Child of Time

I didn’t mean to erase time.

I’m very, very sorry about all of that.

I know Laura told me not to touch anything. I tried. I really did try. It’s just… everything was so smooth and shiny. I wanted to see what it felt like was all. Back on the planets, it was all dust and dirt. Well, Laura said that was just our house. Cause I didn’t clean when she was gone.

I did try to once. But I used up all the water and she yelled at me. She was sorry afterward. That’s why she brought me here, I think.

Then she told me not to touch. And left me there.

Maybe she forgot about the other things. Like when I almost destroyed that planet after she brought me to the station where they made it. Yeah… that storm that everyone freaked out about. It won’t happen again, don’t worry. I know what buttons not to push next time.

Then I guess you don’t remember it now, do you? Will you?

I guess… I don’t even know if you guys are out there. Or who’s going to read this. My sister would call this a testimonial or something. Or maybe a confession. I dunno. But it’s too quiet here. And… and I have to write something.

Umm, so yeah. She brought me to where they make time. It’s the next step from the planet-maker place, you see. They make the planets. Test them. Then push them into time. Then people come and find them and live on them. Or sometimes they explode them. Well, that only happened once. Laura said it was a fraud of some kind. Health or insurance or something. Guess that doesn’t matter either, seeing as how I haven’t figured out how to start time again.

Well, I think I might have.

It was a cool place though, this place where you watch time from. Like being inside one of those old-fashion helmets one put on their head when they went down into the oceans. But just really huge. And instead of fish swimming outside those circle windows, I could see the planets. A whole line of them, floating away on this blue stream of stars and light. Least that’s what it looked like.

Time cycles, Laura called them. She brought me to this circle platform in the middle of the helmet time-center place because she said it was the best place to see everything from. Then she told me she had to check some wires or something because they were going to put another planet into time.

And told me not to touch anything.

It wasn’t really my fault they put lights on the glass. I mean, I guess I could have stayed on the platform. Kinda felt like being a statue though for everyone to look at though. A very small statue, with everyone too far away to make it interesting. Besides, I wanted to see the planets up close.

I did stuff my hands in my pockets, then I jumped down to another smaller platform. And another smaller one below that. They rose from this pit place and then big rings like steps climbed up to the big circle windows.

So I climbed up.

Some people say that it’s a black void out here. They haven’t seen the stars though. The glowing rivers. The time. It’s really cool. I pressed my nose against the window.

The glass shimmered and I jerked back just as a huge display of flickering lights appeared. Well, they looked like lights at first. They… turns out they were controls.

Two of the lights were really bright. A blue one and a silver one shaped like a star. I shoved my hands deeper in my pockets though. Didn’t touch.

Then the whole helmet place shook. Hard. The new planet crept across the window as they pushed it into time. It was amazing. Like really amazing. More cool than the spider I found trying to catch a fish a few weeks back.

I pressed back against the window, both hands against the glass.

The whole place shook again, hard enough to make me fall. The lights faded where my hands had been. The planets stopped.

Everything stopped, as far as I can tell.

I found a mote of dust frozen in the air. It’s probably the only bit of dust in here, poor thing. And I found Laura. She… she was frozen, down behind one of those ‘keep-out’ doors. She couldn’t hear me. Wouldn’t move.

Time isn’t moving either. None of it. They haven’t sent people here yet, and it’s been hours now. Least, long enough I’m hungry. And thirsty. I even miss Laura now. They should have sent someone by now to fix the time.

Unless they’re all frozen too.

So I guess I need to fix it. I probably should have. I just… well, I wanted to write this first. Cause I found the place with some sort of jump start. The symbols are a little confusing. But there’s lots of red and warnings and skulls.

I can just reach the levers. I’m going to go try. I hope… I hope it doesn’t hurt too bad. I have to make it so Laura can move again though. All the others too. I’ll come back and grab this if I can. Maybe no one will even know what happened.

If I can’t. Well…

Someone tell Laura they shouldn’t put buttons on the window, please.

And… and if I ever go somewhere else, I promise I won’t touch anything. Even on accident.