Time F lies
By: T homas S pidare
“Where a m I ? W hat y ear is t his?” N ick a sked a villager.
“Why, it’s 1 687,” t he v illager said.
“What t he-?!” Nick shouted.
“What’s happening!?”
1 Day E arlier…
As Nicolas Mclane b ounded o ff t he bus h e k new something w as
wrong… F irst o ff his mom w as n ot o ut a t the bus s top, i t is a first day o f
school t radition she a lways w anted t o h ear e verything about his d ay, h e
slowly w alked inside a nd y elled o ut.
“Mom! M om! A re you here?" N ick s houted w ith f ear.
No a nswer, he t hen started to h ear his d og b arking.
“Well a t l east o ne t hing i s n ormal,” h e thought o ut loud.
He h eaded u p s tairs t o h is m om’s r oom… a nd s aw her l ying o n h er
bed.
“That’s a r elief,” h e thought. “ I’ll go t o my room and d o m y
homework t hen I ’ll go explore the hedge I found yesterday.”. T he hedge
was i n t he w oods behind h is house, he l oved to explore t he w oods a nd
pretty much a nything i n n ature. H is h omework w as j ust some papers
on r eptiles and some math, n ot t oo much.
12 m inutes l ater when he was done h e w ent o utside a nd h eaded t o
the woods w ere t he h edge l ied. I t seemed much bigger than before. I t
took h im awhile to find an o pening i n t he h edge, when he d id, h e
understood w hy it s eemed like h e passed t hat rock with the g ash in it
so m any times… because he had!! T he hedge w as round.
He entered w ith much c aution, as s oon a s his
whole b ody was in the hedge s eemed to c lose in
around him and t he opening d isappeared. In
the middle of the c learing there w as a circle o f
stones, and i n t he middle of t hose s tones was the most beautiful
amethyst (and to tell the truth h e hadn’t seen a ny) I t w as p erfectly
round a nd s o clean and clear, i t l ooked l ike s omething f rom h eaven. Just
as he w as a bout t o p ick t he p urple wonder up a nd study it h e h eard his
mom yelling for h im,
“Nick! Where are you? It’s time f or d inner and you won't
believe w ho's h ere... it’s your dad!”
“Ok mom, coming!!” h e yelled b ack.
As h e r an b ack N ick t hought about the amethyst and the hedge
and how i t got there, but mostly h e t hought about h is dad. He h ad been
away for almost a year now on a trip for his work, it was n ot s upposed
to take t hat l ong, but w hile he was o n the t rip i n South B razil s tudying
the n ew f ossil h is crew h ad found, (his dad i s a a rchaeologist.) h e had
been a ttacked by t he world's m ost deadly s pider, the Brazilian
Wandering S pider and h ad n early died. Thankfully he g ot to a nearby
hospital in t ime and w as saved. N icolas c ould n ot believe that after a ll
that t ime h e was b ack.
He h eaded into h is h ouse a nd saw his dad f or t he f irst t ime in 12
months a nd 2 6 d ays (he keeped t rack for a i mportant thing l ike this) h e
ran over to h is dad a nd gave h im t he b iggest h ug e ver.
“Dad I...I t hought you m ight not’ve come b ack, I t hought I m ight
not e ver s ee y ou a gain,” h e stammered w ith tears i n his e yes.
“I’ll always c ome b ack f or you my d ear son I’ll a lways c o m e-” t hen
he d rifted off to s leep in the big a rm chair i n the family r oom.
“He’s h ad a rough d ay, I m ean, c ould you h ave been bitten by the
world's deadliest s pider t hen a lmost die a nd t hen go on a a lmost 8 hour
flight because I could not f or s ure,” she s tammered
“Well I couldn’t e ther, so y ou’re r ight h e d eserves a r est,” Nick
responded.
“Maybe you should rest too s on, y ou seemed t ired,” h is mom
suggested
“That’s for s ure,” he thought, w ith a ll the d ays e vents, how could
anyone not collapse and fall asleep. The n ext m orning h e woke up with
in a c old s weat, t hen he looked a t t he c lock i t was 9:30!! T hen s uddenly
he realized i t w as a S aturday.
“Oh m y g osh I thought i t w as g oing t o b e l ate for s chool, r eally
late like school starts it like 8 :00, i f it w as a weekday I would be a hour
and a h alf late.”
He q uickly p ut o n h is clothes for the day, a t-shirt j eans a nd h is
Ohio State Buckeyes cap. A fter he was d one he rushed i nto t he
bathroom and brushed flossed and c ombed his h air. The s mell o f fresh
Baked b iscuits, e ggs and bacon wafted u pstairs.
He b ounded down the s tairs to the
amazingness a waiting h im.
“Hey m om, the breakfast y ou're making me
smells and looks amazing!” Nick s aid
enthusiastically.
“Why thank y ou, Nick,” s he r esponded.
As h e i nhaled h is breakfast h e thought about
what h e w as going t o d o today. W ell, h e k new
that he had t o go i nto the woods a nd t he
amethyst. He was right t he b reakfast w as
amazing, his mom k new w hat h e l oved f or
breakfast- e ggs, bacon, biscuits... oh a nd
should I m ention the sausage gravy?
H e l ove t hese k inds o f things, breakfast is h is favorite meal. A fter
he finished his m om a sked if h im i f he could d o s ome yard w ork.
“Of c ourse m om. I've n othing e lse g ood to do!” h e exclaimed
Though h e d id h ave s omething b etter to do, much b etter t o do
investigate t he c ircle of stones...
20 m inutes l ater he w as i n t he yard raking l eaves. h e d idn't m ind
but i t w asn't his f avorite e specially w hen he had s omething b etter t o do.
Every time he r aked the l eaves into a pile the wind seemed t o fight
against him, it w as like m other nature h erself was l aughing a t him.
“Ugh! This is so b oring!! I h ave much b etter thing I could be
doing!” Nick yelled to no o ne in p articular.
After h e w as done he r an t o the shed and though t he rake in, then
bolted o ver to t he woods where t he hedge lied.
After a few minutes of searching h e found t he amethyst ( it could
be h ard to find) He t ouched it, a nd h is heart d id a little flip-flop, like the
day before. Huh, Nick t hought.
He walked out of t he cave? (it
appeared to b e a cave n ow) and
was b ewildered when he s aw a
village.
“AUHH!” Nick s houted.
“Hey t here, y oung m an.
Would you like some bread?” a
villager asked. H e w as old, w ith
distinctive wrinkles o n his f ace.
“I must have t raveled back again,” N ick m uttered t o himself.
“What y ear is this, b y t he w ay,” N ick asked.
“Why, it’s 1775,” t he m an r eplied. R ight when he s aid that, N ick
immediately rushed b ack t owards t he c ave a nd t ouched t he amethyst.
Nothing h appened.
“NOOO! I’LL NEVER GET H OME!” N ick yelled. N ick never h ad felt
this f eeling b efore. Nick was d evastated. H e f elt h e c ouldn’t get o ut of
1775. N ick f elt s omething c oming. Then, he thought;
“Huh, this i s weird. I f eel something s trong, and powerful.” Just a s
Nick s aid t hat, t here w as a d estructional B OOM! N ick peered o utside
to f ind t he biggest, loudest
fireground ever. H e w as s tanding
in t he m iddle of a war.
“No, not t he- anywhere b ut this!”
Nick pleaded.
He h oped i t w asn’t t rue, b ut it
was. H e was i n the b eginning o f
The R evolutionary War. N ick o nly
knew this because o f a project h e
did in D ecember, h e also k new it w as i n M assachusetts. T he only thing
Nick wanted now was t o b e s afe o n t his remarkable t rip.
Nick NEEDED t o g et home, but w hen h e touched the amethyst, i t
wasn’t working. He w ent back outside a nd saw a dark figure, l ooming in
the d istance.
“Who a re you?” N ick a sked.
“I am t he k eeper of time. You have traveled back f ar e nough. N ow
answer this r iddle, for i f you get i t r ight, y ou go b ack to t he starting
point. If n ot, you will be stuck i n this t ime, F orever, ” t he figure said.
“Here i s t he r iddle: I h ave f our l egs in the m orning, two legs a t m idday,
and at night I have t hree l egs. W hat am I? W hen you f ind out, t ouch t he
amethyst,” t he f igure d isappeared w ith a small glow o f shadowy l ight.
“Hmm,” N ick thought. “ How could t his c reature b e possible? W ell
maybe it’s a t hing that loses i ts legs, through, t he night has 3 legs... No,
riddles always have a twist m aybe, Oh, H OLD U P! 4 l egs… b aby? 2 legs…
Middle aged?... T hree legs… old p erson w ith a cane! T he creature is a
human!” Nick s houted. “Hello? Strange b lack man? A re y ou t here?”
Nick w aited a nd waited f or this black m an to accept o r decline h is
answer, b ut t he man never s howed up. A half h our passed a nd there
was still n o sign of the extraordinary man. The B OOMs a nd BAMs were
still going on. Nick t hought t hat the man t ricked h im to make h is hopes
go up, but that w as not t rue.
“Wait. the man s aid w hen y ou get your answer, touch the
amethyst.” Nick t hought i n his head. B ut f or N ick, unlucky N ick, t he
cave w as far a way, a bout 100 meters away!
“I g otta get t hrough all that b attlefield!” N ick thought. H e s tarted
stepping cautiously t o the cave, t hen made a b reak f or it. A b ullet came
his way, b ut he just dodged i t. H e was a bout to slip i nto t he c ave, but…
Someone was guarding t he cave.
“Die!” the g uard shouted. Thankfully, he missed.
“Not o n my watch, I’m G OING H OME!” Nick f elt h is heart beat
faster, faster and faster s till. “ Outta m y way, b ub!” Nick s houted. H e
touched the guard, a nd h e w ent flying. N ick stepped i nto the cave and
touched t he amethyst. The d ark f igure appeared before h im.
“So, what’s the answer t o t he riddle?” the f igure asked.
“The answer is… a h uman!” Nick replied. “The baby is c rawling in
the m orning, in t he afternoon the middle a ged p erson w alks o n 2 l egs,
and in the n ight the old m an has 2 l egs + a c ane, s o 3 legs,” N ick said.
“Good job. Y ou may g o home,” t he d ark f igure told N ick. Nick
touched the a methyst a nd felt a w hirl of e nergy. H e e xited t he round
hedge a nd finally saw his home. H e opened the d oor and-
“NICK! I was so worried a bout y ou! What h appened? A nd why are
your shoes b loodsoaked?” Nick’s m om a sked.
“Well, I h ad s ort o f a n adventure, but I totally d id not g o back to
1775 a nd t he Revolutionary War…” N ick trailed o ff.
“So you did f ind i t,” his m om s aid darkly. “You found the amethyst
of t ime. I k new you were g oing t o f ind that o ne d ay,”
“I a lso… saw a d ark figure, i n b lack r obes. I honestly couldn’t tell if
it was b oy or g irl,” N ick said.
“Nick… N ick, that man was y our uncle. He g ot t rapped i n a time
vortex, and t hen h ad the p owers to t ravel time. Your uncle disguised
the v ortex a s a n amethyst. H e w anted people t o touch it, but s oon
realized h e w ould n ever g et free,” Nick’s mom e xplained.
“So no wonder I’ve never s een my uncle before, m om h ow long
was I g one?”
“You were gone for 1 6 hours Nick, 1 6 h ours,” she r esponded.
“Where's D ad a nd d oes he know a bout this?”
“Yes… but i t’s a touchy subject f or h im s o d on’t b ring i t up, he h ad
a g ood r elationship w ith him. A nd he’s i n h is room r esting.”
“Again?”
“Don’t judge h im y ou know w hat h e’s been t hough.”
“Ok, I ’m g oing to my r oom to figure t his whole thing out,” N ick
responded w hile going u p t he s tairs to h is r oom.
When he g ot to his r oom h e went o ver t he day's e vents, h e didn’t
believe what an a dventure he’d had, no o ne a live t oday h ad e ver g one t o
the 1 600’s or g one anywhere before t here t ime. W hat a n e xtraordinary
adventure h e’d had.
THE E ND
2017 Thomas Spidare P .J. Publishing Inc.
All r ights reserved
Dedicated t o E van F og