Two Futures

I woke up during the middle of the night. It hardly surprised me seeing as I hadn't slept a full night through in years. At first, it had been because of the crying. There was still the occasional crying, but mostly it was now habit that kept me jumping in and out of consciousness. I actually didn't mind the disturbances. For so long now I had felt at peace and didn't need much sleep to feel rested. Being able to lie there and enjoy the calm of the silent night was a nice thing to look forward too as well. How could I complain about having Laril snuggled up against me as he slept on? I was rather annoyed when he went ahead and moved back onto his own side. Laril was an active sleeper. He rarely stayed in one spot for long.

Knowing I would not be able to fall asleep again for some time, I gently got out from the covers. As nice as Laril's cuddle had been, there was still the obscenely hot weather of the long days of summer to contend with. It was so warm that even us elves were beginning to feel that awful heat just a bit. I dreaded to think how the human were faring. In the back of my mind I worried, but I smiled as I watched Laril. Watching him sleep had become another habit of mine. I reached out to touch his face, but I hesitated for a moment. Laril wasn't the heaviest sleeper in the world. All too often I woke him up with my puttering about. While he was a good sport about putting up with it, many times my actions annoyed him. I didn't want to wake him up yet again. However, I did go ahead and take the risk. Laril stirred almost instantly, but thankfully he didn't wake fully. I enjoyed the touch for a moment, but soon got out of bed.

The other person in the room had been the reason why I had not slept a full night in years. Being fifteen-years-old now, Elrunamir had grown to the point where he could almost sleep the whole night. In fact, he hadn't cried out once since I laid him down in his crib. He remained deep in his dreamland even as I watched him. That was the other reason why I arose so often. Even though fifteen years had passed since the day my broken heart was granted the full truth that would allow me to feel the peace I felt now, I still had a difficult time believing it all wouldn't slip away again. I had to get up multiple times to check that my baby was with me.

Against my better judgement, I picked Elrunamir up. I should have left him undisturbed, but the desire to have him in my grasp was too strong to be denied. It was a good thing this was hardly the first time this had happened. Elrunamir was so used to me holding him during that night that he barely shifted when I settled him into my arms. He merely got himself in a comfortable position against my shoulder and drifted back off. I rubbed his back and stroked his hair as he rested. The fear that had been welling in my chest vanished as the minutes ticked on by. I was able to focus my thoughts on other things as the sense of imminent loss departed. I found myself laughing ever so slightly. There were times when I couldn't remember Elrunamir as anything other than the grown man he had been. To imagine that grown man now curled up against me was amusing. I was very glad that my son would not have his memories restored to him for some time. To have an adult mind in a baby's body- it would have been awkward for him and, honestly, rather creepy for the rest of us.

After a few more minutes, I was ready to head back to bed. Elrunamir was growing fidgety from the heat, and me holding him wasn't helping. I turned to place him back in his crib.

And that was when I froze.

It had only been there for the briefest of seconds. No matter how long I stood there staring out the window, there was no change in what I saw. The bright flash of light that had been in the corner of my eye didn't reappear. There was only the darkness of the world of night. Still, I stared. The unease surged once more in my chest- although the reason for it was much different. Even if I couldn't see it, I could sense that something was outside. I was curious, and I didn't know if I should have been afraid too. Part of me thought it would be best to wake Laril. What I actually did was place Elrunamir in his crib and leave to investigate all on my own. What was the chance that there was something truly dangerous nearby? 

I regretted my choice almost instantly once I saw what was outside. There, in the spot where the light had come from, was the strangest metal contraption I had ever seen. The hunk of metal sat there rather ominously. I hesitantly walked around it to survey it. The moonlight reflected off its shiny surface, but at that moment there didn't seem to be any way for it to cause the light I saw. Then I actually approached the structure. In the quickest of seconds, what I determined to be some sort of machine sprang to life. A cacophony of light and surging energy erupted towards me. I barely had the chance to take a step back before it struck me. The pain I expected wasn't there. The hairs on my arms stood up as the energy pulsed through me, but the sensation was not unpleasant.

 

My already racing heart beat faster as a form started to emerge from the center of the chaos. It was shapeless and warped, but rapidly collected to create the shadow of what would turn out to be a human- though I doubted he was at first sight. With an ungraceful but experienced leap, he jumped out from the blinding light. I stumbled backwards, incredibly fearful and just plain confused.

The man brushed at his clothes, which glowed, as he recovered from his dismount. He noticed the stunned me and gave an amused, lopsided grin.

     "Oh, hi." he said cheerfully as if nothing strange was going on.

I could find no words to say back to him. At the very least, my foggy mind was able to conclude that the man was most likely not a threat. He carried himself with too much ease.

     "Sorry to jump out at you. The portal gave me a bit of a rougher landing this time around." he apologized.

I still said nothing. I only glanced back behind me. The noise and light the man's machine was creating was ridiculous. It couldn't be more than mere seconds before the entire house was out here to see what was going on. Or so I thought.

     "You don't need to worry about them," the man said as he spotted my gaze, "They're not going to notice anything. Only you can see me and the portal."

     "How does that even work?" I questioned almost indignantly as I contemplated how absurd of an idea that was.

     "You're probably gonna be better off if you don't try to question 'how' or 'why' for a while. It'll confuse your brain too much. Just go along with it all."

I frowned at the man. It was true that I remained far from understanding anything of what was going on, but from somewhere I was gathering confidence. Many things that I wanted to say to him came to my mind, but he shot them all down when he pulled out some sort of box from nowhere. He placed it in my hands.

     "And since you can see me, I'm assuming you're the elf lady I'm taking along with me. You're going to want this."

     "What exactly is this piece of metal?"

     "It's your guide, is what it is. It has useful information, and it should keep you from getting too lost if you choose to wander."

     "Should?"

     "Well, just don't do anything crazy and you'll be fine."

     "I'm not going anywhere." I said firmly.

     "My name is Emit, by the way."

     "Knowing your name doesn't change anything."

     "Does knowing the fact that you've already made this journey do that?"

     "No?"

I had to pause. I was too curious.

     "What journey? To where?" I asked.

Emit smiled.

     "Couldn't you tell by my fancy glowy clothes and strange machine that would not be possible to make with today's technology? I'm from the future."

     "The future." I said in disbelief.

     "Do you have a better explanation for my appearance here?" Emit teased.

I frowned harder because I didn't. Emit just kept on smiling.

     "You might as well follow along. You've already gone ahead and made the choice after all."

With an even larger smile, he jumped back comically into the portal. The machine rocked, exploded with yet more light, and sent him on his way. I was left to stand there in deep contemplation. Emit had been harmless, but who knew what was truly beyond wherever the portal would send me? What if I wasn't able to come back? Why did I even need to go to the future in the first place?

I shook my head at that. Emit had told me not to question how or why. As the glow of the portal entranced me, I began to realize that this all wasn't some strange coincidence. There was a reason. There was a purpose. And I already chosen in the throngs of time to discover what I was supposed to be shown. After a sigh, I went ahead and moved closer to the portal once more. The same surging energy from before pulsed through me. A thin beam of blue light shot up high as clouds spun gloriously in the night sky. I tried to look towards my house for one more quick glance, but the small step I took caused the portal to suck me in and carry me forward.

There was a violent whirlwind and quaking that rocked my core, but my feet remained firmly planted to the ground. I felt as if I was being flipped and turned every which way, but I was not being moved an inch. A brief second of darkness was replaced by light even more blinding than before. I reached out in desperation for anything to hold onto- be it Emit or part of the portal. My hand found only air.

The quaking calmed. The whirlwind died. The glare vanished to reveal an entirely different scene before me. I was so astounded by it all that I couldn't even question why I was suddenly out of my nightgown and in my normal dress. However, I was not astounded in a positive manner. I thought the world seemed so dark because of the white light. I though the sickening, green clouds were merely my eyes readjusting. The world couldn't possibly be so corrupt with pollution.

I wish it had indeed only been an image my eyes created. As I stepped out of the portal and turned around further, my heart sunk so low that my chest became hollow. The air was as corrupted as it appeared. It was thick, suffocating, and rank with an awful stench. The entire world looked as if it was sick with the most vile kind of disease. My mouth dropped open in horror, but I was forced to close it. Just a few breaths sent my stomach spinning more than the trip through the portal had.

I would have wept and cried with despair right then and there had Emit not suddenly appeared from nowhere to distract me.

     "What is this!?"

     "The future." he shrugged.

     "This is not the future!"

     "I suppose that is true. You have gone forward in time, but you can only ever experience the present. The future is something that can never be reached, for if you reach it then it will cease to be."

     "That's not what I meant!"

Emit, unmovable, just stared at me with a mildly curious expression even though I had pretty much screamed at him.

     "I don't understand!" I continued as I turned again to face the desolate looking skyscrapers, "I have worked so hard for thousands of years with hopes of giving everyone a future worth looking forward to. How can it be that after everything that...that this is the result? How much worse was it supposed to be?"

I glanced towards Emit. He was no longer besides me, but near a door leading into the building we were at.

     "Where are you going?" I asked indignantly.

     "You should go walk around for a bit." he said simply.

He disappeared into the building. I rushed after him, but the door had been locked.

The silence was insufferable, but it was quickly broken. There was a bang, then a burst, then a rush. Wordlessly, I stumbled over to the other side of the landing. The source of the noise was some sort of geyser gushing from the ground. The world was so destroyed that there were cracks and fissures everywhere. The summer heat made the air more rancid and vile than it already was. Despite the heat, I shuddered from the overwhelming hopelessness of the situation. I truly wanted to cry when I looked out and saw the air, which appeared to be growing greener every second, stretch out like it was an sentient evil trying to conquer all that could be conquered.

It was my plan to wait for Emit to reappear on the landing. The last thing I wanted to do was go explore the awful place I had been brought to. I couldn't imagine anything positive coming out of it. However, no matter how long I waited or how loudly I pounded on the door- he was nowhere to be found. I had to accept that I wouldn't be able to leave until I did what he said. So, I used the stairs on the other side of the building to make my departure. Overcome by my despair, my eyes were blind to all the technology filling the inside. I barely even blinked when I saw shining robots walking about the few other humans nearby.

The vile smell of the air only grew worse when I reached ground level. There wasn't only cracks and fissures littering the ground. Litter was also littering the ground, although I don't think just "litter" is enough to do the massive piles of absolute rubbish desecrating the landscape justice. Garbage was everywhere- on the grass, on the sidewalks, and even in the road. I knelt down next to a large heap to see it was a pure tangle of everything from empty cups to spare car parts. Picking up a pipe, I stood up and sought for someplace where I might properly dispose of it and some of the rest of the mess. As it was, the garbage cans were overflowing. Most were buried themselves under the trash. I reluctantly tossed the pipe back. I suppose there was nothing to be done if there was simply so much refuse that there was no longer anyplace to haul it off to.

I wandered. That was all that I did. I wished to see some glimmer of hope or life, but there was none. The city was eerily quiet. Everyone chose to remain in their homes. I couldn't blame them. Every breath felt like I was inhaling poison, which was probably exactly what the air was to the humans. I was most likely only able to stand it unfiltered because I was an elf. Even then, I should have had some kind of mask. Trying not to gag took up much of my thought as I meandered my was through the streets. My last hope was that I would find a more positive view the further I got away from the city. What I came across was the exact opposite. I came to the city limits when I reached an old wall which had kept back was I reasoned was some sort of ocean or lake. Rolling waters had been replaced with wastelands and more sick, green air as far as the eye could see. I became truly nauseous.

I should have gone back to the portal then, but for whatever reason my feet kept me wandering. In the back corner of the city, I came across a playground. There were no children playing like there should have been. All that there was was more trash, more stench, and more despair. I wondered if there were even any children in the city. I would never consider the idea of having or raising a child in such a desolate place where there appeared to be nothing to strive for. I doubted the people living forever in such a world believed differently

Finally, I reentered the building where the portal was. It had been close to an hour that I had been outside, but the experience weighed upon me heavily enough to feel like a lifetime. It had been so long since my morale had been dashed so low. The peace I had earned could never exist again. I would go back to my time, but never would I be able to forget the past hour. I would have to spend the years leading up until this moment dreading what was coming. The thought forced my tears out until they were unstoppable. My wedding ring pressed up against my cheek. I thought of Laril. I thought of Elrunamir. I thought of Ranimir, Calithon, Rynan, and the rest of my family. How could I face them cheerfully again knowing our hard work still led to such a future?

I cried for a long time. I wept and wept until my attitude changed. Despite Emit's warning, I began to think of why I was supposed to be shown the future. After taking the time to get a grip on my emotions, I came to what I assumed at that moment to be the correct reason. I now knew of the future that lay ahead. I knew the actions of the past world had not been enough. Now that I knew, I could take back the warning. I could raise the alarm to have everyone work harder to avoid the worst. Surely the truth could not be anything other than that.

I must admit, I grew incredibly impatient when Emit was still nowhere to be found. I was sick of seeing the future that I would do anything to change. Going home was a craving I could not deny. That's why I might have kicked the portal in my frustration. It might have activated, and I might have jumped into it even though I had no idea where it would lead me.

My exit from my travel was much less graceful than it was before. The portal practically spit me out as if it was taking revenge on me kicking it. I rubbed at my sore spots and stood up.

My mouth dropped open once more when I glanced up. I wasn't home, but in the exact same city I had been in before! I leapt to my feet and rushed to the edge of the landing. It actually wasn't the same place at all. It couldn't be. The air was clear. The sky was blue and bright, and the grass was rich and green. There was life, hope, and happiness. Dumbfounded, I stood there motionless.

Behind me there came a strange noise. I turned just quickly enough to see Emit appear not from the portal, but next to it in a separate show of bright lights. He smiled at me and motioned me over. I sheepishly moved towards him.

     "It was a good thing I already knew you were going to do that or else you could have caused yourself quite a bit of trouble." he teased.

     "Maybe if you had just been around..." I mumbled.

     "What can I say? I'm a busy man. I am the time traveler."

     "If you say so."

     "And I do say so."

I rolled my eyes.

Glancing from Emit, to the city, and back to Emit again, I gave him a stern look.

     "What is this? And give me a real answer."

     "It's the future," Emit shrugged, "Or, to be precise, a future."

     "A future?"

     "This is the future which the world is currently headed towards. The other one you were in was the way the world would have been had you either not started or completed your efforts. In that place, your people would have been destroyed entirely and the humans who weren't lucky enough to have escaped to another planet would have perished as well."

     "Why did you bring me there then if that isn't the way things are going to be?"

     "To show you the difference- what you otherwise wouldn't have seen."

     "Was there are a reason I had to see the difference?"

     "Do you not like seeing the real results your actions made?"

     "No, I..."

My head turned towards the beautiful city again.

     "I'm glad I came."

     "I already knew that." Emit teased.

     "You are a true comedian."

     "Why, thank you," he continued in the same manner, "But enough praise for me. Why don't you go do some more exploring? I think you'll enjoy yourself more this time around."

And so, I followed Emit's advice. I took eagerly to the streets. Perhaps it was simply me having taken in all that awful air before, but the air now seemed full of something fresh that gave me energy. I absorbed the amazing sights around me generously. I was floored by the technology and how advanced it had gotten. I finally took a proper look at the robots walking around town, but the means of transportation- like the hover boards- kept me occupied as well.

I grinned wryly and laughed to myself when I entered a park and discovered a statue of none other than Emit himself. It did proclaim him as The Time Traveler. For the first time, I began wondering more about him. What time was he actually from? Were there any sort of responsibilities that came with his role as the ultimate expert of jumping through the years? I made a note to myself to ask if I got the chance.

I was very surprised that not many people paid much attention to me. It seemed obvious that I would stick out, but really most everyone carried on their way without taking once glance in my direction. One family did notice me, and they invited me over to lunch. It was then when I found out that people coming from other times was a common event in the city. There was someone around almost everyday. The family I was with explained that they liked to invite those people over to get firsthand accounts of history. I did tell them much of what I knew. However, I got them to tell me more about their present and also how to use their technology such as their food...maker...thing. I cannot recall the proper name for it. The family was slightly disappointed when I was due to leave since they wanted to know more of me, but I told them they could go ahead and find the current day me. It had been briefly mentioned that my people were thriving, so I would be around somewhere.

Which was a rather strange thought.

The family recommended if I was interested in learning more about the technology to visit the Bot Emporium. It was near their house, so I took their suggestion and went for a look. I nearly walked right out due to being overwhelmed at how confusing everything was when one of the workers got me set up on what was their equivalent of a computer. I gave the worker a look when he told me he could teach me how to make nanobots and trait chips for the bots. One wouldn't think it would be possible to learn such things so quickly, but...it was. I still didn't fully grasp the true mechanics of the computer, but with the proper instruction I was somehow able to plan out the necessary components.

The worker then assisted me in switching out the trait chips of one of the bots that had been shipped to them recently. It had come with a Sinister chip, which would cause buyers to shun away from the model. I was amused to see changing the traits was as simple as pulling out the Sinister chip and putting the Angler chip I created instead.

Back at the housing center that held the portal, I spent the rest of the daylight hours entertaining myself with everything the place had to offer. I picked up more skills quickly the longer I practiced. The strangest instrument I have ever seen, an instrument that used lasers to create sound, became second nature to me in barely an hour. I had to shake my head at myself when I grew impatient because I wanted my time to evolve faster so I could play with it whenever I wanted. Emit hadn't revealed how far into the future I had been taken. Who knows how long I would have to wait for it to be invented.

The day came to a close before I knew it. I was exhausted from everything, but there was one more thing I had to do before I called it a night. The streets were quiet, empty, and peaceful as I made my way to the same spot at the wall at the edge of the city limits. The ocean or lake was still dry. It could still be called a wasteland. It saddened me that it appeared inevitable that the world would have to suffer no matter how much effort was made, but as I stared at the glittering stars in the crisp night sky I couldn't stay negative for long. The worst had been avoided. The future wasn't perfect, but it was in the right state in order to strive for what it could become again. That was all I could ask for.

Of course, Emit was nowhere to be found when I returned to the building. Learning my lesson about not bothering the portal, I resigned to my fate at having to spend a night in the future. I didn't complain much. There remained too much for me to play with to become upset. The "shower" fascinated me with its lack of water and strange pulses of light that cleansed me instead. It was beyond me how they did so considering it wasn't required of me to undress. Honestly, I spent more time changing the color of the lights than I did bathing.

I was just as entertained by the bed. When I discovered that I could have the bed influence my dreams, I almost went for it. However, I chose to sleep normally for I thought it would be more fun to see what my own dreams would be like after experiencing such a day. The lack of blankets bothered me at first when I settled in, but the dome that rose emanated a warm heat that kept me comfortable and content. The soft, gentle glow of the light wasn't so bad either.

Vivid dreams were what I expected. What I didn't expect- my body to feel much heavier as someone shook me awake. My sleepy mind took a long time to realize that the reason why I felt so heavy all of a sudden was because I had blankets on top of me.

     "Ellothiel? Don't you think you should get up now? Even Cal is awake."

Laril's voice floated to me from afar at the beginning, but the words he spoke became clearer and stronger with each breath. That was when it dawned on me that I was back in my own bed.

With how hard it was to open my eyes, I might as well have been sleeping for centuries. I sat up, groaning mentally. Laril laughed.

     "Perhaps I should have just left you to it. You look a little out of it, and this is the first time you've slept so long for a while now."

     "It's fine. I'd rather be awake," I reassured him, "But I really have been sleeping this whole time?"

     "Yeah."

     "I didn't get up at all?"

     "No. I woke up when you put Elrunamir back in his crib. You came back to bed, and you've been asleep ever since." Laril explained with a hint of confusion.

I stared at the ground for a few seconds before chuckling.

     "It was a dream. Of course it was. I don't know why I thought it would be any different." I said as I shook my head at myself.

     "Saw something wild, did you?" Laril asked in amusement.

     "That's one way to put it." I agreed with a smile.

The energized babbling that then came from the crib caught both of our attention. Elrunamir was awake as well and ready to get going. He was already standing and reaching out for us before I stood up myself. Laril let me get him as I liked to be a bit selfish by always getting the first cuddle of the day.

I laughed when Elrunamir actually tried to jump into my arms. He had had that same habit when he had been a young one his first time around.

     "And how was your night? Did you go anywhere exciting in your dream too?" I asked as I picked him up.

He merely stared at me. I smiled, gave him a hug, and passed him to Laril so I could get dressed while he got Elrunamir ready for the day too.

I couldn't help but to glance out the window as I dressed. Naturally, there was no portal on the lawn. There were no signs that what I dreamt of truly happened. It had all been something occurring in my mind. However, that didn't mean I didn't believe in it. I had seen too many strange things happen to brush it off as illusion. Whether in the physical world or the imaginative one, I had gone to the future. The truths I had been shown continued to be truths, and I was glad I had the knowledge I now had. The lone point I was disappointed about was that I hadn't gotten to talk to Emit one last time, yet he would be there in those many years to come for me to reunite with.

There was laughter from behind me. Elrunamir really was awake and energetic. Laril had already gotten him into a playful mood before he was fully dressed. I watched the two from the corner of my eye. I had been consumed with thoughts of what was to come when I went to sleep. As I watched my husband and son, my mind returned to the present.

It made me content to know what awaited me ahead, but it made me happy to see the joys I had around me right there in that very moment.