Fiction Short Story – The Premonition.
Photo credit: DuBoix from morguefile.com
I’m a time traveller now, he thought.
The pill was red and yellow in colour. And it was the outcome of so many years of toiling. This little thing, once taken, wielded the power to take the consumer six hours into the future, let him experience those six hours in reverse, and finally would set him down at the exact same point that he (or she) had taken it. Or at least in theory it should, thought the Inventor.
It was intoxicating, the power of that tiny thing in his palm. The Inventor smiled.
The pill went in first, followed by a glass of water. He felt the pill make its way down his throat.
*
And not a sound was heard.
Brain splattered onto the walls.
“I’m sorry”, he repeated.
“What are you…” The Inventor began.
“I am sorry, sir” he said as he released the safety of the gun.
“Is that a gun?” The Inventor asked incredulously. The silenced weapon was pointed to his head.
Adam pulled out something from within his coat. “This is it”.
They walked into a cul-de-sac. “Okay sir.” he said, “I’ll show it to you now.”
“All in good time, sir” Adam replied. The Inventor sighed.
“Slight detour huh ?”, the inventor asked finally, “Where are we going? It’s getting dark. I still have a lot to do. What is it that you want to show me?”
Adam walked in front, leading the way for the inventor. Left right right left right…. They were going deeper and deeper into the underbelly of the city, but Adam seemed to know his way. The orange of the sunset lit up the sky.
”It is sir.” He replied cryptically.
The inventor hesitated. “Alright then, considering you have such a high opinion of it, I think I’ll play along”, he said, “But it better be good Adam.”
“You have to see it to believe it, sir, and I simply do not know how to put it in words. Call it a surprise if you will, and it’s quite fabulous a sight I guarantee you. But it will require slight detour through here.” He said pointing down the alley, “I highly recommend it sir.”
“What is it Adam?”
They were passing by an ill lit alleyway when Adam suddenly stopped. “If I may sir”, he said, “There is a little something I want to show you.”
It was nearly dusk when Adam came back. “Shall we go now sir?” Adam asked. The inventor looked up at Adam and smiled. Adam. What a wonderful man. He had stuck with him through thick and thin, even when all those he had thought as his friends abandoned him. This man believed in him, in his ability. The inventor made a mental note to mention Adam in his speech tomorrow. He nodded at Adam.
It was a beautiful day in many respects. Brown leaves made a beautiful carpet on the ground, a few birds were chirping, and there was slight cool breeze. Slowly they made their way to the park, where Adam left the inventor to take care of some business his wife had asked him to. The inventor sat there, breathing in the outdoors. It soothed his nerves, and he felt a wave of warmth wash over him as the truth sunk in. He had invented time travel. TIME-TRAVEL! Tomorrow the world will know. And he thought excitedly about all the awards and felicitations that would follow. He would become world famous. He would finally prove all who had doubted him wrong. He could barely contain it. He sat there for hours, basking in the glory. The fog that had earlier enveloped his mind all but disappeared.
“Yes Adam”, the inventor replied handing the glass back to him, “I think some fresh air would do me good. Now that you mention it…. Oh my god, it’s really been a while since I last got out.”
Adam helped the inventor to his feet, and got him some water in a glass. “Maybe we should go out for a walk or something sir. You have been sleeping inside the lab itself for the last three months. The stress maybe getting to you”, he said.
“I don’t know Adam. I think I may have whited out. No,no,no. I’m fine. Just get me some water. No first give me a hand.”
“Are you alright sir?” Adam asked as the inventor came to. He was lying on the floor of his lab. Adam was sitting near him, a concerned expression on his face.
The world blanked out.
The inventor felt queer. His head was swimming. I didn’t drink anything, he thought groggily.
As Adam was clearing away the table, the Inventor returned to his lab. Oh! What a lot of paperwork had to be done, he thought. There would be a lot of reporters, journalists, photographers… he would have to prepare for all of them. But the inventor felt strangely detached from all of it. As if it were all were happening to someone else and he was watching from a safe distance, boiling over with jealousy. He didn’t understand it.
The inventor chewed through his food, barely registering anything, lost in thought. He mentally made a list of all the application forms and letters he would have to fill out if he was to patent his life’s work. He washed down all he had sub-consciously ate with black tea, as was his custom.
“It’s afternoon already?” the Inventor asked feebly. Adam was never impressed.
Adam gave a tight lipped smile. “Good for you sir”, he said, “Your lunch is going cold, by the way.”
“No Adam, this is not the like the other times. It actually worked, I swear on my life it did. I really did time travel Adam. Okay there are a few issues that still need to be addressed. But the main point is, this is the greatest breakthrough mankind has ever had Adam. Do you know what that means for me Adam? I’m going to be famous. And rich. And remembered millennia hence. Im going to be immortal Adam” the inventor said, his cheeks flushed with excitement.
‘Yes sir, very excited.” Adam replied, his face displaying no emotion, “just like all those times before”
“Look Adam”, the Inventor said holding out the pill, “it’s done Adam. I have finally finished it. This Adam, is the key to travelling through that great entity known as Time. Aren’t you excited Adam?”
“You called sir?” Adam asked as he came into the room. Adam was the family butler, about the Inventor’s father’s age. He had a few whites peeping here and there through his carefully combed head, but other than that the man was as lively as a sixteen year old.
“Adam! Adam!” the Inventor called out.
The pill went in first, followed by a glass of water. He felt the pill make its way down his throat.
*
He remembered nothing. It was a side effect he had expected. To prevent any mix-ups and distortions to the fabric of time, the pill also erased all the memories of your journey, except for a faint feeling for the next six hours that you had experienced all of it before. This pill was a prototype after all. Of course, he would be able to correct this tiny issue later on.
The inventor felt a tug at his heart, but he ignored it.
“Adam! Adam!” the Inventor called out.
__END__
