“Zeit!” I screamed, but it was too late. He couldn’t hear me; I had already started my walk through time. My stomach lurched and turned as centuries passed before my eyes in streaks of color and ghosted visions. Men and women lived out their lives, oblivious to my tiny, fleeting window into it.

And then with a jolt, the visions coalesced into solid matter, and I was back in my own time. I was in the middle of the sidewalk, just down the street from my bookstore. The sun was past its apex; still a few hours left in the day. Whatever day it was. I teetered as I tried to regain my bearings, put my hands on my knees and squeezed my eyes shut to keep the world from spinning.

Deep breath in. Long exhale. Repeat.

“Now what?” I said out loud. How do you go back to normal life after such an experience? Seeing all of time and space laid out before you, falling in love with the person who brought you that amazing world. Then to have it all ripped away…

A sob broke free from my throat, thick and heavy, no matter how hard I tried to keep it back.

“Excuse me, Miss, are you alright?” A voice said behind me.

I turned around. A man in his fifties stood there, kind eyes looking into me. “Uh, yes I’ll be fine,” I mange to get out, though not very convincingly.

“You look sort of familiar.”

It was only then that I noticed it. He was older, silver hairs speckled the sides of his head and wrinkles creased his forehead and smile lines, but there was no denying his identity.

“Carlo.”

“How do you know my name? Where do I know you from?”

“I was there. That day in the square. How is she, did you find her again?”

“Julia.” He paused, a faraway smile on his face. “Yes, I remember you. You were standing in the street with that strange looking fellow.”

The reminder of Zeit shot a pang through my chest. I couldn’t speak, but nodded in response.

Carlo continued. “To answer your question, I did find her. It took many years, and I almost gave her up as dead, but we did find each other. Thank you. I don’t know how you did it, or how you haven’t aged a day in all these years, but thank you for the role you played in saving her life.”

“You’re welcome. It… cost a great deal, but words can’t express how happy I am for you both. I own the book shop just up there. Please come visit me sometime.”

“I’d like that.”

Carlo patted my arm and turned to leave.

“One more thing before you go?” I said, and he stopped to look at me. “I know this may sound very strange, but what time is it, and more importantly, what day is it?”

A questioning look twisted his face, but he answered me without protest. “It’s about three in the afternoon, Thursday, the fifth.”

“Thank you.”

The fifth… That’s the day I left!

I broke into a run toward my shop. If I hurried, I could still make it. I don’t know what I expected to find. Zeit, maybe. If I could stop him before we left, maybe I could keep him from dying. But then I never would have fallen in love with him in the first place.

The endless loop of quantum mechanics was starting to make my head spin. At the very least, if I could just see him one more time…

I made it to the storefront, and pushed the door to enter.

But it didn’t budge.

The memory of my actions that day snapped into place.

After Zeit had introduced himself, I locked the front door so that we could talk without being interrupted.

I was too late. I banged on the door in desperation. “No! Please!” And then in a cry almost to myself, “Please don’t be gone.”

I don’t know how long I stayed there, crying into the locked door.

“Don’t tell me those tears are for me,” an impossible voice said from behind me. The breath escaped my chest and I spun around. “What would the other Time Walkers think of me if I made a human girl cry.”

“How?” I asked as I ran to him. He pulled me into his arms and held me there for an extended moment. It ended far too soon.

“I told you, Love. I exist outside of space/time. I have no past or future. Which, apparently, means I did not die. I was never aware of my inability to die, but none the less, here I am.”

I stood there, speechless and smiling. “So when to now?”

“Anytime you want. Time is at our fingertips.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed the story! I had a blast bringing these characters to life, and maybe I’ll revisit them someday. If you missed any part, check out the full story here.

“Now where have you taken me?” Kylie gasps. At least she doesn’t vomit this time. “It’s too hot here.”

She looks around at the desert landscape. We are standing in a town square, of sorts, where some children are playing baseball. The square is surrounded by a few tall buildings. Hot air whips at her hair as she tries to keep it out of her face.

“In my many travels, I met a very compelling man named Carlo, an assassin trapped in a world he wished beyond anything he could escape. Something about his story calls to me. It is this very moment that defines the rest of his life. We travelers are not supposed to meddle in the affairs of humans, but as you may have learned, that is not always so easy. I have tried, and failed, many times to change this. For both their sakes.”

“What happened here?”

“Happens, present tense,” I correct her. “Watch, up there.”

I point to the roof several stories above our heads. I see the familiar scene unfold as it always does. Carlo is on the roof, looking through the scope of his rifle.

“He’s going to kill someone?” She asks.

“Her.” I point to a woman on the ground a few feet away from us. Her face is beautiful, framed by brilliant auburn hair. “He loves her more than his own life.”

“Then why kill her?”

“He has no choice. Punishment, for trying to leave his profession.”

The deafening thunder of helicopter blades drowns out further conversation. It hovers just above the rooftop where Carlo is perched. After seeing the helicopter, Carlo runs to the closest storm drain, trying to reach ground level.

“He can’t do it,” Kylie realizes. “He loves her too much.”

“No, but they will.” I point to the men with guns hanging out the door of the chopper.

“We have to do something.”

“I have tried.”

“But I haven’t.”

I doubt Kylie can be successful. I have tried talking the woman into leaving, sheltering her from the bullets, every time she somehow ends up dead.

But Kylie still frantically searches for inspiration. Finding it, she grabs a baseball bat from one of the kids and runs to the woman.

“I’m taking her out of the equation,” she yells to me.

I follow, unsure how this new development will change things, if at all. My nature as a Time Walker allows me to perceive events as if they were happening in slow motion. The scene unfolds around me…

Carlo makes it to the ground and locks eyes with the woman just as we reach her. The helicopter descends, the sound of which distracts Carlo for just long enough. Kylie swings the bat and knocks the woman unconscious, who crumples to the ground. The inevitable shot from the helicopter’s gunman splits the air. I push Kylie down so that both women are out of harm’s way.

Then fire rips through my chest.

In case you’ve missed any of Zeit’s story, you can read all about him here.

I feel the familiar tug in my gut, the very fabric of my being wrenched from the moment and space I once occupied. I am not surprised by the sensation, but rather welcome it, like returning home. But even after centuries of Time Walking, it still sends a thrill through me. Surrounded by black, lights sweep past my field of vision, like shooting starts in the dead of night, and for a brief moment, I feel as though we are flying.

And as immediate as the Walk started, we jolt to a halt. I look over at Kylie, who stumbles to the ground from the sheer force of the abrupt stop.

“Are you alright?” I ask, though I know she probably is not.

“Excuse me while I hurl,” she says.

And she does.

Though I can hardly hold it against her. I can only imagine what an experience like that must feel like to a human.

When she finally composes herself, she stands and straightens her clothes. “I think ‘quite a rush’ doesn’t cut it. Time Walking should come with a disclaimer.”

“That is why humans do not typically attempt it. I must applaud your bravery.”

“Umm… thanks. So where, or when, are we?”

“This is my favorite place. Victorian England.”

Kylie looks around at the people bustling by on the cobblestone street, then looks back at me.

“Wow, you really do fit in here. You’ve got the top hat, waistcoat, long coattails… You even have the scarf thing.”

“ I believe the term you’re looking for is cravat.”

“Oh, pardon me.” She smirks and turns to walk away.

“Hold up a moment. You cannot go galavanting around by yourself. We need to lay low and blend in.”

“You mean everyone can see me?”

“You could see me when I came, could you not?”

“I guess you’ve got a point.”

“Hey!” A voice yells from across the street. A man in his mid thirties starts running toward us.

“What’s his problem?” Kylie whispers to me.

My stomach drops. Now I know when we are. “If I am not mistaken, it is about to start drizzling.”

Raindrops splatter our clothes and Kylie looks bewildered at me.

“How did you know that?”

“I must apologize, I believe I forgot to mention something. Traumatic and/or historical events tend to pull those of my kind toward them when we travel. Sometimes we cannot help it.”

“Okay…”

“I did not realize until this moment when exactly we landed.”

“What happened here, Zeit?”

“This was one of those traumatic events for me. I made a mistake many years ago and involved myself a little too deeply into the affairs of the humans in that time. They found out what I am, and let’s just say they did not take kindly to someone messing with their lives and futures. They tried to kill me.”

“Is that possible? Never mind. Tell me later. But that’s where we are now?”

I nod and pull out my pocket watch.

“Oh no, not again.” Kylie shakes her head. I’m not ready for another one of those whoosh feelings in my stomach yet.”

“It is either that or this man will try to kill us both.”

“If I die while I’m with you…”

I nod, not letting her finish her train of thought. She immediately grabs my arm and squeezes her eyes shut.

“Here goes nothin’,” she mumbles.