21 July 2020

Alisha opened her eyes. She was no longer in the dark, bizarre room, where her mother used to explore the dark secrets of time. But, she found herself in an abandoned, deteriorated compound. The ground seemed stranded.

The fall had quite an immense impact on her. Her vision was not still clear. Her back hurt, and she found it, difficult to sit up. Her watch could not survive the fall. Its dial now had a permanent split. She slipped it into her pocket. She was wearing her favourite sky blue gown, with a mix of white. She could not possibly know that this was no longer trending in fashion.

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21 July 1840

“Mom, have you seen Alisha?”, a small girl, nearly awake, desperately trying to stay straight, asked her mom.

“No, Ashley. You slept with her. She might be in the bedroom.”

“She is not there. I checked.” Her drowsiness was evident in her voice.

“Then, she might be in the garden, honey. Now, go brush your teeth.”

The busy mother could no longer tolerate her intervention. She was a very tall lady, nearing her fifties, but her age was not all evident from her demeanour. She was highly conscious of maintaining her features.

Being a lady of Science, she faced appreciation and criticism to the far extremes. But she always managed to stay resolved.

Their family was quite famous for generations. But, distinct from the category of fame most families belonged to, they proved their excellence in Science.

Henry Beckenbov, seemingly the last Beckenbov that will walk on the Earth, was determined to marry a lady of Science. It took him 35 years of his life to finally accomplish his dream. The particular reason for this chapter in his history was that Henry lacked certain key genetic traits from his predecessors.

As a child, Henry excelled in History, but he always found Science to be his worst nightmare. The concepts of forces and energies horrified him in his nights. But, exceedingly proud of his lineage, and blessed with the curse of being the single child, he was desperate in staying on his decision.

And then, in December of 1818, Henry’s eyes finally met with the woman in his dream. Her name was Elizabeth Turner, who had an exceptional talent in Physics, and she was everything that Henry required. Years of persuasion ultimately convinced the physicist to accept the historian, and their beautiful story thus began.

But, his years of longing finally turned out dreadfully wrong. Three years later, Henry and Elizabeth found themselves to be the parents of two daughters, and Henry was in a very pathetic state. But, he still managed to be a good father for Alisha and Ashley. They loved him more than they loved their mother.

It was contradictory since history was never fascinating, while Physics always demanded curiosity. But, Human Psychology was more intricate than forces and energies.

Henry had now attained his seniority. He was over 55, and greys had nearly defeated the blacks. And being a historian, he found himself to be an informational archive. He was proud of the quantum of knowledge he had attained in his life. He believed that there was nothing more substantial than knowledge.

His obsession with acquiring knowledge was closely followed by his craze for coffee. Though historians are usually tedious, Henry’s unusual intake of caffeine made him more enthusiastic.

On the other hand, Ashley still had not given up on her pursuit. Her drowsiness was now replaced with unusual hyperactivity quite often detected in her age group. Her pursuit now intersected with her father, who was enjoying his second coffee of the day.

“Daddy, have you seen Alisha?”

Submerged in the newspapers, he found the child’s question too insignificant.

“She might be inside the house, honey.”

“She is not there.” Her shrill voice managed to damage core functionalities of Henry’s hearing abilities.

Disturbed, he took his eyes off the newspaper. Not interested in a busy morning, he dismissed the words that were to have erupted. He then altered his voice so that the kid might most probably laugh her lungs out and said, “Check again.”

As expected, the little girl laughed and laughed and made her way to the house.

“Are all kids strange?” Henry thought loudly.

Alisha stood up and looked around. She could see a building on the far end of the ground. But, the structure seemed a lot different than in her memories. Nature had engulfed it, or what left of it. The building was so familiar for her. It was her home.

She could not understand what was happening. She tried to recollect what happened. But, all she could remember was her falling. What happened then? Suddenly, a horror consumed her mind.

“ASHLEY, DAD, MOM, Ash…” She ran towards the building. She could not even imagine what happened there. Was she dreaming? But, it all felt so real. She pushed open the front door, and it fell apart. She called out again, but all she could hear was her sound reflecting from the walls.

She fell on her knees and cried. She did not know where her family was. She did not even understand how her home could transform like this. She was bewildered. She did not know what to do next.

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