Wild Travel

Chapter 1

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Chapter Description: Acquiring a time travelling machine Kim uses it the way everyone might do!

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Wild Travel

Kim sat in her programming class, watching Professor Newman explain some history of the basic computer programs. She knew it was important for them to get the basic to maybe by chance identify a niche for one of their own programs, still she felt bored and worn out, fighting harder and harder not to fall asleep. Hoping another view would wake her up, she looked out of the window. The campus of the college was amazingly green, allowing her to imagine she would be somewhere else, maybe out in the wild for a holiday trip. How long had it been since she even had a day off …

“Miss Parris.”

Startled, Kim looked back to the class. Her professor was looking at her, along with most of her fellow students. It was clear he hadn’t addressed her for the first time.

“Yes?” Kim asked.

“I was asking if you could show us your project,” instructed the older man.

“Sure,” she replied.

Kim grabbed the USB stick from her desk and walked to the professor’s table. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed some of the other students grinning along with what she swore were suppressed giggles. She was sure some of the latter came from Stacy Angeron, who had always been nasty to her, but Kim didn’t care. She knew there was no way she would impress this one. The rest of her fellow students, on the other hand… Kim’s eyes wandered to Sam, who sat a bit closer to the professor. At least he looked attentive.

She suppressed an urge to wink at him. Instead, she faced the classroom and gave everyone a smile which was only slightly faked. Her program had already turned out better than she had anticipated and she knew despite this start that it would satisfy Professor Newman and impress at least some of her peers.

She put the stick in the professor’s laptop, clicked on the single file and started the slideshow, facing her fellow students while the projector displayed the pictures behind her.

“My project is a program to help the elderly … and those with frail health by uniting telephone, cellphone and internet communication,” she began. “The core is in an easy-to-handle interface suitable for disabled persons.”

As she had practiced at home, Kim didn’t even look down on the laptop-monitor or to the projection behind her. It even seemed to work. The other students starred concentrated past her, seemingly captured by her presentation.

“Especially for bedridden people unifying their way of communicating with the rest of the world can mean a lot of relief,” Kim continued, “but I think we, too, might see more efficiency in it.”

She clicked again.

“I placed great importance on the attractiveness of the interface,” Kim continued. “One day an integration into touch screen display could be possible, when …”

Kim stopped, as suddenly Stacy started to laugh and some others joined in. She already wanted to bark something at the other girl, but Professor Newman coughed to gain her attention and pointed to the image projected on the wall. It was Daniel Craig in one of his sexier poses with his six-pack being zoomed out. Besides it were written the words: Want to touch!

In this moment she only wanted to scream.

 

***

 

Professor Newman was quick to reassure her that she could send him the presentation by E-Mail, which she accepted with a silent, but thankful nod. She grabbed the USB-stick and walked back to her place with as much dignity as she could muster, ignoring the whispers and looks of the other students.

Two more stepped forth to present their projects, and Kim did her best to pay attention. Still, she let out a breath of relief when the hour ended. She grabbed her stuff, a backpack and some bags she hadn’t had time to put into her car until the hour had started, and hurried in the direction of the exit, tumbling down the stairs of the amphitheater classroom. In her haste, she didn't notice the group before her come to a stop around the crowded exit, and Kim soon found herself colliding with a large muscular student, awkwardly stopping her momentum with her hands pressed against his back.

She hadn't even had the time to apologize that a snarky comment could be heard behind her.

“Woah, Kim, we know how much you want to touch, but please, wait till you're home,” Tracy commented with a grin as she passed her.

Kim stopped and starred at the other girl. She opened her mouth for a response and … found she had none. Behind Stacy she saw Sam walking past, paying her as little attention as he had before. This was what nearly broke her. Humiliated she rushed past Stacy - she could almost feel her grin in her back - and ran up the stairs. She finally stopped in the upper toilets, where she knew she would most likely be undisturbed at this time of the day. Dropping her bags, she put her hands on the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. Wild brown hair, brown eyes. She wasn’t unattractive though the stress was clearly getting to her, so why did nothing she tried seem to work?

It is okay, Kim told herself, trying to suppress tears, the professor said so, too. Just a stupid mistake.

Except it was a mistake she shouldn’t have allowed herself. First daydreaming in class, then revealing some of the daydreams she entertained herself with … all because she had the wrong USB-stick to show. How could she have been so stupid, mixing her files like that? She had been so busy this morning. If only her mother …

Tears spilled out of her eyes. Exactly in this moment the door to the toilet opened and someone stepped in. Not wanting to be seen in such a state, Kim bowed over the sink, started the water and  threw some in her face. She was still pretending to clean her face when another person walked next to her. Peering through her fingers, Kim saw it was a beautiful woman in a stylish blue business-dress.   She couldn't help but stare for a moment, struck by the elegancy of the unknown woman, and wondered what she was doing here. She certainly didn't look like any of the professor here, and didn't seem to be a student either. The woman was older than her by maybe ten years, though probably more, and wore her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. For a moment, it seemed like she was about to say something, before probably sensing the younger girl wanted to be left alone, so she turned for one of the cabins and left.

Thankful, Kim dried her face with some paper towel, grabbed her bags and hurried off.

 

***

 

Shutting the door of the apartment behind her, Kim let out a sigh of relief. She felt a bit better, thankful that her Toyota hadn’t shown a new defect on the way back. Twenty-year-old as it was, the wear and tear was noticeable, but going to college by public transport and doing the groceries would mean leaving before dawn and coming back by nightfall. She just couldn’t leave her mother home alone so long.

“It's me mum”, Kim called, walking into the kitchen. “Everything's okay?”

Only silence answered her, sending a spike of nervousness up her spine. She dropped the bags on the kitchen table.

“Mum?”

Silence.

Afraid, Kim walked down the floor into her mother’s bedroom. Already from the distance she could see her mother through the open door, her thin form visible under the sheet. For a moment Kim couldn’t say if she was breathing. She walked faster, barging in ready to call 911, when her mother opened her eyes and color appeared upon the gaunt face.

“Kim,” she greeted her with a voice which still sounded so lovely to her daughter. She looked confused for a split second by the rushed entrance, before noticing the angst on her daughter’s face, and tried to smile. “I just slept deeply. Everything is all right.”

Kim nodded as she sat down on the bed besides her, though she felt like lying. Nothing was all right. The illness plaguing her mother since years was progressing rapidly and she feared the day she would come home to find her mother's eyes staying closed.

“How was your day?” The older woman asked.

“Not good. I made the presentation I told you about, but I had the wrong USB-stick with me and …” Kim hesitated, not really wanting to share these details with her mother. “Only succeeded in getting laughs, and a girl making a fool of me in front of everyone.” she said with a sigh. “Professor Newman gave me a second chance, though.”

“Such things happen and some people are just mean,” her mother said, squeezing her hand. “If your professor sees it the same way, even better. Do you really care what this girl thinks?”

Kim thought about it. No, not Stacy, but being on friendly terms with some of her peers would be nice. In truth she hadn’t had time for friends anyway, as her rather empty WhatsApp-Chat could testify. She shook her head.

“See.” Her mother smiled. “Go fix yourself something to eat. You look a bit pale. Things look better with a full stomach. You will see.”

Kim returned the smile. She didn’t know if a meal could help, but her mother’s words already did. They talked a bit more, then she went to the kitchen and put a lasagna in the microwave-oven. As it cooked, she unpacked the shopping bags and suddenly noticed something amiss. One of them wasn’t hers. Frowning she held the bag in front of her. It was mostly white, like the others, but the name on the front – Drakme Labs – was one she didn’t recognize. There was something in it, as the puzzled girl could make out the shape of a box though the colored plastic. Searching through her memories for an explanation, the scene in the bathroom suddenly rushed back to her. The elegant woman! In her hurry to go home, Kim had apparently managed to snatch the woman's bag with her own. Great, as if her karma balance wasn't bad enough, she sighed, now she had turned herself into a thief.

PING!

Shaking her head, Kim put the bag on the table and took the lasagna out of the oven. She brought her mother a piece with a glass of water and removed the half-eaten sandwich which should have been the latter’s breakfast. Her mother promised to at least taste it later, so Kim took the rest of the lasagna and the strange bag and receded to her room.

There she found the USB-stick with the presentation still lying on her desk. Feeling her mood drop again, Kim put the bag and lasagna besides it and took a look at the photo of the class taken during a field trip to the local Google-Center she had placed on her desk. She touched the image of Sam. Back then she had found herself close to him for the first time, and instantly got charmed by his look, but also by his wit. Looking at him always made her feel more relaxed, as did her secret dream of spending a vacation together.

It was a good dream, especially since she hadn't ever really been on vacation, except for some weeks at a summer camp once when she was 15 that she preferred to forget. Sure, she could blame that on the fact that her mother was too sick to work and the dire financial situation it placed them in, but this was only half the truth. Kim hadn't made many friends in High School she could have gone on a trip with, and not one since enrolling in college. She had told herself life would really only start after graduation, that this would mean a big change to the better for her. Instead, the obstacles seemed to have just become larger while she hadn't grown at all.

Kim looked around in her room with this in mind, glancing over the posters of Fruits Basket and Black Butler, Animes she was quite a fan of, but which in this moment felt childish, nearly as childish as the plush she had gotten rid of after High School. The furniture hadn’t changed either, in part since middle school, with the newest object being her computer, already looking derelict after five years. In that instant, she found herself grateful she hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to Sam today and somehow invite him in here. What could she really speak with him about?

Knowing her meal was getting cold, she sat down, but as she lifted the fork, her eyes wandered to the white bag and peeked in. There was an ordinary cardboard box, roughly the length of her forearm. Nothing revealed its content, but she could hear its content rustle around inside as she wiggled it. Of course, opening it would be rude, maybe it was something very personal, and she had already decided to bring it back to school first thing the next day, so Kim fought her curiosity down and continued eating her lasagna.

Her willpower began to fade half through her meal, however, and she soon found herself searching the company’s name on the computer. It turned out empty, a rarity nowadays, so much that Kim somehow felt betrayed by the machine and its unhandy big monitor. The remnants of her willpower failed her by the time she had finished the lasagna, so she carefully opened the box. In it, a strange machine rested on material foam. It looked somewhat like a large remote control. But instead of a myriad of plushy button, it had a digital screen above which was written the words "year", "month", "day", "hour" and "minute", and several rotating buttons under each. Right on the middle of it stood a red button.

Kim had no idea what it was. A RAD-sensor? Something to analyze the air? The magnetic fields? Feeling a bit like Pandora, the student took the strange machine out of the box. No opening for batteries and no place to plug a cable in. The date was set to this morning 6:00 a.m.

Look like a remote for some video recorder, she thought, instinctively pointing it toward her TV, Does it even work?

She pushed the button.

 

***

 

Dizziness overcame Kim as a fuzzy blackness filled out her vision like she had stood up too fast. She shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she was totally confused. Why was everything so dark? Why was she lying on her back? Where was she? Looking around, she recognized the clock next to her and the shapes surrounding her. The dizziness faded. She was lying on her back, on her very own bed.

Did I dream?, Kim wondered.

Looking down she noticed that she still held the device, and barely resisted the urge to let it fall. Instead, she carefully placed it on the bedside table, switched on the lamp and starred at the clock. 6:00 a.m. In shock she touched her chest, realizing she was only wearing her light blue pajamas. Had she lost a day? Had she … With a sudden sense of foreboding, Kim threw a look at the device and then grabbed the cell-phone besides it on the table.

It showed the same day.

You are still dreaming!, she told herself.

Yet, standing up felt real enough, as did starting the computer. The date on the desktop and the websites all insisted it was morning of the day which for her had just ended. Even the headlines were like she remembered them when she had checked them this morning.

PEEP!

Kim jumped up from the stool, but it was only the alarm of the cell-phone informing her it was time to stand up. Still having the slight feeling of being in a dream, she ended the alarm and wanted to put the strange device back in its box, but the latter was nowhere to be found.

Because you haven’t brought it here, yet, the logical part of her brain surmised automatically, only to ask the logical question: But why it is here then?

Kim looked at the device again. Its display emitted no light as it had before, making it look off. Feeling too overwhelmed to deal with it, she carefully put the device in a shoebox and placed it under her bed. The best place for strange things.

From this moment she began mostly going through the motions. Habits situated as deep in her as the programs she created were leading her to a familiar, reassuring path. She saw after her mother(again), brushed her teeth(again), made breakfast(again) and checked her stuff for college(again, as she usually packed the evening before). She just wanted to leave her room, when she stopped and looked back. On her desk she could see an USB-stick. Reluctantly, as if changing this part of how she remembered things could derail everything and push her completely into the rabid hole, Kim grabbed it and left.

 

***

 

The programming course turned out exactly like she remembered it, except that now she had the answers to most of her professor’s questions. Managing to keep her attention up this time, she practically jumped up when asked to present her program and managed to do it flawless. Stacy still looked unimpressed, but some of her fellow students nodded. As she sat down on her place afterwards, she mused that maybe the device wasn’t as much a Pandora’s Box as she had first thought.

“Nice program,” Sam Ferrero said, as they packed to leave. “Ever considered combining it with a smart tv, too?”

“I only thought about telephone, cell-phone and computer,” Kim admitted. “Connecting it is difficult. Still a good idea.”

“I have an appointment later, but still a bit time,” Sam noticed, as they walked to the door leading out of the classroom. “Can I invite you to a cup of coffee?”

Kim believed she was dreaming. “Sure!”

At the floor, she hesitated a moment. To her left were the steps upstairs, leading to the toilets where she had gotten the device, but what awaited her there now? The woman in the business suit with another version of the device? Or was she even waiting to get it back? Who was this person anyway? A time traveler? How mad would she be and what could someone with such a technology do to her? Kim didn’t really want to find it out.

Shuddering slightly, Kim looked at Sam. How long had she dreamed he would notice her? No matter if by accident or not, she now had a chance to do it right and she would take it. Smiling she followed him downstairs.

 

***

 

As Kim came home a bit later, she dropped her backpack and bags on the kitchen table and walked straight into her mother’s bedroom. She found her sleeping, exactly as before. The older woman looked peaceful, but so very thin. Careful Kim took place besides her.

“Mom?”

Slowly her mother’s eyes opened, smiling at seeing her by her side.

“Kim, I must have overslept,” she noticed. “How was your day?”

Returning the smile, Kim told her about the coffee with Sam and the way they had talked. It seemed they shared more than a few things, as he had a relative who had needed care, too. It wasn’t that they had fallen in love or something, but it was a connection with someone she had lacked in college so far, also they had agreed to repeat the meeting by opportunity. Maybe …

“Sounds great,” her mother commented afterwards. “You see, college is worth it.”

Kim nodded and went into the kitchen to make them the meal.

A bit later, Kim sat in her room, eating lasagna in what felt like two days in a row and studied the device she had unearthed from its shoe box. Its display was again lighted, so it had to have recharged somehow, she decided. Looking closer it didn’t seem to consist out of strange materials. It didn’t look in any way magical or alien either. The need for recharging seemed to indicate it had its limit. Still, it had just saved her day.

What if it can do more?, Kim asked herself. How far can I go back? What can I really change?

The words of her mother about college being worth it came to her mind. It better should be, because over a year ago and despite Kim’s protests her mother had sold their house to pay for it. Her mother had insisted that they lacked the money to keep it in the long run anyway and that it was better to invest in the future than to cling to the past, but Kim knew it had been all a facade. Her mom had been very fond of her large garden. Then, despite her words, her mother’s health had taken a turn to the worse not long after they had moved into their current apartment. She had been bedridden soon after, not even able to sit down under her carefully trimmed rosebush like she had always done. If they had had the money to keep the house, maybe …

Just to test if the dates went so far, Kim moved the numbers to the day her mother had told her she would sell. She didn’t know the exact hour, even less the minute of the talk, but it didn't even matter as she suddenly realized how futile this all was. What good would it do them convincing her mother not to sell the house? With College being such a money pit, it had been a necessity. There was nothing she could do to change anything at this point in time, even if she wanted to.

“Lotto!” The thought flashed so sharply inside Kim’s mind that she just had to speak it out.

A big win would solve all her problems. Her mother would be so happy, they could pay for college and medical bills, and keep the house and... - if it even worked, that is.

The thought deflated her optimism like a pin to a balloon. This would be too easy, wouldn’t it? How could she be sure the changes would be permanent? Maybe there was some cosmic law preventing her from doing so, and she would return back to the present only to find herself in the same situation. Maybe she was still fated to mix her personal files in the worst possible way in front of her class. if not today, then at a later time.

She needed a test, something small to make sure her real plan had a chance of succeeding. A trial run to identify possible problems, before she could allow herself any hope. But what to do?

Kim was pondering about the ordeal when her eyes wandered over the Black Butler poster.

This is it!, she told herself, excitement returning to her face as she remembered an anime-fair she had visited roughly six months ago. When exactly was it, again?

She searched the internet, browsing for the exact date along with another little information of use for later on. Once she had both, she set the date of the device to the morning of this day. Her finger lingered over the big red button that seemed to stare back at her from the device.

What if it doesn’t work?, Kim wondered. What if she had already wasted a one-time-only use?

Gathering all her bravery, she pressed the button.

 

***

 

Just like the first time Kim had pushed the button, her vision once again became dark and a certain dizziness overcame her. No longer fearful, she forced herself to relax until the effects vanished. In a sense of déjà vu, she found herself still in her room, still holding the now lifeless device. It looked just like it had a moment ago and for a second Kim doubted it had worked this time, then she discovered that the poster of Black Butler was gone and, in its place, hung one of Sailor Moon.

I bought it at the fair, she realized.

Kim looked down at the backpack lying in front of her on the bed. Sandwiches and a water bottle were still waiting to be put in. A look at the clock told her she was on the brink of missing her bus, if she remembered the weekend departure time correctly. As quick as she could she put the device in the drawer of her desk, locked the latter and hid the key. Then she packed her backpack and gave her mother a short goodbye, as she rushed out of the apartment.

She felt like going on a real adventure.

Mom looked better than she will in six months, Kim thought on the way down with a bad feeling in her mouth.

Thanks to the internet search, Kim vaguely remembered the way to the fair. Not wanting to have any unplanned changes, she took special attention to do everything according to her memories. She even – if she remembered correctly – sat on the same place in the bus and didn’t speak to a bunch of boys and girls of her age who according to the chatter she overheard went to the anime fair, too. When she left the bus, she did so at the stop she remembered, which was a block away from the event – just like last time – instead of waiting for the next stop which was just next to the fair.

No changes, Kim thought satisfied, a she pulled a cap with bunny ears on her head just as she entered the fair. Not yet.

Still, as she wandered the different booths, breathing in the happy atmosphere of people following their passion, she allowed herself to relax a bit. There were artists, some selling their drawings or even offering to draw the customer. Others were showing the costumes they had created or the comics or manga they had written. All around her, people enjoyed the sights, even parents with their children, like the couple who passed with their toddler in a stroller – the latter dressed in a Pickachu-costume which Kim found cute beyond words. She loved all of it. She had never found a clique in school following her hobby and just being surrounded by people sharing it gave her a feeling of belonging she had often longed for.

On the same booth as before she quickly bought the Black Butler poster as a roll and then turned to hurry to a central free place on a crossroad between the booths. When going on the fair’s website, she had submitted her email address to get a place in a little contest, one that was to take place just now. Several contestants went before her, not every of them leaving with the grinning face of a winner. As the queue before her shortened and the crowd gathered, Kim finally reached the person in charge and stepped forward, as did her opponent, another girl named Anna in a black and white maid-outfit.

The contest was a simple one: Answer questions on Manga and Anime. She and Anna had been toe to toe until the final round the way she remembered. It was the final question which had seen her fall.

“Okay ladies”, said their game-host. “As many movies by Hayao Miyazaki as you can, in twenty seconds. Your answers please.”

Anna showed what she had written on her note first.

Princess Mononoke; Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.

“Impressive.” The host praised. “Now you Kim.”

Kim gave them a smile and revealed her note.

Spirited Away; Ponyo; Howl’s Moving Castle; Princess Mononoke; The Wind Rises

“We have a winner!” The man declared.

Kim nearly jumped in triumph.

Back at home, Kim sat in her chair in front of the desk, still quite happy over the day’s win. But worry began to overshadow the feeling. She looked at the Princess Mononoke key-ring she had just won. It wasn’t much, but it symbolized her hopes. Holding it tight in her left hand, she took up the device she had placed in front of her with the other – the date for her return already entered – and pressed the red button.

 

***

 

The darkness, as her eyes seemingly restarted, the dizziness, as her soul connected to another body – if it was what really happened – none of this mattered. All of Kim’s concentration was focused on her left hand. Still, as she became aware of her surrounding again, noticing the familiar pattern of her desk-chair under her, she couldn’t say for sure if she still held on to it, though her hand felt terribly light. It was when vision returned to her, that she confirmed with her sight what her other sense already knew: It wasn’t there!

Nearly dropping the device in frustration, Kim looked up. There on the desk, her eyes fell on her keys … and the missing key-ring fixed on them! Feeling the need to get sure, she touched it with her free hand, feeling its smoothness and weight. It was real. She had changed the past! More was possible. Everything was possible.

Feeling fresh energy surging through her, Kim started the computer and began searching for lotto-numbers. Just a tiny series of little numbers, but ones which would solve everything. She narrowed the drawing of the numbers to three weeks before the talk with her mother when she had announced her decision to sell the house to allow her to go to college. In a frenzy, she found a set of numbers guaranteeing her 257 Million Dollar. What could she do with so much money!!!

Kim began writing the number on a note, but stopped abruptly, when reality hit her. The mechanics of the device for sure worked both ways. She couldn’t take the note directly with her, just as she hadn’t been able to bring the key-ring with her. It simply was there in her present room because it had remained in her new past. No little prize nor piece of paper would make the travel with her, not even her clothes, which had simply changed to what she had been wearing at the time, just like her light pajamas the second morning. Only the little device seemed unaffected by its own power.

Still, memorizing it shouldn’t be too hard though. The only question remaining was whether she wanted so much money and the fame which came with it. Something about owning this much money somehow made her feel uneasy the more she thought about it. Going back through the combinations, she found one which would bring her roughly 10 Million after taxes. More than enough to pay for college, the house, her mother’s life and her own. Most likely that of her children, too.

Twenty minutes later the winning numbers were as deeply etched in Kim’s mind as her cell-phone-number. Still, she had to wait a long hour more before the lights on the device reappeared and she could set it to three days before the numbers were drawn. Enough time to buy a lottery ticket.

Kim entered the date in the device, but her finger hovered over the red button. The first time it had been an accident, the second a test, but this was different. It was massive and the changes maybe unpredictable. Didn’t all the stories about it she had ever read or watched, like in Twilight Zone warned her against such trickery? What if winning a mere, unimportant key-ring was the best she could actually get out of this?

It was the mental image of her mother, lying in this moment in her bed while she worried helplessly at her sides that made Kim press the red button.

 

***

 

As before, Kim’s world blackened and she felt dazzled. When her view became clearer again, she found herself sitting at her computer, holding the device. Would she ever get used to it? Still feeling slightly disoriented, she looked around. More posters of hot boys, photographs of friends and useless décor than in the room she lived now, everything about her surroundings screamed to her that she was back in her old house's room, before her eyes could even grasp all of it. When they did, Kim discovered Mr. Fluff, her old white teddy bear resting on his shelf over her bed. She had given him to charity when they moved out, to make room but even more so to sign a break with her younger years and finally face adulthood. Quite ironic she had never gotten anything to fill the empty place he had left.

Part of Kim wanted to touch him, just to make sure he was real, but the more rationale part of her brain made her grab a note and write down the numbers while they were fresh on her mind. She double-checked them, but they seemed fine. If not, she could always go back again, couldn’t she? The time traveler starred at the device, which was as mysterious to her now as it had been before. It looked dark, this time again. What if she had gone too far this time? What if she was stuck here? Knowing there were no answers to this mystery right now, she put it into a drawer of her desk and locked it shut.

Leaving her room in the first floor, Kim went downstairs, only to freeze on the last step of the chair. She heard sounds coming from the kitchen.

Can it be …

Kim steeled herself and walked to the direction of the sounds. Still, when she arrived in the kitchen, she had a hard time breathing. There was her mother, standing by herself and working at the plate. She still looked gaunt and a bit sweaty, but it was the best sight Kim had had in years and she embraced every second of it.

Suddenly her mother turned around, probably having sensed her.

“Kim, everything all right?”

“Yeah,” Kim answered honestly.

“You come at the right time.” Her mother took a large bowl and placed it on the kitchen table. “I made you a little snack before work.”

Kim took out plates, forks and knives, also glasses and sat down in front of her mother, studying her face. It had more color now and she looked lively. Oh, what would she give to keep her this way? Not wanting her mother to see her all emotional, Kim looked at her plate. It was a salat out of noodles, sesame, little tomatoes and more. Her favorite meal since always. When her mother hadn’t been no longer able to leave bed for long, she had tried to fix them herself, but despite her mother’s assuring of the opposite, she never quite managed to do it.

“Kim, what is it?”

Kim looked up, realizing only then, that her eyes had become watery. Angry at herself for her lack of control, she wiped the unshed tears away.

“Nothing,” she lied.

“You know we can talk about everything,” her mother said and the kindness in her voice nearly made Kim cry more.

“It is just, well, college, and me soon leaving the job,” Kim continued to lie, doing her best to control herself. “You know, all those sudden changes.”

Her mother looked at her a moment in a strange way, then she nodded.

“I know those changes can be hard,” she explained, touching her daughter’s hand. “But changes are part of life. There is nothing we can do about it. We must accept it and look forward.”

Except if you find a device which gives you the power to actually do something, Kim thought as she nodded.

Her mother scowled for a moment. “I didn’t want to have this talk just now, but since we're talking about changes, there is something …”

“Mom, can we talk another time?” Kim interrupted, knowing her mother wanted to talk about selling the house but not knowing if she would be able to hear it right now. “I have to prepare for work.”

“Later then,” her mother conceded with a sight, which sounded relieved. “You were always eager to do things, like your father. Remember ballet?”

Kim stopped on the way out of the kitchen.

“I hated ballet!” She replied.

“You did later,” her mother remembered. “Before that you were the most hard-working ballerina.”

Shaking her head, Kim headed up to her room.

On her way out, she threw a look at the house. It was a home and felt like it more than the flat ever had. Still, she could see it needed a new paint, some new tiles and someone to fix the driveaway. Inside, some renovating wouldn’t hurt either, all very expensive things at a time money was sparse since her mother couldn’t work anymore.

Promising herself things would change, Kim drove to work.

 

***

 

Kim had planned to buy the lottery ticket asap, before realizing she would be late for work if she did so. Not wanting to act strange, she started her shift at the supermarket, not remembering what had happened this day. Still, she found it easy to go through the motion, especially with the help her boss provided.

“After this you start with the cereal boxes,” Mr. Dubon told her, as he watched her sorting the chocolate bars.

“Of course,” Kim replied in a neutral tone.

“And don’t forget cleaning the shelves of waste,” he added. “I don’t want it to be like last time.”

Last time some idiot had thrown a bunch of nasty used paper towel on the shelves right between her cleaning schedule and Mr. Dubon's check. Him accusing her of overseeing it had nearly made Kim jump into the fat man’s face. She had controlled herself by remembering how much she needed the money and did so now, by remembering that she didn’t have to bear it much longer.

“Understood,” she replied and even managed to pretend a friendly smile.

As Kim had hoped, it unsettled her boss. He opened his mouth, only to close it again and turned around. She was smiling as she watched him leave.

 

***

 

Later during her break, Kim was changing clothes in the employees’ locker room, musing over how much she really deserved the money given all the years she had had to deal with this asshole. It had been bad already in the early days, when she had done short shifts after school, but ever since she had entered here full time it had become downright bullying. In comparison the work at the gas station during the weekends when she was at college was easy peasy.

“You are weird.”

The deadpan sounding voice made Kim stop adjusting her sweater. She turned around to see Kelly, her fellow worker, watching her.

“What?” Kim asked.

“You have something different about you,” Kelly explained. “The way you move.”

Kim froze briefly, but then forced herself to relax as she looked in the slightly too gaunt, slightly too worn-out face. Kelly was a pothead going meth-addict. She had always been a bit off, so her freaking out was normal.

“You are imagining things,” Kim replied. “I’m just happy to go to college.”

The other woman watched her with eyes which pupils were a bit too large.

“I need to go out for a moment,” Kim explained, going in the direction of the exit. A lottery ticket was waiting for her. “I will be back soon.”

“Body shapes spirit and spirit the body, you know?” Kelly asked.

“Sure thing,” was all Kim managed to say.

Feeling more nervous by these words than she should probably be, the time-traveler left without looking back.

 

***

 

Kim and a young man with stylish gelled blond hair took seats in the restaurant of the local shopping mall.

“So,” James began. “How does it feel to be a multi-millionaire?”

“Overwhelming,” Kim answered. “Still. I mean I knew the odds, and all the lottery tickets before didn’t even come close winning anything and then … wow!”

Her friend nodded and Kim felt only the slightest of regrets for lying to him about this part. She had planned to keep the win a secret, but found the pressure and lies too much to handle. Being nearly two years in the past was one thing, but the isolation necessary to keep her new financial situation hidden would have driven her mad. So, she had decided to share the information of her win with her closest friends, James being first amongst them.

“I’m totally happy for you and your mother, too.” James said. “How is she by the way?”

“A bit better.” Kim revealed, honestly relieved. “As expected, the first thing she did was to decide to renovate our house. She is planning it right now. I’m happy I’m out of there and can relax a bit!”

Her friend laughed and ordered a hamburger, fries and a diet coke from the waited. Kim did the same. Outside they could see the crowds going past.

“… your father and brother.”

Kim looked back at her friend, noticing she had missed something. “Mhh?”

James gave her a slight smile.

“I said it couldn’t have met someone better.” He repeated. “You had to deal with so many hardships already, losing your father and your brother. It was time karma bounced back up.”

“I was very young back then.” Kim explained, thinking of old photos and videos of persons she didn’t even remember. “Not even one.”

James’s handsome face got a little more serious.

“Look at me,” he sighed with sudden realization. “You try to relax and I bring up serious talk which drags you down. You are probably having sleepless nights already because of college starting soon.”

Kim smiled. Now that money wouldn’t be a problem anymore, she did know what awaited her in college the next month, promising her a head start. She had even started writing the program she was yet to get tasked to create a year ahead of time.

“It's okay,” she explained truthfully. “But tell me about yourself. Still happy about the job?”

“Couldn’t be more so,” James said. “I sold three cars this week and secured my provision. Oh, and in the evening lessons I take I met this guy Henry. Kinda cute.”

“Sorry it didn’t work out with Barry.” She pointed out. “You made the best pair at the prom.”

The thought still gave her a smile. Her friend had come out as gay late in high-school, more to his surprise than hers.

“Yeah, too bad we just went as friend the way he saw it,” James replied. “By the way, I've heard some say it's the two of us who made the best pair, you know?”

Kim laughed, remembering the shared dance they had for a lack of a date of her own. It had nearly made the night like she had always dreamed it would turn … nearly. Lost in the memories of the old times, her eyes wandered over a group of people outside, standing at the traffic-lights. Shock rushed through every inch of her body as she recognized one of the women standing there. Clad in her business suit adorned by her long pony tail, she looked just like when they had met in the college's toilet a month ago … or rather a year ahead. Every doubt that this was just a coincidence vanished, as the woman’s eyes met her own and scowled.

Oh crap …

"I’m sorry, but I forgot an appointment with mom back home.” Kim lied, standing up.

James scowled for a moment, before noticing the shock in his friend’s eyes and relaxing.

“It is okay,” he told her. “Another time.”

Kim felt time running out, as the traffic lights had to turn green every second now. Still, she gave James a kiss on the cheek.

“Promised!”

Before James could say another word, Kim was halfway to the door of the restaurant. She took the escalator down a level, hardly resisting the urge to look back and draw attention. Only as she turned a corner did she threw a short look over her shoulder. No one seemed to follow her, but she took no chances and went straight to the parking house. On the way home she drove on side streets.

 

***

 

As she arrived at the old house, she took a good look at her surroundings before jumping out of the car, entering and closing the door behind her. Only then did she allow herself to relax and think properly.

How did the woman even know her, when they weren’t supposed to meet until a year from now? Probably the same way she herself had known about the lottery numbers. Probably because she belonged to some kind of time-cops. Her best guess so far, at least. So, what did that woman want? Well, it seemed obvious she wanted her device back, Kim guessed, thinking it was fair.

What if she wants me to return the money?

Kim felt her heart rate spick back up at the thought. This, too, seemed logical. Maintaining the stability of the timeline or some crap. Still, it would mean her mother having to sell the house after all.

A numb Kim wandered deeper into the house, finding her mother at the kitchen table with a book full of color samples.

“Kim,” she greeted her daughter. “How was dinner with James?”

“Oh, great.” Kim replied, trying to sound cheerful. “He had to leave early, but we will meet again, soon.”

“That is good.” Her mother said, turning back to the samples. “What do you think about this? The house will look just like when we bought it with your father.”

The smile on her mother’s face, a face so much healthier than she had been used to, was too much for Kim to handle.

“Looks Great! Uhm. I have to go into my room, checking something for college.”

“All right dear. Just come down for dinner.”

Kim nodded and rushed upstairs. Closing the door behind her, she opened her locked drawer and pulled out the box with the device.

If I go back to my time, Kim thought, the money on the house will be spent and the woman won't be able to do anything about it.

She sat the date and time to the morning of the day she was supposed to hold the presentation of her program.

What if it is different than with the key-ring? What if this event erases itself? She wondered. What if mom is even worse off?

Looking for security, Kim looked around in her room. Her eyes finally settled on Mr. Fluff, her old teddy bear watching her from his shelf. Strangely the sight of his fluffy white form with the heart on the chest calmed her.

Kim pressed the button.

 

To be continued …

 

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