In Time

John and Vienna were celebrating at midnight. Everyone was asleep, so they could be themselves. They excitedly put 18 green candles on a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting — Vienna's favorite. Vienna assumed John had stolen the cake from the bakery he worked at next door. She knew very well he could not have possibly afforded the cake, as he’d been saving every penny for his tuition at Harvard. Plus, he had been stealing the same cake for every single one of Vienna’s birthdays since he first got the bakery job.

John and Vienna carefully lit each of the 18 candles. As they lit each one, they recounted the years they’d known each other.

On July 8, 1957, after spending two lonely years in the orphanage, Vienna gained a best friend. At 2 a.m., when all of the children were supposed to be in bed, Vienna watched from upstairs as Headmaster Hopkins opened the front door, shook her umbrella, and brought in a new kid. He looked terrified. Vienna was distracted by his appearance. He had a bruise on his left temple, a black eye, and a large cut on his lip. Headmaster Hopkins brought him up the stairs, and Vienna scurried into her dormitory. The next morning, at breakfast, while all of the other children stared at John, Vienna actually approached him. They became instant friends. That same night, Vienna and John exchanged stories. He told her how he was taken away from his father, and she told him how her father was taken away from her.

In 1955, when she was just ten years old, Vienna's father was shot while at work. The suspects were never caught. That same night, her mother had gone on an unannounced trip and not returned. In the blink of an eye, Vienna was living at the orphanage. There was no closure in sight.

What really bonded John and Vienna was the trust that they had in each other. Despite what Headmaster Hopkins and the other orphans said, Vienna truly believed that John’s father loved him. And, when Vienna gathered the courage to tell John her own story, he never doubted that she was telling the truth either.

Once all 18 candles were lit, John sang an enthusiastic but quiet happy birthday to her. She wouldn’t get any other attention for the rest of the day, as the orphanage didn’t celebrate birthdays.

Vienna blew out her candles and began to cry. John was expecting it -- Vienna had cried after blowing out her birthday candles for five consecutive years and her mother would have had to have come back for her to not have cried for the sixth year.

“What’s wrong?” John asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Vienna remained silent.

John got suspicious.

“Is it the cake? It’s the same one I’ve been getting. Here, try a piece,” he said, starting to cut a slice.

“It’s not the cake. That’s not why I’m crying,” she said.

John put the knife down. He waited for her to tell him the usual: that she wishes her mother would come back.

Vienna’s mother was a time traveller. Age 12 at the time, John had no problem believing her. She appreciated that, as the other kids not only doubted her otherworldly stories but also tried to convince her that they weren't true. Eventually, word spread from the orphanage and to the local schools and it became the norm in the city to think that Vienna's mother was a psychopath. Her classmates would make posters calling her mother a psycho and drawing pictures of her being taken away to an asylum. They hurt Vienna often, telling her that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Over the years, John had more and more questions regarding Vienna’s powers, which she had inherited from her mother. Luckily, he never lost trust in her and even at 18 years old still believed that her mom had travelled to the future and not returned. The secret brought them closer together.

Unfortunately for Vienna, the story was like a tumor growing inside of her heart. It grew with her, but it was going to kill her if she didn’t get rid of it.

Vienna wiped her tears and composed herself. John was very concerned. He could sense that she was hiding something.

“I’m leaving,” she said.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Vienna froze.

“Vienna?” he asked worriedly.

“I’m going to the future,” she admitted.

John froze.

Vienna took a deep breath.

“Five months ago, during a midnight breakdown, I snuck into the headmaster’s office. I found a little black notebook in my file. There was a note in there and a check for $20,000. From my mom to me. I freaked out. But I decided I needed to go. I was just going to wait until I turned 18,” she said.

John stared blankly ahead.

“Look at the note,” she said, pulling out a small paper and handing it to him.

He didn’t take it.

She read it out loud, “Nuclear disaster. Beginning of the 21st century. Vienna, I love you.”

The note seemed to have been written in a hurry.

John didn’t move or say anything.

"I’ve been holding off telling you,” she said, “It’s been so hard; I just couldn’t get myself to do it. But John, please understand. I have to go. The future of the entire world could be at stake. And you’ll be okay because now that you're going to Harvard this Fall, it won’t be so bad when I leave."

"What is this to you?" he asked angrily, "some sort of balancing act? You think that just because I’m going to Harvard, you can go to the future? That’s stupid Vienna! If you leave you won't be able to come back!"

Since Vienna's father was not a time traveler, she had only inherited half of the power. She could travel forward in time, but she could not travel backward.

"John," she said, "you’re going to make so many friends at Harvard and you won’t even think of me.”

“Won’t even think of you?” he yelled, “you’re my best friend -- you’re my only friend! You’ve been my only friend for six years! Heck, I never had any friends at all until I met you! You’re like a glitch, Vienna! I’m not meant to have friends. You’re special, and that’s the only reason I have you!”

“That’s not true, John,” she said.

“Of course it’s true!”

“Shh!” Vienna said in an effort to get him to lower his voice.

“How could you do this, Vienna?”

“I’m so sorry,” she said, beginning to tear up, “please don't be mad.”

“I’m not mad,” he said, “I’m just really upset.”

He put his head in his hands.

“Why can't you just stay here, grow up naturally, and then save the world when you're older?” he asked.

"It's too risky. I could die before then.”

He remained silent.

“Depending on how far into the future I go, we could see eachother again. Soon,” she said.

"It’s soon for you, Vienna. Not for me. I’d have to wait, what, 50 years? Probably more. What if your mom succeeded and saved the world and you left without even knowing?"

"If she had saved the world, she would have returned."

"Not necessarily. She could have sacrificed herself.”

"Well, there's no way of knowing unless I go and find out. I just can’t take the risk of staying here. If I don't do this and I find out that she didn't save the world, I'm not going to be able to live with myself. I have the chance to actually do something -- for the first time in my entire life. I can't give up this opportunity."

“Yeah, the opportunity to leave your life behind.”

Vienna sighed.

“So you hid that from me for five months?” he asked.

Vienna didn’t answer.

“And you were just going to do it without even asking me what I think?” he asked.

“John... this urge that I have... it’s unbearable. Something happened to my mom. And for all I know, she’s waiting for me. I can’t just stay here and be okay, especially not after seeing the note and that check.”

“If you go, you’re not coming back.”

Vienna started to cry again, “John, I’m so terribly sorry.”

“I’ll never see you again,” he said.

“That’s the thing, maybe you would. Of course, you shouldn’t be waiting around for me. But if you wanted to see me, you might be able to… in time. Or, if my mom is still out there, I could have her come back here and give you my messages.”

John wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea.

Vienna started cutting the cake to divert the attention somewhere else. She put a slice on his dish.

“We have tonight?” she said, offering him the plate.

His eyes teared up and he started breaking down. She cried as well, put the plate down, and hugged him. He held her close.

“I don’t want you to go,” he cried.

“I don’t want to go either… but I have to.”

“Vienna…” he said, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said.

They sat in silence for several minutes. Eventually, John picked up the knife and cut a slice for her as she did for him. This made Vienna cry even more, knowing that this could be the last time she’d ever see him. She was set on leaving the following morning.

“You know,” he started, “I paid for the cake this time.”

Vienna looked up at him and smiled.

“Oh my god! That’s great! Does that mean that you’ve...” she said.

“Yup, I finally have enough for my first year.”

“Wow, I’m so happy for you! You should be so proud.”

“Thank you. Hopefully I’ll get a better job while I’m there so I won’t have to spend so many hours on the clock. I really want to focus on school. If I do well enough maybe I can get a scholarship.”

“I have no doubt in my mind you’re going to do great things.”

Suddenly, the reality of it all caught up to them. If John did great things, Vienna wouldn’t be around to hear about it.

Vienna tried to lighten the mood.

“When I get there, I’ll probably find out that you cured cancer or something,” she said.

He smirked.

They finished the cake in silence. They ate much more slowly than usual, in an attempt to hold onto the time they had left. Ten minutes later, he broke the silence.

“What did the check say?” he asked.

Vienna swallowed her last bite of cake.

“For Vienna, in case of an emergency,” she said.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from the staircase. They quickly turned off the lights and ran out the back door with the cake.

They ducked behind the back window.

“Vienna,” John whispered, “I don’t understand how any of this could make you believe that you need to go to the future. What if your mom just wanted to leave you money to have when you’re older? Older in this century, I mean.”

“Look,” she said quietly.

She pulled the check out of her pocket and pointed to the top right corner.

“The check is dated in 2021.”