Mistaken Return

It was astounding… but… disturbing.

At the end of the school day, I loitered outside the school gates, leaning my back against the sidewall. I looked at my watch and realized that five minutes had passed already. Somewhat irritated, I continued to wait for Leonie when Mr. Diaz, the bald yet mustached principal, emerged through the gates and approached me.

“Oh, Daniel, I’m glad someone’s still here.” He had a brown folder clamped under his armpit. “You’re waiting for someone?” He raised his gray eyebrows.

“Yes, Sir.” I dropped my right foot to the ground and stood straight.

“Can I ask you a quick favor?” He looked at me with his friendly grin.

I nodded avidly. His right hand snatched the folder and shoved it at me.

This is the principal, I thought to myself. He can help me if I flunk any of my subjects.

“I would like you to give this to Mr. Nasino. If he is not there in his office, just put it on his desk.” I took the folder, holding the bottom edge that had not been wedged into his armpit.

I strode off at a quick pace to carry out my task, breaking into a jog through the corridors of classrooms before slowing again into a gentle walk to enter the administration building where there might be teachers about. I didn’t have time to hang about; however, I wanted to get back to where Leonie must surely wait by now. Luckily there were no teachers to ask me what I was doing, so I went immediately to Mr. Nasino’s office and knocked on the door. There was no response. I knocked again, but this time when there was still no answer, I opened the door and left the file on the desk.

Thinking of Leonie, I rushed back out of the building, hardly looking where I was going, when I found myself flat on the ground. Something had gotten in my way and knocked me over. As I attempted to pick myself up, I saw a gloved hand reaching down to help me. I declined the offer and stood up on my own, rubbing my dusty palms against my trousers.

I gaped in awe as I looked up at the owner of the gloved hand. He was without a doubt the most beautiful man I had ever seen. His flawless ivory skin tone and curly reddish hair astonished me. I’d never seen a man as attractive as this. He had a western nose and almost-cherry red cheeks and little pointed ears like that of an elf. His eyes could dazzle every teenage girl in town. I let my eyes leave his face and look down at the rest of his body. He was wearing a dark green rubber bodysuit with a zipper from under his chin down to his navel. The suit seemed to stress his chest muscles and his obviously masculine body beneath. In truth, he seemed to resemble a fictitious superhero in Marvel Comics.

Leonie was now far from my mind. “Hello!” he said, bowing and offering his right hand again.

I grasped his hand and shook it hard. It was warm, albeit was wrapped in a rubber-type glove. I found myself in what I can only describe as a stoned state. I looked up at him as he towered over me. He must have been over six feet tall, and I noticed that the only piece of flesh on the show was his face. Everything else was totally covered up by his rubbery green suit. My eyes returned to his eyes. His gaze had not altered. I couldn’t help but smile, and then he returned the smile, revealing his dimples and silvery teeth.

“I’m lost,” he said, articulately.

As a respect to strangers and people older than me, I responded politely with a question, “Where are you heading for, sir?”

He did not answer my question. Instead, he asked, “Is this Cabran City?”

“No, sir,” I said.

There was silence for a moment.

He looked about, distantly, as if taking everything in. He turned to me. “What year is it?”

The question made me think he might be a little crazy.

“It is 2011. Why, sir?” I have a curious mind.

“This is not the time,” he whispered. I was not sure if he intended that statement for me. He gazed at me. His Malayan-eyes broadened a little. “I advanced my travel for five centuries.”

“I don’t understand, sir,” I said, wanting to know his predicament.

He took two steps past me and turned to face me. “Come with me.”

My curiosity about his sanity spurred me to follow him, the same way his irresistible charm had enticed me.

Twilight was setting in as we walked round to the back of the administration building. I followed as he led me in amongst the acacias which thrived back there. Through the trees, we walked, stepping on decayed leaves and twigs as we went. A rotten smell whipped through the air. We clambered up the slope ahead and halted as soon as we arrived at the nearest locust tree.

“I will show you my time machine.” He pointed his hand behind the locust tree.

I moved towards him as my eyes followed his hand's direction. It shocked me to see it. It was a machine, indeed. It was a silver capsule, over one meter in diameter and three meters long. It seemed to hover at least a foot off the ground. It looked like a bullet and I could not make out any cracks on the surface, which may act as a door. However, as the man moved toward it and touched it, a fissure appeared down its side and gradually swung open. Inside, a cushioned couch beheld my wondered eyes.

The mysterious man uttered in his almost-piano voice, “I’m from the future. I intended to visit the year 2500, but I have ended up here. I’m from 3004 AD. This is my third attempt to study Cabran City in 2500 AD. I am carrying out research that solely aims to divulge the hidden history of the city.”

He stared at me, and I suddenly realized he was expecting me to speak. I pulled myself out of my somewhat stupefied state.

“This place is not a city, sir. This is a town. Kubren Town.” As I said it, I realized the name he had mentioned sounded very similar to the name of my town.

“I see,” he said, “I’m in the right place but at the wrong time.” He put his hand over the threshold of his machine and the couch inside lifted. Partial darkness swallowed the place we were standing and the machine’s silver hull stood out.

Without further ado, he climbed onto the couch. He grinned at me showing his silvery teeth and said, “Nice to meet you, my progenitor.” The door of the machine gradually closed and with a simple click, like that of a door opening, the man and his silver time machine had disappeared.

I’ve been thinking about this meeting for a few days. In fact, it’s all I can think of. Time travel is impossible just now but is it possible that far in the future it will be an everyday occurrence? Who knows?

Naturally, I had been very late for Leonie, who had now been making me suffer for my tardiness for the entire week. Unfortunately, I could not come up with a good excuse for why I had kept her waiting. I had wanted to tell her everything, but she didn’t want to hear it and anyway, she would have most certainly thought I was lying or had gone crazy.

Later that week I noticed that the principal had hired laborers to dig up the backyard of the building that housed the sophomores’ classrooms. I learned they were building a new toilet. At least I won’t have to pee in the trees anymore, I thought.

A good few hours after the laborers had started their work, a cry was heard and all the teachers went to investigate what was going on. Suddenly the entire school was in a panic at the news that a skull had been found.

In morbid curiosity, everyone wanted to have a look at the findings and I was no different, as I like to have my shot at looking into the newly dug pit. I pushed those who were blocking my way, even the girls. I grinned as I looked into the hole, thrilled to see this real cranium. The girls frowned at me. I knew it was disrespectful.

Suddenly Mr. Diaz was there, pulling us all away from the edge of the pit. He pulled out his cell phone, dialed a number on it, and pressed it against his senile ear.

“Hello! Hello, Chief. This is Jim Diaz, the school’s principal… ah… we found… a skull here in the school… okay… I’ll be waiting here until four… okay… Bye.” He slid his phone into his pocket and beckoned the security personnel who were standing about and gazing down at the pit. “I want you to fence it so that no one can go near.” The three personnel nodded simultaneously and cleared the area around the pit.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, three town police officers, wearing collared t-shirts with the acronym SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operatives) on the back, showed up at the school’s gate. We all watched as they headed towards the pit, taking out their cameras and latex gloves, and probing materials.

The first officer, who was tall and skinny, went down into the three-meter deep and two-meter wide hollow. He then set about digging deeper. Half an hour later, he had uncovered the entire skeleton, which was wrapped in nondescript clothing. And he found out a rusty pointed spear rammed behind the skull. They hauled it up to the surface for a thorough examination.

The remains that were laid on the ground reminded me of something… someone… because of its shroud. One of the police officers had wiped the shroud with a cloth, wiping away the dirt. When the texture of the material became apparent, I let out a little gasp… And then, blast! I remembered it. The shroud was made of rubberized material and it was dark green. The more the mud was wiped away, the more I could see until finally, I could make out that the shroud had a slit from the neck right down to the navel. It entirely covered the bones from the neck to the feet and hands. The mysterious man I had met flashed within my vision. Could it be possible that with time travel, this was the same man that I had met the previous week?

The skeleton was soon collected and taken to the Provincial Bureau of Investigation. The principal explained that the police investigators believed the skeleton had been buried there for a very long time and now it was up to the Bureau to carry out carbon testing. This actually turned out to be quite a relief for the school employees who had been worried that they might be summoned for investigation.

One morning after the assembly, Mr. Diaz announced the result of the preliminary investigation from the bureau. “A pleasant day to all of you,” he began with a smile. “Today, I can tell you the results of the Bureau’s investigation. According to the carbon testing, the skeleton is five hundred years old.”

Those who had not seen the skeleton were very surprised. Those who had seen it closely were flabbergasted. Me? I was horrified.

“So, let’s not worry that some of us will be summoned for an investigation. Maybe we can contribute statements, but not to worry, our lessons will not be interrupted.” And with that, he climbed down the steps from the rostrum where he had been standing.

It has been many weeks now since the discovery of the skeleton and no matter what I do to forget it, it still haunts me. I have managed to make it up with Leonie, but there remains a distance between us that I know I will never be able to break while I have this secret about my encounter with the man in the green suit. Was this mysterious man telling the truth? Maybe, as he headed for his present time, his time machine had mistakenly transported him to where my warrior ancestors thrived. Maybe my progenitors who survived five centuries ago cunningly and treacherously exterminated him and buried his corpse.

But the most awful question that continues to torment me, and I think it always will until I reach old age, is ‘Where is the silver capsule now, the time machine he was using?’