“The Nets man. All day,” I said. A few New Yorkers within earshot cheered, and the drunk guy grinned.
“Nah. So what they’re up this quarter, all the Celtics have to do is catch up in the last two minutes and they’ve got this,” the guy said, slurring his words. The Brooklyn crowd at the bar heard him, and he got booed and pelted with peanuts. I chuckled again.
“They’re going to catch up twenty points in two minutes?” I said. “Not a chance.”
“I got a huge bet ridin’ on this, I can’t afford to lose it,” said the drunk. I shook my head apologetically.
“You shouldn’t have bet on the Celtics man. The Celtics? Really?” I said in disbelief. The guy groaned while he gulped down the rest of his fifth beer.
“Guy is gonna get iced,” the man on my left said with a laugh. I patted the drunk on his back.
“I suggest you start running now guy, maybe you’ll be able to hide from your bookie,” I suggested. The drunk guy looked up with wide eyes that were surprisingly alert and he slapped two twenties on the bar top before he bolted out of the door. Three seconds later three huge guys ran out after him. Half the bar was loud with laughter.
I snorted and then paid attention to the screen once more as I brought the bottle of lager to my lips. Got to love this city, there was a never ending supply of entertainment if you knew where to look. With the life I had, I’d just about seen it all.
I’ve been nearly everywhere on the globe, but had no frequent flier miles to show for my kind of travel. I had the ability to teleport. Create my own wormholes and jump through them to any point on the globe. Often the cracks I created in space and time close right up after I travel through, but sometimes I create large pathways that lead not only to a different place, but a different time. I’ve sometimes gone full years back and forward in time; it was wild. Of course I used my gift with as pure intentions as possible. After I set myself up financially I only jump for largely recreational reasons or if I see that someone truly needs help. Like the drunk guy who made the wrong bet.
I haven’t done a good Samaritan act for the week yet, so I figured I’d let him get his beating and then jump back in time to stop him from at least making the wrong bet. He left his wallet in his seat before he bolted from the bar and as I looked through it I found his address. It wouldn’t be difficult to fix that guy’s mistake. I’d leave a note on his refrigerator telling him to bet on the Nets or don’t bet at all. I sat and watched the rest of the game and celebrated with the bar as the owner came out and bought every patron a beer when the Nets won.
I left the bar and stepped out into the cold New York night. The city was never quiet that was for sure. I walked around to the side of the building and leaned against the brick façade as I pulled a cigarette and lighter out of my pocket. I lit the cigarette and inhaled the bittersweet taste of tobacco smoke. I watched people walk by on the busy sidewalks as I savored my cigarette. I only allowed myself one per week to keep the cravings at bay.
As I blew out a plume of smoke I caught sight of a shock of red hair. She stood out, like in one of those cheesy romance films; caught under the moonlight all ethereal in her pale-faced beauty as the background melted into indistinct watercolors. She had a small smile on her lips as she walked along the sidewalk, seemingly lost in a sweet memory. She wore a long red pea coat and had a cream colored scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. One strong winter wind and the thing would fly away. Then, as if I had summoned it, a sudden cold breeze swept the scarf from her shoulders and blew it into the empty street. She looked up, her bright blue eyes startled and she went after it. Even I stepped forward to help her get the scarf. Because hell, I needed to find out who she was.
Before I could step out into the street I saw the huge semi turn the corner. It was going just as fast any other city driver, and the woman had no chance to get out of the way. I froze and watched the macabre scene in slow motion. She skipped out into the middle of the road and bent to pick up her scarf and looked up just in time to see the grill of the semi before it slammed into her, sent her flying twenty feet into the air before she landed on the street with a thud. All traffic stopped. The entire block stopped all movement as everyone looked at the horrible scene and took it in. After the two seconds of tense silence, people started screaming and yelling at the driver who wasn’t paying attention to the road.
I could faintly hear the sound of sirens and that’s when my body burst into motion. I could save her; I would save her. I’d simply go back and stop her from ever stepping out onto the road. I’d change her future for the better. I ran over to her fallen, broken body. I moved faster than the other bystanders and was by her side in the blink of an eye. I wasn’t aware of having jumped the space until I was holding her head in my lap. She was still alive, but just barely.
“Wh-what’s your name?” I asked her, and her eyes fluttered open. She looked at me as if she knew she was dying and was resigned to her fate. I had to jump back before she actually died or I’d change things too drastically, and only disasters would amount from that. The woman’s body was twisted at an extremely odd angle and before she answered she coughed up blood and it trickled down her chin.
“Melina…” she whispered. I nodded and then gently laid her down on the ground once more.
“I’m going to save you Melina,” I said before I ran and disappeared into the crowd that was forming around her. I sprinted to a nearby alley and then took several deep breaths before I held out my palm and summoned the familiar resonating power that started with my pulse and quickened into a sort of magnetic pull. The air in front of me wavered as if vapor was rising from the cold ground. The familiar thundering sound echoed through the alley as the wrinkle in space gained too much energy and ripped through time to create a pathway into the past. The thunder sounded once more and I felt the air charge as a flash of lightning nearly touched down right next to me. That was my cue to step through. I took a step, and was sucked into the other side of the rip I had created.
*****
Three Weeks Before…
The bright sun pierced my eyes and I squinted as I let my body recover from the jarring feeling of being sucked through a really narrow tunnel. I took a few deep breaths to stretch my lungs and then opened my eyes. I was back in the alley I hid in to jump back. I looked up and saw the sun directly overhead. I knew it was midday. I needed to know the exact time and date. I hadn’t been focusing and I didn’t time how long I let the rip in created charge up. The longer the charge, the farther back or forward I jump. It was an inexact measure but I was much better now at it than I had been in the past.
It was still cold so I couldn’t have gone that far back. I jogged up to the street and rounded the corner. The sports bar was just opening. One of the bartenders was wiping down the storefront outside. I walked up to him and smiled politely.
“Hey, can you tell me the time and date?” I asked him plainly and he glanced at me before he pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Yeah it’s noon on the dot, November eleventh.” The bartender went back to wiping down the glass and I wondered how I would ask him the year without freaking him out.
“Hey uh, you guys gonna show the Nets—Celtic game here?” I asked innocently enough and the bartender looked at me as if I was stupid.
“Of course we are man. We’re in the heart of Brooklyn. But that game is like three weeks away. What, did you place a bet on it or something? My boss don’t like to have bookies in the bar.”
I held my hands up innocently. I said, “Just wondering is all. You have a nice day.” I nodded my head to him before I walked off down the street. Great, how was I going to find Melina in a city as huge as this one with nothing but her first name? It wasn’t like I could jump forward again because I might overshoot and she could be dead in that instance. I just had to wait it out and hope for the best. If worst came to worst, I’d simply camp out on that damn sidewalk and wait for her to happen by again. I sighed heavily. For the time being I wo
uld simply come by that spot where the accident took place every day around the time I saw her that night, and wait until I found her again.
I started walking towards the nearest subway. I had an apartment in the city for when I time jumped, so that I wouldn’t bump into myself, and I kept careful document of the times that I stayed in each one so I wouldn’t overlap.
I took the C train to Fourth Street and then caught a cab into Midtown, where my apartment building was. There I’d sync my phone with the date and time and I’d be able to regroup. Gathering that much energy to break through time wiped me out more than simple jumping through a shortcut in space did. I hardly remembered the doorman greeting me or the elevator ride up to the top floor. All I remembered was finally collapsing onto the soft couch cushions in my living room and knocking out.
* * *
When I opened my eyes the room was dark. I bolted upright and hurried into the kitchen to look at the time on the stove. I sighed with relief, as it was only six in the evening. I still had time to get to the bar in Brooklyn and wait for Melina to walk by. I shrugged off my coat and tossed it over the back of the couch. I went over to the clipboard on the fridge. My last visit was a month ago; there hadn’t been any recent entries so I was clear to stay.
I quickly showered and then dressed in a green turtleneck and jeans with a pair of brown boots. As I combed through my curly hair while in the closet I quickly changed the date and time on my phone. Since it was difficult to jump back considerable lengths of time in the past I usually kept it recent. I had houses and apartments all over the globe and only just thought to dedicate a few to when I time traveled. Especially after what happened that one time…I couldn’t chance messing with the whole butterfly effect thing too much. I checked myself in the mirror. My hair was the same shoulder length curly brown locks that they always were. My jaw just as square, brow just as intense. My nose had that familiar little crook in it from when I got into a bar fight in Istanbul.
I ran my hand over the day-old stubble on my jaw and chin and decided to shave the next day. I needed to find Melina.
*****
I didn’t go into the bar, I simply stood outside and leaned against the brick wall. My eyes met the face of every person that passed by and they were especially sensitive to any hint of fiery red hair. It was already nearing midnight and I was losing confidence that I would find her that way. Just as I was getting ready to turn tail and head home, I saw her. She was crossing the street and heading towards me. Her head was down so she didn’t notice me staring at her.
“Excuse me…is your name Melina?” I asked when she got close enough to hear me. Melina’s head snapped up and her eyes widened as if she recognized me. They were so much bluer up close.
“Yes…who are you?” she asked suspiciously, though her voice was beautiful and musical sounding. After all I was the stranger who knew her name and approached her on the street.
“I’m Caleb. We, ah, met briefly at the…” my mind moved at a thousand miles an hour as I tried like hell to think of a general venue where we could have met. Melina captured her bottom lip in between her teeth and she studied me a moment. I had become completely distracted by the small gesture.
“I think I’ve seen you before, yeah. You always get coffee at the bagel shop on Madison right?” my eyes widened. She was right. I always went to get bagels at O’s, they had the best damn lox in Manhattan.
“Yeah, yeah I do. You go all the way out to Madison for bagels?” I asked her and she smiled.
“I work at the Lincoln Center so I pass by it every morning on the way to work.” I rocked back on my heels as I slipped my hands into my pockets. I tried to appear causal.
“So what brings you all the way out to Brooklyn?” I asked her conversationally and she smirked.
“Visiting a friend, what about you?” I wondered if this friend was a guy.
“I’m kind of fond of this sports bar so I come here for a drink every so often,” I said, evasively. Melina nodded and she looked like she was getting ready to make up some excuse to leave. “Um, so I know you’re going to visit a friend and stuff. I’d really like to…maybe go out with you sometime?” I asked hopefully. Melina kept chewing on her lip and then she shrugged as if to say, ‘why not.’
“Sure, that would be great. Let me give you my number and then we can set something up,” I handed her my phone and she quickly programmed her number. I couldn’t believe this was already turning out to be an easy save. I must have jumped back to the past just in time before she died in the present. The cycle wouldn’t repeat itself, I could still save her! She handed me back my phone. She registered the glee in my eyes, and gave me a lopsided smile. She even had a dimple in her left cheek.
“Are you on your way to see your friend now?” I asked her. Her expression wavered. I didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her away, but I didn’t want her to slip through my fingers.
“Well no actually I’m heading back home now. I usually catch the train into Midtown,” she said. My eyes widened.
“You take the subway this late at night?” I asked. Melina looked at me with that lopsided smile again and she chuckled.
“Well I have for years that I’ve lived in the city. Trust me I know how to look out for myself,” Melina said with amusement in her voice.
“Well…would you mind if I maybe accompanied you? I live in Midtown as well,” I said and Melina hesitated as she studied my face and then nodded slowly.
“Sure I guess, why not?” she said with a smile. I breathed a small sigh of relief. I just had to make sure I didn’t come across as some weirdo who wanted to follow her home or something.
“Great. So how long have you lived in the city?” I asked curiously. She smirked up at me as we walked down the street together. I walked on her left side, closest to the street just in case.
“Long enough to call it home I guess. So pretty much my whole life.” I smiled at her corny joke and she grinned. “How about you? I know a true New York accent when I hear one.”
I chuckled and ran my hand through my hair. “Yeah I grew up in the city as well. I travel a lot nowadays though, but I haven’t gotten tired of New York yet.”
Melina nodded thoughtfully and she bit her lip. We both paused, a bit awkwardly, while thinking of something else to talk about.
“So I know of this really great pastry shop that’s open late and has amazing hot chocolate,” I said. Melina smiled up at me as if I knew her deepest secret.
“I love hot chocolate that would be awesome.”
I smiled, and relaxed a bit as we headed to the nearest subway station.
*****
Melina was amazing. I hadn’t imagined that we would get along so great, but we did. When I brought her to Grandma’s Inn on Fifth Ave she nearly melted as soon as we stepped through the door.
“It smells amazing in here. It smells like chocolate heaven,” she said.
I laughed and then took her hand on a whim and led her to the display cases near the order counter.
“There’s a Nutella filled croissant here that’s amazing with the hot chocolate,” I suggested, and she looked up at me with childlike excitement. I ordered two croissants and two hot chocolates and then we found a seat outside. Melina took a sip of the hot chocolate and she moaned in pleasure. My jeans felt tight as my cock stiffened in reaction to her.
“Whatever fate brought us together, so that you could bring me to this hot chocolate, I’m extremely thankful for it,” she said. I laughed and she giggled. It didn’t help the tightness of my jeans any, but I was grateful for the beautiful sound nonetheless. She had no idea what ‘fate’ brought us to that point.
She said, “So I told you a lot about myself on the train ride, but didn’t hear enough about you. What do you do for a living?”
“Well I restore old historical houses and buildings all over the world. I went to school for architecture and specialized in restoring old homes first here in the US, and it sort of just grew fr
om there,” I said. I was actually telling the truth, except about how I traveled from country to country. I had no need to take a plane.
“Wow, that’s incredible. You must know a lot about different cultures then,” Melina said. She seemed intrigued and I smiled.
“I do, I have to learn the history behind each house or building being restored in order to get certain details right. I could take you to each house or each building and tell you the story behind it, why it got destroyed or fell into such disrepair,” I said. Melina smiled. I could take her to each one, but I have never told anyone about my ability, not even my parents, to whom I’ve given hints before bot not told outright. I don’t know how people would take it; more importantly I don’t want to end up like some lab rat.
Melina said, “With the ballet we usually perform in the city, only a few times a year do we go to different locations within the country. Then outside of the ballet I’ve only ever been to the Bahamas on a cruise.”
Something inside of me jumped at the chance to show her the world. But I needed to hold back. I had to make sure she lived past the Nets game three weeks away, and then maybe I could fully tell her about my real life.
“So does this count as us going out? Or can I still call you for a date tomorrow?” I said. I gave her my best charming smile and she giggled.
“Yes you can call me definitely. I want to hear all about your adventures,” she said with sincerity. That Friday night was turning out to be a pretty good one.
“Well I do have quite a few stories to tell,” I said. Melina listened, fascinated as I told her about the time I was in Japan restoring an old tea house that had been destroyed from a siege held by warring samurai.
“Wow, that’s just crazy, so you were able to restore, perfectly, a tea house that had been nearly burnt to the ground?” she asked incredulously, and I nodded.
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