

## I'M NOT THE MAN I WAS

(But Time Will Tell)

A Short Novel

By

Phillip N. Hancock, Sr.

### Edited by Bernadine Hancock

### Original Cover Art by

Patricia J. Hancock

Text copyright @ 2017 Phillip N. Hancock, Sr.

**ISBN:** 9781370601554

All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please pick an additional copy for each recipient. This would greatly assist me in tracking downloads for my personal records. If you're reading this book and you enjoy it, please review it on Smashwords. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Prologue

Other Books

Epilogue

Before You Go

Comments

#### Prologue

Time travel novels, I think I may have read them all from 'The Time Machine' by H. G. Wells, 'A Wrinkle in Time' by Madeleine L 'Engle and Hope Larson, 'Doctor Who' by Terrance Dicks, 'Time Crimes' by H. Beam Piper, 'Time Bandits' by Charles Alverson, 'The Time Travelers Wife' by Audrey Niflenegger, and I loved the movie 'The Butterfly Effect' written and directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber and, to me, it becomes very clear. A wrong step in the past could very well eliminate the future you currently know.

As far as I'm concerned, building a machine powerful enough to bend the fabric of time seems a pipe dream. What if the ability to traverse time is inherent to just one person or maybe a few certain people and that ability is not transferable to others no matter what they do or what they wish.

I have found that we all dream, and to some extent, travel back in time giving us another look, albeit a more informed view, at those wonderful days of our youth. We can see where we wasted chances as we were too young to simply realize what lay ahead or visualize a future we would aspire to have. These brief glimpses of those past days are randomly selected and presented to us while we sleep the night away. That is most of us, however, Aaron Conroy discovers that he has a slightly altered dream state and an unrealized ability that he will ultimately use to his benefit.

Dreams are one of the most powerful influential path directing tools ever discover and they are available to the whole human race. Poems are written, songs are composed and murders are sometimes planned and committed, all the result of a simple but inspiring dream. The only thing lacking in our dreams is the actually physical projection of a person into them either as a witness or as a willing participant. What if one found out he or she had the power to do just that and send themselves back into their past and make minor changes, thereby insuring a safer and more rewarding future. This fictional story is about one young man who discovers that he is one and maybe the only one. Someone who has the ability to insert himself into his dreams. Traveling through that impenetrable fragile fabric of time where he can tinker with what had been then change it to what he wanted it to be.

### Chapter 1

## One Strike and you're out

His parents had left Waverly City two years ago for a quieter residence out here in the country. Their home now bordered a large government protected forest area instead of the noisy strip mall that was their city home. These neighboring woods were open to hikers and daytime only campers, no overnighters allowed and it banned any and all types of hunting.

The young man was an explorer and had spent numerous hours walking the trails and learning the ways and beauty of these woods. His dad had made sure that Aaron knew how to handle himself while out exploring as his dad, before his unexpected young death, had explored most of this area with him. It had been five months since his dad's passing and Aaron had just now returned to his adventures in these woods.

Just about everything he did, saw or touched brought reflections of his exploration along beside his dad. Tears were simply a fee he paid for the memories that flooded his thoughts, memories too fresh to not cause pain even in someone so young.

Aaron Conroy was seven when he first saw the strange man. The man wasn't strange looking, he was just someone Aaron didn't know and Aaron was quite surprised to see him on that side of the chasm.

The log Aaron used to cross above the river that flowed so swiftly through the gorge, almost sixty feet below, spanned a little over fourteen feet side to side. It was the only way to get to and from his secret place and he had safely made that crossing many times, all unbeknown to his mom. He had no doubts about his ability to make it again until the man stepped out from somewhere and blocked his path.

"Don't cross just yet, wait here with me and watch for a moment," The man's voice was deep and modulated. His six foot five inch height probably assisted in causing his voice to be so low and, to Aaron, it had such a sincere ring that he obeyed without hesitation. The man also looked kind of familiar in an older, well he didn't actually know just what was familiar, but it caused him to impolitely crane his neck up and stare.

The crashing noise of a large boulder, that had somehow become loosened during the previous rain storm, pulled his attention to the cliff side above the log that crossed the chasm. The large boulder tumbled down the embankment careening as it went. It became airborne from hitting the last ledge before reaching the log. As it fell by, it brushed the crossing log just enough to make anyone, that happened to be out on that narrow makeshift bridge, a candidate for an uncontrolled plummet into that chasm and the raging river below.

Even at seven years old, Aaron knew enough to know that the man had probably saved his life. He turned and looked up at the man, "Did you know that was going to happen?"

"It's safe to cross now but I suggest you steer clear of this area in the future, it is very dangerous and somewhat unstable," A smile was added in this dismissal.

Aaron crossed the log unhampered then, safely back on the other side and on solid ground, he stopped and turned around to wave to the man. Searching the area with his eyes revealed nothing, evidently the man had left and the young man wondered if the stranger had found another route from that area. The young man didn't dare mention the incident or he would have to tell his mom about his secret place and the dangerous crossing he used.

The second time he saw the man Aaron was twelve years old. It was the third inning of his little league game and he was due up to bat. Some inclement weather was closing in and a small amount of precipitation had started to fall and, if it increased, it might delay completion of the their game.

Aaron stored his fielding glove in his personal equipment bag. He picked up his upside down batting helmet from the numerous wooden cubbies in the back of the dugout. He removed his batting gloves he had left inside the helmet. He shoved the helmet under one arm then put the batting gloves on and adjusted the glove's Velcro straps. He took a quick look inside the helmet at the note he had transferred from his old helmet to this new one, it simply said, "Stay Loose", written some years ago by his dad using a black felt tip marker. He put the helmet on then made some minor adjustments to the way it was situated as memories of his dad flashed before his eyes.

Aaron turned and reached for the red and silver aluminum bat he always used. All the bats hung from a metal bat rack attached to a wire fence. This cyclone fence shielded and protected the players from arrant throws while they waited in the dugout. Its open construction still allowed unhampered views of the playing field.

"Hey team! Get over here for a moment!" was shouted from outside close to one end of their dugout, over near third base. The players all responded and came out of the dugout and around to whom they assumed was the coach who had called them. "I need you guys to pay attention for a moment," the man said but he wasn't the coach, however, he was an adult, and extremely tall adult, so they stayed where he had called them.

The actual team's coach, who was over near the bleachers where he had been answering a question from one of the parents, realized that his team had left the dugout and were gathered around a tall stranger just off to the side of the field, over near third base. "Hey, what's going on here? Why are you guys out of the dugout?" The coach shouted and headed toward the group and the stranger.

An ominous black cloud gathered quickly almost directly above the ball field. Precipitation increased and began to fall much heavier than expected and parents started looking for some rain protection, opening umbrellas, putting papers over their heads or raising hoods of their jackets to keep as dry as possible.

No one was looking that way when the lightning struck the dugout with its thousands of volts of pure energy. The enclosing fence and the metal bat rack seemed to be the target of that vicious charge. That metal bat rack exploded away from the fence and the hanging bats were blown around the dugout enclosure breaking boards and knocking helmets out of their cubbies. The power of the lightning strike also threw buckets of balls around in the dugout as if they were pin balls in an arcade game. There was no place, high or low, no corner of the dugout that would have been safe for anyone. The surrounding cyclone fence simply kept most of the ping pong activity inside that dugout. Only one bat went out through an opening followed by a couple of balls that rolled out onto the playing field.

The spectators were also affected as the force of the blow knocked anyone standing off their feet. The echoing cacophony caused moms and dads to jerk around looking for their children. One mom was crying and screaming her son's name as she abandoned the bleachers and raced toward the remains of the dugout that had started to burn in the aftermath.

The opposing team, waiting out on the field, abandoned gloves and other gear and quickly followed their coach off the field away from the fencing and away from their own dugout. The coach led them to a nearby house and begged entrance from the occupants to protect the children from harm. The home owner, who had heard the lightning strike and could see the burning dugout in the near distance, didn't hesitate to invite the frightened children inside out of danger..

Aaron and his team mates had all been shaken and knocked off their feet. They, for the most part, were now laying sprawled in the dirt just past third base. Aaron could feel the heat from the fire that had now engulfed the dugout. He looked around and found the stranger just rising from the ground and again he asked the question, "Did you know that was going to happen?"

"You'll be ok now, go let your Mom know that you are safe," The stranger said then the stranger looked past Aaron staring at something long enough to cause Aaron to turn and look. On turning Aaron saw a silver glimmering vision of what appeared to be a young man standing and watching the flames as the dugout burned. The glimmering vision only lasted a moment then was gone and when Aaron turned back around the stranger was also gone.

Aaron went as he was told. He saw his mom coming, running from the bleachers. Aaron turned again looking for the stranger but a cursory search of the area showed no signs of the man. Aaron thought, he looks so familiar, I should know who he is.

Aaron's mom hadn't seen the stranger and the coach's comments didn't help. "Yes there was a stranger here who had called the team out of the dugout saving their lives. I'm sorry, I saw the kids gathered around this stranger and I headed that way to see why and then the lightning struck. Now I can't find him, I just wanted to thank him but he's not here so I guess he's gone. I hope he realizes he is a hero."

Aaron told his mom he had seen the stranger and thought he looked familiar but he really couldn't place him. He didn't mention that this was the second time the stranger had appeared and saved his life.

# Chapter 2

## There's nothing like a good movie

Aaron was a good student and took his class work seriously. As a tenth grade student he had several assignments that took most of his time. Researching for essays was something he loved and he put a lot of time and effort into getting the facts correct before he put pencil to paper.

His current high school assignment was to write a paper on his city and he was suppose to make it a single subject, like 'The Butcher Shop' for example. He was suppose to isolate on that particular topic only. Aaron had chosen the city library as his target. There was several reasons he chose this structure but, they were a real mixed bag. He loved to read, he spent numerous hour in there but the most important reason was the fact that his dad had actually designed it and did the blueprint drawings used for its construction. His ideas resulted in its studious appearance and the design left zero doubt about the building's purpose.

He dug up the county records, he got copies of the drawings and he visited the police station asking for any info on it during the time of its construction. He wanted names and dates, people involved and wanted to talk to anyone that had been around during that time. He knew that a couple of the older policemen had been on the force and maybe they had been there during the actual building.

The desk sergeant was most helpful as he had a kid in the tenth grade. He hoped that, when his son asked for info, others would be as helpful as he was trying to be. The desk sergeant referred him to a couple of the detectives that he knew had been around during the period he was concerned with.

Aaron made several trips to the station during the last few weeks. He talked to some of the detectives gaining some info that could be included in his report. His name got around the station and many of the officers knew him by sight and considered him as a likely aspect for a future in law enforcement.

Today was one of those days when they both had no classes and that essay, he was working on, was far from his thoughts because other things were on his mind as Chrystal smiled at him. "Are you sure this is the movie you want to see or are you just going to this show to please me?" He asked.

"Don't be so paranoid. I really do like Sci-Fi movies and I read Sci-Fi books, probably a lot more than you do," Chrystal explained as she took his right hand. Aaron collected the tickets with the other hand and they entered the theater.

Chrystal bought a large popcorn, a large Hershey chocolate bar and two medium soft drinks. "My birthday presents to you, Mr. sixteen year old."

"Popcorn, chocolate and a soft drink, that's my birthday present?" He jokingly asked.

"Those are just the icing on the cake, my being with you is the real present," She coyly added.

The theater was sparsely populated as it was only the matinee and, being a weekday, most people were still at work. They agreed on seats, a few rows back and a center location. He didn't do any sound testing like Sheldon did, in that Big Bang Theory sitcom, although he had previously threatened too. Chrystal had warned him that if he did, the sound he would hear the loudest was her footsteps as she left him alone there in the theater.

The on screen advertisements started as the theater lights dimmed. The first thing up was the request, beepers and mobile device use was banned and quiet was requested from the audience so other patrons could enjoy the movie. A set of questions about movie stars came up occasionally throughout the ads and they both tried to be the first to answer them correctly. Coming attractions followed and were now blasting from the screen with the surround sound system in full force. The sound's volume simply eliminated most all of the distractions inside the theater.

A small light came on at the end of their Isle lighting the way to their feet. "Excuse me Sir," the man said as he approached Crystal's seat, "would you and the young lady please come with me, it's important."

Aaron and Chrystal rose and followed the man as he led them down front and out the exit that led to the open area outside and in back of the theater.

The loud bang, bang, bang that came from the inside of the theater was unexpected. "Was that actual gun fire or did that come from one of the trailers for an upcoming movie?" Aaron asked.

"It was gun fire, that's why I called you out here. I didn't want you two involved," The man said.

"I've seen you before. I believe this is the third time I have seen you. Who are you and why do you keep showing up?" Aaron asked as he stared at the man. "Hey, wait a minute!" Aaron almost shouted. "You look the same as you did when I first saw you some nine years ago, how is that possible?"

The stranger ignored Aaron's question. "The door we came out is one way and alarmed. They will ask why you left the theater that way. When they ask, you must tell them you were just trying to get some time alone with your girlfriend. That should hopefully satisfy the authorities curiosity. Don't mention me as I won't be here and they might think you a little crazy or mixed up in the activities inside. Get around front and find out what is going on." The stranger pushed them toward the edge of the building and the route they had to take to get back to the front of the theater.

Just before Aaron turned the side of the building he looked back, the stranger was gone. Trudging along the narrow sidewalk that skirted the vegetation, they slowly came to where they could see the parking lot. As soon as the two rounded the last corner up front, walking from around back, they were surrounded by a couple of police. Those cops stopped them and held them out front until a detective came out from inside the theater to talk to them.

Aaron and Chrystal, accompanied by a uniformed police officer, sat on a very uncomfortable cement bench there in front of the theater. They watched the activity as more official vehicles arrived. The entourage lit up the area with their red and blue flashing lights, giving the area an almost circus like appearance. The wait seemed lengthy but Aaron figured it was no more than an hour before they were greeted by an expected official.

"Hey there, I'm detective Cassidy." The unusually dressed detective said as he held up his badge and ID accompanied by a riding crop.

Seeing how the man was dressed, in old English style horse riding gear suggesting a fox hunt, caused Aaron to take a second look at the ID he offered.

"Could I get your names please?" He asked as he finally put his ID away and took out his notepad and a small pencil while he still held the riding crop.

"I'm Aaron Conroy and this is Chrystal, why do you need our names?" Aaron said as he looked around on all sides as if searching for something.

"Just routine, we have to cover all the bases when something like this happens." the detective paused, "what are you looking for or are you just nervous?"

"I don't want to be mean or insolent but I was just looking for your horse." Aaron said as he smiled at the detective while pointing at the attire he wore.

"For your information wise guy, I came here from a practice for Waverly's upcoming parade and festivities. I'm part of a mounted police crowd control group that also performs and represents Waverly City's police force, when requested or needed."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it, I had to say something, sorry" Aaron said.

"Could you tell us what happened?" Chrystal asked.

"We're not sure, would you two come with me?" Cassidy said as he motioned and led the way back toward the theater.

"Inside, is that safe? I thought I heard gun fire." Aaron stayed put and held onto Chrystal's arm.

"It's safe, we have secured the theater. Now if you would please come with me."

Aaron, Chrystal and the detective entered the theater. There were a lot of police in riot gear milling around in the lobby and snack bar area. There were some EMT crews waiting also, they had one of those portable gurneys standing by. Aaron thought it was nice to see it was empty, hopefully meaning no one was injured.

"Which theater were you in before you left by the back exit?" Detective Cassidy asked.

"The one showing the Sci-Fi movie, I believe it was number 13." Aaron said as he turned to look at Chrystal for her input.

"It was number 13, I remember thinking that the movie was in the unlucky number 13 Theater." Chrystal said.

Detective Cassidy led them down to Theater 13 and showed them in. There were more police in there lining the isles. There were several other people present, but they were unidentifiable, being in civilian dress. Those people were wearing some type gloves on their hands and their shoes looked funny almost like rabbit feet. Aaron and Chrystal looked at each other and together said "Forensic Team".

"Could you show me where you were sitting before you left.?" Cassidy asked.

"We were in the center about four rows up from here. We were sitting right behind that man standing there," Aaron pointed.

"Bill, could you move aside for a moment," Cassidy said to the man standing in front of the fourth row.

As Bill moved aside Aaron and Chrystal got a good look at their previous seats. The holes that punched through the seat backs were clearly visible. The fabric was torn and the stuffing from inside he seat backs was scattered over the bottom cushions, now looking as if the cushions were covered with a light dusting of fresh snow.

"Holy shit! Our seats were a target for someone. What, why, who did this?" Aaron asked as Chrystal stared and Aaron could tell her thoughts were starting to wonder, What if?

Suddenly Chrystal's knees collapsed as the realization seeped in of how close they were to harm or maybe even death.

Aaron caught her then helped Chrystal to a seat in the nearby row.

"Evidently it was a life saving move but, I have to wonder, why did you leave the theater by the back exit just before this happened? That exit's for emergencies only and it is alarmed with the signal going to the manager's office." Detective Cassidy pointed at the exit as he spoke.

"I didn't consider it would be alarmed, I just thought it would get us outside so we could be alone." Aaron, following the strangers suggestions, told the detective while Chrystal nodded her head in agreement, "Did you get the person that did this shooting?"

"You guys were very lucky and, well, we were too. Bill there was inside the theater, at another screen when the shots were fired. However, by the time he realized it was real gun fire and responded he didn't see who did the shooting. He must have been just a little too late to catch the shooter so the answer to your question is no. We haven't caught the culprit yet but we will," Detective Cassidy responded but Aaron didn't hear a lot of confidence in his statement. "Hey Bill, I want you to swab these two people's hands for possible GSR," the detective said then turned back to the, mouth opened couple, "Don't worry, it's just routine, it will help us eliminate you two as suspects."

Bill, an older detective with some years on the force, worked quickly and expertly. While he worked he avoided any eye contact with Aaron. It was just enough to raise a question in Aaron's mind that left him wondering why the avoidance. Once Bill finished the hand swabbing and bagging the results, detective Cassidy had the two show him where they went when they were out in back of the theater. When they finished walking him around, where they had previously gone, Detective Cassidy turned to a uniformed officer, who was following them, and said, "Hey Fred, cordon off this area then do a grid search 50 feet that way and all the way around to the front of the theater on this side." While Cassidy was speaking he pointed out the suggested area.

Detective Cassidy couldn't think of any real reason to keep these two young people. He made sure he had names, addresses and telephone numbers before he released them, saying, "You can go but don't leave town, and you must make yourselves available if I have more questions."

Although innocent of any infraction they were unsure of what the detective was thinking as he relayed instructions to subordinates. They both assured him they would follow his request as they left for the parking lot and a very confused ride home.

"Ok, who was that man and when did you see him before, and why does he look so much like you just older?" Chrystal asked as soon as they left the parking lot.

# Chapter 3

## He wasn't a happy camper

Chrystal's questions caused Aaron to slow the car down and pull off the street into the parking lot of the large Wal-Mart. He parked far out from the store where there were no other cars. Once stopped he opened his door and exited the vehicle.

Chrystal opened her door and came around to where Aaron was leaning back against the front fender of his car. He was standing with his fingers massaging his brow, his hands were shaking. "What are you thinking, why did you stop and get out?" She asked.

"I don't believe this, why hadn't I recognized the similarity? I knew he looked familiar but, I couldn't phantom the reason. Now I understand, he looked a lot like an older me." Aaron paced around in a small circle as he gestured his hands about, "Did we just hallucinate that encounter or was it real? Hey, you and I both know that the mind is capable of many, too many to mention, realistic seeming scenarios that aren't real. Our dreams are a fine example."

"What could be the catalyst for us to have a mass hallucination, both seeing the same thing without any provocation?" Chrystal paused thinking hard, "Maybe it is a post hypnotic suggestion brought on by our current study in our high school science class on the power of the mind. For whatever reason we both decided to take that class and it sometimes stretches the imagination to a point of infinity."

"The power of the mind, hey, you could be on to something," Aaron then shook his head then pointing to the right and backwards with two fingers extended. "What about the two previous encounters with this older me, one when I was seven and one when I was twelve? Were those post hypnotic suggestions, I don't think so, I hadn't even thought about being in high school or studying this area of science when I was seven or when I was twelve."

"Ok, I really do believe it really happened. I was just trying to find another path if it was available," Chrystal assured Aaron as she placed both hands on his chest as she moved close to him.

"You're the one, I knew it when I first met you. You are smart and your choice of high school academics being the same as mine only proves that point. I guess our goal now is to investigate this and somehow find out what's actually going on," Aaron pulled her in closer as he spoke.

Two days later Aaron nor Chrystal had made any progress in finding an explanation to the incident.

Detective Cassidy called Aaron at home, "Hey, this is detective Cassidy, you know from the theater."

"Hello detective Cassidy, have you found the shooter yet?"

"I can't comment on that but I have a question for you."

"For me, well, uh, what's the question?" Aaron hesitantly asked.

"I have a witness that says there was a flashlight that came on in your row and he thought you were asked to leave the theater by someone, like someone on the theater staff."

"Asked to leave, I don't think so," Aaron tried to keep his comments short and sincere.

"Aaron, can you explain why this witness seems to recall the possible presence of a light?" Cassidy asked.

"The only thing I can think of is my using this little pin light I have on my key chain to light the way out, that must be what your witness saw."

"Did you use this pin light to light the way out, are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure I did but I can't be absolutely positive. After being shown those destroyed seats where we were sitting, things have gotten a little hazy and what we did just before that is not real clear."

"Key chain pin light, ok, I will take that back to the witness and see if he can agree with your assessment."

"Chrystal, Aaron here," Aaron said into the phone when it was answered. "If detective Cassidy ask about seeing a flashlight in the theater that night when we were leaving, tell him you're not sure but that I have a little push button light on my key chain and maybe I had used it, ok?"

"Was there a witness or something to our exit?"

"You are one smart lady and yes it seems so. Try to deflect his questions as best you can. He only asked me about the light and the possibility of someone from the theater staff asking us to leave by that door."

"I can handle that, no problem," Chrystal hung up and returned to her studies.

As expected, detective Cassidy did call her and she felt she was convincing when she gave him the answers Aaron had mentioned. The conversation was short and Chrystal returned to her studies.

Detective Cassidy was not a happy camper. The results he had achieved was less than zero as far as he was concerned. He couldn't close the case with the info he had and the witness he had been talking too wasn't really positive concerning the possibility of a staff worker or what type light was used. He readily admitted that it could have been anything or nothing as he was more interested in the previews than other patrons in the theater.

#  Chapter 4

## That's one hot car

Heading home from work at the Beach Hut sandwich shop, a nineteen year old Aaron was thinking back on his previous encounters with that older stranger who looked like him. Why this particular time he was recalling those incidents, he had no idea, it just happened to be a thought that came out of the clear blue. He had not put the resemblance together until that night at the theater and Chrystal surprising him with her observation and conclusion. An older me, is that possible and if so why, he thought?

His thoughts were interrupted by a distant echoing crack followed by a loud pop that seemed to occur somewhere in the rear of his car. Aaron glanced in his side rear view mirror and he saw debris that was being thrown up from under the rear of his car. He suddenly realized that the debris was the left rear tire shredding and coming apart from a blowout. The left rear seemed to settle and drop a little and he could hear the metal rim, minus all residual rubber, as it rolled and skidded on the payment. The blown out tire was completely gone.

Aaron started steering his car to the right side of the road trying to avoid all of the high speed traffic that gave him little space to maneuver. He stepped lightly on the brakes to slow his vehicle but that was the wrong thing to do. The right side tires, still with rubber, had traction and would have slowed the vehicle, however, the left side rear tire was only a bare metal rim on the asphalt and, having little or no traction, it started shooting sparks as it skidded and bounced on the hard pavement.

With most of the traction, on one side only, the car began to spin clockwise going toward the right side of the road. By some unknown luck the out of control car missed all the traffic as it spun. The car continued across several lanes of traffic and ended up heading toward a dry grassy area between the pavement and a 12 foot tall cinder block sound wall that paralleled the highway.

The bare wheel continued to create sparks as it dug into the dry grass and rocks that littered the sandy off road surface. The grass was ignited by either the hot engine exhaust or the sparks from that bare rim as it contacted the rocks. The actual cause was not important, the fact that it was burning was of considerable concern.

Aaron was dazed and temporarily nonresponsive as he sat in the now motionless vehicle. The stranger was suddenly beside the vehicle knocking on the glass and calling his name. "Aaron, Aaron, get out of the car, you got to get out now!"

Aaron looked up at him as he came back on line. "What, huh, wait, wait, I need to get my stuff, hang on a moment," Aaron didn't understand, here again it's this familiar stranger directing him, he now wanted Aaron to get out of his car.

"Forget your stuff, you've got to get out now, the grass is on fire and your vehicle might be next to burn!" The stranger shouted and tried to open the door but it was locked.

Aaron unlocked the door and unsnapped his seatbelt. The stranger took him by the arm and got him out of the car pulling him away and putting a little distance between themselves and the vehicle. The stranger continued leading them away until they were both on the hard surface at the edge of the freeway and out of the dry vegetation.

The trail Aaron's car left as it plowed through the high dry grass was clearly visible. That trail resembled a bomb's fuse as it now smoked with flames easily seen as they raced up that plowed path toward the abandoned vehicle. It was almost as if that car was a fused bomb suddenly engulfed in flames with a loud whoosh that pushed the heat out toward Aaron and the stranger causing them to move back several additional paces.

Aaron, almost back to somewhat alert, turned and looked at the stranger and asked, "You again? How did you get here and did you also know this was going to happen?"

"Are you hurt, are you ok?" The older him asked.

"My chest is sore from the seatbelt but I think I'm ok," Aaron turned and with tears in his eyes he said. "All my worldly possession, everything that I personally own is in that car. The money I had been saving for a trip, my favorite pair of Air Jordan's and several things that can't be replaced, they are all in there."

"Those are all material things and most can be replaced, you are safe. Aaron, listen to me, you are safe and that's what's important."

The smoke from the burning grass and now burning vehicle reached high into the afternoon sky. It could be seen for miles. Fire and rescue arrived shortly just before the CHP motorcycle officer arrived. Someone must have dialed 911.

Aaron was totally focused on the burning car and was surprised and, while to him it seemed sudden having a flood come across the area, a flood of firemen, tow trucks and at least one ambulance. Several hoses were rapidly unrolled and were now being used to spray water on the dry grass and the hulk of the burning vehicle. The noise of the water spray seemed especially loud almost blotting out the noise of the six lanes of freeway traffic.

Those passing vehicles had slowed to a crawl as rubber necking drivers tried to see what was going on. A large RV had made a quick lane change to avoid hitting an errant driver's car that had slowed and drifted into his lane. The violent lane change shook the large vehicle and caused an exterior awning framework to jar loose and fall to the pavement. The dragging bare aluminum tubes, still attached to the base of the vehicle, made the width of the vehicle twice as wide as it originally was. The firemen were jumping back away from the moving scythe that threatened to cut their legs out from under them. They were also waving and whistling trying to get the driver to stop before he ran the awning framework into their fire truck. Fortunately the RV was stopped without a major incident.

After making sure that the RV situation was secure the CHP officer got Aaron's attention and moved him down the road from the busy emergency personnel. He took out his note pad and started with questions about the incident and Aaron's personal information. Aaron answered the officers questions as best he could. He mentioned the sounds he had heard but couldn't be sure that those sounds weren't all from the tire blowing out.

An EMT person joined Aaron and the CHP officer. The officer moved back as the EMT checked Aaron over to make sure he wasn't injured worst than he knew. He checked the abrasion on Aaron's chest and suggested some precautionary remedies Aaron could use to prevent a lengthy healing process. Once he was satisfied with Aaron's condition he left. The officer who had held his questions and waited until the EMT had finished checking Aaron over took only a short time to finish his questions. He took the answer Aaron gave and noted them for his report on the accident. Once the CHP officer was finished Aaron followed the EMT over to the ambulance where the driver, another EMT, had waited. After making a few final notes on some response forms, he had Aaron read and sign the paperwork that related to the accident. As soon as he finished signing, the EMTs climbed into their emergency vehicle and merged into the slow moving traffic, leaving the scene.

One of the tow truck drivers approached Aaron and asked him if he would like for him to remove the vehicle after the fire department had completed their check of the car. Aaron gave him the ok and handed him his insurance card so he could bill them for the towing service.

"I don't know what to tell you to do with the remains." Aaron stated.

"That's not a problem, I will haul it to the nearest junk yard for demolition. All you need to do is make sure that DMV knows the car is no longer on the road." The operator said. He completed his paper work and handed Aaron back his insurance card and a business card with the info for his towing company.

Suddenly Aaron was all alone. He looked around for the stranger but to no avail. He turned back to the tow truck driver and asked for a ride that would get him off the freeway. A little over an hour later the driver dropped Aaron off at the first gas station they came too after leaving that too busy roadway. Aaron thanked the driver then got out and went in search of a phone to call his mom and let her know that, due to a minor vehicle problem, he needed a ride home. He would fill in the blanks later in person and, that way, maybe his uninjured, healthy and physical presence would be more than enough. Just maybe, it would preclude, or at least dilute his mom's mind from taking that mother type avenue of what could have been rather than what actually was.

#  Chapter 5

## All about My Fair Lady

College was a blast even with the requirement to maintain grades or lose the scholarship his high school grade point average had obtained for him. There were occasions of inebriation but those were few and they were controlled by keeping any chance of drunkenness inside the frat house and only with very close and trusted friends. These few instances occurred only on long holiday weekends and when no school preparation were expected or assigned. During his first two years here there had actually been only two times that he consumed a little more than he could handle and those only resulted in his laughing, giggling, eating some unidentified food product and then sleeping off the buzz on the hard tiled floor of his frat house room.

Chrystal was here now in her first year and, as a freshman, in the evenings she was mostly confined to the freshman dormitory. It would be another six months before she could pledge a sorority for admission where she would gain some freedom to physically have some contact with Aaron. However, this current confinement did not dampen their relationship and they were on the house phones sometimes to all hours. They met for lunch, dinner and breakfast at the school book store everyday with only a few exceptions caused by mandatory meetings that precluded their get together.

Aaron was now six foot three inches tall and still growing. He was the first baseman for his college team. He was a switch hitter with an excellent batting average and an error free fielding career so far with his college team. Due to his earlier liaison with the lightning strike, he never failed to check the sky before entering any baseball dugout. It didn't matter if it was practice or a real game, the sky was always his first priority when coming to a ball field. He never trusted that old saying, "lightning never strikes the same place twice.".

Aaron's classes ran the gambit of normal except for the one class that dealt with the expanded use of the human mind. This class was only offered for this one semester and his name was on the roster and the class was listed on his personal schedule. Aaron didn't know why he signed up for this particular class nor did he remember actually signing up for it.

A stickler on commitments and schedules, Aaron joined the class on time and on the first day. Later, in the book store with Chrystal, he gave her his impressions of that first day.

"I don't know, it seemed more like a test of us student's attention and ability to recall complicated instructions rather than a class on some brainy subject," Aaron said.

"I don't recall you mentioning this class when we talked about class schedules," Chrystal said then continued with a question. "Are you keeping deep dark secrets from your lady love?"

"No, not on purpose, actually this class was a kind of secret for both of us as I don't remember signing up for it," Aaron replied.

"Well, are you sure you were supposed to be in this class?"

"My name is on the roster and on my personal class schedule. So yes, it seems I'm supposed to be there. I will attend and see where it goes."

Those papers the teacher passed out, the first day, tested each student's ability and that should have been a clue but, then again, some teachers deal with their subjects in an unordinary way. Aaron stayed on to see where the class would lead him. Within a week the class size had dwindled. Those students leaving felt ill equipped to handle the memory needed to recall a never ending list of instructions required to complete in-class assignments before the bell rang. Aaron, for whatever reason, had no problem with in-class assignment's completions, usually well before the ending bell. Instructions to Aaron, whether received orally or gained by reading, remained up front and assessable no matter the length or the complication factor of those instructions.

Two weeks in and the class was now more like a drug induced habit, however, the reason for the class was still a puzzling mystery. Mystery or no, he couldn't wait to get to class and his weekends now seemed more like a short cold turkey class withdrawal period rather than a couple of days of relaxation. Chrystal, now a sorority sister, was concerned with Aarons fidgeting actions and by Sunday she had to say something.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine, I'm fine." Aaron sharply replied.

"Please, don't snap at me, I don't like the way this mind class is affecting you. You are as touchy as a lion with a sore paw," Chrystal said with a little over acting pout.

"Sorry, hey you're right, I have been a little bit of a pain. I will watch it, I will deal with this class without letting it get the best of me," Aaron offered her his hand. "Let's go do something together, something fun and then we will top it off with a nice dinner."

"Sounds good, really good but, even though I have my first six months in, my escapades at the present, are still somewhat limited to campus activities only."

"Not a problem, the drama class is putting on a dress rehearsal of "My Fair Lady" and I have been thinking about going to see if their rendition stacks up to the Broadway production."

Tickets were cheap and the audience was going to be small. This dress rehearsal wasn't advertised to any length, by word of mouth only, so very few people knew about the performance. Aaron's roommate was one of the behind the scene workers. Aaron knew the set inside out as his roommate was a regular motor mouth on preparation of the set for the play.

The production had some glitches but the actors continued ignoring all the small errors, up until the leading actress, now playing a transformed Gutter Snipe, was introduced as a refined lady at the horse races. She was dressed in a full length strapless gown with a beautiful train that flowed to the floor and trailed her as she walked. Professor Higgins, following close behind, inadvertently stepped on that train and the wardrobe malfunction that occurred was far more revealing than Janet Jackson's exposure at half time during that less than memorable Super Bowl game.

The young lady, a consummate actress, continued the scene with some adlibbed lines.

"Now if I have everyone's attention, I can continue." No panic, she calmly raised her arms, accentuating her ample endowments, unpinned the large beautiful hat she was wearing and brought it down in front of her, she held it like a shield, then followed the act's script to its conclusion. The small audience stood and gave her a standing ovation as the curtain closed on that scene.

"Wow, they did a great job. It was more entertaining than the Broadway production by a long shot," Aaron later said as they left the theater at the end of the play.

"Yeah right, I saw your eyes pop out during that one electrifying scene," Chrystal said as she punched Aaron on the arm to accentuate her comment. "Can't really blame you, she was stunning and she handled things with some grace by not letting that mishap upset the show. All in all the whole crew did a bang up job and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product later this semester."

Aaron felt a sharp jab in his back and let out a air filled grunt. "Uhh, Hey that hurt!"

"Keep walking, don't turn around. Hey, that goes for your girl friend too. Keep going to your car." Whoever it was behind him prodded him even harder in the lower back to accentuate his statement.

"Hey man, what do you want? Why you prodding me, is that a gun?" Aaron asked.

"You bet your girl friend's sweet ass it's a gun, keep moving and don't try any tricks or she will be the first to pay the price." The menace in the man's voice was evident. It was mixed with a nervous quiver that made Aaron think the individual was on the edge.

"Stop, stop right here! This your car? This piece of junk is your car?" The man said as he shook his head.

"Yep this is my ride," Aaron said as he looked at his treasure.

" Jesus, I ought to shoot you for having a rundown piece of shit like this. Crap, I am so lucky. Turn back toward the theater, now pass the keys to me or does it have a hand crank in the front? Shit, I am so lucky."

Aaron passed the keys back behind him and felt the man grab them. Aaron and Chrystal faced the theater and waited for the man to take the car and leave. They heard a grunt as if the man was having trouble getting the door unlocked. They stood there in silence just waiting and fearing to do anything less the nervous man started shooting.

"You can turn around now." A different voice, a voice from out of the past had spoken.

Aaron turned around to face the speaker. "You again, how is this possible? Did you know this was going to happen?" Aaron saw the body laying on the ground behind the adult version of himself. "Is he dead, did you kill that carjacker?"

"No, no, he is just sleeping peacefully from a blow on the head. You should call the police now before he wakes up and tries to run off. Here take his gun and keep him here. Tell the police you hit him when he turned to unlock the car door." The speaker said then turned to leave, "I'll see you again real soon, keep up on those studies as they are critical to your future," A small wave and he walked a short way into the dark part of the parking lot and was no longer visible.

Chrystal was on her cell phone talking to 911 as Aaron strained to see into the dark area, listening for any sound that might indicate the presence of someone. It was silence to the maximum, nothing was out there, the stranger was, somehow, simply gone.

# Chapter 6

## It's about time

It took time but suddenly everything clicked into place. "Time travel" Aaron whispered to himself. "That's got to be the answer, Time Travel."

"Aaron, did you have a question?" The teacher asked. "You have something for the class, you want to share a thought?"

"Ah, sorry, ah, I was wool gathering , as my grandmother used to say," Aaron answered.

"Ok, fine, keep your knitting to yourself," The teacher made a note then continued the lesson. "I have to apologize and let you know that this will be the last class offered by the university. We only have one month left this semester so we will increase our concentration and increase the pace of presentation. True to his words, the pace was incredible and that pace resulted in a continuing drop in class members.

The next semester started and Aaron was now a junior classman starting his third year at the university. The one most important class was no longer offered on campus but that didn't stop those few remaining students from attending. They had moved off campus into an abandoned warehouse. The rent was small and the atmosphere was at least manageable. The teacher had stepped up his presentations, as promised, and Time Travel was no longer something whispered between the five students, it was a given.

True Aaron was still really intense on this class but he kept that in the class, not taking his work home with him, so to speak. Chrystal was sure happy about that and their relationship continued to mature. It wasn't always calm waters but, for the most part, their attention to each other and their honesty about themselves kept them on a path that would endure a lifetime.

Mr. Franklin Wald, their time travel teacher, had recently added an apparatus to the classroom. His time with the Air Force as a pilot of one of the nation's spy planes, an SR-71, had required him to be conditioned for his high altitude flight by time in a hyperbolic chamber. His time in that chamber had some subliminal unexpected effect giving him the ability to totally focus on things thereby aiding in mission accomplishment. He didn't bring a hyperbolic chamber, per se, but he did bring the isolation portion of that experience. This small isolation chamber he brought simply shut off all exterior interference of any sort all sight and sound removed. The outside shape of the apparatus was a simple cube, barely big enough for the class members to individually squeeze into. There were some control buttons, small levers and LED lights on one side just to the right of the cube's small circular entrance door. There were small descriptive metal name plates below each indicator light and each control lever.

All the class members were trying it out and each felt the effect of being surrounded by a sphere of static electricity. The crackle and hum noise of that electronic surrounding sphere slowly faded into the background as the strength of the field increased to, what Mr. Wald called, operating strength.

"I have never felt so alone. There are always sounds and activity constantly going on around us all the time, but we seemed to have learned how to blank them out unless they pertain to us," Aaron said as he exited the cube. "This, this thing here, well, this is totally different. Everything is blanked out, you are left totally alone with just you and your mind. I never realized what solitude really was until now. You know what, I think I now know how a person in one of those deep dive submersible felt as they descend to the depth of the ocean, and wow, it's incredible to be able to experience that same solitude here on dry land."

Jim, one of Aaron's classmates, said, "I thought it was more like the USA's first orbiter, astronaut John Glen. All of sudden he has left the security of earth's atmosphere and the rockets have gone quiet. He's in negative G drifting in the complete silent vacuum of space for the first time. Man, that had to have been some solitude, well it was until Houston calls and says, "Hey John, we have a minor problem.""

Queries from the class on the purpose of this type of isolation were received with some skepticism on the teachers part. He wondered why any true student of this study would even ask, as to him, the purpose was totally evident. Mr. Wald, not wanting to discourage their inputs, kept his opinion to himself and answered each question as best he could. "I feel that a person can actually time travel to the past but, in order to do so, they must be focused on the act of projecting themselves without any distractions. This chamber should help an individual focus by removing all contact with outside interference. If the right person is isolated, and has the inherited ability, he or she could travel back to a selected time just by thinking about it."

"Mr. Wald, have you actually time traveled?" Aaron asked.

"Physically, no. I think I have seen into the past but it was like looking through a haze. I have actually watched my past self as I went about a situation, so significantly implanted and remembered, I could easily target it in my mind." Mr. Wald explained as he waved his hand across in front of him.

"Seriously, are you sure?" Aaron asked and watched as Mr. Wald nodded his head in the affirmative. "Wow, I want to try this again now that I know I have to recall a situation and target that in my mind."

"No, no, not just yet. Look, we will try this chamber again next class. I first want you to complete the project in these packages." Mr. Wald passed the sealed envelopes to each student. "Bring the completed project with you to the next class, you are dismissed for today, I will see you on Monday."

The minute Aaron closed the door, after entering his apartment, he ripped open the envelope and started perusing the project Mr. Wald had assigned. At first glance the assignment seemed too simple to have any bearing on the class and nothing even close to the aforementioned time travel experiment.

Thinking whatever, Aaron cleared off the dinette table and spread out the papers as he removed them from the package. There were four sheets and each sheet was numbered in the order, Aaron assumed, he was expected to complete them. Pulling the four sheets out brought with it a small note that confirmed the order of completion. It simply said, "Start with sheet # 1 and finished with sheet # 4 in that order, please, no jumping ahead," Mr. Wald's signature in blue pen completed the note.

There were ten entries on the first page. Aaron looked at the first entry.

"For Tune". Neatly typed with several spaces between the two words. Aaron concentrated on the two words and watched them as they seemed to squeeze together to form one word. All of a sudden the two words touched and then disappeared as a treasure chest took its place. Money spilled out of the chest as he watched but the scene only lasted for a few seconds. He again was looking at the two words. He shook his head trying to clear the previous image from his mind. "Holy shit!. I am totally loosing it."

Not understanding what was going on, an excited Aaron looked at the second entry.

"Quarter Master". The two words were just a simple statement and for a moment he thought of a ship's complement standing at attention but that thought disappeared as a large stopwatch took its place. Each quarter on the face of the watch was a different vibrant color. The watch split apart with each colored quarter going its own way then the scene dissolved leaving only the two words again.

Now Aaron seemed hungry for the next words and he took them in order.

"Time Zone". These two simple words caused his mind to flash a vision of his past life. No dates were shown just single frozen snap shots that flickered and jumped from scene to scene without stopping. Aaron tried his hardest to stop the jumping and isolate on just one single incident but that was currently impossible. The scene ran the full gambit of his past showing the times when he was actually injured, in danger of being injured, or in danger of being killed. Why the vision dealt with only those situations, Aaron had no idea.

Full steam ahead Mr. Christian, full steam ahead he thought as he continued.

"Card Trick". Aaron visualized a deck of playing cards neatly stacked on a table. Suddenly the cards split into two separate equal stacks. They shuffled back together and then individual cards popped out of the deck. There was a snapshot on each card and again it was the same incidents he had witnessed before when he had looked at those two words "Time Zone". The cards popped up, presented the snapshot then they would each sail away until they were out of sight. Once all the incidents had been presented the remaining cards in the stack slowly faded away.

Aaron shook his head trying unsuccessfully to clear the residual of the images. It took a moment before he could open his eyes and have an unhampered view of his current surroundings.

The next two words begged his attention and he stared at them.

"Time Tracks". Aaron caught his breath as the room faded turning into an open field. Not far away he could see some animals grazing on the sparse foliage available there on that open plain. In the distance he could see a range of mountains that reach to the sky with their faded purple appearance. The scene was so calming that Aaron stood for some moments just absorbing the environment and letting it run through his body as if it were a drug or some aphrodisiacs causing unexpected pleasure.

The quiet noise of something moving behind him caused Aaron to slowly turn around. The scene made Aaron want to take a step backwards. It was simply a post card picture out of the old west, however, it wasn't a picture it was real. The older gentleman, sitting on the blanket and leaning back against the spoked wheel of a canvas covered ancient wagon, was catching a nap. The empty coffee tin he had been holding had fallen from his hand as he slept and, evidently, that was the noise Aaron had heard.

A western hat, worn from constant use, adorned his head and was pulled forward down the front almost hiding the old guys closed eyes. His beard was gray showing his years and seemed to be at least a four month growth in length. His shirt was a plaid, long sleeved quite worn as the cuffs were somewhat frayed from use. His pants were some type of harsh fabric that seemed extremely sturdy. A pair of scuffed, pointed toe, boots were set to the side near the old man. The socks on his feet were off colored but seemed to be without holes and probably kept his feet warm and dry.

From the left a, not so young, woman approached the sleeping man. Her dark brown skin tone and her two long very dark braids falling down her front enhanced her appearance. Those braids almost touched the ground as she squatted and leaned over. The outfit she wore was made of tanned buckskin and was laced with leather strings that weaved the material together. There was some beading around the neck and down the center of the front to her waist. Her steps were quiet as the buckskin moccasins insured unusual silent footfalls. Everything about her appearance suggested a western native Indian nationality.

She picked up the tin cup, the old man had dropped, and turned to go back toward the camp fire to possibly refill the empty tin. When she turned she evidently saw Aaron and the shimmering silvery glow that surrounded him. She gasped and fell backward landing on her rear and dislodging some metal containers that banged together with loud clangs as they fell.

The old man woke with a start and reached for his sidearm but came up empty handed. He forgot he had taken his belt and holster off before he sat down to take that nap. He raised both hands up in front of him as if for protection and it seemed to work as Aaron's view of the western scene faded.

Aaron was again sitting in his apartment staring across the table at a blank wall. "Holy Crap, that man looked like the old faded pictures of my great grandfather. I still remember the tall tales he told and one tale was about a vision he had once on a cattle drive. He told that tale, and many others, to his grandchildren and those grandchildren included my grandfather. He, in turn, passed those tall tales down to me. Maybe those tall tales weren't as tall as I had thought, maybe he had actually seen me and that vision would definitely have stuck with him."

Aaron quickly pushed the list away, not looking at the next entry. He vigorously rubbed his eyes and kept them shut for some moments as he sat still and slowly breathed in and out, hoping to calm himself. "I've got to get some answers, I'm not looking at that list again until I do."

The weekend went too slow and sleep was almost impossible. Aaron would have talked to his teacher but he had no idea where his teacher might be. The only thing he could do was hold his questions until Monday and the next class session. He had problems with the idea that he wouldn't have his assigned class work done but he hoped, with the word list causing these visions, the teacher just might understand.

Dinner with Chrystal helped to relieve some of his tension as he relayed his experiences and Mr. Wald's ideas to her.

"Time travel? Wow, time travel. Is that possible, can you do that just by dreaming? This will take some getting used to," Chrystal said but she wasn't floored by the time travel suggestion. She was there when someone that looked a lot like Aaron came and led them out of that movie theater, she was there when that carjacker stuck a gun in Aaron's ribs and Aaron had told her about the previous visits. However, She, like Aaron, just needed more proof on how it was done but for her it was easy to give him the space and time to explore any possibility, after all they were in fact soul mates in everything.

She agreed with him on waiting the completion of homework until he got some info from his teacher. For now they put the class and talk about the class out of their minds and had a lovely weekend just spending time with each other.

# Chapter 7

## A Class of One

It was unusually quiet when Aaron showed up for class on Monday. The teacher, Mr. Wald, was alone with is his back to the classroom as he wrote on the green board with a piece of chalk. He turned as he heard the class room door close.

"Oh, Good morning Aaron, I see you are early for a change."

"Early yes but, I've always been on time just maybe I just haven't actually been early."

"So, what has prompted you to come in early this time?"

"Well, er, ah, I have some concerns about that list of words you gave us."

"Concerns? Did you complete the assignment or is that your area of concern?"

"Yes, I mean no, that is I mean no I did not complete the assignment but yes that is my area of concern."

"Well now, we have cleared that up, so you now want to know how I will grade your lack of effort?"

"No, well yes, I." Aaron looked around and then continued. "I don't understand, where's the rest of the class?" Aaron paused as he looked at his watch. "Class should be getting ready to start shortly now, where are the other class members?"

"That's why I said you were early, you are a day early."

"A day early, last Friday you said you would see us Monday. Did I miss a memo or did I lose something in the translation?"

"No, you didn't miss a memo or lose something in the translation but, it is true, I did say I would see everyone Monday. I said it for all those who would not complete their homework project package. Those who completed the project have gone as far as they can go in this class. The last page of the project explained all of that and those who completed the project knew not to come to class until Tuesday. They understood they would be given their final grade at that time."

"Well I guess I am the class clown. There was no way I could finish the project, it was just too disturbing. There were visions so real I couldn't handle them. Those words, they changed as I looked at them. Things I saw I couldn't explain to myself, so I waited until today to try to get some answers from you."

"Exactly as it should be, only those with the inherent ability would have the problem you had. Congratulations, you are the student I have been searching for and I'll just bet this isn't your first rodeo, you have had visions before, haven't you?"

"Not sure what you mean. I've had some things I couldn't explain but that happens to everyone, right?

"Why don't you tell me about those things and maybe I can help you understand them. I just hope I am up to the task of making your unexplained visions make sense to you, and to me."

Aaron spent the rest of the morning going through those things that had left an indelible impression on him. He told about the recurrence of the tall familiar stranger. He related those visions, that were so strong, they were brought back to life and appeared on those playing cards when he looked at those words. Aaron's relay of the vision of his great grandfather was so unexpected that Mr. Wald spent most of the time leading Aaron step by step through every detail of that vision. This teacher's excitement could not be contained and his smile could not be wiped from his face. Having someone go back beyond one's own lifetime and visit the past in anyway was almost unbelievable in its credibility. Mr. Wald hoped he wasn't being some kind of fool as he absorbed and truly believed every word and scrap of Aaron's relayed visions.

"So now, what do I do? Where does this leave me? I don't think I'm ready for the end of this class. There are just too many questions left unanswered. I had hoped that maybe you could help me find some of the answers to those questions," Aaron almost pleadingly stated.

"End of class? What are you talking about? We have barely scratched the surface. You're really going to be tired of me and beg for this to be over before we finish," Mr. Wald stood and offered his hand to Aaron. "I want you to go home and relax, take your lady out on the town for a good time. I will see you next week on Monday, no joke this time, on Monday. You have earned this time so use it and don't worry about the visions, we will attack them starting on Monday. From here on out it will be one on one since you are my only student and I'm going to expect, no demand, the most from you. So relax the rest of the week, it may be your last chance for some time."

Aaron left with some trepidations but, as he walked from the building, he was already convincing himself to put those visions and issues aside and enjoy this vacation of sorts. He took out his cell and hit number 2 plus the "Enter" for speed dial, then waited for Chrystal to pickup. He was hoping she had some time to spend with him during this lull.

She was free and they began that evening at the stadium since the football team was playing at home. It was a great game with the home team winning by a large margin. John Rocket, the team's tight end who scored two of their four goals that evening, came by their end of the stadium on his way to the tunnel and the locker room. Shaking his helmet in the air at them he shouted at Aaron and Chrystal. "We're number one, party at Louie's on third after the coach finishes with us. Hope to see you both there," Then he was pounded on the back and dragged along with the rest of the team as they disappeared into the tunnel.

"Looks like our evening has been planned for us, are you ok with that?" Aaron asked.

"Hey, I'm the party girl remember, you're the wall flower," Chrystal said as she skipped out of reach when Aaron grabbed for her.

"Since when are you the party girl, the way that sorority of yours treats you girls, you all are more like Mother Theresa," Aaron said as he caught her and pulled her in tight. "Although, now I'm actually looking forward to being out with a party girl."

The party was even better than expected and they both had a super time. John Rocket wouldn't let them buy a single drink. He was the ultimate host and he and his girl friend also kept them busy either on the dance floor, shooting pool or playing darts all evening.

Aaron barely got Chrystal back to her dorm just under the house curfew. The, currently scheduled, sorority sister was in the process of locking the dormitory front door. When she saw it was Chrystal, she motioned for them to hurry up the sidewalk. She paused, and looked around both ways as they approached. Seeing the coast was clear she opened the door and let Chrystal in. Chrystal thanked her and hurried to her room before the lights could be extinguished. Aaron smiled at the sorority sister and silently mouthed, "Thank you, sorry we're late," With a small wave he took his leave and, with a smile of remembrance on his face, he skipped down the sidewalk as he headed back to his dorm.

# Chapter 8

## You don't have to pack a bag

Class continued as another week quickly came to a close. The isolation machine was in use daily and, as expected, Aaron was the only student. If he wasn't in the machine the teacher was. The only problem with this constant exposure to isolation were the vivid dreams that invaded Aaron's attempts at sleep. This lack of sleep was causing a palatable but invisible barrier between Chrystal and Aaron, however, Aaron was determined to remove that barrier by any means possible, even if it meant quitting the class and the isolation chamber.

"I don't know how to handle these dreams, they are zapping my energy and leaving me drained," Aaron told Mr. Wald as the day's class was ending.

"I've been thinking about this. I don't think they are just dreams, I think you are actually traveling at night while you are asleep," Mr. Wald interjected. "Don't you think that would make more sense with the ability you have exhibited?"

"Traveling? Wow, I didn't consider that, but that would explain my being so tired when I wake up. You know, when I was very young, I remember my grandfather visiting and we could hear him dreaming of plowing his fields with his two horses while he slept. He, as I have lately, also woke up completely exhausted and spent the day recovering by napping on the front porch in his favorite rocker," Then Aaron asked. "Is it possible he actually plowed those fields instead of just dreaming about them?"

"Good question. I have found that anything is possible but, without some additional evidence, I would believe he, unlike you, was just exhausted due the restlessness he experienced while dreaming."

"I don't see any way I can get any information or evidence on something like that. What my grandfather experienced will probably remain a mystery," with a small abbreviated salute, Aaron took his leave promising to see the professor on Monday as usual.

Dinner with Chrystal was way beyond expectations. The amazing way she prepared and served the food quickly tempted and tantalized Aaron. True it was only bean and cheese burritos but the taste was so authentic. Each bite left the partaker with the feeling of being deep in rural Mexico visiting a street vendor's wares. The Mariachi music from the CD player simply added that needed degree of authenticity to the pictures she had hung and placed around the small dining area in her home. It made Aaron wish he had a better grasp of the Spanish language. Its use in a setting like this would have been the ultimate response to her efforts.

Not knowing why, all of a sudden, Aaron started sleeping soundly and waking without the exhausted feeling he had been experiencing the previous weeks. He still recalled what he was dreaming about, after he slept, but the fatigue he had previously experienced when dreaming was suddenly missing. He woke refreshed and well rested, ready for the day and his moods were a lot more amiable. Chrystal was more than appreciative of this and their personal relationship was back on scale.

Aaron made it a habit of recording everything he could remember of his dream. The notes he made were so detailed, one would say he had actually done the things he wrote about not just dreamed about them. His teacher was adamant about his experiences and he too thought Aaron was actually traveling and making a physical appearance at those places he visited in his dreams.

"Aaron, you have to validate your traveling, we have to be able to prove you were there and actually had some contact with that time and place," Mr. Wald told Aaron at class the next day.

"How do we do that?" He paused then went on. "You know, I've been thinking about that," Aaron became animated as he continued. "How about I try to get myself into a photo taken during that time. Hey, how about we find a picture that's already been taken and I try to dream about it and see if I can go back and get myself somewhere, background maybe, in the photo when it was actually taken?" Aaron was gesturing with both hands as he laid out his suggestion.

"Interesting idea, I wonder if that is possible and, if it is, I wonder if I would understand the results. You know, if this actually worked, the photo we currently have would no longer exist and you would have always been included in the photo from the beginning," questioning his own thoughts, he continued. "Does this make sense to you, I mean, do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Yeah, I got it. I have to do something that would save the photo we now have to compare with any change I might make in the past." Aaron shook his head as he held up his index finger in thought. "If I took the photo and locked it away somewhere, somewhere only known to me, would that keep the current image or would that picture change and also reflect my inclusion so comparisons would equal with no difference. Like there was only one photo taken and I was always included?"

"That's what I'm thinking, you making a change would become the current, locked up or not, which would equal no change at all."

"What a dilemma, I make a change and it shows up as what it's always been, which means no change."

"Hey wait, if I, for some reason, appear in a photo from back then and I look as I do now, what about that? Is it possible that this would be proof of my time travel?

"Good idea, we might just try that and see what happens. Of course, you know that any change back then could have an unexpected effect on what we are doing today and it might even alter our thinking. Who knows, a minor change in your past life and we might never meet." Mr. Wald paused giving Aaron a moment to think.

"Right, right, that would make this whole experiment mute. No one would even be looking at photos to see if there were some minor subtle changes," Aaron slowly shook his head, trying to clear it, as the turmoil of past and present weighed in on him.

"However, I don't think the minor insert I am suggesting will make a difference. I honestly believe you already did something that shows you were traveling in the past and I think I can prove it to you," Mr. Wald said as he dug into his brief case. "Take a good look at this picture, do you remember when it was taken?"

Aaron took the photo and held it for a moment. "Sure, I remember this. I was ten and I scored this basket to win the game. It was a three pointer from downtown. We were two points down and the clock was at 3 seconds when I fired this baby, nothing but net. Man, my team went wild, it was the championship game, last game of that season."

"Ten years old, wow, you were tall for your age," Mr. Wald said.

"Just a start to the six foot four I am now and I'm still growing."

"Ok, that game and time is clear to you, that makes it easier," Mr. Wald turned the photo in Aaron's hand and pointed into the stands behind the young sharpshooter. "You see that older young man on the fifth row in the stands behind you while you were shooting that basket?"

"It's not very clear but I do see him," Aaron said as he took another good look at the photo.

"I believe that is you also, only you are about 13 years older than you the shooter," Mr. Wald said with a challenging smile at Aaron.

"What?" Aaron did a Hollywood double take zeroing in on the stands and the spectators, one in particular. "Whoa, is this possible?"

"Well, personally, I think it is a done deal back then but, you haven't done it here yet." Mr. Wald joined Aaron with the slow shake of his head. "It is really confusing when you try to talk about then and now and the two being tied together time wise. You did it eleven years ago but today you haven't done it yet, so, in a way it doesn't make much sense."

"How do I do this and if I do, how do I confirm that this is really me from the future as you know I can't pack a bag for this type of trip?" Aaron said as he continued to stare at the photo. "Wait, wait, the picture is very hard to see but is that person in the stands holding a small sign." Aaron brought the picture closer to his face as he tried to read what he thought might be a note card of some sort. Try as hard as he could he could not read the writing if in fact it was some writing.

Mr. Wald took the picture and looked closely at it. Then he took a small magnifying glass out of his briefcase and used it to enlarge the man in the stands. The small sign became clearer and they both read the four numbers printed on the small placard. A small sign held up back in 2005 with 2016 written on it, for all to see, could be a clear indication of a visit from eleven years in the future.

"Where did you get this photo? I'm the subject here and I personally don't even have a copy of this anywhere?" Aaron asked.

"I have photos of all my students. I do a serious background check on everyone who enrolls in my class. I look for any anomaly that might give an indication of time travel by one of my students and, I have found, pictures are the best items to search. I use those search results to decide which students I need to concentrate on in my research," Mr. Wald explained. "I found this picture in a year book from your school but that particular printed yearbook picture wasn't very clear so I went to the school archive and found the actual negative and had it reprinted. The clarity is much better in this reprint. I swear that small sign was not in the photo I had developed but, it is there now."

# Chapter 9

## # Tweet in Time

His sleep was simply a study in the impossible. He woke exhausted, tangled in the bed covers and soaked in sweat. His muscle ached as if he had put in a 24 hour practice session on the college baseball field. Throwing a thousand pitches and hitting a hundred home runs wouldn't have made him this sore. Not wanting to lose a fraction of the dream he had just experienced, Aaron grabbed his notepad and started writing as fast as he could. He wanted to get as many of the details in as possible before the dream , as most of them do, fades into a hazy memory. He made quick entries of point after point with details to be filled in later. Once a point was written, the details became very clear. Those points seemed to hold those details, in his memory, preventing them from fading away as most dreams do.

The last thing he jotted down was # hashtag. "Pointing at the symbol Aaron asked, "Why would I do that? What has a suggestion of a Tweet have to do with my dream? I know that Twitter wasn't around in 2005, it was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey,  Evan Williams), Biz Stone and Noah Glass and the site wasn't launched until July 2006. So, why would I equate this twitter # hashtag sign with the year 2005? It just doesn't make any sense."

Aaron and Chrystal went over his notes point by point. Most of his points made sense but the answer to the question about the # hashtag sign was still a clouded mystery.

Aaron took his notes and his incomplete analysis of his remembered dream experience to his next class. He was on edge and couldn't wait to get some input from Mr. Wald. It was an experience in patients as he watched Mr. Wald peruse his dream notes and Aaron's interpretation of them. Aaron actually got out of his seat and paced the room as he waited.

"Could you sit back down or, better yet, why don't you go to the break room and get you something while I finish this?" Mr. Wald said without looking up from his reading.

Aaron, momentarily stunned, stopped pacing and stared at Mr. Wald. A moment later he quietly exited the class room and headed down the hall toward the designated break area. Aaron slipped the coins into the vending machine that offered hot beverages. He got a steaming cup of black coffee from that machine, then he selected a pack of chocolate chip cookies from the other machine. He sat down in the break room and slowly drank the coffee and ate both of the cookies. He kept his mind blank as he enjoyed the flavor of the coffee and the taste of the chocolate chips in the two cookies. When he finished, somewhat more calm, he returned to the class room and Mr. Wald, who had finished the reading.

"Come on, come on." Mr. Wald motioned for Aaron to come over. "I finished and now I want you to look at the photo I showed you last time we met."

With some trepidation, Aaron came forward and accepted the photo from Mr. Wald. He took his time and, while staring at the small photo, he tried to assimilate the entirety of the picture without great success. "Ok, I see me about to shoot the ball and I see me in the stands." Aaron continued to scan the photo. "Evidently my dream wasn't a true visit to the past or I didn't leave any evidence of my visit."

"I see no difference and I checked it with the magnifying glass." Mr. Wald told Aaron. "Maybe, just to make sure, you should do the same." He said as he handed Aaron the magnifying glass.

Aaron scanned the photo from edge to edge and it was some moments before he caught his breath. "It's here, I'll be darned, it is right there on that little placard."

On the small card, held by the seated basketball spectator from 2005, and right before the 2016, there was a # sign as if the card was a hashtag message waiting to be sent.

"What are you talking about? What is here, show me what you are talking about?" Mr. Wald asked.

"The tweet sign, here on the small placard right in front of the 2016. Here, right here," Aaron said as he pointed at the # sign.

"The # sign, that's always been on the photo. Why are you so excited about it?" Mr. Wald asked.

"Exactly." Aaron gave a small laugh. "It has always been there, well to you it has always been there. When I looked at this photo yesterday the only thing on that small placard, were the numbers, 2016. I put the # hashtag there last night in my dream and that caused it to always be there," Aaron stated as if he expected no less from his statement and no less from the response by Mr. Wald.

"I'm sorry, this is hard to understand, much less, believe. You were doing something to show you were actually and physically time traveling and this is what you thought of, this # sign?" Mr. Wald said as he waved the picture in front of Aaron.

"Ok, I know, I know, we talked about this before I attempted it. I couldn't take anything with me physically so I had to find a way to put something in the past and make it show up in the future. Something that would prove I had gone back to the past for a short visit." Aaron again pointed at the photo. "Look, see me sitting in the stands holding that small placard, me being there, in back of me as the basketball shooter, is a clue that I was there. To accentuate that visit, I added the # tweet sign, thereby, taking something from the future to actually validate my physically being there in the past."

"I wish I could say otherwise but, I don't believe this would hold up in court," Mr. Wald said as he laid the photo on his desk. "I'm a visionary who believes in your time traveling. I'm as open as I can be with the hope and desire of some unquestionable proof to convince the non-believers of that travel," he slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry but, I don't think we have sufficient proof yet."

The rest of the day's class was routine as they tried their best not to let Mr. Wald's apparent disappointment spoil an otherwise positive day. They both spent some time in the isolation machine, doing some individual deep thinking. With a promise of, see you in the morning, Aaron headed home.

His first impression was the familiarity of the houses that lined the sidewalk he was currently walking on. He could put an owner's name to each house on this stretch of the street. After all, he had lived in this town up until he was almost six years old and, since he was out and about all the time, he knew just about everyone. Well, he knew them when he lived there but that was some time ago and that was when he was a very young boy. He wasn't that young anymore. He realized he was time traveling again and he had returned to the town where he grew up. He had to find a reference so he could tell when he was. Funny, he normally wanted to find out where he was not when he was.

Aaron turned and headed back the other way, he knew there was a market two blocks back that would give him the when he was by simply checking the newspapers it sold.

On the walk he met several people he had known as a youth but he thought it better if he did not use that familiarity by using their names. He kept it friendly and used simple greetings as he went by, a simple hello in most cases.

Once inside the convenience store, he confirmed the current date as he scanned the top paper on the newspaper pile that was fanned out on the counter. A twenty five cent sign was taped to the counter in front of the newspapers.

"You going to buy that or just try to read the whole thing for free?" Frank Brown said as he came up behind the counter. Mr. Brown was the owner and he worked the day shift everyday but Sunday on which the store was never open. "Hi, I am Frank Brown the owner."

"Hey Mr. Brown, Uh, I'm, ah, Bob Smith, good to meet you." Aaron offered him his hand over the counter.

Frank Brown smiled as he shook the outstretched hand and said, "Hey, why don't you take one of those papers and if you are around awhile you can make it up by buying the next and the next and the next as the days go by. Hey, and call me Frank, I'm not that much older than you."

"Thank you, you know what, I'm going to accept your offer and take one of the papers. I promise, if I'm here for awhile, I will buy the next and the next and so on as you suggested."

Aaron knew Mr. Brown very well. He knew what a good guy he was and he knew he meant what he said. He was a pillar of the community and his customers were all his very dear friends. Aaron also knew, now he was aware of the current date, at present he, as a young man, was in the back room restocking shelves where he worked every afternoon for this very Mr. Brown. He also knew, the young man in back would be headed home real soon, as he had a very important basketball game this very evening.

Aaron said goodbye to Mr. Brown as he picked up one of the small free ad brochures from a small display box that also sat on the counter. "I'm taking one of these also," Aaron said as he left.

It wasn't the ad he was interested in, it was the plain white back of the folded brochure. It would make an excellent placard, something to use to send a note to the future.
Chapter 10

## It wasn't but it is now

Aaron woke without any alarm assistance. He was well rested and apparently he hadn't had any dreams or it was the same dream as before. He wasn't exhausted so as far as he could tell he had just slept. He did not recall any part of a dream so maybe it was just sleep.

Chrystal was more than cheerful at breakfast as she told of her plans for the day. She was well prepared for the two classes on today's schedule. "How about lunch at the bookstore at noon, are you free at that time?"

"Shouldn't have a problem with that. I have two classes this morning and then my lab with Mr. Wald this afternoon, so lunch with you at noon is something I am already looking forward too."

Aaron's interest and concentration on the time travel class did not preclude his adequate preparation for his other classes. He had, since high school, been a stickler on his class work. He had promised his mom that if she paid for his college he would do his part and put in the work and effort to make it pay.

Lunch with Chrystal was more than expected and the grill cheese, corn chips and the Dr. Pepper were absolutely the best. Sam who did the cooking for the book store restaurant knew exactly how Aaron liked his sandwich, crispy grilled, hot melted American cheese and loaded with a lot of mayo on the inside. "So, your classes were as expected?" Aaron put in between bites as he put away the succulent sandwich.

"Funny you should ask, this one class was really unusual," Chrystal held up her hand meaning she wasn't finished. "Our Literature teacher, Mr. Kind, had a "Kick Me" sign stuck on his back. I figured some young clown was pushing the limit by making fun of a teacher. All of us in that class spent the first half holding in the giggles. It was really difficult and looking around the room I could tell everyone was having the same problem."

"Well, did anyone tell him about it." Aaron asked.

"Actually, the teacher finally told us about it. It was an experiment. He had stuck that sign on himself and was waiting to see if anyone would bring it to his attention." Chrystal continued with a wistful smile. "He said we were the third class he had tried the experiment on. He nor we had any idea why but, we were the only class that held out and didn't bring up the sign. We all had a good laugh about our failure."

"Sounds like a close knit group. It is unusual no one spoke up. Doesn't your class have a teacher's pet or a class clown on board? One of these would have used that situation to either gain some points or irritate the teacher for amusement," Aaron added.

"Mr. Kind gave us a "Great Job" comment for our reservation and he thought we were obtaining an adult attitude on personal conduct in embarrassing situations."

Lunch ran a limit of topics as their time was short with classes minutes away. Only time for a quick kiss and hug as they parted ways heading for their next classes, she to Government and he to the adventures of Time Travel.

Mr. Wald was still in an unbelieving mood. For a guy who taught and relished the thought of time travel, he was sure hard to convince that Aaron had actually gone back and the # sign with the 2016, although unusual, did not completely validate that travel.

It seemed Mr. Wald had spent his lifetime looking into the possibility of traveling back in time and, now that he may have found someone who has the actual ability, it has scared him and caused him to put up a wall, thereby denying Aaron's success.

"Aaron, this is it. I'm ending the class. If you have actually time traveled back to the past I have ended my search and I can now retire."

"Hey, hold on a minute. That's it? You're quitting?" Aaron was truly floored with this turn of events. "Yeah, it's true, I may have had a breakthrough but, you are not convinced and still have major doubts. Is this really the time to throw up your hands and walk away?"

"Here's the problem as I see it. No matter what one does back in the past, when that one returns to the present, the thing he did will have always been as he left them back then," Mr. Wald held up his hand in a hold it sign as he hadn't finished his thought. "It's like talking about an unsolvable riddle. The only person that is convinced that they have gone back is the one that went back. Hey, I love the idea of the # sign and the placard with 2016, for me it is substantial but, for a jury of your peers, would it truly convince them?"

"Ok, so it would be a hard sell. I have an idea. Let's get a think tank together and see if we can find a way to pave a solid path to convincing nonbelievers," Aaron's smile was mixed with a pleading request. "We could get those previous classmates, say five of the last ones before it was just you and me, and do a brainstorming session. I'm sure they all had ideas of how they would go about convincing people of their exploits if they had succeeded in time travel."

"I think you have a bad habit of seeing rainbows without having to put up with any rain," Mr. Wald slowly shook his head as he continued, "I'm not promising anything but, I will think it over this weekend and I will let you know next week."

Aaron watched Mr. Wald as he walked out. His thoughts were not on the present, they were already on next week. The only thing Aaron could think about was, this being only Wednesday, it's going to be a long week and weekend.

# Chapter 11

## H. G. Wells at the movie

Aaron had no idea where or when he was. From the look of things he was in the early seventies. This was a guess due to the shape of things and the model year of the cars he was seeing, although the cars were few. Most drivers seem to be driving pickup trucks as that's what occupied most of the diagonal parking spaces that lined both sides of the narrow street.

He was in a small town evidenced by the lack of street signs and no signal lights. However, the streets were busy with an assortment of families and individuals making their way from shop to shop.

Aaron stood with his back to a small park that took up most of the area that was probably the center of the town. Across the street a theater marquee buzzed and blinked seeming to beg his attention. The current feature was presented by large red plastic letters that had been manually hung and placed there by the management. "The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells was the only movie showing, with the start time listed below the feature's name. There was only one start time which also confirmed the small town setting.

Aaron stared at the marquee and quietly spoke so only he could hear. "How coincidental and appropriate, a time travel movie. I wonder if this was done just for me?"

Believe it or not, just like the movie 'Back to the Future', down the street was the town hall. There was a large clock on the building's tower showing the current time. The hands were approaching the time listed for the movie to begin. It was now a quarter to seven PM with the movie scheduled to start at seven thirty.

Aaron didn't believe in mystic signs or coincidences but, he did think he came to this place at this time for a specific purpose. This movie, well the subject of this movie, must hold something of significance to his being here in this particular small town.

There was a gathering of school grade kids lining up to be the first in to see this new movie. Aaron headed that way as if there was some type of magnetism pulling him in that direction.

As Aaron approached he could hear the banter between the young boys that were waiting in line. They slowly moved, one at a time, toward the ticket booth. They were poking fun at each other as they meandered along.

A large, freckled faced kid turned to the smallest kid in line and said. "Hey Wald, you want me to sit up in the balcony, close by, so I can hold your hand and protect you. I hear there are some scary monsters in this show?"

Not being outdone the kid called Wald responded, "You want to hold my hand, that is so sweet, ah, but, no thanks. If it's really scary, you will probably be under the seat anyway and I'm not going there."

Evidently this banter had been going on for a while and the boys were having a good time. Aaron approached the boy they had called Wald. He reached out and touched the boy's shoulder causing him to turn around, "Is your name Franklin?" Aaron asked?

"That's my name if you don't wear it out," The kid responded using the current normal comment from boys of his age.

"Franklin, I am Aaron, it is good to meet you," Aaron said as he stuck out his hand offering a handshake.

Franklin took and shook the hand of Aaron, "Call me Frank, that Franklin is so history. How did you know my name?" Franklin Wald stared at Aaron's face a little longer than seemed natural. It was as if he was recalling some memory of the face before him, maybe a face he had seen before.

"Ok, this is going to sound weird and hard to believe. I am actually from your future, the year 2016," Aaron just blurted it out.

"Ok, this is great. You have traveled back here to 1970 to see an old movie about a time machine and you tell me you're from the future, the year 2016?" Franklin clapped his hands as if he was enjoying the show.

"I know, sounds hard to believe. But, yeah right, 2016., but I didn't come back to see this movie, I think I came back to see you," Aaron replied, "besides, you said this is 1970 but I believe this movie was released in 1960."

"Yeah, what's the matter, don't they have sci-fi classics reruns in the future?"

"Of course they do, I was just trying to nail down the current year."

"Oh good, for a moment I was worried. That makes a lot more sense, now if you will excuse me, I'm getting my ticket and going into the movie. Thanks for the entertainment." Franklin laughed, "you are nuts and evidently don't even know what year it is." He stepped around Aaron and got back in line to purchased his ticket. He rejoined his friends, who were not so patiently waiting, then they entered the movie theater in a whispering, slow moving, huddle.

Aaron could tell Franklin Wald was telling his friends about what Aaron had said. They were all glancing back, gesturing and laughing at Aaron as they made their way into the entrance of the theater. Aaron also noticed how Franklin looked at him almost as if he wanted to scratch his head wondering if he knew this man or if he had seen him before.

"This is going to be difficult and I have no idea how to broach the problem," Aaron said under his breath then crossed the street again back toward the small park.

Aaron woke and sat on the edge of the bed facing the window that looked out into the back yard. After he jotted down his dream he sat there trying to recall all the information his teacher, Mr. Wald, had given the class on his youth. He had to find something in that info that would cause the young Franklin Wald to ponder the truthfulness of Aaron and his visit.

Sitting there and trying to recall every scrap Mr. Wald had told about his childhood was frustrating and, it didn't take Aaron very long in realizing that hard fact. He needed more of his teacher's youthful recollection to put the young Mr. Wald onto the path of his future career. Something told Aaron that this, Mr. Wald's search for a Time Traveler, was essential to Aaron's future.

# Chapter 12

## I want your childhood

The dream he had experienced last night had thrust him out of bed early without a clear understanding of why. He recalled some of the dream but no clear picture was forthcoming. He wrote down everything he could remember, a habit he found to be invaluable and once he had recorded things he had no problem recalling the complete dream.

Aaron had followed his college schedule this morning even with the weight on his mind of seeing the young Mr. Wald in his dreams last night. Since his illustrious teacher was such a stickler to time allotted for class, he made it a point to arrive early this morning. Even though he was the only student, he felt that class time was too important to waste on his personal problems even when they dealt with the topic at hand.

Mr. Wald was in his office at the computer. He was intent on putting some info into his personal PC. His concentration on his task caused him to start when he realized Aaron had entered his office and was standing close behind him.

"Sorry, I knocked and I assumed you were aware of me," Aaron apologized.

"No, no, it's ok. I was just miles away wanting to get this info down while it was clear and before it escaped me again."

"I hope you don't think I'm being to nosey but, does this info have anything to do with our class's future," Aaron asked.

"I don't know, ah, maybe. It's a memory I occasionally have popping up in unpredictable locations, usually where and when I'd have no opportunity to write it down. I was fortunate this time and I think I got it saved for prosperity," Mr. Wald smiled and continued. "Saved at least, the prosperity I'm not so sure of."

"Can I ask what's in this file you are saving?" Aaron pointed at the computer as he asked.

"Sure, no problem. It's a collection of my childhood memories that actually standout," Mr. Wald held up an index finger and continued. "There are some things from one's youth that seem to leave a deep vivid impression, I call it a virtual memory stamp. When I happen to recall these things, I can almost feel them as a true reflection of my past. I can see how they could influence my youth and have some degree of responsibility for my future endeavors," he said as he turned back to the computer and started typing, entering some data he had just recalled.

Aaron's mind was suddenly a turmoil of activity. Last night's dream came flooding back, overwhelming his thoughts. The need for more info from Mr. Wald's past was a bright blaring beacon. It was accompanied by an alert warning that rang in his head so loud that he wondered if Mr. Wald could possibly hear it also. Aaron raised his head and stared at Mr. Wald who simply continued his data input. If Franklin had heard anything he did not let it show so, Aaron had to assume, the alarm ringing was only in his own head.

It was a short time later Mr. Wald finished and closed his laptop. He turned to Aaron and noticed the almost frantic facial expression he was exhibiting. "Hey, are you ok? You look like you were dealing with a real painful migraine, stroke or something. Your face was all distorted. You better take a seat until you can calm down. I don't want you to have some type of breakdown or blow a gasket."

Aaron did take a seat. Elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands, he held this position for a short calming minute. Feeling a little better, he raised his head and Mr. Wald could tell he was coming around, beginning to look somewhat normal.

"Wow, you had me worried there for a moment," Then Mr. Wald anxiously asked again. "You ok, can I get you something, water perhaps?"

"No, no, I'm ok. I was just caught up in a memory that seemed to flood all five of my senses at one time. Dam near paralyzing in its affect," Aaron shook his head trying to remove the residual fragment of that experience. "I never had that before."

Mr. Wald had gone to the water cooler and filled a paper cup then gave it to Aaron.

"Thanks, I'm ok. Feeling a little better," Aaron downed the water then continued. "The memory was just so powerful, almost physically brutal and it was not very palatable."

"It's this time travel thing. I think maybe your mind is making your body pay for your attempts at something that is actually impossible." Mr. Wald turned and slowly shook his head as he said. "Maybe it's best if we call it quits before you are seriously incapacitated in some form."

"Don't say that, I feel we are so close to proving to you that I have actually visited the past. You have to stick with me if only for a short time, I'm sure we can get something that will satisfy that illusive jury you mention. Give me another opportunity to present some positive proof of those trips," Aaron reached out and laid a hand on Mr. Wald's arm. "Look, I'm ok, I really am. Please, you have to give me one more shot at this. The next time I dream and time travel I will find some way to leave a clue to convince you, ok? Now, if that doesn't do the trick we can just call it a day, call the whole thing off and go our separate ways."

"I may regret this but, I'll give you one more opportunity," Mr. Wald took Aaron's hand as Aaron had offered it in thanks for the permission to try again.

"You won't regret this, I can guarantee it," Aaron hesitated not wanting to be pushy.

"You need something from me, I can see it in your face?" Mr. Wald said as he looked questionably at Aaron.

"Well, yes, yes I do. I need your memories," Aaron said as he pointed at the computer on Mr. Wald's desk.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand, you need that file I was saving?"

"Yes, I think I have to go back to your past in order to convince you of my travels," Aaron continued when he saw the doubt on Mr. Wald's face. "I guess now would be the best time to tell you the reason why. You may not believe it but, last night's memories are of a meeting I had with you in your childhood town down by the theater back in the early seventies I believe."

# Chapter 13

## The Tower of Doom

"What's this?" Chrystal asked as she looked at the computer over Aaron's shoulder.

"This? This list of idle comments is like a running history of Mr. Wald's youth," Aaron said as he ran his finger down the list displayed on the monitor.

"Just some lite reading?" Chrystal said as she smiled at Aaron.

"Actually, I'm looking for a time and place in Mr. Wald's past where he would most likely be receptive to a time traveler from his future. Sometimes I think I have convinced him that I can travel back to the past and then he brings up this question about convincing a jury, not just him."

"Wow, that is a tall order, convincing him and a jury," Chrystal paused for a moment then continued. "Mr. Wald's past? I thought the thinking was you could only go back to your own past, not someone else's," Chrystal turned and pulled up a chair next to Aaron and took a seat.

"Well that was our presumption until last night. I believe I went back and met Mr. Wald when he was about 12 years old. Of course, it could have been just a dream I had and not a real travel experience."

Chrystal took the mouse from Aaron and moved it slowly down the list. "Do you have a clue on what you should be looking for?"

"Not really. The dream I had involved a movie theater with the movie 'The Time Machine' displayed on the marquee," Aaron said as he watched Chrystal's process as she perused the list.

"Well, I would say that means something, wouldn't you think?"

"I'm not sure. I believe I experienced that particular dream because that's one memory Mr. Wald's told us about over and over."

"For him to pursue a life time of effort to find or prove the ability of time travel might result from exposure to something like a movie about time travel."

"Yes, I would tend to agree but the kid I met in my dream did not seem to be thinking about the content of the movie, he was just out with several friends for a good time and this movie was the only entertainment available."

"Why would you say this was the only entertainment?"

"This place I saw was so rural and small it couldn't, on the best of days, offer much. It was actually weird, the cars, mostly pickups, were all parked along the street diagonally and you know how the theaters of today offer numerous films and several showing times on their marquee?" Aaron raised his hand up, palm out and ran it across as if displaying a list, then he held up one finger, "this theater had only one feature and only one show time. In my opinion that means a limited customer base or a very small town."

"Well, it was your dream and you know what you saw. We will have to keep looking and find something from his notes that gives you more confidence," Chrystal turned from the monitor screen and moved in close to Aaron. "I'm sure you remember when you were young that you didn't need some planned activity in town to keep you occupied."

"I know, I know, that's not what I meant. I'm sure they had a lot of different things available, I know I did. I was just talking about the center of town and its offerings."

Chrystal gave him a quick kiss then, "I was just jerking your chain, I do understand what you meant, and Aaron, I was with you when you came back from the future and took us out of that theater saving our lives. This puts me square in your corner and if you believe you did it, I believe it too."

"I think it is imperative that I go back and interact with Franklin Wald. I believe I must somehow semi-convince him that I am from his future or he will not pursue his search for a time traveler. He doesn't have to remember me explicitly, but he does have to remember the contact and the urge to follow the trail that led to me later in his life."

"From his career choice I would say that this all actually happened and you just have to find out when and where you convinced him," Chrystal gave Aaron another quick kiss. "I will leave you to it as I have other fish to fry so to speak."

The noise was pure 'rock and roll' as 'Ticket to Ride' by ' The Beatles' came from the speakers of the large portable radio held on the shoulder of the young man as he walked by in front of Aaron. Although Aaron loved the song, he was thankful the volume faded as the kid proceeded down the sidewalk on his way to where ever.

"Man, I hate those 'Boom Boxes', even kids should know that not everyone likes another person's choice in music," The older gentleman standing in the doorway of the jewelry store said.

"You are so right. Maybe somebody will do something or improve on the way individuals listen to their choice of music and, at the same time, not force their choice on others," Aaron replied. He, of course, knew that by 2016 just about every kid he saw had ear buds plugged into their ears. The white wire cords, attached to those buds, dangled down to hand held cell phones that were providing the streaming music.

"Well that would be a very nice invention and returning peace and quiet to ones neighborhood would just be an added blessing," the man stuck out his hand. "Hi, I am Floyd Kramer, I own this store and no I don't play a piano. I'm not that Floyd Cramer, the piano guy's name 'Cramer' is spelled with a C while mine is spelled with a K.".

"Ok, K Kramer, I'm Aaron, just passing through, I like your town. Have you lived here long?" Aaron shook Floyd's hand.

"An eternity, I was born here and except for a stint in the Army and those years in college, I have been here, right here."

The clanging of a bell and the loud siren caused both men to turn their attention to the street. The ladder truck with Belleview Fire Dept. on the side raced by in front of the store with lights on top swirling warning all that there was an emergency somewhere in town.

"Excuse me, I think I will follow that truck and see what the emergency is," Aaron said as he rushed past Floyd and down the sidewalk toward the route of the departing vehicle.

It was a short run as the fire truck had turned one corner and stopped near the town's water tower, a wooden structure that rose some forty feet above street level. The firemen were busy setting the truck's hydraulic feet in place so the ladder could be safely extended. Aaron didn't see any sign of fire or smoke and wasn't sure why the firemen were preparing for the ladder's extension, that was until, he saw the young boy who was three quarters of the way up the water tower's ladder.

"Franklin Wald I presume," Aaron muttered under his breath.

Aaron heard the fire truck's engine slowly increase in speed. Several helmeted individual were unfolding, what looked like, a large air mattress below the bottom of the tower. The men backed away as the large bag continued to unfold now by itself. Air was being pumped from the Belleview fire truck, via an attached hose, into the belly of that bag. It expanded and wrapped around the base of the lofty structure providing a life preserving landing area in case of accidental fall from the tower ladder.

The extended hydraulic feet of the fire truck lowered to the ground then slowly lifted the large vehicle off its wheels. Once the vehicle was a stationary solid platform, with all tires clear of the ground, the vehicle's ladder slowly rose from its resting place and turned as if aiming a weapon at the daunting tower and its small occupant. The ladder slowly extended with two firemen on board who had climbed into the small basket at the very top. The two men climbed, their movements synchronized, one behind the other like a set of choreographed dance steps. The routine only lacking the music that would have completed the practiced routine as if it were a stage play.

Standing in the basket, the lead fireman adjusted the travel of the ladder with the controls located on the right side of the small open cage. It was a painstaking process, both for the watchers and the operators.

Something suddenly fell from the tower causing a gasp from the small crowd that had gathered across the street from the action. It took a moment to realize that the falling object was a wooden rung of the tower ladder that had come loose, evidently due to the youngsters climbing and disrepair of that ladder. Two firemen rushed to the inflated bag and removed the fallen debris.

The crowd got very quiet and listened to the exchange from the fireman to the young boy. "Are you ok?" was the first question the man asked.

The young boy was quietly crying as he answered. "I can't move, I can't move," he kept repeating.

"Can you turn and step across to me?"

"I can't move, I'm not letting go, I'll fall if I do," he said as he pressed against the fragile wooden ladder. "The ladder is breaking, I'm too scared to move I'll fall if I do."

"Ok, just hold on, I'm going to move in closer so you don't have to step across. I'll put my ladder just below your feet so you can safely get on here with me."

Contact was made with the wooden ladder by the base of the small basket. The contact wasn't severe but it was enough to cause a fracture in the old ladder's adherence to the tower. The sound of the crack was just enough to be heard above the quiet idling of the firefighting vehicle. The portion of the ladder below the extended basket suddenly fell away and plummeted down and onto the inflated mat positioned around the base of the tower. One leg of the falling ladder caused a tear or puncture in the large bladder resulting in a rapid release of the air that had inflated the pliable medium. This redundant safety addition was now a useless mass of deflated vinyl.

Most of the spectators, whose attention had gone to the falling piece of ladder, missed the action above. They didn't see the tethered fireman as he reached out and pried the resisting child away from the failing ladder and safely into the extended basket. Their attention returned to the action above when the speed of the idling vehicle picked up signifying some hydraulic action. They saw the operation as the fireman controlled and moved the basket back and slowly swung it away from the tower. He activated the retraction and the basket and truck's ladder withdrew and slowly started sinking toward the waiting vehicle.

A short time later they were all on the street. The young boy was the center of the gathering and rapt attention was given to the Chief's words. "Why did you climb up that old tower, you could have been seriously injured," the Fire Chief asked.

"Someone told me that if I climbed high enough, I could see tomorrow," the very young, scared and barely audible Franklin Wald told the chief.

"You would have better luck trying to see the past, as you must be aware, the future or tomorrow hasn't happened yet. There is no way you could actually see it no matter how high you climbed." The chief then moved away to assist with clean up and handle other necessary details. With all the action past its climax and the child safe, the small crowd had other things to do so they drifted away. This left young Wald standing there for a moment all by himself.

Aaron grabbed this moment and approached then squatted down next to the young boy, "Franklin, hi, I'm Aaron. The chief is right, if you plan to search or see somewhere other than the present you should look at the past. I want you to try to remember this, look to the past for answers."

"Are you a fireman too?"

"No, I'm from your future and I came to see you."

"Are you an angel?" Franklin reached out and touched Aarons face as if he were trying to see if Aaron was real.

"No," Aaron, with a momentary laugh said, "I'm not an Angel, I'm just a friend from your future the year 2016." Aaron could tell that it would be almost impossible to impress anyone around this child's age with a simple unbelievable statement.

"Mom, Mom!" Franklin shouted as he suddenly ran by Aaron and headed into the arms of his mother as she climbed out of her car. He had started to cry again and Aaron could see that his mom was also spilling tears down onto her son as she held him and calmly assured him that things would be ok.

Franklin Wald turned and looked back at Aaron, he then whispered to his mom, "That man is from the future and he came to see me," as he pointed to where Aaron had been. His mom turned and looked where he was pointing but there was no one there to see.

Aaron threw the covers aside and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and tousled his hair as he tried to wake up. The dream lingered on his mind so he quickly grabbed his writing pad and started to record the particulars of that experience before it had a chance to fade. He now knew that once it was documented he could recall it at his leisure.

# Chapter 14

## Taming the Bully

The move off campus was somewhat traumatic just as they expected but in all actuality it went off without a hitch. The apartment they rented was small but there requirements fit the layout. They had plenty of room in the kitchen for the dinette table they purchased from the Goodwill store. That table will be used for multiple purposes as they would dine there and do most of their college home work on its surface. The queen size bed they had found at a discount furniture place came with two small end tables. The added tables did not over crowd the small bedroom and left room for the four drawer dresser they would equally share. They had one more small room they decided to make into a guest room, although, they did not expect many guest but one could never be sure.

The scholarship each had received paid very little for housing off campus so both Aaron and Chrystal were seeking employment in the local community. Both had been employed previously so combining school and work was not a stranger to them.

Aaron went to work the day after he applied, after all he had worked for Beach Hut Deli his last year in high school. This time he was hired as the evening shift manager with five hour shifts four days a week. Tips were shared although they weren't restaurant plentiful they were what they were.

Chrystal's previous employers did not have a shop anywhere near the college so she had to seek employment from outfits she did not know. It took a week of resume distribution before she was even invited back for a face to face with someone from a restaurant's office staff. They were impressed with her and one meeting was all it took for her to get on shift as a server. The pay was minimum but the tips were very good. After several weeks of work, they found that her weekly earnings exceeded Aaron's earnings by a considerable sum and made Aaron the butt of jokes at several fun filled outings with their friends. The actuality of the difference in income never really bothered Aaron. He loved the idea that their combined part time incomes took all the pressure off the basic cost of living. This left their major concern firmly placed on completing college with excellent marks.

Saturday breakfast was simply a lesson in relaxing. Both worked the afternoon shifts so there was no rush in the food prep or the actual eating.

"I watched for a while as you slept last night. You were here but I'm thinking you were somewhere else also. Your eye movement was so fast paced, it was as if you were really involved in a dream that included a chase or something similar," Chrystal said as she poured more coffee for both.

"No not a chase, believe it or not, I was simply a spectator at some of the incidents from our past life. I was back there again at that theater shooting and I watched myself lead myself and you outside that theater through the back exit. I was also back there, this time as an onlooker, when I was age seven crossing that log and when I was age thirteen at that little league ball field during that lightning strike," Aaron shook his head, "it was those pictures we were looking at yesterday that caused me to reflect again on our past."

"Well, those incidents were really traumatic and I'm sure you will revisit them many times. I, for one, am really glad you came back and pulled us out of that theater. As you know, that could have been a real disaster for us," Chrystal shivered a little recalling the close call at that frightening event. If Aaron hadn't come back they might, actually, they would have been toast.

"I know and you are right, I don't know how I could function without you by my side. Your knowledge of my affliction is more than likely a lifesaver for both of us and that's not just my physical lifesaving, it is also in rescuing me and helping me maintain some mental stability."

Suddenly the shrill sound of Aaron's cell phone pierced their thoughts. "It's my mom," Aaron said as he looked at the number displayed on the small screen of his cell phone., "Hey Mom, what's up?"

"Hey my love, it's so good to hear your voice," His mom said.

"You too, I haven't talked to you in a while, is everything ok?"

"Everything is just fine but I do have some news for you two."

"Hang on, I'm going to put you on speaker so Chrystal can hear."

"Hey Mrs. Conroy, good to hear from you," Chrystal said as soon as Aaron had tapped the speaker icon.

"It's Mom, just call me Mom, I love you and good to hear you too."

"You have some news for us?" Chrystal said after a short pause in the conversation.

"I'll just say it right out, I am coming to visit, I have some free time and I have some points I can apply against air fare, points I have to use or lose," She hesitantly said.

"Wow, that is great. We have a guest room we are setting up and you will be our first guest. Mom, this is just great we can't wait for you to get here," Chrystal said and meant it.

"Well that's great but I can stay in a hotel nearby if necessary, I don't want to be inconsiderate and inconvenience you guys in any way."

"Don't be silly, the reason we got a place with a guest room was so we would have plenty of room for your visits."

"Ok, if you insist, then you can consider this your two week notice. I will send you my itinerary as soon as my arrangements are complete. I love you guys and I hope these next two weeks don't drag by."

"We do too, we love you Mom and this is the absolute best news we've had in some time."

They ended the call and looked at each other then Chrystal said, "Wow, I'll say it again, wow, I love your mom and I am so happy she is coming to see us. We have some work to do before she gets here, two weeks isn't very long you know?"

Classes went as expected and work was routine. Both arrived back at the apartment within a few minutes of each other. They only came in to put books away and grab a lite jacket before they both headed back out for the car and a quick shopping excursion to pick up a bed for the guest room in preparation of their mom's visit. Back home again snacks made and finished and the table was cleared then the books came out for the next two hours. Since the day started late being up late was not a problem but once school work was finished sleep quickly overtook the tired couple.

Aaron couldn't take anything with him when he traveled but he could bring something back, that something was knowledge. The knowledge of an event or happening he otherwise had zero chance of knowing about or witnessing at its actual occurrence.

Aaron literally jumped as the loud bell rang. He turned around from the street and realized he was looking at the front of a small school. The embedded cement strip above the building's front door had Belleview High School carved into it in large capital letters. Ok, Aaron now knew the name of the school and he suspected the town might have the same name of Belleview. He also figured this had to be the county and state of the youth of his very own teacher Mr. Franklin Wald. Aaron guessed that this visit must have been the results of reading that list that came from Mr. Wald's computer.

It didn't take but a few moments of searching the departing teenagers to spot the young Wald, now a teenager. He was animatedly involved with several friends as they made their way down the school's steps. Aaron held his position and peripherally monitored Franklin Wald as he passed and headed away down the sidewalk. As far as Aaron could tell he had been unnoticed by the young man still intimately conversing with his young peers.

Aaron kept the young man in sight but just barely. He had made a mental note of the clothes Franklin wore and he made sure there were several collections of students between him and the young man while he followed.

The two were several blocks from school now and the last friend of Franklin's was saying goodbye taking a turn toward what Aaron presumed was the boy's way home. Franklin was several yards in front making good time as he went on his way

It was sudden as a big boy on a bicycle slid to a stop and quickly abandoned his two wheeled conveyance. He menacingly approached Franklin. It was so unexpected and Aaron could tell Franklin was frightened as he backed up against the fence that paralleled the street. It seemed like he was trying to make himself smaller as he froze in that position.

Aaron ran toward the two as the bicycle kid closed in on Franklin. They were both surprised and they both turned as Aaron neared. The big kid had grabbed Franklin's shirt and was preparing to punch him in the face when Aaron caught his arm and pulled him around.

"Hey, what the heck you doing. Get away and let me go or you'll be sorry," The big kid said as he tried to pull free without results.

"Me? You're the one that should take it easy or you will be the one that's sorry. You don't and I may forget you're just some big snot nosed kid," Aaron said then turned to Franklin, "Hey Frank, what's the deal here, why the threat of fisticuffs?"

"This is Shelton, he's the school resident bully," Franklin pointed at the big kid, "he wants to beat me up because I stopped him from picking on one of the freshmen at our school."

"That's not true, he called me Shelly and nobody calls me that and gets away with it."

"It was the only way I could turn your attention away from that young man, I had to give you a better target."

"Well, you accomplished that alright and you are going to pay for it."

"I don't think so Shelly, I'm going to make sure he doesn't pay for it and I promise you that if you attempt to harm this young man in any way I will personally take it as an insult," Aaron moved in real close towering over Shelton., "I hope I am making myself crystal clear."

Aaron could tell that all of a sudden Shelton realized he was looking at someone who made his bigness seem small. The blood seemed to rush from the boy's face as he paled craning his head back and looking up at Aaron's six foot five inch height.

"You do understand, don't you," Aaron sweetly asked.

"I, I gues..." Shelton stammered.

"Good, now Shelly, you get back on your little bicycle and make your way home and try to forget about this, ok?" Aaron said as he helped Shelton toward his bike, "Be good now," he said as he waved Shelton goodbye.

Aaron turned to Franklin and said, "I didn't mean to get involved but I couldn't stand by and let that bully hit you, he could have really hurt you, he's as strong as a young bull."

"I know that but I couldn't let him bully that young freshman either no matter what." Franklin slowly shook his head, "he will be aching to get me alone somewhere, I just know it."

"Look at me Frank, do you know me, have you seen me before?"

"You do look familiar, why is that?"

"I was there when you were saved from that water tower. I was there when you and your friends went to see 'The Time Machine' in 1970. Do you remember seeing me there?"

"That was you, ok, yeah, now I remember. You said you were from some year in the future."

"2016, that's right, I said I was from your future the year 2016," Aaron stared at the young Franklin, "what else did I tell you about me?"

"You were joking about being a time traveler and I said I couldn't believe someone from the future would come back to 1970 to see a movie about a time machine."

"And what did I say?"

"Oh, I believe you said you didn't come back to see the movie, you came back to see me."

"That's right, you have it all so now what do we do and how can I prove it to you?" Aaron turned and looked around then continued, "you go on home now and maybe I will still be around tomorrow and hey look, don't worry about Shelton, I guarantee he will behave."

Aaron watched him leave.

After a few yards down the sidewalk Franklin stopped and threw up one hand. Hey, if you are from the future you can put me onto," Franklin turned as he finished his statement, "where I should invest to get the best return." He stopped talking and looked around both ways as he realized there was no one to hear his words and now he wondered if he had been dreaming it all.

# Chapter 15

## Mom is the word

Later the next morning found Aaron and Chrystal at the local airport. Aaron's mom looked really good as she came down the escalator from the arriving area of the large building. She pulled one small case with her as she came waving and smiling. She was, as usual, dressed to the nines. Her trip to Arizona, to visit a sick friend, had evidently not dampened her spirits and her smile lit up her face as Aaron and Chrystal rushed to greet her.

It was a tri-hug as they both encircled her with their arms hanging on for an extended loving and welcoming embrace. They were hesitant to let her go as tears ran down Chrystal's face unhampered. Once they released her they headed to the baggage area and collected her bags from the revolving carousel. Tags checked and bags in hand they made their way to the parking area and headed home.

They spent the evening catching up on current events and making sure Mom was going to be comfortable in the small guest room. She assured them that it was just what she wanted and she would be very comfortable there. This was the last stop before the short bus trip back home, and she was adamant about sticking to taking the bus. She refused all offers that Aaron made to drive her up there when she was ready to head home.

The next morning off to class then in the afternoon Aaron handed Mr. Wald his latest notes on his dreams and his presumably time travel. "Before you read these notes I thought I would preface it with this perception. It's true I can't take anything with me as I travel and I thought I couldn't bring anything back but that's not true. What I just gave you is something I can always bring back and that is knowledge, knowledge of what I did and what I saw."

"Ok, I'll accept that observation as I read this."

"And, I'll leave you too it, I'll be back in a few minutes," Aaron said as he left the room and headed for the break room down the hall.

When Aaron returned he found Mr. Wald sitting in his chair behind his desk with his feet up on the edge. He was holding a cup of coffee as he simply stared out the window toward the small wooded city park that flanked that side of the building. Aaron took a seat deciding to give him all the time he needed to absorb the information Aaron had handed him. It was a few minutes before Mr. Wald set his coffee cup on the desk and lowered his feet then turned to face Aaron.

"Well, as you can imagine, this is not a total shock. Although I couldn't be positive at the time, I was pretty sure I had met you somewhere before. There were some bells ringing when you first joined this class but I couldn't quite put my finger on why."

"Do you remember me from the water tower rescue?" Aaron asked.

"Somewhat, I was quite young and that was a very traumatic experience, however, I wouldn't give much validity to my memory from that chance meeting. I do remember telling my mom I met an angel."

"I'm sure, that whole tower was so fragile I don't understand why it was still standing or why and how a young man could gain access to that ladder."

"Kids always have ways and that's why adults have to protect them. I believe kids are like Murphy's Law, 'Anything that can possibly go wrong, usually does' and I would like to add to that law, 'if it's at all possible a kid will do it'," Mr. Wald held up a finger as he continued, "they took that tower down the following week. The town bulletin, too small for a newspaper, said I was the straw that broke the camel's back with my climbing that tower and my ensuing rescue by the fire department."

"Ok, alright, difficult for me to make an impression on someone frozen with fright. This is just one of those incidents on that list from your computer that must have stuck in my head. I could have generated my own details to your comments and wrote them down as if I had experienced them myself, so that isn't real proof is it?"

"I don't know, it wasn't only my mom I told, after that rescue I told everyone that I had seen an angel there on the street after being chewed out by the fire chief. For years I was kind of scoffed at for that brilliant offering," Mr. Wald laughed and said, "after dealing with you over these last couple of years, I know for a fact, you're no angel."

"Hey, I told you then and I'll say it again, I'm no angel but I do think I was actually there." Aaron got up and walked to the window, stared out for a moment then turned back to Mr. Wald, "it is so extremely difficult to convince someone about this even when they were involved. How about our meeting that time at the theater with 'The Time Machine' on the venue, do you remember that?"

Mr. Wald shook his head and said, "Not really, someone comes up to you when you're young and out with friends, do you remember them especially if they are some weird stranger, I don't think so. Remembering they said they were from the future then going into a movie where someone else went to the future, I'm sorry it's a wash. The answers are just too muddled to see with any clarity."

"Wow, hey I'm working here, doing the best I can," Aaron pointed at the sheaf of notes he had given Mr. Wald, "how about that last incident, you never mention Shelly in any of your computer notes? I think it was just happenstance that I witnessed and got to be a part of that interrupted fracas. If that actually happened I'll bet you remember that don't you?"

"Ding, ding, ding, I believe we have a winner. That bully was going to rearrange my face for sure. Man he was pissed, can you imagine a squirt like me calling him Shelly in front of his friends. I still wonder why he never did what he so badly wanted to do to me."

"I guess he was more of a coward than you thought he was. One chance meeting with someone bigger than him must have left an indubitable impression."

"I believe it did, he never was the same kid after that meeting with you. I'm not saying he wasn't a bully anymore, he just didn't seem as threatening as he had been previously," Mr. Wald wasn't finished, "I only took a couple of steps down the walk after Shelly took off on his bike then I turned to ask you something but you were gone."

"Well, I'm here now, what did you need?"

"What I wanted then, ha? I wanted to know, if you were truly from our future, would you give me some info from our future that would allow me to get rich. If indeed you were who you said you were it would be easy for you to tell me the name of a stock, invention or something that would give me a definite cash flow advantage over others. Something like a unit of stock that sold back in my past at, oh say, a few dollars and now today, in 2016's bucks, would be worth perhaps hundreds or thousands of dollars per unit. You could have kept it very simple and said something like Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Amazon, E-bay, you know something like that."

"If I had given you something like that we would never have met. You wouldn't have taken the path that led you to teaching, you would have been somewhere on some beach with a mai-tai in your hand, spending your ill gotten booty."

"Well I see, you have me cubby holed but without actual justification. I could be rich and still be a teacher, I could still be searching for a time traveler you know, it's possible?"

"Possible yes but, hey, I couldn't take that chance. My life actually depended on my acquaintance with you. Your teachings and total belief in the fact that someone, a certain someone, could actually physically return to a time in the past may have saved my life not to mention Chrystal's," Aaron stuck out his hand, "and for that ability you help awaken in me, affording me the chance to change those life altering incidents to get a more positive outcome, I need to shake your hand and sincerely thank you."

"It is the least I can do, I guess we are about even. You saved me from Shelly and I saved you from whatever it was that threatened you and Chrystal."

The rest of the class day was arduous and exhausting but nevertheless exhilarating. Mr. Wald and Aaron took many minutes in the isolation chamber. Even though they were physically tired they both felt that their minds had been cleared almost as if they were rebooted similar to what one does to a computer, almost back to square one.

Any residual thoughts of today's classroom activity was expunged as soon as Aaron opened the door of his car. It was as if the simple touch of the door handle sent a cleansing busy body though his brain storing thoughts, packing photos and folding class notes, putting them all in a locker that could be opened at a later date

A flood of ideas and expectation filled the empty voids of his mind. Chrystal and his mom simply took over and permeated every nook and cranny of his thinking capability. The ride home was so enjoyable he was somewhat saddened by his too soon arrival. His expectations of the upcoming time with his mom were so high that he was afraid that the actual experience would not come close to comparing to what he was hoping for.

Aaron opened the apartment door and stepped inside and caught a mouth watering whiff of something coming from the kitchen. Aaron stopped cold and sniffed the air for a moment. His nose picked up two distinct odors floating just at the edge of his smelling sensitivity range. Fried chicken was the more powerful but oven baking cornbread held a close second. His mom's cooking, the recipes of Janice Conroy, was legendary in his mind.

There was no doubt, his mom was busy in the kitchen as her fried chicken did not smell or taste like anyone else's. The momentary flash of his dad lifting and passing the dish filled with pieces of fried chicken to Aaron was so strong it caused his knees to almost give out. Aaron dropped everything and grabbed the nearby chair steadying himself until the weakness passed.

The noise from the falling object brought the two occupants from the kitchen into the front room. Seeing Aaron's pale face caused them to rush to his side and support him leading him around and into the chair he had steadied himself on.

"What happen Aaron, are you ok? You look like you saw a ghost or something?" his mom asked.

"On target Mom, you are always right on target. How do you do that?"

"On target, what does that mean, are you just being silly?"

"Well, I caught a whiff of your fried chicken cooking and it caused me to remember and in my mind I could see dad passing that plate of chicken to me. It was so real and strong that it took my legs right out from under me and it was as if I had all of a sudden lost the ability to stand. So on target was my seeing dad like he was a ghost or something, that's what I meant."

"Oh, ok, you rest for a moment then."

"No, no, I'm ok. What I need to do is to have some of your fried chicken, it is simply the best ever and I haven't had it in so long. I don't want to put it off any longer."

"Ok honey but after dinner we need to talk as I have some things that have been put off way too long and I need for you to hear them."

"Ok, we got time but let's eat first."

The meal was unbelievable and just as he remembered and the conversation was kept very light. They talked about their classes, their apartment and their future expectations. They talked about their getting married at the end of this semester and discussed a few of the arrangements that had to be made to make that happen.

Once the meal was over they took chairs in the front room. Aaron had put some music on but kept the volume very low so it wouldn't interfere with their conversation.

"I want to talk to you about your dad, if that is ok?" Aaron's mom said.

"That's fine," Aaron hesitantly said because his mom was looking everywhere but at him, "I love to hear things about my dad."

"This is hard to tell because I have a difficult time believing it," his mom finally stopped looking around and faced Aaron eye to eye, "the doctors couldn't find a reason why your dad died." Mrs. Conroy watched doubt creep into Aarons face. She reached out and took hold of his hand and continued, "they said it was as if his body was here but he wasn't, there was no brain activity but after the autopsy was complete they found nothing, no underlying cause for his demise. His heart, lungs, blood and brain were normal for a young man his age, they were actually baffled."

"I'm sorry, I thought he died in some type of accident."

"I didn't know what else to tell you, you were so young and hurt. All these years I have kept this secret and it has really bothered me but now, I want to try to make it up to you by giving you some info I've kept hidden due to my fear of embarrassment."

"What? Dad wouldn't do anything that would embarrass you. Come on Mom, what are you talking about?"

"To make this easier I want to show you some notes your dad made. For some reason, during his last few years, he kept a note pad by the bed and each morning he would write down his dreams. These notes were so detailed, it was as if he had actually experienced what he wrote about." She turned to Chrystal and asked, "Would you get my leather briefcase from my room, please?"

"You bet, I'll be right back." Chrystal jumped up and ran up the short flight of stairs, they heard her as she ran down the small hall then shortly ran back up the hall and down the stairs carrying the small briefcase. "Here you go," she said as she passed it to Mrs. Conroy.

Mrs. Conroy opened the case and handed a sheaf of hand written notes to Aaron, "I want you to go over these then maybe you can understand why I kept this a secret. I didn't want anyone to think my one true love was not of sound mind." She laid the empty briefcase on the floor and rose from her chair. "I'm going to say goodnight now, we can talk more on this tomorrow after you have looked at those papers."

"Goodnight Mom, don't worry, I will look these over but I won't make any conclusions until we talk about this tomorrow and hey, relax, I'm a big boy now and I can handle quite a bit of unwanted data." He gave a small wave and blew his mom a kiss as she turned and headed for the stairs and her room. Once she was out of sight he called Chrystal to his side and they started going through the stack of notes his dad had left.

He was wrong about his expectation living up to the real thing with his mom. His expectations paled in comparison to this evening events, the food, the conversation and now the notes from his dad all far outreached his simple hopes. While looking through the notes his thoughts were on how much he loved and admired that beautiful lady, she had born him, raised him and, most of all, loved him unconditionally.

# Chapter 16

## A Crock of Stock

The small town only had one Law Office so it had to be the one the Wald's used if indeed they used a lawyer. Aaron approached them with some trepidation wondering how they would receive his request. Brookfield & Son was written in metal letters on the front of the building beside the all glass double door entrance. This glass double door entrance was almost too extravagant for such a small town. It probably was done to intimidate clients to some degree, possibly offering more than was really available.

"Can I help you?" the young lady asked from behind the reception desk. The name plate sitting on top simply had Judy inscribed in its gold plating.

"Yes, I need to see the young Mr. Brookfield please," Aaron timidly said.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No I do not, I guess you could call me a walk in."

"Of course you did, I saw you, walk in I mean."

"It's an expression we generally use when we don't have an appointment," Aaron explained.

"We, is there someone with you that I don't see," the young lady said as she craned her neck around to look behind Aaron.

"Sorry no, I was again generally speaking, it's just little old me."

"Ok, let me check Mr. Brookfield's calendar," she said as she turned to one of the planners lying on the desk. Once she finished with the planner she said, "Could I get your name and your interest please?"

"Sure, it's Aaron and it's about finance."

The receptionist picked up the telephone handset and punched in a couple of numbers then waited a moment, "Mr. Brookfield I have a Mr. Aaron who would like a moment of your time," she paused then continued, "he said finance," another pause, "ok, I will send him in." She rose from the desk and came around motioning for Aaron to follow her, "right through here and knock on that door."

"Thanks Judy," Aaron said as he passed the young lady.

"It's Marla, Judy is out sick today, I should have mentioned that."

"No problem, thanks Marla, you have been most helpful."

He may have been the younger Brookfield but he definitely wasn't the smallest, well not according to the picture on the wall that showed him and, more than likely, his dad. On the desk was something interesting, Shelton Brookfield was prominently displayed carved in an oversized, probably expensive wooden nameplate. Aaron was wondering if it was possible that that bully that had threatened Franklin Wald ten years ago was now this young lawyer standing before him.

Shelton Brookfield came around the desk and offered Aaron his hand. Looking up at Aaron, he motioned for him to take a chair and then the young Brookfield also remained in front of the desk and took a chair opposite Aaron. "What can I do for you Mr. Aaron?"

"It's just Aaron, my first name is Aaron."

"Ok first name Aaron, how can I help you?" Brookfield said as he stared at Aaron a little longer than necessary then caught himself and quickly turned away.

"I need to know if I can make a financial arrangement for a friend without he being aware until, let's say, it's delivered to him on his fifty eight birthday?"

"This isn't some type of scam is it?"

"No, no way. This is all above board and it only requires a small amount of time from you," Aaron rose and placed one thousand two hundred and seventy dollars on Brookfield's desk. "one thousand of this is for investment and the rest is for your time and efforts," Aaron held up his hand in a stop position, "you do have a stock broker you use, right?"

"Sure, yeah sure, I have one I use, is that necessary?"

"Well, I need someone to invest this money in a certain stock when it becomes available as it's not available or traded yet."

"Can't you do this yourself?"

"No I can't, I won't be here when this stock becomes available."

"This isn't some type of insider trading is it?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I have been fortunate to be able to use some of this organization's products and I feel that it is destined to have a great future. Investment in this will probably be available as common stock after this product has gain some popularity. When or if it is offered to the public, I want my friend to be on board early and profit from its rise, well, if it does rise," Aaron assured the lawyer, "I'm pretty sure I may actually owe this individual my life."

"Ok, give me the info and I will check it out and if it passes muster, I will contact my broker and make the arrangements."

"Passes muster?"

"Sorry, old army terminology, means if it checks out ok."

"I want this money in a cash fund until this stock goes on sale and, once it does, I want any resulting dividends reinvested to purchase more units of stock," Aaron paused and looked at the young lawyer, "You haven't asked me who the beneficiary is or will be."

"Well I have to assume you know that I know who that will be, does the name Franklin Wald come to mind?" Shelton Brookfield rose and returned back behind his desk and slowly sank into the plush comfort of his chair. "You haven't changed a bit and your height made it easy to recognized you from our previous encounter. I have to thank you for that interference, it was like my wakeup call. I think I owe you for this office and everything that goes with it so, doing this for you and Franklin will be my pleasure."

Shelton wrote down the stock name and projected stock symbol Aaron supplied. Although Mr. Wald had previously mentioned, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Amazon and E-bay, after considerable internet investigation, Aaron had shortened that list to only one . Aaron waited around for almost an hour while Mr. Brookfield checked out that stock name and once he was satisfied on its lack of status he had an agreement typed up for Aaron to sign.

Aaron thanked Shelton Brookfield and the receptionist, Marla, then he left the building. He headed down the street when suddenly a large black car slid to a stop close by followed by two men exiting in a hurry looking menacingly at Aaron. Aaron took the clue as to what he would have expected when a bookie had paid off a bet that he thought was a little shady. Someone placing a thirty dollar bet on the exact final score of a basketball game happening that day was extremely questionable and this bookie had never seen that happen before. A fifty to one chance was simply not expected to be a pay off bet and only a real looser or a cheater would make that bet.

Aaron ran and turned into the first alley he came too. When the two chasing him entered that blind alley they were surprised that no one was present, except for the two of them the alley was void of individuals.

Surprisingly Aaron woke refreshed and feeling ready to go the next morning. He took the time to write out his dream's finer points thereby solidifying its entirety for future recall, it was something he did because he could.

He and Chrystal had spent the latter part of last evening going over the notes left by his dad and that process took them way past midnight. They only scanned through the notes without going into details. The writing was clear and the papers read almost like a travel itinerary, listing highlights and sights his dad had dreamed he had visited. The notes were almost identical in layout and content to the notes that Aaron himself kept.

Down stairs at the kitchen table each with a cup of coffee they waited for his mom, "Amazing huh? My dad was just like me, he was also a time traveler. I believe heredity has played an unsuspecting trick on me." Aaron said then smiled, "Wow, I am just like my dad, we had the same type of hobby how interesting."

"What type of hobby do you have honey?" His mom's quiet approach caused both heads to turn quickly in her direction, "sorry didn't mean to startle you."

"It's ok, just didn't hear you coming. Coffee is there on the stove and I put a cup out for you, sugar and cream are next to the cup," Chrystal said and pointed at the individual coffee cup maker. "Do you know how to use that machine?"

"Sure do, I also have one, I found that it is so convenient, me being by myself most of the time." She removed and replace the K-cup, set the cup in place and then hit the tall cup button. Once the brew had completed she joined the two at the kitchen table. "So what's your hobby?" she asked.

After gathering up his courage Aaron plunged right in, "This stack of notes here are the ones written by my dad your husband, this other stack here are the ones written by me," Aaron said as he pointed at the two separate stacks of paper. "No matter how difficult this will be for you to believe but my dad and I had the same ability, we could actually physically time travel into the past."

Chrystal watched as the blood seemed to drain from Mrs. Conroy's face. She quickly took the older woman's hand and said, "Mrs. Conroy, Mom, it's ok, he's telling you the truth, he really does this, I am a witness to his ability and it is real."

"How, how is this possible? I don't understand, how could you be a witness, have you done this thing also?" Mrs. Conroy slowly shook her head as if she was trying to clear away the negative thoughts.

"No, no, I don't and I can't do this traveling thing. What I did see was this older Aaron when he came back and saved us from that theater shooting on Aaron's sixteenth birthday, you remember that shooting don't you?"

"The shooting, yes, who could forget that?"

"The only reason we weren't injured in that shooting is because I went back and took us out of the theater. I led us out just before it happened but, of course, we never told anyone, who would have believed us?" Aaron added.

The morning and the rest of the day was spent going over what had been mom's secret. In the end most of her reservation on this subject were dealt with and discarded. It seemed like a gigantic load had been lifted off her shoulders and maybe with a little time she would actually treasure the memories written down on those pieces of paper. Aaron made copies of those papers for himself, he wanted to study every detail and try to understand just where his dad had been. He even thought he might be able to find out where and when his father had died as he was pretty sure now that he died while exploring one of his dreams.

# Chapter 17

## Today's your Birthday

Aaron told Mr. Wald about his father's notes and his belief that his father was also a time traveler. Mr. Wald seemed to understand and also thought this ability could have been in some cases simple hereditary, like father like son.

Anyway now, due to his being able to go and come in time as he pleased, Aaron felt the class with Mr. Wald had run its course and both he and his teacher should probably consider other interest. He didn't want to give up his friendship but he really needed the hours he was spending in that class to further his education. Aaron felt it was time to establish a realistic career, after all there wasn't a lot of openings for a time traveler well, not that he knew of.

There was one more thing the teacher and student had to do before they parted ways and that was to celebrate Mr. Wald's 58th birthday. This was one event that Aaron, Chrystal and Aaron's mom anxiously anticipated with baited breath. Aaron had told them about the financial endeavor he had done for Mr. Wald and they couldn't wait for that surprise to surface. Mr. Wald was sure surprised when Chrystal and Aaron's mom all showed up for Aaron's class that morning.

The party had barely started, and it was totally unexpected, when the broker came in and presented the portfolio like a singing telegram, tap dancing to a rhythm he created as he recited his prepared lines.

### Here is a surprise

### It's something you didn't know

### Money was invested

### Twenty five years ago

### The stocks that were bought

### Were excellent choices

### The dividends were reinvested

### I have all the invoices

### The stocks were chosen wisely

### We didn't take chances

### Once you see the results

### I won't be the only one that dances

### So here is all the paperwork

### and I'll bid you all adieu

### I'm glad to be of service

### it was the least that I could do

### I'll head back to my cubbyhole

### and pick some stocks to study

### That investment was done by Aaron

### I guess he's your real buddy

To say Mr. Wald was shocked would be understating his reaction. He actually did a little dance while he read and reread the balance of this secret stock portfolio. He looked at Aaron and said, "It is official, I quit, I retire. There will not be any more classes taught by yours truly as I am headed to that beach and that iced Mai-Tia you mentioned before." The remainder of the evening was mixed with well wishes for the future and remembrance of the past. There was no doubt that things would be smooth for their favorite teacher. Mr. Wald waved the portfolio balance sheets as he made his way around the room. He showed everyone the bottom line that was the current value, "just look at that number, three hundred sixty one thousand ninety eight dollars and eighty six cents, with this, my IRA and my retirement I am going to be walking to the tune of a different drummer, OMG this is such a surprise."

The party slowly lost some of its steam and the party goers began to disperse saying goodnight and leaving Mr. Wald with their well wishes. Finally it was only Aaron, Chrystal and Mom with the birthday boy or man, as it were, left to do a little cleanup.

"Ok Franklin, we are no longer teacher and student we are just two guys linked by an unusual hobby," Aaron said as the four of them went from table to table gathering up the party cups, plates and plastic ware then placing them in a Glad trash bag.

"Well since we are just two, eh, make that four kids in a pod I have to know, how did you do it, the portfolio I mean?"

"Believe it or not, it was relatively easy," Aaron pointed at some chair indicating that they should sit while he told them about the investment. "I did this after you complained about me not going back in time and making you rich. I went to the internet and did some background investigation on stocks. I wanted to see which would have the best results, using an initial deposit, then left alone with the dividends reinvested for twenty five years or so."

Franklin opened and looked at the portfolio papers then said, "Starbucks, you chose Starbucks, was that the most profitable for that scenario?"

"Yes it was at a rate of about 25% compounded annually."

"Wow, that is a real good return rate. Ok, so you found the stock you wanted, how did you get the funds and well, tell me how, no wait, just tell how you did it all, don't leave anything out, tell me every detail."

"The next thing I did was a computer search of the police arrest made in your area of the woods. I was looking for the arrest of a local bookie, one who would take bets on sporting events. I had quite a few to choose from but I chose the one that had been arrested around twenty years ago, hoping they would have been in that business for a few years before they got themselves arrested."

"We had bookies in our small town?"

"Sure, most towns do. Anyway, I isolated on one basketball game, November 29, 1991, Boston Celtics versus the LA Lakers played in Boston with the final score of 91 to 114. Once I had the game and the bookie all I needed now was some money so I could make a bet."

"That's right. You couldn't take anything with you when you travel in time, so you were there but you were broke."

"Yep but I had a plan. I went to one of the churches thinking about robbing the poor box but I didn't do that. I actually borrowed money from the pastor, I lied to him, I told him I was broke and didn't get paid until the next day and he loaned me thirty dollars," Aaron shook his head, "I don't think he believed me and probably thought that thirty was as good as gone."

"I can imagine, I would have thought the same thing."

"I took the money, talked the bookie into letting me bet on the exact final score of a basketball game and he finally gave me 50 to 1 odds for that type of foolish bet. I told him I had this dream and that I wanted to bet on the score from that dream. That bookie considered me a real looser for betting like that and he was shocked when I won but he reluctantly paid off when the game was over. I went back to that church, paid the pastor back his thirty dollars, put two hundred in the churches poor box then took the rest to a lawyer to set up your investments."

"I'm shocked at my son, betting with a bookie."

"Only way I could think of."

"You got a lawyer, was that necessary?" Franklin asked.

"The only way I could think of to arrange something like I wanted. Hey, I believe you knew the lawyer I chose for this part of my plan."

"I doubt it, I don't remember any lawyers from when and where I lived as a boy."

"You just might change your mind after I told you who it was. The lawyers I found was Brookfield and Son's Law Firm."

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell, Brookfield's huh."

"Yes sir, Brookfield and Son, I chose the son because I thought he might be a little more flexible with my unusual request. Well he was more than flexible and he told me he would be glad to do it as he felt like he owed us a favor. He said we, you and I, might be responsible for him being a lawyer, making a lot of money, having a nice office like he did, which actually prevented him from having to bust his ass doing some type of physical labor to make a buck. He was quite adamant about it."

"I still don't know a lawyer named Brookfield," Mr. Wald slowly shook his head as he thought.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure you remember a Shelton Brookfield, I think we called him Shelly?" The noise of the door opening caused Aaron to turn in that direction, "Oh, and speaking of the devil, here he is," Aaron paused as he shook Sheldon's hand, "you remember Franklin, right?"

"Oh yeah, I sure do and hey I'm sorry I'm late, court delay, happy birthday Franklin" Sheldon said as he shook hands with Franklin.

"Are you kidding me, you became a lawyer, you were such a bully and you became a lawyer. Ok, ok, now I do remember something about your dad being a lawyer but I didn't know his last name was Brookfield. Shelton , Shelly a lawyer, who would have thought?"

" I am still a bully but now it is only in court during cross and you are right, no one would have believed it before our almost physical interaction that this here guy broke up," he pointed at Aaron as he continued, "and there is something I don't understand, he looks the same as he did when he broke us up years ago."

"Well that would take days to explain and hard to believe," Franklin said.

"Anyway," Aaron broke in, "I gave your friend, Sheldon here, a thousand dollars to invest secretly for you through his broker then I gave him the rest of the money, what was left of the winnings from the bet, as a fee for his legal services. I signed a few papers and it was a done deal."

"I know all about that, what I would like to see is the results of that investment and how that stock actually paid off," Sheldon stated sounding almost like a bully again.

They both had quite a few comments about the balance sheet and had some laughs about their youthful activities.

Something was bothering Franklin and he said, "That whole betting thing you did seems too clean. I can't believe that a bookie would just pay up on a bet that was that far out of the ordinary and not have some second thoughts on how it was possible."

"Oh I think once he thought it over he had some questions. The question was, why would I bet on the exact final score of a basketball game instead of betting with the point spread like everyone else? I say that because later that evening I was actually chased by two large pissed off looking goons, however, they couldn't catch or follow me when I came home as it wasn't their time."

They all had a good laugh over the comment about not being their time. Sheldon, on the other hand, simply smiled as he didn't understand what had been so humorous. Well wishes all around as Chrystal, Aaron and his mom said goodbye and prepared to head back home. Aaron took Franklin aside and, even though he didn't think it was necessary or that his teacher would forget, Aaron reminded Franklin to keep his ability to time travel a secret. The threat of some type of misuse could be disastrous to Aaron and his family's well being.

They left Franklin and Sheldon fully involved in a reflection on their past and bringing each other up to speed on their careers since that last encounter. Aaron was thinking, who knows they may become friends, after all, they did have a lot in common.

All were talked out by the time they arrived back at the apartment and Chrystal and Mrs. Conroy headed to bed almost immediately. Aaron sat alone for a moment with his future staring him straight in the face. Now his main problem was in picking a career avenue that was not only interesting but in one where he could make a comfortable living while pursuing. He suddenly had a thought, history was something he actually loved so maybe there wasn't a problem picking a career. Running the idea around in his head he could almost see the future. It might take a few years but, if his experience with Mr. Wald's past is clear evidence of his ability to choose where and when he went, he could see himself at some ivy league college presenting real history to a group of eager students. These history lessons would be straight from a teacher who knew what he was talking about, a lesson from an actual witness or participant to the history he would teach .

# Chapter 18

## A Spot of Tea Perhaps

Aaron smiled to himself as he headed to the bedroom to tell his soon to be bride about his decisions and find out if they had the same ideas or, if not, would his idea be acceptable to her.

Thoughts of teaching history must have been the propellant that fueled the shot that sent him to this particular location and time. The breeze that swept across from the east carried the scent and salty taste of the ocean that stretched out before him and continued beyond the horizon.

It was twilight and the area was dark but there were some shadows due to the full moon that had risen in the clear night sky. Strangely attired men carrying axes and hammers milled around slowly making their way out toward the long wooden dock. The planked structure extended straight out slicing between several large sailing vessels that were moored with large diameter ropes. These hand woven sturdy ropes were each used to winch the attached ship into position and hold it against the side of the wide pier. Those ship's mast rose high into the air with ropes, too numerous to count, angling down to the decks of the wooden vessels. The splendor and awe of the scene momentarily stopped Aaron in his tracks, somewhat blocking the movement toward the pier.

Aaron was suddenly pushed from the back, "What's ye problem mate, are you feet pitted to the wood, we have little time for onlookers so ye have to get thy feet moving."

"Aye aye sir," Aaron quickly replied and then started down the pier following everyone toward the waiting ships. The taller man who was leading the way after prodding Aaron was busy separating the men into three groups.

"Jonas, take ye crew for the forward vessel, on your way lad," The tall man said as he pointed toward the waiting ship.

"Ay Sam," Jonas said to the tall man, presumably named Sam, then turned to his group and said, "follow me gents," as he set off up the dock.

Sam turned to the other two groups, "Paul, make ye way to the vessel on the port side. George, you're to the one on the starboard, get ye too it lads."

"Ay sir," came from both as they hurried off with Aaron in tow with one of the groups.

The crew Aaron followed quickly clambered onto one of the large gently rocking vessels. Adjusting his gate as he walked, he watched as a few of the men quickly placed their tools on the deck then subdued the ship's small crew. There was only a minimum of resistance as they were vastly outnumbered. The crew was then herded into and locked in the captain's unoccupied quarters.

Once the ship's crew was securely locked away they all turned and headed to mid ship. They lifted the main store's hatch and Aaron and the group hurried down the ladder to the belly of the ship.

The lantern lit area below was filled with stacks of, battened down, wooden chest. The stacks went, on and on, chest after chest, on every side of the ship's hold.

"Make ye haste!" someone nearby shouted, "put ye back into it, heave the chest up onto the deck."

The men quickly and expertly released the bindings and started moving the first chest manually up the ladder and out onto the ship's deck. Aaron put his back into it as he and the men struggle with the large chest evidently filled with some product he could not see or recognize. This action was repeated until all chest were topside and the ship's hold was empty.

They retrieved the tools they had temporarily placed on the deck and started breaking up those chests that were haphazardly placed about. Chest after chest was broken open with the contents and all the chest residual pieces tossed over the ship's gunwale and into the wind whipped white caps of the slow rolling ocean. The odor coming from the broke open chest, and the exposed leaves that were contained inside, left no doubt that the contents were tea leaves and the aroma of the tea leaves were suggestive of Earl Grey Tea, Aaron's very favorite.

Aaron worked hard and once the current vessel's stores were cleared and dumped overboard the men rushed to the next ship to assist the other crew who were still in the process of finishing and dumping the spoilage into the sea.

The types of vessels, the three cornered hats and the barely understandable old English language left little doubt about what Aaron was a part of. He was clearly surprised at the number of men involved, about fifty, and the lack of resistance the mob met on board the ships. It was as if the ship's crews were sympathetic and had expected the raiding party. Some of the men in the wrecking crews were wearing leather loin cloths, beads and feather head bands. In the dark they look like native Indians, however, there was no doubt, they were all Caucasian and simply disguised to appear as a war party of Indians. The rest of the party were men attired in rural outer wear mostly made up from strong rugged woven cloth and naturally tanned leathers. Some were wearing the current fashion and sported the three pointed hat which they wore on top of longish hair swept back out of the way in a secured pony tail.

"To the briny with it now, make ye haste before the Watch be coming by." Aaron heard from somewhere on one of the three ships that were being raided. It was the first word spoken in some minutes although there were occasions where some strange yells and whoops were heard. Evidently these were meant to sound like native savages during a melee with their enemy. Aaron thought no words or instructions were needed as it seemed the planning prior to the act had covered any questions and all necessary comments had already been attended too.

The men momentarily gathered and looked down into the bay. Three hundred and forty two chest were removed from the three ship's stores and now it, about six thousand five hundred stones of tea debris and the broken chest pieces, were floating around encircling the moored vessels. Most of the pieces were still clearly visible on the surface of the rolling ocean. "Tis a glorious sight to see," Sam solemnly said to the crowd.

"Aye, the Brits will love this," was provided by someone else in the group.

Almost three hours had passed while they worked. Once all were satisfied that their task was completed Sam had them form up in rank, shouldering their wrecking tools and, accompanied by a fifer, they marched back into town then quietly dispersed and went home.

Evidently Aaron also went home but not to the same town as the men he had worked with. Where he woke was in his own bedroom next to his lovely partner Chrystal. Aaron turned and grabbed his note pad and started writing down what he had experienced in his dream. He was convinced it wasn't just a dream and he had been at one of the first acts of rebellion by the New England Colonist. This minor destructive act began a long violent confrontation against the rule of King George and England's taxation without any colonist representation.

Aaron made a promise to himself that if and when he became that history teacher, make that an American History Teacher, his first lesson would be about the Boston Tea Party and the Sons of Liberty who planned and made that rebellious act happen.

Chrystal didn't have any trouble dealing with Aaron and the smile he now wore no matter what was going on. She realized his career choice, with a clear goal in mind, made it a real pleasure to live with him no matter where or when he was in time. His mom was also exhibiting a smile now when they talked about dreams and traveling in the same breath. This visit had been the best for all of them, burdens lifted, husband more appreciated and son enlightened with a bright future or past ahead.

# Chapter 19

## Search for his dad

His days were filled with classes and part time work, while his nights were filled with dreams of the past and evidently he was going physically to those places during his dreams. It was having an effect on his health, leaving his eyes shadowed and hollowed, as if he were burning the candle at both ends and in all respects, he was.

Surprisingly his demeanor was not being affected so much as to cause any apparent attitude changes. Maybe he was just applying some type of mental power to hold things together, thereby putting even more stress on his whole body.

Chrystal was worried about him but refrained from saying anything so as to avoid friction between the two of them. She held out for weeks until she could no longer simply stand by and watch the man she loved burn himself out the way he was.

"Honey, I was thinking maybe we should get away for a couple of days. I'm exhausted and, with your hectic schedule, I'm sure you are to." She danced around the subject she was most concerned with and lumped both his and her endeavors together hopefully making her suggestion more creditable to him.

"I honestly believe you are clairvoyant. I have been turning things over in my head as to how I should broach the subject with you about taking a break from work and school." Aaron plopped into his favorite chair and favored his beautiful fiancée with a loving smile. "Any suggestion on what we can do or where we can go, I am open for anything as long as it doesn't involve school or work."

"Well, taking a break would definitely not involve those two items. We need to get as far away from those as possible, at least for a short period." Chrystal and Aaron's mother had been discussing this, back and forth on the phone, for days now. They were still unsure on the best avenue to approach what they both thought was best for him. Maybe, using their tight budget, and their time available for travel, might limit the choices down to only one, the one they each hoped for.

"We could ask Mom for advice, she has traveled quite a bit and may have some thoughts on the subject," Aaron suggested unexpectedly.

"Good, ok real good, we can call your mom. I'm sure she will have some suggestions for us." How she got him to this preplanned point of calling his mother she had no clue. It was now his idea and that's all she was after, the rest was up to Aaron's mom, Janice Conroy.

"Hey Mom, what's going on in your neck of the woods?" Aaron asked when his mom came on the line.

"Hi honey, not doing anything just kind of vegetating for the next week or so," Aaron's mom replied.

"We have a few days break and we need to get away, get out of Dodge so to speak and we were wondering if you might have an idea of where we could go, you know, with our limited budget?"

"I know the perfect place, free room and board, travel time is not too much of a factor and the people there love to have visitors."

"Free room and board? Have you been in the booze closet or something? The only people who give free room and board usually turn out to be relatives, is this place filled with relatives?"

"Not filled, there is only one relative there. Why don't you guys come up here for a few days, I promise I won't bother you too much?"

"Chrystal's nodding her head and I guess that makes two votes for your suggestion and with the addition of my vote, it is unanimous. Ok, remember, you asked for this and in just a few hours we will be gracing your doorstep, hope you are ready for us."

"Oh I'm ready and this will make me happy as a clam, can't wait to see you guys soon and in person." Janice Conroy said then hung up the phone. Aaron envisioned her going about the house making sure things were just right for their visit.

The sun was preparing to hide behind the nearby hills by the time they reached his mom's house. The country setting she had lived in since Aaron was five broadcast serenity from every nook and cranny. It wasn't some elaborate fanfare on their arrival but his mom was out of the house in a flash with hugs and kisses for both of her loved ones. This welcoming far exceeded the flags and bugles one would see used during some VIP state visit.

"Thank you darlings, thank both of you for agreeing to come see me, the telephone just isn't enough, ever so often I need something physical, it's the only way I can survive the times you are away."

"Us too Mom, we agree, your hugs and kisses are the best, they're sweeter and more welcome than ice cream and cake." Chrystal said as she hugged Mrs. Conroy while a tear trickled down her cheek. She could feel some of her concerns for Aaron's health begin to shift to the shoulders of his mom and she knew that it's a little less burdensome on a person when worries are shared with another loved one.

"Come, come on in, speaking of cake and ice cream I have just that on tap for you both, follow me to the kitchen." Mrs. Conroy led the way in through the front room into the smell of a freshly baked cake, accompanied by the aroma of coffee perking on a nearby counter, there in her country styled roomy kitchen.

"You are too much, you didn't have to do this, thank you Mom it is great to be here you always make us feel so welcome."

"That's because you are, silly, and it's no problem as I love cake too so actually this was for me."

Catching up was easy and the topics were varied. Once the new stuff had been devoured, as well as the ice cream and cake, Aaron's thoughts went to the one who wasn't present and he had to talk about him.

"Dad loved this place, he thought it was the best thing he had ever done, I'll never forget how happy he was when he bought this and moved out here."

"Oh you know it, we were both on cloud nine. I wouldn't trade anything for the short time we had out here and those wonderful memories are what keeps me going and staying right here. Everywhere I look and everything I touch brings a reminiscences that leaves a song in my heart. Sometimes it is a sad song and the loss is staggering but that only lasts for a few moments. The total experience, out here with your dad, trumps anything melancholy and those things change the tempo of the music and, in the end, actually lifts my spirits." Janice Conroy smiled and the look she gave Aaron lasted a lot longer than planned causing a sudden catch in her breath. Janice Conroy realized that Aaron with his sunken eyes, now in his mid twenties, was the spitting image of her late husband during the last few months of his life.

Aaron rose and took a seat near his mom and took her hand. "You ok Mom?" he said and accepted the nod she returned. "My memories are also very strong and I know we both suffered so much when we lost dad. Tomorrow I plan to walk the paths dad and I took when we explored the surrounding forest. I think it will really take a load off my mind. I want to take time so I can reflect on how it was when we first moved out here. I want to remember how we enjoyed our new home far from the busy city streets where we had begun."

Janice rose and picked up the small cake plates they had used and placed them in the dishwasher. Chrystal was right behind her adding the now empty coffee cups. Janice covered the left over cake and then opened the fridge sliding the covered pan onto a shelf and into an open area then closed the door. She looked at the clock and said, "I don't know about you two but it has been a long day for me and I think I will say good night if that is ok with you guys."

"Great idea, I am exhausted and looking forward to a good night's sleep myself. We will see you early tomorrow morning, thanks again Mom for having us up on a short notice, you're the best," Aaron said and gave his mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night Mom, I love you," Chrystal added and followed with similar affectionate hugs and kisses adding her own heartfelt love and thanks toward Aaron's mom.

Aaron and Chrystal took a look around to make sure all was as it should be then made their way upstairs looking forward to a good night's sleep.

# Chapter 20

## On the street where we lived

Knowing where he was wasn't a problem, he recognized the building immediately and neither the house number nor the street name were necessary, he knew his early childhood home there on a street in Waverly City. Understanding when he was now, that was another thing and something he would have to find out somehow and if previous exploits were any indication, it would have to be soon.

Production year of vehicles in the area were clues but since people in this neighborhood kept their cars a lot longer than the norm, their production year wasn't a definite, set in concrete, non reputable or solid answer to any of his questions.

He didn't think it a good idea to stand here and gawk at this place for any length of time as it might cause him to become a person of interest by the neighbors and he didn't want that. Until he could fathom why he was here at this particular time it was important that no one interfere and cause him to abruptly leave before those facts were established.

Aaron turned and walked down the sidewalk in a direction he knew very well. It was a short stroll and he was soon inside the city park, the walk taking less than half an hour to complete. Numerous individuals, mostly mothers, were present within the playground area supervising their young children who were climbing, sliding and swinging, using different pieces of the available playground equipment. A couple of those ladies were preparing lunch using the park's picnic tables as they multitasked, simultaneously monitoring the children.

Aaron watched for only a minute then left the playground area and walked over to the center of the park and stood by the fountain that marked that spot. Some skateboarders were doing some practice jumps using small movable wooden ramps they had probably constructed at their homes and brought with them. They had placed them on the sidewalk beside that concrete structure and were now taking turns doing jumps on them. The age and activity of one of the boys doing jumps was no less than a memory from his very childhood. The memory was so clear but he didn't understand it, that is, until he himself, as a five year old, made a run at that wooden ramp with his beloved Star Wars skateboard.

Well, there was no doubt about when he was now. Aaron jerked around and almost answered the shout of "Aaron!" coming from a distance behind him. The young skateboarder did answer that beckoned call and hustled off toward Aaron's dad who had come to the edge of the park to pick up his young son. To say the whole thing was traumatic would be understating the facts as Aaron was of course stunned and the severity was more than he was expecting. He quickly found a table and sat before his knees gave out and left him laid out on the manicured surface of this small beautiful park. Seeing his dad alive again, even from a distance, was just a little mind boggling and had left him immovable for a few moments.

Most of Aaron's travels into his past were brought on by a situation that could have caused him or another some possible harm. This time it seemed like that was not the case, maybe he was just here reliving a pleasant memory that was just that, a pleasant memory with no strings attached, anyway he hoped there were no strings.

Aaron's repose lasted for just a moment then with his strength returning he rose and, while keeping some distance between them, he followed his dad and his young self back to the house they lived in. He again found himself gawking at the house looking like some strange tourist that had found an unusual point of interest. The moment quickly evaporated and Aaron turned and almost hurried away as if on some urgent business venture.

Aaron was well rested and it was evident as he poked fun at Chrystal as they got dressed then, holding hands, made their way downstairs to join Mom for an early breakfast. "Good morning," they both said as they came into the kitchen.

The greeting was returned with a generous smile by Janice Conroy. She pointed at the coffee pot as she asked, "Coffee?"

"Please, black for both of us," Chrystal said as she took a stool at the kitchen's island facing Mrs. Conroy. "Wow, did you make these?" she asked as she indicated the blueberry muffins stacked on the small tray in the center of the counter.

"Made them this morning, go ahead have one or two," Janice said as she poured the coffee for all.

They did have a couple of muffins each declining anything else. They promised to join Mrs. Conroy for an early lunch after they had spent a couple hours hiking the waiting trails in the nearby forest. On their way out they grabbed a couple of water bottles before they left.

It was quite a walk and some of the trail he had used as a boy were now overgrown and very difficult to navigate. Surprisingly the log that spanned the gorge was still in place but time had changed its appearance. The surface was now smooth and slippery due to the deterioration and loss of its surface bark that had been present when he was young. That bark had made a huge difference in confidence given to the steps of a young explorer.

"Well I don't know, the log still looks sturdy and it is certainly large enough so I think it will be safe to cross," Aaron said after he had squatted down and checked the sawed end of the large log. The rings indicating years of growth were still quite evident and the end of the log actually felt quite solid to his touch. "The log's protruding limbs I use to grab when crossing are still present but I don't know if they are trustworthy so maybe it is best to avoid any real dependence on them."

"Ok, so it isn't a tightrope but it is still a balancing act when one is out there," Chrystal said as she stared at the daunting obstacle blocking their path.

"Well, this is where your ballet lessons will come in handy."

"I'm not the one who had ballet lessons, that my dear was you," Chrystal fired back at Aaron followed by a girlish giggle.

"Yeah, you are right that was me, I try to forget that. Thanks for reminding me and don't ask me to tell you anything else about my youth."

Aaron moved around to the end of the log on this side of the chasm and pointed, "come here and take a look at this gash right out there in the side of the log, that's where that boulder brushed against it back when I first had a visit from my future."

"Oh man, that scar there proves that you would have been toast if you had been out on this log when that boulder made contact. You are one lucky bug. A visit from the future by your future self saved you from possible harm and I can totally see that but, the whole idea of time travel still absolutely blows me away. If I had not experience one of those visits myself I would not have believed they were actually possible but, being there and being a participant is one way to convince a reluctant person of someone else's strange almost mystic ability."

"Wooooo, now I'm a mystic," Aaron said and they both had a laugh.

Shaky yes, did it anyway, yes. The crossing had been accomplished both ways and now they were headed back toward the house. They held hands as they walked but were silent as they were both emerged in their own individual thoughts.

Chrystal finally broke the silence, "Thank you for sharing your woods with me, I can see why you and your dad spent a lot of time out here, it is absolutely beautiful, frighteningly quiet and the air, it is just so refreshing."

"I thank you again my lady, it is easy for me to share things with you. These woods are where dad and I really came to life and, excuse the cliché, we totally bonded for sure for sure," Aaron was smiling as he said in his best Valley Girl imitation.

# Chapter 21

## Back to the Rat Race

The few days out in the country seemed to pump life back into Aaron. The hollowness had left his face and he actually walked with a little spring in his step. Chrystal was more than pleased with the results obtained and she now had to find a way to prevent any return of that deterioration now that he would be back to his normal routine.

Aaron did not hide the fact that he continued searching for the cause of his dad's death. He did promised to try to keep things on a level that would not again permit or allow the draining of his vitality, while he continued his search.

The first week back was void of any type of dream. Aaron was beginning to wonder if maybe the return to the places he and his dad had explored had somehow short circuited his ability to travel in his dream or to even dream at all. That idea was scrapped late one Sunday evening. He and Chrystal had shared a nice bottle of Chianti along with the late dinner of pasta she had requested and had delivered from Buca di Beppo, a super Italian eat in or take out family style restaurant.

The last small pieces of bread they both grabbed were dipped in the residual sauce left in the main serving dish. They battled each other for those last remaining succulent drops. Once the battle was over, they placed the small dripping pieces in their mouths, then each washed those last bites down with a sip of wine. They cleared the dishes and utensils placing them in the dishwasher and trashed the disposable containers left over from that delivery.

With the dinner eaten and the clean up finished Chrystal headed to bed, tomorrow came early and Monday's classes were demanding for both. Aaron promised her he would be up shortly but he wanted to look over a few of the notes his dad had recorded and kept, detailing his travels.

The notes were well written and the places he had gone were well defined. Aaron looked for any repeat ventures, places he may have visited more than once. He also kept an eye out for any hint of trouble or danger that his dad might have experienced. Nothing leaped out at him but he was sure that somewhere and at sometime his dad had run into a problem that may have cost him his life.

Sleep crept up on him before he realized it, the dreams returned as he lay there sprawled on the couch amongst the notes he had been reading.

There was a slight chill in the air and the subdued lighting told of twilight. Aaron looked around and realized he was in that park again just a short walk from his early childhood home. The park was empty at this time of day and the quiet was so noticeable it was almost palatable and Aaron had to speak out loud at least one word just to make sure he wasn't deaf and that he could still actually hear, "hello!" he said to no one but hearing it with his own ears somewhat reassured him.

Aaron saw the man coming from the direction of his childhood house and by the gentleman's gate he knew he was about to meet his dad again and this time face to face. He had no idea how this would affect him but he stood there while his dad walked right up to him then stopped.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? I saw you earlier and you were watching my son here at the park and you followed us home, do we have a problem or something?" Mike Conroy sternly asked, "do I need to call someone in authority out here or what?"

"That won't be necessary, I think I can explain my appearance here to your satisfaction," Aaron motioned for them to take a seat at the picnic table nearby.

"Ok, this had better be good as I plan to protect my family and I will protect them at all cost."

"I believe you and of that I have no doubt but believe me I am no threat to you or yours," Aaron held up his hand and then continued, "the reason I specified explaining my appearance to your satisfaction was because very few people would understand what I am about to say."

"Well whatever you tell me it had better be good."

"I'm from the future, I'm...

Mike Conroy rose and turned back toward his home and started to walk that way.

"It's me, I'm your son Aaron, I'm here from the future the year of 2016."

Mike Conroy stopped and turned around and walked back to stand by the picnic table near Aaron. "What makes you think that I would believe something so farfetched?"

"I know about your dreams and the notes you keep about them, Mom gave them to me in 2016 which is the current year I live in."

"My notes, I wouldn't let her do that, those are private," Mike was shaking his head as he said this, "she doesn't even have them, I have them hidden but I will give you the fact that I do write those dreams down afterwards."

"Would you sit back down and give me a chance to convince you of this?" Aaron had risen and waved his dad back toward the picnic table, "give me a chance to prove it, come on, please, it's important."

"Against my better judgment I'll give you a few minutes but I know you're wasting my time and yours, there is no way you could be telling me the truth." Mike sat back down at the table and stared at Aaron as if he were trying to see some resemblance to his young son.

"Ok thanks, you are Mike Conroy and you live up the street about a thirty minute walk from here. Your wife's name is Janice and your son is about five years old," Aaron paused then asked, "what is today's date?"

"Like you don't know the date, ha ha, is that suppose to convince me?"

"Humor me, what is the year and today's date?"

"April 18, 1995, now you are up to date and you can continue to enlighten me with your version of the truth," Mike sarcastically said.

"Ok, ok, no problem I will, yes, that makes sense, so this is that summer, lots of things happening this particular year for you. First thing, I know you will be moving to the country this summer as you must have just closed a deal on some property so you could get out of the city. That property is next to a forest where you plan to teach me about hiking and exploring things out in the woods."

"Hold it, how did you know that, no one knows that but my realtor and me, I haven't even told Janice yet. Hey wait a minute, are you some type of private investigator or maybe a government spy, what's the deal here, are you investigating me or what?"

"I told you I am Aaron, I'm from the future and I have the same ability you have, I can actually physically travel to the past in my dreams and that is why I am here."

"Dreams, yes it is true, I do have powerful very detailed dreams about a lot of different places but I don't actually go anywhere, they are just dreams."

"Au Contraire my friend, you may not know it but you actually go to where you dream about and so do I, it's hereditary." Aaron paused for a moment then asked, "look, if you were me and I was you, how would you convince me that you are who you say you are?"

"You want me to convince myself?"

"Bear with me here, I'm sure I can answer any and all questions you might have about your young son, about myself. If I continue to ask the questions you might never be convinced simply because I would be in control of the subject I ask about. Now if you asked about the things you know and lived thru, there is no way I could predict or prepare for these personal questions of yours."

To Aaron's surprise Mike actually took over the interview and for the next hour he asked questions that no one would know the answer too unless he was who he said he was. Mike finally ran out of steam with the final question, "ok, one more question, did anything happen here at this park, you know, something that would leave a lasting impression on you?"

"Well, I spent a lot of time playing here, you want something that left a lasting impression." One could tell that Aaron was really concentrating hoping to come up with the answer his dad was looking for. "A lasting impression, oh, ok, I used to swing as high as I could on those swings over there and at maximum swing height I would bailout and try to land the best I could. I was absolutely the best at it and always landed safely, well that is except this one time. I was at maximum swing height came out of my seat as I planned but the chain of the swing unexpectedly wrapped around my arm cut my elbow and pulled my arm out of its socket. There was blood everywhere and the pain was almost unbearable. You helped me, you unwrap that chain and you took your shirt off, ripped it up and tied it around my arm stopping the bleeding."

"At the hospital the doctor patched you up with twelve stitches and he put your arm back in the socket without any major problems, he was sure there wouldn't be any lasting effect. You used those stitches getting more than enough sympathy to last anyone a life time. All of your friends were in awe of that little row of black stitches, calling you Young Frankenstein." Mike looked at the elbow that Aaron was holding out, the scar was still evident although faded a little, as it should be for someone twenty years or so later, "I remember saying, 'whoa, that's going to leave a scar', when it happened."

# Chapter 22

## Back to the Future

They spent another hour at the park, some of it was simply sitting there, each deep in his own thoughts but enjoying the other's company sometimes without the necessity of words. Scheduling any additional meetings was of course out of the question as Aaron could not predict a return engagement because he had little control on when or if he would dream the right dream again. He of course promised he would do his best to come back if he could. Mike Conroy hoped it would be soon and he shook Aaron's hand and reluctantly said goodbye and headed home.

The smile on his face was certainly an unexpected bonus and Chrystal was beside herself relishing her husband's cheerful demeanor as she finished the coffee preparation. "What would you like for breakfast sweetheart?"

"Good morning my sweet Chrystal, I think a stack of pancakes are in order, I am famished," Aaron pulled her into a bear hug and added a good morning kiss, "I feel like a new man," Aaron swung her around in a short dance before he released her and took a stool at the kitchen island.

Moving behind that island, Chrystal turned the griddle on and grabbed the instant pancake mix from the cupboard. "What has you in such a welcomed, cheerful, loving and unusually happy mood?"

"Me?, what?, I'm just my normal everyday self. Was I that bad this last month or so?" Aaron asked as he animatedly gestured with his hands.

Stirring the pancake mixture Chrystal replied, "as a matter of fact you were a little difficult to live with. Now, you have to tell me the reason for your cheerfulness?"

"I spent last night with my dad in the park where I used to play as a young boy."

"Shut the front door, are you serious? It's no wonder you are flying so high. I've got to hear all about this, no, no, wait, after breakfast. I want to hear about this without any interruption so just hold your thoughts, hey, did you write this all down?"

"First thing I did when I woke, you know that is my routine and I don't plan to change it."

Chrystal had a hard time not rushing through her breakfast as the lure Aaron had inadvertently placed on the table was like a mermaid's siren call, hard to ignore or push aside.

After breakfast Aaron retrieved his notes and brought Chrystal up to date on all that had happened during his latest dream. He didn't actually need the notes, as once he had written things down the episode was entrenched in his memory, every scrap could be recalled verbatim.

To prevent any return to a rundown condition, Aaron guarded his time in all facets of his day's activities. The week days were busy, classes were attended, homework was done and baseball practice gave him the exercise his body needed. Sleep was a priority he scheduled religiously to guarantee a minimum of six hours rest each night. He understood that a portion of that sleep would be spent traveling to wherever his dreams sent him but that was the cross he must bear because of his ability. Aaron didn't neglect Chrystal although she too was a busy person. They saved their weekends for each other and they were sticklers on the use of those two days, avoiding school and work or anything that might keep them apart.

"Hey Franklin, why are you still here? I was sure you would be on that beach with that cold libation and enjoying your retirement?" Aaron asked when Franklin Wald answered Aaron's knock.

"I'm still in the planning stages for that adventure, now, what are you doing here, are you checking up on me?"

"I think I need your help, I have a real problem that I need to solve and it requires me to be able to go back in the past."

"You already have that ability in fact you went out of your way to prove it to me."

"You are right of course, I went directly to the exact place I needed to go and thereby proved my ability to you."

"Ok, the answer you just gave tells me you don't need any help you already have everything you need to go where you want."

"I've been thinking that over and I have found that my dreams are haphazard and the destinations that come up now are random at best."

"But you said you could go to the exact spot you wanted, has that changed?"

"In a way it may have and I have spent some time addressing that single pinpointing topic. I actually think I had some help with that particular part of my ability and I need to find out where that help came from. There is only one thing missing from my life right now and that is your class and the use of that isolation machine. I may be wrong but I believe that machine enabled me to completely clear my mind and this allowed me to, not only, pin point a destination for my dreams but it allowed me to actually go to that point."

"That thing actually worked, you are jerking my chain."

"Well I may be but until I am completely satisfied that the machine has no effect on my ability I can't and I won't let it rest," Aaron looked around and asked, "you do still have that chamber, don't you?"

"I don't have it here, not enough room, it's in a storage unit. I didn't think I would need it but since there is no real market for the sale of this item, I simply stored it."

"I never asked before but how heavy is that chamber and what does it take to put that back into operation?"

"Well, It's not very big and not that heavy as there is little machinery involved mostly sound proofing installation. You will still need some space and a 220 volt source for power."

"220 volt power, that's like a hook up for a electric clothes dryer, right?"

"The same, are you thinking about putting this thing back into service? If so, have you any idea where you might do this, I no longer have a lease on that building we used for our classes."

"I haven't thought this through but I wanted to make sure this machine was still available in case I decide to pursue this avenue," Aaron paused thinking about where he could place the chamber and have power available. "I think I might be allowed to place this unit on our small back porch. I could run a power cord up through a window into the laundry room tapping the same plug the dryer use." Aaron animated the action of putting the electric power cord through a window to the source. "However, I'll have to check with our apartment management to see if there are any restrictions before I can even think about how I'll be able to accomplish something like that."

"Keep me in the loop as you go, I'm not going anywhere so I'll be able to help with whatever you decide."

It took a few days to catch the one individual the office pointed him too before he could broach his question. Once asked he knew he would have to accept the answer. The old rule of 'Easier to get forgiveness than to get permission,' would be out the window literally was on his mind as he went ahead and asked. As he feared his idea to use the back porch was, of course, turned down by the management. The individual he talked too did not make the decision individually, he took it to the apartment management board and let them decide. It was several days later he received the letter that squelched his idea of using their apartment porch.

"Hey coach Morgan, you got a moment?" Aaron asked at the end of baseball practice.

"Sure Aaron, what's on your mind?" Coach Morgan asked.

"This is going to sound strange but I would like to add something to our weight room. I've already checked and there is plenty of room and access for it."

"Some weight machine or special exercise piece?"

"That's what will sound strange, it's neither one of those. It's an isolation machine that I used in one of my classes and it seem to really help me focus on things, I think it might help any team member who would like to use it."

"Can I see this, this isolation machine, is it around here someplace?"

"I don't believe that will be a problem, I'll contact Franklin Wald, my retired teacher, he has the machine in a storage unit here in the city. I'll call you and set up a convenient time for both of you and we can go take a look see."

After seeing the chamber and checking out where Aaron would like to set it up, coach Morgan agreed to give this idea a chance, a kind of trial period of sorts. One of the things Aaron was concerned about was actually eliminated with the choice of locations for the chamber. With it coming to the university and being used by the ball players it was only reasonable that the ball players would get together and move it and set it up in the weight room. Removing one of the many dryers that were available in the uniform and towel laundry room gave them a ready source of power.

# Chapter 23

## Sherlock Holmes would be proud

Some of the team actually used the chamber and thought it was somewhat helpful in their ability to focus during fielding and batting practice. The majority could not honestly vouch for the use as having any verifiable benefit. Aaron, however, found it most helpful and he gave himself an hour a day during the weekdays to completely emerge himself in isolation. Removing all forms of sight and sound allowed him to process things without outside interference and, as far as he was concerned, each episode got an A-plus grade, positively aiding his ability to simply focus.

When Aaron found time, without robbing time from his studies, his baseball, his and Chrystal's weekends or his sleep, he poured over the notes left by his dad. He felt the answer to his dad's death were contained in these notes and he was sure that if he just used the dedication and determination that a good detective would attribute, maybe the answer would soon become evident.

Chrystal placed a index card on the large posting board she and Aaron had set up in the spare room. "I sure hope we don't have an unexpected visit from your mom as it would take a while to rearrange this room in some reasonable usable order."

The bed had been disassembled with the framework stuck in the room's large closet. The mattress and box spring now stood on end against the wall opposite the window that looked out on the street that ran East to West and fronted the apartment.

"I would expect that Mom would call before she came to see us, she's not in the habit of just popping in," Aaron supplied. "Put these two pages with that index card, pin the card on top of them." He watched as she pulled the pin and then replaced it on the board on top of the two pages, "ok, that's good."

They arranged the notes and separated them into four different groups based on the dreams location each dealt with or when the travel at least referencing occurring at the same location. They had also, with the clues available in those pages, put those notes from his dad in some rudimentary sequential order. Each group headed by times and dates noted on these index cards pinned on the board on top of those pages.

"This is kind of fun and I wouldn't even mind doing this on some of our weekends. We would still be doing things together like on our menu but it would be dealing with investigating and doing this research," Chrystal said as she took another index card and thumb tacked it, with a couple pages of notes, to the poster board display.

"I thank you again my lady but I hope we can do this in our spare time and not have to interfere with any of our weekends."

"Well ok but just keep that option in mind in case you think we might need it later."

Aaron had been doing the chamber thing for over a month now and he seemed healthy and happy with the routine he had set up. He had purposely avoided the poster board layout and reading his dad's notes for the last two weeks. He wanted to give the isolation chamber a little more time to completely clear his mind. Maybe then when he decided to delve back into those notes he could lock down a preferred time and date for a trip.

His dad's notes weren't the only thing Aaron had set aside, he had also refrained from reading about American History, his most ardent and revered subject. His dreams lately were evidently just dreams and they were not noteworthy nor did he suspect any involved travel so he hadn't made any notes on them.

"Tonight I am going to do an in depth review of my dad's last notes and if all systems work, as they have in the recent past, I may take a trip later this evening, what do you think about that?" Aaron hesitantly asked.

"Well it is about time, I know it has been on your mind these last few nights and I was wondering if I should say something to encourage you. Glad you took that option from me and count me on board, I am with you all the way."

"I want you to know that you and your support are the reasons I can attempt this and I again owe you everything."

They poured over the notes and discussed the locations his dad had written about. They chose the place he had evidently traveled to several times during his last couple of years. Why his dad had made sure he knew when he was, the time and date was not unusual to Aaron as Aaron had also sought out that information right away when he traveled. They both evidently assumed it was paramount to protecting themselves, if questioned by authority, not knowing when you were could get you thrown into a nut house and interrupt your visit.

Sleep was a little difficult as Aaron's emotions were in a definite flux causing him to toss and turn long after he had gone to bed. When sleep finally came it was so deep that REM was extreme and, laying there beside him through it all, Chrystal could only watch. His violent eye movement set her nerves on end and knowing that he might be somewhere else, chasing a dream, didn't help in the least.

He wasn't sure but there was little doubt about being in an alley and the whiff from the nearby garbage cans accentuated the location. The wind was blowing fairly strong, lifting some of the loose paper trash and carrying it down toward the street that was visible at the alley's end. A loose newspaper blew against his legs and wrapped around both seemingly glued there in place. Aaron removed the paper, wadded it up and tossed it to the side where the wind picked it up and started to roll it down the alley. He suddenly had a second thought and chased the paper grabbing it before it got too far. He unfolded it, opened it up and read the date at the top of one of the pages.

Now he was sure he knew the year but the day may have been different than the one he read on the paper's page. He had no idea how long a page would last out here in this environment so that page may not be today's paper but it would certainly have to be the current year and, more than likely, the current month.

The year on the paper, 1995, tracked with the notes he had been reading so Aaron was pretty sure this must also be the location his dad had written about. Just to be sure he needed to get out on the street and somehow check things out.

The street sign across from the alley read Main Street. That wasn't the name he was looking for as there were too many cities that had named the street in the center of town as Main Street or Main Avenue. Aaron on a whim turned left and walked to the first cross street to see if that would clue him in on where he was. Fourteenth Street was prominently displayed on that cross street's sign. This was not a lot of help. This only told him that he may be on one of the center streets of town, being on Main Street, but he was fourteen streets off the actual town center, that is, if First Street was the name given to the center's cross street as per usual.

Since these street signs hadn't helped, he made another left and walked down Fourteenth Street to the next intersection to see what street paralleled Main Street. Orange Grove Ave was a clue that left little doubt as to where he was. This street was named Orange Grove because if you followed it out of town, on either end, you would see field after field of orange orchards. Aaron also knew that the next cross street on Fourteenth was Wine Manor Blvd., no, it did not mean there was a wine vineyard at each end, it was just a name, Aaron wasn't sure why.

The location was now assured, he was back in Waverly City sometime in 1995. All he had to find out now was a couple of things. First thing he needed to find out was why he was here, second he needed to know if his dad was also here and third, if he was, why was his dad here.

# Chapter 24

## Where the boys are

Mike Conroy stood unseen as he watched the truck backing up in front of the building that was under construction. The beep, beep of the truck's backup alarm was clearly heard above the other construction noises that accompanied the routine work around the site of this new building. The backup alarm was only meant to alert workers of some equipment's unusual direction of movement. "A new library, that's one building our town really needed," Mike said quietly to himself. "I wonder if there will be anyone working late this evening, I'll come back a little later and see."

He made his way over to the park deciding to hang out there until the lights came on in and around town. The walk was refreshing and the lack of pedestrians out at this time of day was normal for the early eighties. He walked by the bank which provided him with the current time and date. This building would not be completed for another few months. You would think the designing engineer would have found the time to visit and observe construction at least once during that period, however, sad but true he had not. Too many irons in the fire, his time was not his own so once he had delivered his completed blueprints he let all of his other responsibilities to this construction simply fall to the wayside.

He sat at a picnic table and reflected on that building's future. This two story construction would have to last for years and, although the city was quite large, the town's budget was always monetarily strapped especially for big projects like this one. He should have been more attentive and made numerous visits, if for no other reason than his name was on those blueprints. Those signed prints would make him the solo target and scapegoat if things happen to go south for some unexplained reason.

Now being back here, checking on the construction in his dream would not give him absolute construction validation but, it might ease his mind a little when he woke. Mike Conroy as yet did not really understand that he was actually here in the park and that he was also probably at home or at work in another part of town. He still thought this was just a dream, that is, until Aaron Conroy quietly sat down beside him..

"Holy shit, you scared me." Mike jumped up and backed up a little then said, "oh good grief it's you, the adult Aaron, you're here with me again and this time in my dream, this can't be possible?" Mike said flatly refusing to accept this as fact.

"Hi dad, it's good to see you again. Oh, and by the way, this isn't a dream, you are really here and I came here to find you," Aaron assured him. "Just what are you doing here?"

"This is so confusing, I have to be losing my mind there simply is no other explanation."

"Hang in there dad, I need you to go with the flow here, this is all real and we have to somehow get you on past this doubt you have about the possibility of time travel," Aaron said as he laid his hand on his dad's shoulder thinking that normally it would be his dad encouraging him. "It's imperative that we bridge this gap between dream and reality."

"It's so flipping foreign and so difficult to accept," Mike lowered and slowly shook his head, "I'm not sure I can get around this, this reluctance I have to accept this dream of mine as reality."

"I don't mean to be brutal but, you have to get on board, your actual life may hang in the balance and, to keep you absolutely safe, we have to face that up front."

"What are you talking about, my life may hang in the balance?"

"I'm going to be blunt about this so here goes, your life is in danger. Actually, you really died in early 1997 and apparently you died in your dreams. The reason you died, even after an extensive autopsy, could not be determined by the coroner. I just found out from Mom that your death certificate listed 'Cause of Death Unknown' as the result of the Coroner's findings."

"So, I'm literally a dead man walking, walking in a dream?"

"Hey, farfetched right? Don't give up the ghost just yet. I'm here now and so far you're not dead so let's keep a positive attitude, you know, that's what you were always telling me when something didn't go as I'd planned."

"What am I doing here you asked? This building, the one over there under construction, has been on my mind lately and I guess that's why I'm here. I did the blueprints and drawings and, to clear my conscious, I have to know if the contractors actually followed the prints and did it like I had written it," Mike indicated the building by pointing at the area that held some basic metal framework of a building under construction.

"I don't understand, wasn't that part of the job during the time of the actual construction or am I missing something?"

"No, it's not you that missed something, it was me. I was so busy with several projects that, for so many reasons, I kept putting this particular job on the back burner until it was too late. I didn't even get to check for the rudimentary things like the foundation preparation, the footing depth of the main pillars or the mortar mixture used for the strength and expected compaction of the brick walls that give it its quiet studious appearance."

"Wow, that is a load to carry, now for how many years?"

"About 10 years now and there weren't many weeks that went by that my thoughts didn't occasionally reflect on my failure."

"I knew you were the architect of that building but I didn't know about your missing out on part of the job. Well, for your information, I always just accepted that building as what it was, a comfortable well done library and I did an essay on that particular structure for high school. It is one of my favorite places and I love the look of the place."

"Thanks for the accolades but outward appearance is sometimes deceptive and, as an engineer, I am more than normally aware of the possible shortcuts and money saving steps that allow some contractors leeway to save on cost. This is what gives some of the shady contractors and sub-contractors the ability to low bid a job and still bring it in with a profit."

"Ok, let's go take a look at things so far."

"Not yet, I want to make sure all workers have left before we go and wander around."

For the next hour or so they sat and talked. Aaron told his dad about going back and protecting himself when he was just a youngster, nothing was left out. He told about the dangerous crossing of the log, the baseball game lightning, the shooting at the theater and the blown out tire that ended in a blazing auto fire.

"Those early things that happened were just unexpected accidents, the theater shooting and the blown out tire were suspect of having some underlining sources and maybe they were not accidents."

"Are you kidding, you think someone is after you?"

"I haven't taken it that far yet, it just seems strange that someone would selectively shoot up the seats we had so recently vacated. Maybe, just maybe the shooter had targeted where we were sitting and went away until the lights were extinguish before acting. He did not know we had exited the theater and he assumed we were still in those seats when he or she fired at them."

"What about the blown out tire?

"Well, that's a little different, I thought I had heard two blowout noises when that tire went and I thought there might have been another cause that made the tire go. The fire destroyed all the evidence and any chance of investigating that idea actually went up in smoke."

"Well, I believe it is a little farfetched to consider that as an attack on you, maybe it was just what it seemed, a blow out."

Aaron changed tactics but continued talking as he brought his dad up to date on his school and how he found out that he actually time traveled when he was asleep and dreaming. He told him about the investment he made for Mr. Wald and how that played out. He recounted his conversations with Janice, his mom, and how he convinced her of his ability. A large portion of the info Aaron relayed was very hard for Mike to accept. Mike, on the other hand, really had no choice but to take what Aaron was telling him as hard fact, after all, his son was right here beside him as an adult when, just yesterday, he was only a young child barely seven.

Twilight had come and gone before the two noticed that it was now dark and the lights of town were the only thing that provided any illumination, some of it bleeding over into the park where they sat.

Standing up and looking around Mike said, "I think it will be deserted now, are you ready?"

"I hope we have time, sometimes my dreams are so short that I wake before I'm ready for it," standing up, Aaron joined his dad and they headed for the construction site.

# Chapter 25

## Tick tock, the gate's unlocked

"What's the matter, why are you waiting," Aaron asked as he looked around the outside and then in through the cyclone fence that surrounded the site.

"It's unlocked, the gate's unlocked."

"Great, we can easily get in then so, wait, the gate's unlocked and that's the hold up?"

"It's supposed to be locked all the time when there is no work going on, it prevents pilfering and ransacking of the site." Mike inspected the securing chain and the four numbered combination lock for any damage and found none.

Mike started to push the gate open when Aaron whispered, "Hold up, let's not barge in just yet, maybe we should back off and watch from a distance for awhile to see if anyone comes out or if there is any movement inside." Aaron lightly tugged on Mike's shirt as he softly spoke, "I don't want to be morbid but, just barging in here could have been the reason you were killed."

Mike turned around and gave Aaron an 'Are you serious look' but then he lowered the lock, letting it dangle from the chain and backed away from the gate.

Aaron whispered as he continued, "I'm just saying we shouldn't take any chances, can't afford to push our luck."

They moved out of the area and looked for a place where they could watch from something with some elevation that would give them a better view.

"Come on, I know a place that might give us a better overlook of this area."

Mike took Aaron on a circuitous route that ended up at the City Center Motel. Without hesitation he led the way into the lobby and as they passed by, heading toward the single building's elevator, he waved at the old gentleman behind the counter, "Hey Mr. Jones, you doing ok today?"

"Doing great, who's that you got with you today Mike?" Mr. Jones asked.

"Say hi to Aaron, he's a good friend of mine."

"Can do, hey Aaron. You checking the roof again Mike, we haven't had any leaks lately, although maybe that's because it hasn't rained lately either," Mr. Jones said with a laugh.

"Hey Mr. Jones, good to meet you," Aaron replied.

"You could be right about the lack of rain but I'm just doing a follow up, you know this fair weather we been having can cause some material to dry out and shrink causing cracks that could in the future allow water to get through." Mike pushed the button on the elevator as he said, "we shouldn't be too long." Mike stopped and walked back to the counter, "excuse me but do you have a set of binoculars I could borrow to use while I'm out on the roof?"

"I sure do," Mr. Jones went back into the office and came back with a very nice pair of Bushnell binoculars and handed them to Mike. "Take your time up there, it's real quiet today, I only got four rooms in use."

"Thanks Mr. Jones be back shortly,"

Aaron held the doors of the elevator open until Mike got back and got in then he let the doors close. They immediately felt the car start to slowly rise on its way toward the selected floor. The seventh button, indicating the top floor, was the only one lit.

"Mr. Jones didn't notice that you are ten years older than you were the last day you were in here and that was only a short time ago," Aaron said.

"Mr. Jones's eyesight is not what it used to be, it is now very poor. He goes by a person's voice mostly at least for the people he knows. I've been in here numerous times and sometimes I will say hi and he will respond by saying "Hi Mike" without turning around to see who it is. I knew he would just except me as who I should be and at whatever age I'm supposed to be without a second thought."

The doors slid open with a minor squeak once the car had come to a stop. Mike led the way to the steel ladder that led up to the hatch that allowed access to the roof. He climbed up and, holding his position at the top, he dialed the four numbered combination lock until it clicked open. He pushed the hatch up and over out of the way. He pocketed the lock and took it with him through the hatch and out onto the roof. Aaron quickly climbed up and joined him. They were now standing on a very flat roof that was somewhat cluttered with the building's cooling and heating systems.

The indirect route they had taken to get to the motel belied how near they still were to the area of the construction. "Dam, we are a lot closer to the site than I thought we would be, we can now look right down into that area unhampered. We might stand out up here so I suggest we try to keep a low profile while we check it out," Aaron suggested.

Aaron took his time and searched the area looking for any movement or activity but saw none. Mike used the binoculars doing the same thing but in more detail and a lot slower as he investigated areas that Aaron could not probe without optical assistance or an increase in illumination.

"Hold on, wait, ok, I don't think it was anything, flash of light maybe," Mike had raised his hand but now he slowly lowered it as he continued to search the area peering into the binoculars.

Aaron backed up and sat on the edge of one of the air handlers, he needed a break from the strain of trying to see something that evidently wasn't there or was hidden due to the darkness that had now followed the twilight.

"Oh crap, there is someone coming out now, I can see the beam of a flashlight as it jiggles like it's being held by someone walking and they're approaching the gate," Mike was zeroed in on the activity now. "He is reclosing the gate and attaching the lock and the beam from the flashlight is shining on the lock and his face, here take a look."

Aaron took the binoculars and stared at the man visible for only a very short time before the man lowered the light and shone it on the path leading away from the gate and the fence.

"Do you know who it is?" Aaron asked.

"I think I do, if I'm not mistaken, it is a young policeman, a rookie cop that had just joined the police force here in Waverly City, I think his name is William, maybe he's called Bill or something like that."

"OMG, I also know that face, well I might know that face, however, it is years older, about 21 years older.

The flashes of visions that passed before Aaron's eyes was hard to follow. The theater shooting, the blowout and car fire and the car hi-jacking all seemed to have the same individual, that same face almost hidden or just to the side of things always somewhere in the background, watching everything as things all went down. Aaron realized he was the target as he had evidently stirred up something that would cause this individual to put Aaron in the crosshairs of his weapon.

The only thing he could think of was that the construction of the library had something to do with this attack on his person, "We have to go down there and find out what that young cop was doing inside the construction site, he had no business there and, I'm thinking, what we might find may be imperative to our future well being."

Aaron woke and was very confused having no idea exactly when he was. He grabbed the pad that lay on the end table and read the last entry thereby determining the when he was. 2016 was at the end of the scribbled date of the last entry.

He grabbed his cell phone and turned it on and noted the date and time then jotted it down on the writing pad. He wrote fast as he recalled the dream and his meeting with his dad. The dream was so clear he was sure he would never forget it but to make sure he put it all in print, every detail had to be listed because, it was his last meeting with his dad and he didn't want to forget a thing. It took him almost an hour to finish the recording of those events, correcting minor writing errors as they occurred so it was almost pristine when he was finally satisfied and put the finishing touches on the info.

# Chapter 26

## Undoing a life time of memories

Aaron headed down for breakfast as he could smell the bacon odors that had spread out from the kitchen and somehow reached into the bedroom. The wonderful smell increased as he approached the kitchen where he heard movement noises and he heard someone humming.

"Good morning," Aaron said as he entered.

"Oh, hey, good morning, didn't hear you coming," Chrystal said as she turned to Aaron's salutation. "Hope you're hungry. I had the urge to fix everything, bacon, hash browns, eggs and, hey I even made your favorite, this monin' I made waffles, just like Donkey wanted to make in the animated movie 'Shrek'."

"Wow! You have outdone yourself, what is the occasions? You didn't wreck the car or something, did you?"

"Well there you go, you do something nice for someone and they think you have an ulterior motive." Chrystal held up the spatula in her hand as she continued, "for your information I just felt like doing something nice for a change and, since we will be up at your folks all next week, I needed to use up the things in the fridge that wouldn't be fresh when we returned."

"Mom is expecting us I guess?"

"Of course, they both are, we have been planning this for weeks, it's their 30th wedding anniversary and they are having quite the celebration, all their friends and relatives are coming in."

Aaron's knees went weak and he grabbed a chair and quickly sat down. His hands were shaking as he put them to his forehead trying to slow down the rush of memories that invaded and flooded his mind.

"Are you ok?" Chrystal said as she squatted beside him placing her hands on his shoulder. "What is it Aaron, can you hear me?"

Aaron held up a hand as if asking for a moment while his mind caught up with the reality of what Chrystal had said. When he went to sleep last night his dad was dead and now Chrystal says that they are celebrating their 30th anniversary, something is definitely haywire here. The first thing that crossed his mind was that he was dreaming and this whole thing was some fantastic fabrication and a figment of his overwrought and misunderstood mind.

Chrystal stayed right where she was and, as he had requested, she gave him some time. When Aaron asked his next question she got an idea of what he was going through.

"They are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, who are you talking about, Mom and who are celebrating?" Aaron asked in a whisper.

"Your mom and dad."

"My dad's name is, tell me my dad's name?"

"Huh, well, it's Mike, Mike Conroy, your dad has always been Mike Conroy," Chrystal got right in front of Aaron, "Aaron, look at me, what is the problem?"

"You know about my time travel, right?"

"Yes, you told me about it over and over and although, I can't prove or disprove it, I have to accept it as fact because you are so adamant about it."

"You never had an occasion to experience an episode or been a part of an incident, say, like at a theater or something?"

"Sorry, I can't say I have," her worried look didn't help in the least. "From the look on your face you think I had been a witness, well, sometimes I wish I was then I could be a little more supportive."

"You have been perfect, accepting what I can only tell you is in no way a minor accomplishment on your part."

"I have to say, you are always more than convincing."

They packed the car with the things they would need for the next week. Chrystal carefully packaged the apple pie she had baked so it wouldn't get damaged during the trip up to the country home of Mike and Janice Conroy, two people she truly loved. Their home was the one place that she could relax and just be herself, she didn't have to be concerned about the competition between her and her co-workers, both, the men and the women. She could just spend time with Janice, a cup of tea, bake something or just gossip, simply let her hair all the way down, what could be better?

Aaron had other ideas, he needed to catch up on life, he felt that he was really far behind but the info flooding his mind was bringing him closer to his current reality. His dad was alive and well and, along with his mom, they were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, how absolutely great was that he couldn't even imagine yet.

Suddenly a memory flashed into Aarons thoughts. The front page of the Waverly City Gazette froze and gave Aaron time to read it. The photo that accompanied the article was of his dad as he received a Good Citizen Medal from the mayor. The article not only commented on the library completion but the solving of a murder that had occurred at the site of the construction. "Mike Conroy found a body that had been placed in a footing hole pre-dug and made ready for the cement pouring that would have occurred the following day. If the library designer, Mike Conroy, had not found the body, during a late night inspection, the pouring the next day would have hidden all evidence of any wrong doing. His eyewitness of the rookie cop, William Mack, leaving the site that evening, moments before he discovered the body, was instrumental in the initialization of the follow on investigation. The recovery of the weapon and the forensic evidence obtained at the site all resulted in that young cop's arrest and consequential conviction of premeditated murder.

Aaron sat in the passenger seat as Chrystal drove. His mind was still being flooded with catch up information and it was hard to concentrate on driving or anything on the road or in the car. His hope was that he would be all caught up by the time they reached his parents place, time in this instance was only about hours and minutes and didn't include any travel other than by the car they rode in.

As they drove up Aaron could see his dad was out around on the side of the house splitting some firewood. No one could imagine the emotion that he experienced with this simple sight. The young lady, that was stacking the wood he cut, raised up and placed some of the wood on the already high wood pile. She evidently heard the car approaching up the drive and it caused her to turn and face toward Chrystal and Aaron's vehicle. She placed her hand on Mike Conroy's shoulder for a second, she said something to him, then pointed and started to run toward the approaching vehicle.

The name Madison hit Aaron square in his thoughts. "Madison, Maddie, Conroy, unbelievable, I have a sister that is about five years younger than I am," he shook his head as the flood began.

Aaron's memory was almost overtaxed with the other things he remembered and the things he should now forget as they only happened to him and no one else knew about them. The changes he had made by going back were now his real life and those injuries and scars he was plagued with had all been erased. The boulder that fell and hit that log broke his left arm and, if not for the limbs that extended out from that log, he would have fallen into that gorge and the river below. If he had not been up to bat, when the lightning struck that dugout, he would have perished with his team mates instead of only the third degree burns he received. That lightning strike simply devastated that small town. Aaron was his team's only survivor of that tragedy, he was stared at and shunned by the parents of his dead teammates. The lightning left a burn scar that would fade in time, the parents left a mental scar that was almost impossible to heal. The bullet that ripped through his seat in that theater fractured his arm and barely missed sending him to the morgue. Chrystal, on the other hand, never had a chance as the bullet through her seat was instantly fatal. The blowout and car fire was somewhat of a mystery but he was sure it happened but it hadn't happen to the current Aaron Conroy.

The current Aaron Conroy was not the man he used to be, he had not shown up that final time at Mr. Wald's class with all those childhood and teenage scars but, in the actual beginning, the very first day he arrived for that class, future time travel aside, he was a mess. He had burn scars on his face from the lightning, limited use of his left arm from the shooting and, still mourning the loss of the one who mattered the most, his best friend, his girl friend and his loving partner, and he was harboring a, what else could go wrong, attitude. The only thing he had going for him was his intelligence, his wish to learn and his desire to erase those destructive memories. Finding out he could time travel and honing that ability while in Mr. Wald's class provided him with the means to, one by one, remove all those incidents that caused those injuries and scars, remove Chrystal from danger and save hers and his dad's lives. No one noticed the changes as the current was the way it had always been and in the end, his getting out of his car right this moment and hugging his dad, happily alive and well, this was a good thing. Hugging his little sister was just icing on the cake. Aaron's memory was almost overtaxed with the things he remembered and the things he should now forget as they only happened to him and no one else knew about them. The changes he had made by going back were now his real life and those injuries and scars he was plagued with had all been erased.

Epilogue:

His pace was slowed due to age but his spirits were high due to the lunch he had shared with his lifetime partner Chrystal. He hummed as he walked with his thoughts still on her lasting beauty.

The wizened bearded professor smiled as he again read the name on the classroom door. He traced the letters with the index finger of his left hand keeping his right hand in place clutching the text book he lovingly held to his chest. He grasped the door knob and twisted it to the left then slowly swung the door partially open while absorbing the expected murmur that came from the young people, about twenty, assembled inside. The door's movement caused many heads to turn in his direction and quieted most of the conversations that had momentarily predated his entrance.

He shyly did a kind of side wave to the occupants as he shuffled on his way to his desk that waited there in front of the class. He laid the text book down on the surface of its old well used top then walked around in front. He reached back and picked up the name plaque that had lain tipped over there in the center of the desk and set it upright, "Good morning students, I am Professor Aaron Conroy" Aaron pointed at his name that was engraved on the plaque, "I am looking forward to getting to know each one of you during this semester."

Aaron sat propped on the edge of the solid piece of aged furniture facing the students. "I will be covering and lecturing on an unusual topic as I am sure you all are aware of since you must have known the curriculum when you signed up for this class. I do recognize some of you from my American History Class and I want to welcome you to this one," Aaron slowly panned the audience then continued, "are there any questions at this time?"

"I, well, I have a question but it's not about the curriculum. My question is about why I am here in this class, I don't remember signing up for it?" A young lady questioned.

"Happens more often than one would imagine, see me after class and we will try to get to the bottom of this misdirection." Professor Conroy requested then he began the class, lecturing on the beginning of how to increase the use of one's mind.

Aaron was secretly smiling inside as he considered that maybe, just maybe, this young lady would be another one to add to the list he had acquired and maintained during his forty years of professorship. It hadn't taken him very long after he started to teach to find someone else that unknowingly had the ability to project their selves physically into their dreams and visit their own youth. Aaron had tutored these numerous unsuspecting individuals introducing them to their ability thereby reducing and relieving them of much of their unidentified mental stress, this in turn, allowed them to fully enjoy their ability and it put a little more purpose in the old professor's life.

Well, the clocks tick and time continues to......

Comments and Notes:

Time, what a barrier and, as far as I know, we are stuck with wherever we currently are. I enjoyed writing this short novel and with it I hope you will look on it as a reminder to make each day an enjoyable chapter in your individual life. A positive attitude, passing the good deeds forward and a simple hug for someone who really needs one could make your life a better experience.

About the Author:

Air Force Enlisted First Sergeant 25 Years of Service, a Hydro System Controller for The Central Valley Project in Sacramento, CA 18 Years of Service. Retired now, playing golf, working at our ranch and writing fiction.

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Samples of "Moon Trip":

Suddenly, in the solid center a small light appeared and expanded until the surface area was gone and a bright, lighted, mosaic pattern was visible. The unbelievable view caused Jim a momentary feeling of confusion and hesitation due to the unexpected appearance of this apparent anomaly. It was as if he could look down through an opening into the hollow interior of the moon. Just as suddenly the lighted view shrunk to a pin hole and then was gone. The dull gray solid mass of the moon's surface was back again. "What the Hell?" Jim swore out loud as the view changed. He quickly rewound the tape and played it again. He could not believe his eyes, even after the fourth or fifth playing with several in slow motion, he was still hesitant to accept what he had seen.

"For an opening to appear that big, even from the magnification of the UGGLY, it has to be quite an opening," Jim spoke out loud as if trying to convince himself of what he had seen.

Jim made sure that there was no transmission of the view to any agencies outside of the lab. He then shut down all automatic timed communication equipment that kept the rest of the scientific world informed of what was seen through the UGGLY Telescope. Jim checked the "On Call Board", picked up the secure phone and pushed the button that automatically dialed the cellular pager labeled "B". A moment later three beeps were heard and he punched the labs secure phone number into the hand held instrument. His hands shook and he almost dropped the phone as he hung it up. He had heard the series of beeps that told him the number had been transmitted to the pager. Jim took his cup back to the kitchen for a refill. He assumed this was going to be a very long night and a nap was going to be out of the question. "Why me?" He mumbled as he returned to the center and saw the lighted call indicator on the secure phone. "UGGLY Control, this is Jim." Jim said as he spoke into the telephone. He could hear, through the receiver, someone in the background was complaining about the time and interruption of their sleep.

"Just a moment, Jim." The voice was now turned away from the phone and the comments were evidently directed at the complainer. "Look, you knew when I took this job that sometimes calls like this would come in. I'll take it in the other room so your precious sleep won't be disturbed. Hang this phone up when I get back on, ok?" There was a grumble of what sounded like, ok, and in a few seconds the click of another instrument was heard. "Ok, I got it." Was spoken into the instrument and a replacing of the other phone was evident. The female voice, the voice of Colleen James, came back on in a more alert and friendly manner. "Jim, this is Colleen, is there a problem or situation with the telescope?"

