One

This was just another ordinary Saturday in the rich autumns of Nottingham, if you asked anyone. They were perhaps famous, even missed, by long-time residents who had known them, or had spent many a part of their childhood basking in the joy and pleasure of marveling at how the leaves would turn red, golden-brown or even a novel shade of yellow specially at this time of the year, as though to match the radiant glow of the sun's rays as they somehow managed to find their way around the place, behind every corner, pipe, gutter and edge, worming its way into the people's houses, where some would be spending their afternoons watching television, for kids playing perhaps a particularly intense video game, or enjoying the comfort of a good book and a cup of hot, strong, freshly brewed coffee and a snack. Never failing to bring joy to even the most sober, sullen and sober of the history of miserable long-faces, it very gladly warmed up and caught everyone's smiles within a seemingly everlasting radius. And it would truthfully be an understatement to say that the people of Nottingham were none the more grateful for it.

Now, as the sun which I have so plentifully presented in my earlier paragraph shone its contagious smile on a certain street known so as Kingsley Way, there were two children, the only two in Nottingham perhaps, who did not seem nearly as much cheered up as the rest of the sun's 'patients', by the ages of thirteen, leaning against the kind of fence that looked as though it had not been carefully, much meticulously tended for ages and counting, its once pristine white paint now practically unrecognizable as it covered itself with tender peelings and stains or haphazard smudge marks that littered it, over the passing of time that surrounded number four, Kingsley Way, like a venomous anaconda slowly curling itself around its prey before devouring it in one spectacular gulp, though decidedly not with so much a suspense as the latter. 

The kids' names were Oliver and Ana Williams, and were twins, as you probably had guessed. At this very moment even the smartest of passers-by could be forgiven for not noticing their whereabouts, for they were very cleverly and henceforth inconspicuously hidden behind a hedge of begonias that lined the entire interior of the fence and beyond, much. Now, this Oliver and Ana Williams were at this moment not remotely enjoying themselves, as their parents...well, you know how most parents work from nine to five, five days a week? Well, Oliver's and Ana's work from five to nine, seven days a week. Mr. Williams was a lawyer, and Mrs. Williams a medical specialist, which meant that she was fairly high in the medical industry. Mr. Williams was often overseas half the year, as he had become quite prominent in the past years and often had to go all around the world to meet fellow lawyers on business trips, or if someone called on him to investigate big overseas cases, and was hardly ever at home. Meanwhile Mrs. Williams often had to stay up overnight to tend to patients, or to do research on 'important things', as she called it, so Oliver and Ana cultivated discipline from a young age and could pretty much get the house running on their own.

Today was just another of the days that they were left to their own devices, needless to say.

"Hey Olive, want to go for a walk down the street? I'm wholly bored to death on such an uneventful day." Ana, younger by three minutes, had still not gotten used to life with the Williams much.

Oliver was the way more mature of the two, but even he understood how dreadful it could be to have absolutely nothing to do, or no business to get round to on a day like this, and he was practically falling asleep. "Sure." He got up, showing just how much he longed for an opportunity to stretch his legs, despite how much he would refuse to admit it if anyone asked. Disappearing into the house, he slipped upstairs and came down a mere minute later with a blue sweatshirt behind a black jacket which his father had gotten him a few years ago after a trip to the States, sleeves pulled up, and denim jeans for his bottom. Ana was already waiting when he came, and together the pair of them stepped out the door and at once again the fresh air greeted them like a rush of cool breeze from the air-conditioner in their respective rooms. Locking the door behind them, they exited the house through the rattled old fence, and set off side by side towards the horizon on the end of the left of Kingsley Way, as far as the eye could see.

They had no destination in mind, but they just kept walking, thinking that it would be no harm to them even if they were just going for a stroll around their neighborhood.

They passed by the other various quaint houses located along Kingsley Way that belonged to their equally strange neighbors, one of which was the famous engineer Riley Marks, in the area at least. Whenever anyone encountered problems with their home appliances, they need not be afraid to call on him. He was very kind to the Williams, and whenever they ran into his lanky stature packed with sinew and over an oversized jumper, he would give them biscuits and go to the nearby Jackson's to treat them to ice-creams. 

Next to Riley's was old Ms. Crowley's. She was a catty old lady whom no one dared come close to, as everyone on the street found creepy. No one knew what exactly she did, but word did spread around that she was senile and a witch, and entering her house was like entering a haunted one. The rumor had been passed down for generations, and of course the twins had heard of it, although they had been too young to say anything adverse to it even if they wanted to. What really confirmed their suspicions, though, was that once, many years ago, Oliver was playing with the Marks boy Andrew in the garden, and their ball had flew over to Ms. Crowley's by accident. Andrew went to get it back, but no sooner had he put one leg into the untidy, weedy grass, the front door creaked open, and a pointy, shriveled finger poked itself out of it and waggled itself at Andrew, as though trying to warn him. Andrew started crying, and Riley himself had to come over to get him (and the ball) back. It was still a joke at meetings, but ten years down the road Andrew had still never forgotten his vowing that day never to step foot in that 'crazy old bat's' garden again.

Soon, unknowingly, as the twins neared the end of the street, they came to the dilapidated house at the end of it. Now, this put together with Ms. Crowley's was quite fitting, as they were rumored to be equally haunted. Now, of course there was a reason it was just a rumor. That is, Oliver and Ava knew otherwise, and it was destined to be a secret between them and the house's mysterious inhabitant - Kingston Podmore, with an indeed mysterious past.

Podmore was the only child of a rich family of scientists, and when his parents died, he was the sole heir to all their possessions. Influenced by his family, Podmore had become quite a budding scientist himself. There was also a prophecy written saying that only Podmore could invent something to rid the world of all troubles and evil once and for all, and create eternal peace and happiness. On Podmore's parents' deathbed, they had also made Podmore promise that he will continue to love Science, and use it only for good, not evil. Of course, Podmore agreed, and from then on dabbled in quite a many of various sciences with many clever inventions. He often worked at his inventions in his workshop through the night, sending flashes of blinding green light through the pitch dark skies. It was enough to scare the bravest kid, and further proved everyone's suspicions that the house was indeed haunted. But the Williams, of course, knew better.

"Last one in there's a rotten egg!" Ava squealed excitedly to Ramon, and together they dashed in without hesitation, slamming the door speedily behind them. 

Racing down a long corridor, the kids relished in the strong sense of belonging that permeated their surroundings, as it had been so long ever since this place had started to become their favorite haunt. As though by magic, whatever interesting and new surprises that took place inside the four walls of this house never failed to amaze them, or break their boredom and even, occasionally, strike them into a whirlwind of confusion. These trips often ended with them stepping out of the house asking each other quizzically questions like, "How did he do that?" or "How did that even happen?", a bemused but interested look on their faces as they set off on the pavement leading to home.

They had just left a striking marble hall layered with pictures of all sorts of curious people, which consisted of various rather formidable-looking men with curly white hair which Ava thought must've been from a long, long time ago, young people with funky shocking neon hairstyles and nose piercing whom Oliver could relate to a rock star, shiny-headed baldies wearing an expression of fair disgust which Ava readily understood, and long-pillocks with curls and bangs that gave Oliver the impression of snakes growing out of their hair, which almost instinctively made him stick out his tongue in disgust and mouth, shaking his head, Gross!  before he was tugged on the jacket sleeve by Ava and together they boarded a widening, seemingly posh flight of stairs at the end of the room.

"Here!" Ava beckoned at Oliver and together they ran up a few flights of similarly grand stairways until they reached the third floor. Next they hustled down another corridor, this time filled with shining, newly polished knight's armour of all shapes and sizes, and also whom seemed to have been charmed, as they would say things like "Steady there, steady there!" or "Hold your horses!" which usually would definitely have made them crack up, but not today, not now, not when they had a thousand and one things to yet get around to do in this mysterious labyrinth of exploration and wonder, one of which was currently getting to the well-hidden laboratory of their flaky scientist friend.

When they finally got to a bookshelf at the corridor's end, Ana, panting, tapped the third book from the left on the sixth shelf from the top and the bookshelf flipped to its side to reveal a secret passage. Oliver and his sister stepped forward and off they went. It was as though being on an indoor roller coaster. The Williams slid down a seemingly never-ending slide. It was a relief to see the warm glow of Podmore's laboratory, where the twins had to put their hands in front of them to stop themselves falling face-first on the cold wooden floor. They got to their feet to a glance from Podmore, who immediately waved invitingly to them.

"No trouble getting here, then? Hancock's getting worse these days."

Hancock was a poltergeist living in the castle, and whose mischief could not delight him more.

"Not at all, Professor. We didn't run into him today."

"Good, good....well, what brings you here this fine day?"

"We wanted to look at your new project, sir."

"Ah, yes. About that new project....I'll show it to you. It's under here." Podmore motioned to a white cloth in the corner. "I've always been awaiting your arrival to check it out. Here you go."

He lifted the cloth up, slowly. The Williams could not help but stare in awe at the contraption underneath. A sleek vehicle of some sort emerged. It was painted mainly silver and blue, with a neon yellow halo surrounding its top. It reminded one of a rocket. With a transparent window on its side, a small table dotted with various buttons and a keyboard was barely visible.

"Presenting...Traverse. Made from cutting-edge technology that has been newly invented in the twenty-first century, this is a time machine that is well equipped to travel through the holes of time into the past, future...well, whenever you like for adventures or missions. This machine is lightweight, making it easier to hide in the shadows. This, you will find, comes in very useful during missions. Talking about hiding in shadows...Traverse also has an Invisibility function. With the click of a button, Traverse will be invisible to outsiders, particularly enemies. Lastly, Traverse is built such that I can send messages through texts, or even send a hologram of myself to appear if the need arises, to help you through your journey." Here, after his long warble, Podmore shot a sneaky smile at the kids. Oliver was the first to answer.

"What do you mean, 'you'? Wait...you don't mean..." his confused expression turned into a wide grin when Podmore's quick nod told him his answer. "Wow, really?"

Ana was still gawping at the time machine and when she heard Oliver and Podmore's conversation, she wanted to say something but she found there was nothing to say, so she did the only sensible thing she could think of and closed her mouth. Her brother was already climbing into the time machine excitedly.

"Hang on!" Looking at Oliver's eager smile, Podmore chortled and said, "You need your time travelling suit first."

"But where?" The answer came almost immediately. Podmore pointed to a nearby cupboard. The bottom door sprang open and out came a...

"Portable cupboard!" the kids exclaimed in unison. It looked like a small cylinder at first, just like a can of Coke you could get at the neighborhood convenience store, but when in unraveled, it became a huge object, with poles and hangers hung on them, with many different clothing for various occasions. You could spin it as well. With a flick of his hand, Podmore made the cupboard spin to its left, to reveal two outfits that looked like time travelling suits all right, they looked like what a scuba diver would have worn, and scuba divers had always fascinated the older William.

"Awesome!" He grinned, and, pulling his twin sister, he raced to the cupboard. After donning on their time travelling suits, the twins boarded the time machine and used a button near the window to wind it down. They caught a last glimpse of Podmore shooting them an encouraging smile before they rose up and were blasted into darkness. Never in their wildest dreams would they imagine what adventures they would be wandering into...