The Time Mechanic

by Victoria Bastedo

  His eyebrows rose in surprise. It was a woman who was responsible. She jerked to a stop when she saw that she’d been caught and then turned to run back in the direction of Tonturin.

  “Wait!” he called to her.

  She ignored him and hurried away.

  “I just want to know why you’re following me!”

  He had to start jogging again to keep up with so his words could be heard.

  “You were compelled, weren’t you?” he went on. “You had to follow me although you don’t know why?”

  This at last got her attention. She stopped so suddenly that he almost ran into her. She flung around and he held up his hands. She took that chance to back away with her eyes opened wide.

  “How…” she stuttered, “h..how did you know that?”

  He smiled.

  “I know because you’re the second person who came to bother me today.”

  He studied her as she processed what he’d said. She wore interesting clothes; practical low-heeled boots, yet made by the best shoemaker in town. Leggings for comfort combined with a fitted overdress that nonetheless revealed the simple line of quality tailoring that clung to her slender frame. Her bag had come from an exclusive shop, her hair clips were soft gold and her hands were elegant with rings. She seemed like a girl that had plenty of money but resonated more with being average in style. Pretty enough, he thought, once he stared into dark blue, long-lashed eyes. She bit her lip and then shook off her confusion. She stood tall, although she only leveled off at the base of his nose.

  “I’m not the only person following you, Mister,” she sneered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean there’s someone else on this road with us, right now. I tried to see him but he slipped behind those trees.”

  Jeremy tilted his head and walked a few steps towards the trees. Strange that he hadn’t discerned anyone else, although there certainly could be more people that might feel an attachment to him…

  The sound of a foot scrunching the dust of the road interrupted his thoughts. He turned in time to see her running away from him again. He scratched his head and let her go. Either she would choose to avoid him and thereby free herself from the compulsion, or she’d be back. Meanwhile he felt tired again. He resumed his trip back to the manse. He heard any number of rustlings behind him which might belong to paws, feet or waving branches. So be it. Once he reached his room he shut out the noon sunlight, hung up his coat on the rack and fell face down on his bed. He sighed and took the time to pull off his boots before plopping back into the same position. It was his day off, after all. If he was crazy he’d just spent his last pay on a coat he didn’t need. If he was the new Time Mechanic he might not survive till next year. He’d put it all out of his mind and take a nap while he waited for the next development.

  But he didn’t get the chance to dream. The vision that claimed him had far more clarity than sleep could ever give him. Now he was walking down the road outside of Tonturin, not on the path towards the manse and his room but on the opposite side of town. In this direction stretched miles of farmland- crops ranging from grapes for wine to vegetables and grains. In between each farm was a distinction- the boundaries of ownership. Having lived in Tonturin his whole life he knew the family names- some of those farms had generations of the same family working them. A small river cut behind and between the holdings and he was directed towards the tumbling water.

  As a child he and Mars had swam in this river many times, but they’d never entered it here. It seemed in his vision that he was able to cross great distances as he walked for in just a few steps Tonturin’s farms were miles away and he was at the edge of a knotted clump of thorns. A mass of cluttered plum trees, clotting vines of ivy and prickling berry bushes dominated the edge of the water and rose so high that you could barely see the land behind it. No farms existed this far out and the landscape here was mostly forgotten as the road curved away from it and headed to the next city- fifty miles away.

  “Here it is, stop,” a voice said from beside him. He turned and had the strange sensation of not being able to make out the two forms standing beside him very well.

  “How can you tell— I can’t see anything!” said the other voice.

  “The entrance is here, I’m telling you. The fields you want to use are just behind.”

  “It doesn’t seem large enough.”

  “Well it is. We’ve got plenty of room for your crops.”

  “Hmm. And you’re certain that no one in Tonturin knows of the existence of this farm or its second field? The law men, especially?”

  “They don’t. This farm has been used for years to grow the types of products that fulfil people’s vices. Crops that don’t have to be counted or taxed because they were produced here, you understand.”

  “I see, and why isn’t this farmland being used now?”

  “We give the ground a rest every few years. It’s been fallow this season past, but we’ve cleared out the resting plants and soon a crop will be put in. Your crop— if you pay me enough.”

  The other human figure gave out an audible sigh.

  “Well then, I guess I’ll have to allow you to take me through these brambles,” the voice had a fastidious edge to it.

  “Right,” said the first voice. “Come along then.”

  Jeremy scratched his head and watched. The two vague human shapes stepped forward, pushed apart some branches, and revealed a narrow opening hidden by a false curtain of hanging vines. The river curled away here and Jeremy and the shadow figures bypassed it. A few minutes walking and the three of them stopped. Jeremy tilted his head.

  Indeed there were two large fields here, just as the first voice had said; tucked in a space between the river and the road that seemed deceptively smaller from the outside view than it really was. The ground was dragged in the furrows of the previous crop with a few sprigs of winter grass and the straggling remains of whatever had grown here before.

  “You see it then?” the first voice said. “Just like I told you.”

  “Hmmm,” said the second. “It seems adequate. Take me back and we can discuss this deal further.”

  Jeremy was suddenly released from the images he saw and he sucked in a breath around the edges of his pillow. He grimaced as he turned over. The next time he got frozen in a time vision it would be better if he didn’t plant his face into something first. He yawned but now he had this to ponder. What did this vision mean?

  He lay there for some time until he drifted off to sleep. When he was awoken due to someone knocking on his door he sat up and blinked. It was getting dark. He sighed and rubbed his arms. He was cold and his stomach was hollow too. He got up and stumbled as he reached the door and opened it. He was too groggy to light the lamp. He shook his head and stepped back to allow his visitor entrance.

  “Just let me get the fire going,” he said.

  While he was busy at the fireplace Mars lit his lamp for him and soon the room was cozy with the two fires. He smelled something delicious and his stomach growled. Mars had brought a box with him, and he set it on Jeremy’s small table. He opened it to reveal roasted chicken and some rolls.

  “You got more than one plate in this drafty room, Jeremy?” the man said. “Hope you don’t mind but I noticed earlier there’s no food here. You never came back to town all day to buy more either.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Hmph. Never mind that. We need to talk.”

  “Whatever you say, just hand me some chicken.”

  “Help yourself.”

  They each dug in to the box, and put their helpings on the plates Jeremy had pulled down from the shelf. Along with the chicken and rolls there were two cinnamon buns for dessert.

  “Thanks for dinner,” Jeremy remembered to say.

  “It seemed the best way to get more information out of you.”

  “I’m sorry, Mars, but I don’t have much more to say. My life is changing is all, for good or worse.”
>
  “You’re not making any more sense now than you did earlier.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  “Quit apologizing.”

  “Why should I?”

  “I don’t like it.”

  Jeremy swallowed and met the man’s eyes. Mars had chicken crumbs in his beard. He’d been a good friend before but now that bond had been broken. He seemed a stranger now. There wasn’t anything new to be said so silence fell in the room. Except that Jeremy picked up on something— he glanced at the door a second before someone knocked. He sighed and wiped his face with his napkin. He had another visitor.

  “Excuse me,” he said, getting up. He wondered if it would be the girl he’d confronted on the road that would be standing there when he opened the door. But when he leaned forward in the doorway he was met by a big surprise. Someone slapped him, hard. His cheek stung as his face was flung to the side.

  “What…?” he stuttered.

  “You swine!” a feminine voice shrieked. He was shocked as he realized who it was.

  “Fiasca, what are you doing here?”

  “You wretched oaf!”

  “Uh… do you want to come in?”

  “Of course I don’t! Do you think I want anything to do with you? Did you think I was ever interested in you at all?”

  “Seeing as how you broke things off between us when I caught you kissing my best friend, I assumed you weren’t interested in me back then.”

  “And why shouldn’t I kiss that blockage of a man you called a friend?” she demanded. “I had to show you how much you were worth!”

  “I see. Was there something you wanted, Fiasca? It’s late and I’ve got a guest..”

  Her eyes widened in rage and she slapped him again. He stared at her and she lifted her hand one more time, but he grabbed her wrist before she could connect.

  “Let go of me this instant!”

  He released her. “I may’ve seemed like a rug for you to step on in the past,” he said, “but I’m not going to stand here in my own home and take it now, so tell me what you want or go away.”

  “You’re such a rug though, aren’t you, Jeremy? You putter about just happy to be nobody, wandering with no direction; do you know how irritated I was? Why would I attach myself permanently to a man like you? I deserve better, don’t I?”

  “So you started dating my boss?”

  “I started dating him to spite you. How dare you let me go so easily back then?”

  “So you were heartbroken? Is that why you’ve come here now- you hope to get me back?”

  “As if a girl like me would want or need a man like you!”

  “You’re angry right now because I took you dating my boss so calmly when I found out about it earlier today. You wanted me to go for his throat or something— or perhaps you were hoping I’d beg for you to choose me instead?”

  “I gave you months out of my life, Jeremy! Months of my prime wasted on a man with no ambition! I wanted to make you pay!”

  “I think you did that the day you left me.”

  She glared at him, her fist clenched and a few tears splayed on her cheeks in strong emotion.

  “Wait a moment,” he said in amazement. “I see it in your eyes. You actually were interested in me back then!”

  She huffed in disdain.

  “I was a fool. You seemed like nothing special when I met you, but you’ve got that clever streak. There’s something about you that intrigued me. I let myself get caught up in it, because I hadn’t conquered the last stage of my girlhood. But I’ve grown up now.”

  “That’s plain to see.”

  “I came here to warn you.”

  “Didn’t you also come to hit me?”

  “You deserve worse! But listen now. I’m marrying Nemeth, although you caused trouble between us today. He’s everything I’ve decided I want. Don’t interfere, Jeremy! If you do, you’ll live to regret it, I promise you!”

  “I’m warning you. Manipulating people brings consequences eventually. Nemeth is a good man. If he gives you what you want I hope you’ll treat him well. Give him a good life, Fiasca.”

  Her lip trembled before she spoke.

  “How dare you be so casual!” she hissed.

  “I cared enough about you back then that I wanted you to be happy. I still do,” he said. “Don’t worry, I won’t interfere. In fact, you’ll be pleased to hear that I’m leaving town soon.”

  Jeremy suddenly noticed someone standing behind his shoulder. Mars had come over.

  “Of course you’d be here, Mars,” Fiasca sneered when she noticed him. “But you weren’t here for a long time, I know that! It’s too bad though. I was hoping I’d broken you two apart for good!”

  Jeremy swallowed in pain. Had she really done that? Decided to kiss Mars when Jeremy was walking into the room, just so she could destroy the strong friendship they had before breaking up with him the next day? Had she planned to leave him with nothing? He’d accused Mars unjustly, ripped apart the foundations until Mars had despised him. He’d gone about alone after that. He started breathing hard, trying to control his own strong emotion.

  He saw the victory in her eyes. Her parting shot had gone straight to level him. She lifted her hand and he let her. She slapped him one last time with all the force in her being. Then she turned on her heel, climbed into her small carriage, clicked up the horse and drove away.

  Chapter Six - (In Which Jeremy Picks up a Few Strays)

  Jeremy shut the door after the exit of Fiasca and took a deep breath. Mars was standing like a hulk in the corner, silent. Jeremy felt his cheeks redden at the thought that he’d seen him get his feelings hurt.

  “Are you all right?” Mars said.

  “I’ll survive.”

  A small smile appeared for a fleeting second across the man’s face.

  “The girl hit you pretty hard,” he said.

  “Glad to see you’re entertained.”

  “Ha! I’ve wanted to do the same thing to you myself a time or two.”

  They sat back down.

  “Have another roll,” Mars said.

  “Thanks.”

  A few moments passed by while they finished eating and for the first time in a year and a half the situation became somewhat comfortable between them. Mars kept shooting pertinent glances at him though, which Jeremy knew meant that he was wondering how to proceed.

  “So tell me everything,” Mars said.

  “You must be jesting.”

  “I’m not leaving town for anything less, Jeremy.”

  “Consider it a vacation, except you’ll be encountering danger and uncertainty.”

  “Now it’s you that’s jesting.”

  “I’m not.”

  “What danger are you headed into? The uncertainty you’re talking about seems to be all in your head.”

  “Oh no, I’m very certain that I’m making a new start on something anyway. I just have a few things I need to do here first.”

  Mars sighed.

  “Can’t you tell me anything?”

  “I could tell you one thing. I will too, if you decide to accompany me.”

  “Not till then, I suppose?”

  “No, sir.”

  Mars glared at him, and his eyes narrowed at the red marks on Jeremy’s cheeks.

  “Thinking of hitting me right now, are you?” Jeremy asked.

  “I would if it I thought it might help.”

  “Well, deal with it. No one’s forcing you to sit there.”

  “Blast it!” Mars began, but just then there was another knock on his door.

  “I’ve never had so many visitors,” Jeremy muttered, getting up.

  When he opened the door this time he thought for sure it’d be the girl he’d encountered on the road home. But it wasn’t. A funny little fellow stood there. He had a turban hat wrapped around to just over his ears so that Jeremy could barely describe his face. He wore a coat, a vest and a cloak which still revealed his thin shoulders, and there wer
e odd chains, wheels and other gadgets wrapping his forearms and hanging around his neck. One such contraption looked like a ratchet, and another looked like a lizard. Jeremy nodded. He’d seen this fellow about the marketplace.

  “You sell mechanisms,” he said. “All kinds of little machines that walk about, type letters and stamp impressions.”

  “I make them to buy food for myself, but no one seems to want them for what I design them to do,” the little fellow said.

  “I’ve heard your contraptions don’t work.”

  “Blunt, aren’t you?” the man complained. “But as for qualifications, I promise you that my designs are flawless. That’s my strength you see. I can’t build what I’ve designed is all. I’m brilliant but clumsy handling tools. Even the best designed contraption won’t work if you’ve put a screw in the wrong place or reverse the left inner ventricle cord with the right upper gastric string. My fingers drop many tasks I put them to do. And I fall a lot. But if accepted, you’ll find I’m an asset in deciphering all things mechanical.”

  “You sound like you’re applying for a job.”

  “Well I’m certainly not going to stay by your side if you’re not footing the bill,” the small fellow stressed.

  Jeremy shook his head. Not what he expected but he stood back and gestured inside.

  “Welcome to my home,” he said.

  Soon the three of them were standing facing each other.

  “May I introduce you to Mars,” Jeremy said, bowing a little. “He’s a friend I used to have, and if he comes with us on our journey he’ll be appointed our guardian.”

  “Just a moment,” said Mars. “You, uh… contraption fellow. Are you telling me you felt compelled to come here too?”

  “To stay by his side, yes.”

  “How is that possible?” Mars bellowed. “Do you two know each other?”

  “Never met him before,” the small man said. “I just knew he was the one.”

  “I don’t believe it!”