Fiction Story of Time Machine – CLOSURE – The Final Chapter
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John was still feeling the after effects of the strenuous journey. It was a really bumpy ride. But he had finally reached his destination; St Patrick’s Charitable Hospital. It was a cold January evening and there weren’t many people outside the hospital building. It was a small hospital on the outskirts of the city. John entered the lobby and looked around trying to find a familiar face. There were many people there, waiting for their loved ones. Some were slouching on the uncomfortable looking couches while others were just walking back and forth with uncontrollable anxiety. But he couldn’t find the person he was looking for.
John walked up to the reception and tried to get the attention of the lady who was busy on the phone. She was too absorbed in her conversation to notice him. He looked at the wall clock hanging behind her. It was 7.30 PM. There was a calendar next to the clock. It showed 12th January in Bold Letters. He fumbled in his pockets to make sure that he had everything he needed. “I have reached on time. He must here somewhere. Why can’t I find him” John thought to himself. When he was about to go back outside, he saw Henry walk in through the door with a big bag in his hand.
John couldn’t hide his happiness upon seeing Henry after many years. He never thought he could meet him again in this lifetime. So it was a little hard to believe that it was not a dream, even though he was standing right in front of him. He looked a lot different since the last time they had met. He looked so much better. His first instinct was to go over to Henry and give him a big hug. But he held himself back albeit with a lot of difficulty. Instead he decided to follow Henry and see where he was going.
Henry got into the lift. He wanted to press the button for 8th Floor. But he was so nervous that he ended up pressing 3 or 4 buttons. An old lady who was standing next to him in the lift tapped his shoulder and said “You seem to be very anxious. Who are you visiting in the hospital?” Henry gave her a sheepish smile and said “I’m here with my wife. We are having our first baby.” She smiled at him and told him to save the worrying for the time when his kid reaches teenage. Everyone in the lift had a good laugh, including Henry.
The lift reached 8th Floor. Henry got out of the lift and the old lady wished him good luck. He turned around and waved at her with a big smile. He started walking towards room 813 oblivious of the fact that someone had gotten off the lift along with him and that same someone was walking right behind him. John wanted to make sure that he shouldn’t let Henry out of his sight even for a second. It was hard to tell who among the two was more nervous.
Henry had almost reached the room when he saw one of the nurses walking out of the room. She told him that doctors had taken his wife to the delivery room a couple of minutes back. The baby was on its way. Henry started running towards the delivery room. John followed him all the way, trying to be as discreet as possible.
As he reached the delivery room, the nurse told him that he had to wait outside. She told him not worry as his wife was in good hands. “Yeah right! Don’t worry. Easy for you to say” Henry thought to himself.
He decided to go and sit on one of the seats right in front of the delivery room. John was also sitting nearby holding a newspaper. But his eyes were only on Henry.
Henry was a nervous wreck by now. He was looking around trying to find a distraction. A thousand thoughts were racing through his mind. He couldn’t wait to see the face of his newborn baby. Both he and his wife had been waiting so long for this day to come. And finally it was happening. They had so many dreams for this baby. They would make sure that they would provide it with all the luxuries they never had in their childhood.
Henry decided to look at one of the magazines. As he was about to pick up the magazine, he noticed John looking at him. He looked familiar. But he couldn’t remember where he had seen him before. Henry smiled at him. John was taken aback. He didn’t know how to react as he hadn’t expected anyone to recognize him over here. His heart started racing. He tried to avoid eye contact.
Henry looked at him again and said “Hey buddy. How are you doing? You look very familiar. Have we met before? “ John was trying very hard to hide his anxiety. He had to come up with some alibi. Then he remembered something and blurted out “Err.. I guess Meredith College of Science”. That’s where Henry had studied. John thanked his lucky starts for remembering that name.
Henry took a long hard look at him again and asked “Hmm. No wonder you look familiar. Which year did you graduate?” John put on his game face again. “I was two years Junior to you. You are Henry right. It’s been a long time since I last saw you. “
Henry nodded his head in approval “Yes. Long time. Lucky I ran into you here. My wife is delivering our first baby as we speak. By the way what’s your name? Sorry I am just not able to remember. Guess I’m getting old now! “. Henry patted John’s back and both had a good laugh. It felt like the good old days. Only difference was that only one of them knew the truth about where and when they had last met.
John gave a quick introduction of himself. The only part of it which was true was that his first name was John. He couldn’t take any chances. So he had rehearsed it several times in preparation to his travel to this place on this day. The fake address, job details, the fake relative with the knee replacement surgery, everything had to be planned. John knew that he would never get an opportunity like this again. He knew what had to be done to correct all the wrong doings. So he made sure that all corners were covered.
A nurse walked towards Henry with a bright smile on her face. “Congratulations Mr. Neilson. It’s a baby boy. Both the mother and the child are perfectly healthy. You can see them in a short while.” Henry was ecstatic. He had been waiting for this day for so long. John congratulated him and offered him a handshake. But Henry being in no mood for formalities just turned around and gave him a big hug. “Thank you old friend!! I am so happy today and I am so glad I can share this joy with you”.
John felt a tad guilty about what he was about to do. Henry was such a good man. “If only he knew who I really am and what my intentions are” he thought to himself. He went to the reception and got a blank paper sheet. He started writing something on it. Then he folded it nicely and wrote “Congratulations Mr and Mrs. Neilson” on top of it.
Henry was looking at him, slightly bemused. “Hey John what are you writing over there?” John smiled at him and said that he couldn’t get a greeting card. So he was writing a letter to congratulate him and his wife. Henry thanked him and said” So nice of you John. But that’s totally unnecessary. You can meet my wife and kid soon and congratulate them in person”. John smiled politely and nodded his head. But he knew very well that there was no way he could meet Henry’s wife Emma in person and go through with what he was here to accomplish.
John had to distract Henry. So he pointed at someone behind him and asked “Hey is that your wife? What is she doing out here so soon? “. As Henry turned around to have a look, John placed the letter inside his pocket and took out another similar letter which he had written long before he started his journey. Henry turned and said that was some other woman. John gave him the letter and told him not open it until later. He wanted him and his wife to read it together. Henry thought this was a little strange but decided to overlook it. At this point the only thing that mattered to him was his new born son. Little did he know that the contents of letter that John had given him were all about his son.
“Have you thought a name for your son yet?” asked John. “Nope , not yet. May be we’ll name him John!!” said Henry winking at John. This sent out a chill through his spine. He could feel butterflies in his stomach now. He tried to calm himself down saying that there is no way that Henry could know the truth about him. As he was about to say something the nurse called out for Henry. She was holding his baby boy.
Henry took his kid in his arms for the first time. The baby was the cutest thing he had ever seen in his life. It had the eyes of his mother. Henry couldn’t hold back his tears of joy. He called John to have a look at his son. John’s arms were trembling by now. He did a quick scan to look for all the possible exits and picked one. Before Henry could realize what was happening John snatched the baby from his hands and started running. Henry was taken aback. He started running behind John, yelling at him “What the hell are you doing with my kid!!”
John ran towards an open door. It was the door to a balcony. He reached the balcony and stopped. Henry was right behind them. When he reached there he saw John standing on the edge of the balcony railings with the baby in his hands. His eyes were filled with tears and his legs were shaky. Henry couldn’t believe his eyes. He yelled at John “Why are you doing this? What wrong have I ever done to you? I am ready to give you whatever you want. But please let my son go” His anger had turned into utter helplessness now.
John looked Henry in the eye and told him with a brittle voice “Remember the letter I had given you. I have explained everything in it. Once you read it you will understand. What I am doing, is in the best interest of all of us. “
Henry fumbled for the letter in his pocket. As he took it out, John started waving at him. With a feeble voice he mumbled “Good bye Dad. I will miss you. Take good care of Mom and Lisa”. Saying this John jumped off the 8th Floor Balcony with the baby in his hands. Henry ran towards the edge of the balcony. But it was too late. When he looked down he could see only the baby, lying motionless on the roof of a car parked next to the building. John was nowhere to be seen. Nobody could have survived a jump from that height. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
Henry collapsed on the floor. It was very difficult for him to fathom what had just transpired. Even though it had happened right in front of his eyes, he simply couldn’t believe it. He was not ready to accept the fact that his new born son had been snatched away from him, forever.
Henry slowly opened the letter John had given him earlier. The last words that John said before he leaped off didn’t make any sense. As he started going through the letter he was left shell shocked.
“Dear Henry. By the time you go through this letter I will be long gone. I will start by introducing myself. My full name is John Neilson. I am your son. I know this is going to be hard to believe. But I am the kid who was born today in this very hospital.
You and Mom were great parents and you guys tried your very best to bring me up in the right way with all the right values. But I always had a wild streak in me. By the time I became a teenager I had got hooked onto alcohol and drugs. I kept getting into trouble with the law. I brought nothing but pain and suffering into your lives.
You guys were so involved in taking care of my mess that you couldn’t give enough attention to my sweet little sister, Lisa. She was such a nice girl. But because of my dark shadow even she lost her way. She ended up losing her mental balance and had to be put in an asylum. All this pain took its toll on your and Mom’s health. First it was Mom. She went into a coma 8 years ago and never woke up. And 6 years back I lost you to a heart attack.
Even though I caused so much pain to you and Mom, neither off you were bitter towards me. You are good people and you deserve a better life. Thirty five years from this day time travel became possible. Your old friend Mr. Benson who works at the University is the one who made this path breaking discovery. When I came to know about this, I knew what had to be done. So I decided to travel back in time to this day, when it all started going wrong. I know what I have to do will bring you immense pain. But considering the bigger picture, this is the right thing to do.
Hope someday you and Mom find it in your heart to forgive me. And take good care of my dear little sister Lisa. Good bye.
Yours forever – John “
Henry went through the letter again and again. So much information was a little too hard to digest in such a short span of time. He was hoping it was just a horrible nightmare and he would wake up any second. But sadly it wasn’t. He finally composed himself and started walking towards the lift, to see his dear departed son- little baby John.
__END__
