Ugh... What am I even thinking? How the fuck is it even possible for me to time travel? I should get help from someone... But from whom? I'm damn sure Vick isn't gonna believe me. I need someone who can help me without knowing all these details.
I muttered all this to myself—because that's all I have right now. I got in the car, my stomach growling. I knew I was in a fucked-up situation, but I had to stay alive to solve this mess. I drove to the nearby McDonald's, and for some reason, it was crowded on a working day. Could this day get any stranger?
There was only one table with an empty seat. A woman, who looked Indian, was sitting alone. I walked up and asked if I could sit there. She smiled a little and nodded.
I ate my burger, but my mind kept looping through everything that had happened. No logical explanation made sense. She must've noticed my disturbed expression because she asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah... Yeah, sure," I replied, but even I didn't believe my own words.
She gently urged, "Look at me. I don't know what's going on with you, but it's going to be okay, alright? Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end."
For some reason, her words comforted me.
"You're from India, right, ma'am?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, Tamil Nadu."
I had never heard of that place. I always wanted to learn more about India, but all I knew was that they spoke Hindi.
"Tamil Nadu... So you speak Hindi, right?"
She scoffed. "Ugh, dude... Only a part of India speaks Hindi. We have many languages in our country."
That was new information for me, so I asked more. "So, what do you speak in Tamil Nadu?"
"Tamil. It's one of the oldest languages."
"Cool... I've heard you guys have a lot of celebrations and festivals."
She nodded. "Yeah."
"So you don't visit your country for those celebrations?"
She hesitated. "Well... I used to. I never missed our Independence Day. But I stopped going ten years ago. I haven't been to India since."
That surprised me. "Why?"
She sighed deeply. "This year is India's 78th Independence Day, but women still can't safely go out alone. People say India has developed—women work night shifts, go out late—but deep down, every single person knows the truth. Even a little girl isn't safe at night. 78 years of independence, and yet, women aren't free. And it's not just women anymore—boys aren't safe either. Schools, tuition classes, playgrounds... Everywhere, kids are unsafe. It disgusts me to say this about my own country, but it's the truth. No matter how much India develops, safety remains an illusion."
She wiped her eyes. "A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was raped and assaulted by six men inside a bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012—before being thrown out of the moving vehicle. Can you believe that? In a fucking public transport? And recently, in Kolkata, a doctor was raped and murdered in her own workplace. Protests erupted, people fought for justice, but nothing changed. The police pinned it on some random guy and closed the case, but everyone knew the truth—the real culprits had power, connections. The government did nothing. As a woman, I hate the idea of going back."
I didn't know what to say. "Ma'am... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your mood. I had no idea things were this bad. We foreigners only hear about India's culture, art, and food."
She gave a sad smile. "It's okay. Most people don't want to know. And even those who do forget once a new issue trends on social media."
We sat in silence for ten minutes. Then I asked, "Where do you work?"
"Florence Tech. I'm sort of a scientist."
Florence Tech. One of the top tech industries in the world. For some reason, I felt like she could help me.
"A scientist? What do you specialize in?"
"Quantum physics and the possibilities of time travel."
Fuck. Time travel. This was my shot.
"Your name, ma'am?"
"Anika Morgan. And you?"
"Peter Frankson. I'm a data analyst."
She stood up. "Well, Peter, nice meeting you. I hope I see you around."
I hesitated. Should I ask her for help? What if she thought I was crazy? But she was my only hope.
"Anika... I need your help."
She frowned. "Help? With what?"
I led her outside to my car. "I know this sounds crazy, but I think I time-traveled."
She laughed. "Peter... Are you messing with me? You're making fun of my job, aren't you?"
"No, no! I'm serious. Listen!"
I told her everything. Every single detail. Her face went from amusement to shock.
"So... you think you time-traveled?" She studied me for a moment. "Come with me."
She got in her car and gestured for me to follow. She drove us to her house.
"I have a basement lab. Let's check something."
"Check something? I don't think anything's wrong with my body."
"That's not it. If you time-traveled, your body should have traces of a rare element. When someone time-travels, their physical body moves a hundred times faster than light. Normally, that would be impossible, but there's one way to survive it—if your body is powered by an element called Rathadium Chronate."
We went into her basement lab. She gestured for me to stand under a green light. As soon as I did, her computer started displaying strange readings. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Peter... Your body has an enormous amount of Rathadium Chronate. This is impossible. A human body shouldn't be able to contain this much. Our bodies use carbohydrates, oxygen—normal components for energy. But your body... it somehow acquired Rathadium, and it's using it at 100% capacity. That's why you were able to time-travel."
I struggled to process it all. "So... can I use this energy to go back? To return to my original time?"
Anika hesitated. Then she placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Peter... Rathadium only allows travel to the past. You can't use it to go to the future. And worse... you can't control it."
My stomach dropped. "What does that mean, Anika?"
She took a deep breath. "It means... you will time-travel again. Without warning. And you'll keep going further into the past. You'll never know when it will happen next. You can't stop it."
My heart pounded. "So... I can never go back?"
She gave me a sympathetic look. "You're in a pathetic situation, Peter. You need to be careful... because you have no idea when you're going to disappear next."