Remembering Freddie

    It was a sweltering, summer morning. Another week had gone by with little to no progress. As John walked through the long halls of the lab, he wondered if it was time to stop everything. His entire life had been spent studying quantum mechanics. He was a man possessed! He needed to know who had caused the accident, that terrible day when the world froze and he lost his one and only friend: Freddie. John and Freddie had done everything together for many years. It just happened to be Freddie’s birthday at the carnival when the terrible tragedy ensued. But… there was no possible way that only Freddie’s safety strap had failed, and Freddie had fallen off the ride. That person had to have done something. Though John never saw the man’s face clearly, only his back, he knew the figure was suspicious. 

Years later, he couldn’t stand being alone. It was as if a part of him had become trapped when he knew that Freddie was gone.

           John brushed away his thoughts and got back to work. It had been 20 years since he had started his research. He earned the title as one of the smartest scientists in the world, but he was also the loneliest. He had rarely contacted his family. He had worked with a few other scientists, but never made any close friends after the pain of losing Freddie.

As he stared at the notes from the previous day, something caught his eye. It was a scrapped idea for a time machine, a model he had constructed 15 years earlier. The cost to create it was astronomical then, but now, he might be able to afford it. With a renewed sense of purpose, he instantly got to work spending hours upon hours getting the necessary resources and working in the lab. Eventually, he clocked so many hours so long that everyone thought he had gone insane, but he didn’t care. He had done it. He had found a way to bring Freddie back. 

Despite having the answer now right in front of him, he hesitated. Time travel could be really dangerous. But John couldn’t resist having the ability to save his friend, and he activated the machine. As it began to shake, the walls melted and a bright, purple light filled John’s vision. He felt every second pass by. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. He had lost track of time when suddenly a thud came from beneath his feet. The purple light vanished and he stepped outside of the machine. 

The machine had brought John inside of a cave. It was dark, but John could see a faint glow up ahead. He briskly walked towards it and stepped out into daylight.

Suddenly, a park ranger pulled John away from the cave before he could react and began to scream at him, “What on earth are you doing? Where’s your tour guide? Did something happen inside?” 

John was puzzled. He asked, ““Excuse me, where am I and what is today’s date?”

“Did you hit your head!? You’re at Yosemite National Park. Today is the opening day of the carnival.”

National Park? How’d I get sent so far away? It seems like the date is right, but how am I going to get to the correct place in time?

 “I have to leave now,” said John. 

The ranger let him go.

Thanking the ranger, John began to make his way towards the carnival. John had a plan to secure and safeguard all seats on the ride in order to ensure they were safe for Freddie and himself when they got on. Putting his plan into action, he managed to slip pass the sleepy security guards and began to get to work. 

Midway through his plan, John saw a flashlight behind him. He turned around to find his younger self looking over the fence of the carnival with his friend. Panicking, John wrapped up his work and hid. Is the carnival about to open?! John thought to himself. He checked his watch, 9:59 am. The carnival opened at 10 am. There was no time. But John wasn’t confident that he had finished his work. 

The carnival gates opened and John slipped out while the crowd poured in. Suddenly, a thought dawned on him. He hadn’t even seen any man. He had worked all the way until the open time. Could it be? Was I the person who I saw on that day?! Did my coming back change the past? John quickly made his way back to the carnival.

The accident would happen at 10:30. Time seemed to slow down as he bolted towards the entrance. He arrived at the gates at 10:29 and attempted to get in, but security wouldn’t allow him. Then he heard a scream. John was frozen with fear as he looked over the guards. He saw Freddie lying on the ground, lifeless. With tears streaming down his face, John slipped down at a nearby tree and was stabbed with sharp grief. 

He felt numb first, and then his brain started working again slowly. Could he stop his younger self from becoming a quantum mechanic and break the cycle? No… Solemnly, John dragged his body away and returned to the cave where his machine had dropped him. Had it been him this whole time? Had he caused his friend to die? Maybe it was always meant to happen… Living through the painful memory of Freddi’s death again, John found his machine undisturbed and set the date back to the present. 

As the bright purple light filled his vision once again, he took one deep breath and was back in the present. Shortly after the incident, his time machine was left in a dark room collecting dust. He retired, vowing to never mess with time travel ever again, and started a worldwide forum on the consequences of altering the past through time travel. He called it: Remembering Freddie.