The Communicator

I looked out the window and took in a deep breath. Yes, it was da ja vu. It was history repeating itself. But I am allowed to make mistakes and learn from it. My Word is written in blood is over-rated. I should be able to change my mind.

There she stood. Sweet, not-so-innocent Penelope. She had a half smile, but her eyes were shooting daggers and in there I could also see her begging me not to go. She was torn, I could tell because I had seen this look many, many times. Not in one but two lifetimes. Come back, don't go. I hate you! I am angry that you are leaving. Please don't leave. But we were not good for each other.

I was done. Too much had been said and done. I made a mistake. I have to go back to give Debs closure. Maybe it was a lame excuse but Debs had never asked for any of this.

When she knows, then... then I will decide what to do. Where to go. What to do. The train whistle blew cutting into my thoughts, and I looked out the window. Lil William was waving wildly and jumping up and down. He started to cry but it was because he wanted to come on the train-ride more than anything else.

As his mother carried him, the train pulled out of the station. It took the bend and I took my eyes off the platform and watched the smoke bellow. I wanted this, I asked for this, and yet....

5 years ago

I had orchestrated my death. Or at least my disappearance. I hoped Debs got to claim the insurance. I hoped this would be the answer for her and for me.

I had watched that advertisement of a new life too many times. It played games with my mind. It created possibilities in my head. Time travel was the answer. Not into the past because that had consequences. But travelling into the future, into alternate worlds that had been fabricated, that had become a reality.

Humans are strange, I am strange. New worlds were being built in the future that represented the past and I wanted in. People reminiscing had become a lucrative business.

Travel into the future to experience the past.

I read it on the billboards over and over again. I watched it on the screen while waiting for my ride to work so many times, it became a chant. I imagined what it would be like. I day dreamed of the happiness and the peace and the chance to start all over again.

In the office it was a constant "This will not do Henry!", "You better shape up or ship out Henry!", "Sales means you have to sell Henry!". Then I'd go home and Debs would dig into me. "Did you pay the bills Henry? They called today, they are cutting off our electricity at the end of the week!", "Henry, I do not need a part-time husband and a feel-like-it Dad", "Grow up Henry!! I already have 2 kids, father them don't be one of them.'"

Nothing was enough. I wasn't enough. I was too far gone. I didn't know how to come back. I didn't want to come back. I wanted to move forward. I saved, stinged, and managed to save enough for that ticket. It wasn't cheap. I also had to cut corners with payments all in the hopes that the insurance will pay off.

Then I waited for the right moment to "die". When the floods hit the city, and there was chaos, I had my chance. I didn't think too hard. I had everything I needed on me, because you can't really take anything to the other side. I just had to get the ticket and go. "Sir, are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" they asked repeatedly.

While there was chaos, people reported missing, I stayed hidden until my ride was ready. And then I was heading for the new world. I left no trace of me from the floods. And I had given no indication to anyone of my plans. I was on my way and I couldn't wait to start all over again.

I loved the sound of the wheels hitting the rail tracks. Tik tik tik tok Tik tik tik tok. The rhythm was hypnotising. The whistle blowing brought me out of my thoughts. I didn't know what to expect on the other side. That was part of the charm of the advertising. No one knew. And no one had ever come back to tell the tale. It just wasn't a new world, it was a new life.

As I stepped out of the train with nothing to call my own, I realised something was different. My clothes. When did this happen? Going through the time tunnel had changed me, inside and out. I actually had a moustache. I pulled it to make sure.

"Extra! Extra!! Read all about it! There's a circus coming to town!"

Could that really be the highlight of this town? A circus? I liked the thought. Nothing to overthink? No groups picketing, fighting animal cruelty. Just the good old days. I already like the place. It was a small town in a dessert. Just like the westerns that my Grandfather had told me about when I was growing up. Not that he experienced it. It was just one of his favourite genre's to watch.

"I'll have one of those" and I reached out for the newspaper. Might as well get familiar with everything that's happening here in town.

"That will be 30 cents Sir."

Of course, I had to pay for it. I gingerly checked my pockets and I had money. Was this planned? I couldn't tell. I felt like a cold beer. And I just started walking and there it was. A big signboard read Town's Tavern. Simple, straight to the point, you knew exactly what you were getting.

I could have chosen to sit anywhere at the bar as it was empty. Was I the only one on the train? I couldn't remember. I slid onto a stool at the bar. And suddenly someone stood up from under the bar, startling me.

Woah. I had expected a man. I mean, a bar is no place for a lady. Urghhhh... you'd never guess I came from the future,... the past... but this is ...

"What can I get you?"

"A whiskey coke"

"Whiskey what?"

"Whiskey water"

She got me the drink. And placed it on the counter.

"It's rude to stare."

"I'm sorry. I -"

"Don't be. Just pay for the drink."

I fumbled in my pocket and handed over a bill. She took it and stared at it then at me. I had to say it.

"It's rude to stare"

I swore I could see a smile but she turned away and continued moving things around and wiping things down.

"What are you doing in this part of town? You don't look like you are from here."

Do I tell her the truth? Are these people also Choosers like me? Were they always here? Maybe I should have asked the questions back there and then when I could. So eager to get out, I hardly asked anything.

She turned back to look at me.

"I am Henry. Henry Gatesbury."

"I am I-really-don't-care-who-you-are!. Just finish your drink and get out of here. We are actually closed. You can come back later when we open in the evening."

I liked her. I have always liked them fiesty.

"Can you tell me where I can put up for a night?"

"We run a motel upstairs. Walk around to the side and you will see the entrance. Father will help you."

I tossed and turned in that run down hell hole they called a motel. I didn't have anywhere else to go. Beggars can't be choosers. It was so close to midnight, I had to decide what I was going to do in this new world. The flies were bothering me. I got up and walked over to the window.

I saw the barn in the far corner. And someone was awake. There was a light. I walked over, in the hopes of tiring myself enough to be able to go to bed after.

I walked in to be greeted with parts, parts from automobiles, tractors, trains. Piled high. I heard sounds coming from behind a pile.

"Hello?" I didn't want to startle anyone. Isn't this how people got shot?

The young woman from the bar walked around. She wasn't wearing her pretty blue dress anymore. She had pants and a shirt on. She was fuming mad.

"What do you want? You are not suppose to be here! Get out!!"

"I'm sorry, I - i - "

'Get out!! I don 't have time for this. And my father will shoot you if he finds you in here."

"At least tell me your name."

"And once I do, you better get out of here. Penelope. Now go!!!!"

I tried to think fast, to say something sensible that will allow me at least 5 minutes with her.

"I - I - I -"

"Do you have a stuttering problem?"

I wasn't sure how to reply. I looked around at the junk, I couldn't call it anything else. "What are you doing?"

"I am building the very first metal bird in the sky. The brothers are also working on it, though it is supposed to be the town's everybody-knows-but-no-one-says-anything secret but I am going to beat them to it. So, what I am trying to say is, I can see that look in your eyes, but I really don't care. I have things to do and I have no time for the likes of you. Newbie in town looking for a good time. You wouldn't be the first. Now get out!!"

"I -"

"Now you know my name, just leave."

"I can help. I know how to do this"

"Did the brothers send you? Are you spying on me for them?"

She was ready to throw the spanner she was holding at me. I insitinctely put my hands up.

"No, no!! I don't know who they are. I am new to these parts. I am just a nobody who knows a little bit on how to make an engine run. It may or may not be successful, but I can help."

That's how it started. Living in this new 'ol world. Falling in love with Penelope Jones. We never got around to building an aeroplane. Most of the time, we made love amongst the metal scraps. It turned us on. It turned her on. She tunned me on.

The brothers built the the flying metal bird. It had it's faults but Penelope was angry she didn't get to it first. She threw snide remarks at me, like I was the one who had ruined everything for her.

And even though I know I shouldn't have said anything, I should have left my old world behind me, I introduced the idea of a box that could hold information and also be used as a communication tool. We spent as much time exploring each other as we did working on this magic box.

The secret time we spent together added to our love story. I worked at a farm 2 miles to the west, and would come back late at night to help her. Then we had to get married because she was with child. I had to make an honest woman of her. That's what her father suggested while holding the gun to my head. I was going to anyway.

We continued working on the Magic Information Box which she eventually called The Communicator. But she was angry all the time. The pregnancy made her nasty. As she got bigger, and all her attention was on the Communicator, she lost interest in me. She only ever talked about the how's and why's..

And the closer we got to figuring things out, the further we got. There was always something that didn't fit. We spent so much time in the barn, I was sure our child would come out with a manual in hand on how to fix things.

And when Lil William was born, things didn't get better. He cried all night and all her frustrations were directed at me. She couldn't spend as much time with The Communicator as she wanted. She called me the distraction. I had crushed her dreams. I was responsible for her failures.

And finally, yesterday when again, she told me to leave her alone. To get out of her life. How she wished we had never met. When her father walked in with the gun, throwing the ticket to go back from wherever I came from. When Lil William started crying in the other room. I packed my bags. I had enough. It was time to leave. I wasn't welcome anymore.

Penelope would be fine without me. She had picked my brains so much on how to build the Communicator I was sure she would make it work.

I watched Lil William run after the train crying. He was only 3 but he will forget this. I won't. Right now, I have to go back and make amends with Debs. And I will be a better man, I promise.

Image taken with my trusty iPhone 7 Plus, edited with my favourite app Photofox

This is my submission for @neoxian's writing challenge for a story based on Steampunk. You can find out more here and also for the other entries. I am not very familiar with the genre but it tweaked my interest and I did want to give it a go. Hope you enjoyed reading it. And would love to hear your thoughts on it.

’Til we meet again over text, pics, videos, maybe even coffee - Steem On!!

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