Chapter 1: The Meeting
Alistair, a clockmaker from 1888, was working on his chronometer, a device used to see time during those days. He wanted this chronometer to act as his time-traveling machine because he wanted to go back to the Tuesday he made a mistake on... his biggest mistake.
He spent months on it, and finally, it was time to travel to that Tuesday in the past.
When he clicked the button, he landed.
He landed inside a subway.
He looked around, terrified, and said to himself, "Where am I? Is this a demonic underworld? Who are these people, and what are they wearing?"
He looked at a girl who was impatiently waiting for the train to arrive. He clung to the hem of her shirt and pleaded, "Miss, please help me escape this demonic world! I shall report the existence of this cave to the Queen!"
Olivia, a journalist waiting for her train, was already having a bad day and felt very tired. She looked at him with a strange face and said, "Are you mad? Who are you? Utterly disgusting, leave me alone!"
He blinked. "Are you not afraid of this demonic world? Surely, the year 1888 marks the end of days."
She frowned. "Are you out of your mind? Are you high? This is 2026!"
He froze. "What?" He looked down at his broken chronometer. "I have reached the wrong century."
She raised her eyebrows. "Are you talking to yourself?"
He gulped and said, "I know you won't understand what I am trying to say, but I am not from here. I belong to the year 1888. I was merely working on my chronometer to travel through time. I desired only to be a gentle wind flowing around the past, but suddenly, it led me into this horrific storm. How fascinating, yet how terrifying."
She blinked at the use of such words in a normal conversation. "What kind of English are u speaking for a normal conversation, try speaking normal and how am I supposed to believe you?"
He stepped back. "I am from 1888, look at my attire, lady." He was wearing a practical linen shirt beneath a fitted waistcoat, with his dark wool trousers held high by a pair of button-on braces.
She blinked, wondering if she was an idiot for staying there, or if people had just been acting strange nowadays. "Oh man, just stay away."
She waited for the train to arrive, ignoring him. He showed her the chronometer. "Look, I time-traveled using this device."
She looked at the object in his hand. She had seen things like this in movies, so she raised her eyebrows, still unable to trust him. "Show me your phone!"
He asked, "You mean a telephone? Why ever would I be carrying a telephone with me?"
She blinked. "Are you playing a game with me or pranking me? I will call the police."
He sighed. "I am telling the truth, lady. I have time-traveled."
She narrowed her eyes and looked at his clothes. "I see. What's your full name?"
He said, "Alistair Thaddeus Vance."
She blinked, completely clueless. "What's your Instagram ID?"
He tilted his head. "What?"
His genuine confusion started to make her believe him a bit. Her mind began to work, and she thought, "What if I turn this into a blockbuster news story? I will be so famous, and he really looks like someone from that era."
She held his wrist and pulled him toward the train as it arrived. He flinches. "Where are you taking me, lady? Are you kidnapping me? I possess no money!"
She sighed. "I will help you in this century, get it? It is hard to believe, but that is what I have to do for my news."
He looked at her. "You are a journalist?"
She nodded, and he said, "Very well. A favor for a favor. You shall help me return home by procuring the spring I need for my chronometer, and I will give you the news story you desire. Furthermore, I require a cup of tea."
She looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Done deal, a favor for a favor. But I hope you aren't a danger to me. Even if you are, you won't be safe. I'm a Taekwondo player, get it?"
He froze, looked at her, and then looked away. "Impossible. I am no danger to you."
She nodded. "Let's see when we arrive home."
He looked around, trying his best to adapt to this strange new environment as the train carried them away.
I actually loved reading it. 😭 The idea itself is so interesting, but what I liked even more was how real everything felt. The way the clockmaker reacts to the modern world and the conversations with the journalist never felt forced—they just flowed naturally.
I could actually picture the scenes while reading, which made it even more fun. And I love that it's not just about time travel; it feels like it's about two people from completely different worlds trying to understand each other.
My only complaint is that there aren't more chapters. 😭 You seriously have to continue this because now I'm invested, and I need to know what happens next.