders and pulled her along with him towards the main door. "Let's go and have dinner together."

...

At the dinner table, Sylvia sat in complete silence and ate whatever her mother and aunt served her. Her overweight younger brother Will, a seventeen years old baddie, stole one sausage from her plate but she didn't lash out at him like she always did.

Her uncle- Fred asked her about Chris and she only replied 'He is fine' before continuing to chew on her vegetable skillet absentmindedly.

Her skinny cousin brother, Alex who was the same age as Will, turned on the TV after eating only two pieces of bread rolls of sausages. He sat on the couch and accidentally started a news channel first.

"Wait, Alex!" Mr. Rudalf suddenly said loudly when Alex was about to change the channel.

Everyone started to look at the old man and then turned to look at the TV on the wall.

Alex pouted and put down the remote control reluctantly.

"A deathly landslide has occurred fifteen minutes ago in the valley of Madala and it took nearly a hundred plus lives of the dwellers residing in the old houses and buildings..."

They heard the News Anchor's voice behind a video on the screen that was showing the aftermath of the landslide in their country.

Mr. Rudalf turned to look at Sylvia whose face had turned pale after watching the news. "This is the beginning of the destruction of the peaceful world." He whispered to her.

Sylvia's grip on the fork tightened as she watched the rescue team taking out the dead bodies of the poor people who had died in the landslide.

Not wanting to eat anymore, she dabbed her lips with the napkin on her lap and got up.

"Grandpa, I am waiting for you in the lab." She said and left hurriedly.

Concerned, Sylvia's mother started looking in the direction her daughter went ."What's wrong with Amie today?"

Mr. Rudalf got up from his chair as well and replied to Sylvia's mother, "It's nothing, Susan. We are working on something. Amie will be late tonight. You guys enjoy dinner and sleep early. Good night."

...

After arriving at his lab, Mr. Rudalf saw his granddaughter standing in the room where he had kept his time travel machine. She was standing in front of it, without moving.

"Have you made your mind, Sylvia?" Mr. Rudalf asked Sylvia as he stood beside her and looked at the seven feet long silver-colored machine in human shape. It had various wires which were attached to the different electronic devices and a huge computer screen in the room.

Sylvia nodded her head and moved forward to open the door of the time travel machine. Mr. Rudalf helped her and went to set the time on the computer screen.

"I have set the timer. You will come back after seven hours." He said to her while he hurriedly typed a few buttons and started the machine. "Don't be afraid. I will be here watching over you."

"Okay," Sylvia said expressionlessly and stood inside the machine.

Mr. Rudalf walked back towards her with a small golden device that looked like a bracelet. It had a red gem in the center.

"If anything bad happens or you feel like giving up, then just press this red button thrice. I will get your message." He told her while showing the red gem which was actually a button of the device.

Sylvia fought back tears and looked at her grandfather as he tied the bracelet on her wrist.

After that, Mr. Rudalf started to attach some leads of wires to her body and to the monitoring device inside the time travel machine. "Just close your eyes and you will be there." He said to her and shut the door of the machine.

Sylvia came out of her daze and looked at her grandfather through the small glass window in front of her eyes.

"Wait, where am I going? In whose body I am going to reincarnate?!" She asked in panic but Mr. Rudalf could not hear her now.

He wore his headphones and showed her thumbs up before pressing a button on the computer screen.

In the next moment, Sylvia felt the world around her changing. Sudden darkness came over her and she fell into a deep slumber.

Mr. Rudalf pulled his hand down and sat on the chair next to the screen. He rubbed his face with his palms and sighed heavily. He then took out something from his lab coat.

It was an old and wrinkled page of some history book.

He stared at the image of a graceful woman in warrior's attire. At the bottom of the page, two lines were written to introduce her,

'Commander Sylvia Timor (May 900- December 921), died in the war of Middleshire, Northington.'

He turned the page over and saw an image of a young couple of which, the man's countenance matched with Sylvia's boyfriend Chris. The woman standing beside him was his wife- Norah Clayden to whom, the Crown Prince Christopher had married after the war and they had become the Emperor and the Empress of Northington the very next year.

Mr. Rudalf looked up at the tiny glass window of the time travel machine. He could see that Sylvia had closed her eyes. She probably had left her body.

"I am sorry, Sylvia. I hope this mission will change your future with Chris. You have to fight to get your position and make the foundation of your relationship with Chris stronger in your previous birth so you can get him in this birth too." Mr. Rudalf mumbled with a hopeful smile on his face. "All the best, my child."

★★★★★★