I Met a Traveller

[free]

I met a time traveller. I know that nobody is going to believe it, but I just have to write it down. He never wanted to talk with me. That is, he talked, but he didn't care to listen. He said that he was from the past. I asked from which period of time he had come. Silence. He looked as if he was from the Renaissance period. This is how his suit looked like. He had a sword on his hip. And was rather a handsome man in his forties.

- I am here to save you from loneliness. Your cries about being lonely have reached me so many centuries apart from you.

Then he laughed. I was shocked. How is it possible, I thought to ask him... but I knew it would be a futile business because he would not answer, I was sure about it. I just let him continue his monologue.

- I am surprised what has happened to the possible love partner of yours in this time period in which you live. Are they all so emotionless towards your wishes to find one?

Me, silent.

- OK, now you have me and I will always be with you.

Me, silent.

- Bye, bye for now. And Happy New Year

[free]

I have been reading this book for days. It is not so interesting, but something keeps me stuck with it. I am not sure why do I want to read it through.

It is getting darker outside. On the evening sky background only oak trees shadows are seen. I get up to close the windows because it is colder.

Suddenly, I notice somebody walking towards the house along the garden path. I can only recognise his white shirt in the distance. I stop closing the windows and lean forward to see who is it. I do not expect anyone at this time of the day.

When he has come close to the house his teeth sparkle as a sign that he is smiling cordially to me.

Oh, yes! Although I cannot see his face clearly, I remember his strange suit and... sword? No, this time he has no sword. I wave with my hand, showing that he may come in. He takes off his hat with feathers, puts it on his chest and bows down to express his great honour for me.

My time traveller!

- Goodevening, my lady.

He says after entering the room.

He holds his both hands towards me and we greet each other as some old friends.

I wonder, should I start some kind of a dialogue this time. But I am afraid that it would be a failure again. So, I let that he takes the next step, watching him curiously.

- I know, I know - says he, while taking a seat on a sofa.

- You ask yourself: Who am I and why am I here?

[free]

I nodded.

He smiled at me, then walked through the door. And that was it! No sign of him, again.

I started to investigate the costumes history and I found something similar to what he had worn. The time was Renaissance. It really made me happy because I always loved that period when the world had been getting out of the Mediaeval ages prison. But, it didn't help me much to understand was he really a time traveller or just some crazy jester making fun of me.

Then... it happened again.

One summer evening I was watching the stars and enjoying the fresh air after a hot day, when he appeared. This time he was in a mass. His hair was shaggy, his shirt torn and he looked like someone who was running away from something. His breathing was heavy. He bumped into my living room and almost fell into my sofa.

- Wow! This was rough.

He said. I stared at him amazed and speechless. He looked around and, as somebody who was suddenly very happy, he added.

- Here am I again!

He held his hands up and laid on the sofa with a relief. After a few seconds, he got up and looked at me, he touched me and nodded.

- Well, you are real OK, and this is not a dream.

Not sure what to say, because then I started to suspect my sanity, too, I kept silent.

- I must apologize, my lady. I don't understand what's happening. The first time I was here, it was the New Year's Eve. Remember?

I nodded.

- When I was back home I though I had a funny dream. The second time I was here, I though I had too much wine with my friends. But, now, I am sure I am not asleep, I had no wine, and you seem quite real to me.

I just couldn't say anything because of surprise, I just stood there, watched and listened to him.

[free]

We stayed for awhile watching each other, then I slowly approached him and touched his wounded shoulder. It was not too bad, he just smiled and I took some alcohol from my drawer and some cotton wool and put it on. He said nothing. It was so silent around us, but we didn't feel discomfort.

- OK, I said, do you hear me?

- I do, he answered.

- Where, or better, when do you live?

- I was born in 15...., he started to confess as somebody who had comitted some crime.

- Oh, Torquato Tasso, Shakespeare.... I interrupted him with joy because this, 16th century, triggered in me the memory of the famous poets of his time.

- No, no, I am not Tasso.

He seemed insulted.

- I am not a poet at all. I am a noble man and I do nothing, just enjoy the life.

[free]

- OK, OK... I said as if apologizing.

- Tell me what happened to you. Why are you in such a mass?

He looked at me for awhile and said:

- I had a fight with some impolite people.

He paused.

- I was walking with some friends of mine and two ladies...

- You mean, two courtesans.

I interrupted him suddenly and, I must admit, it was not so nice of me, but I just couldn't control myself. He smiled looking inquisitively at me. Then he lifted his head and laughed.

- Hear, hear... How do you know they were courtesans?

- Of course that I know. No decent lady of your time would walk in streets at this hour of night. Right?

- Right!

He admitted.

- But, courtesan or not, a woman is a lady for me and I treat her with respect.

- I admire that, I really do.

I said.

- What happened next?

- We were walking by an inn and the inn owner and some other friends of his were standing in front of it. They started to whistle at our ladies and to do 'tweez-tweez'....

I supposed that the sound he produced, someting like a bird's song, was something very much insulting at that time, so I didn't say anything, just listened.

- I drew my sword out and my friends, too. Them, also. We started to fight. Then someone cried: 'Guards! Let's run away!' I saw a group of guardsmen coming along the street, so I instantly ran into a small and dark street and.... here am I.

He looked at me trying to find an answer about the reason why he was here. Why he had been in 'the then' and why, suddenly, he was in 'the now'?

[free]

This story is just a kind of a plan for something more extensive I am writing. I thought to end it like this:

One version.

Since she doesn't know how has he come from one time to another (or, I don't know the solution for it :) ), she remembers a history about certain very old family she read and the fact that one of its members from the 16th century disappeared. So, this is the one, he was lost in another time (in her present). They stay together happily ever after.

Another version.

He stays to sleep after a long conversation and when she wakes up next morning, he is not there. He returned to his time. After a long period of time (one or two years) she gets another visitor from another time, for example, 18th century, then another from 19th.... and so on. This gives the story a possibility to describe various historical persons and events.

What do you think? How would you do it? Thank you for your suggestions.

[108 fountains]

I always enjoy your stories, free. There is something surreal about all of them. You also have a unique style. Both of your ideas for an ending would work well in my opinion. If you go for the first version, you might want to tie in some connection between the narrator's family history and the time traveler. This would help answer the question of "Why is this happening? What's the connection?" - questions that I asked myself a couple of times while reading.

The second version also pretty much answers the question of "why?" in that it shows (somewhat indirectly) that she is some sort of psychic magnet for time travelers. And this version would also allow you to turn this into something much longer.

A third option might be to combine the two - she meets a series of time travelers, and it turns out they are all somehow connected to each other and to her family by historical events or relationships.

[Delta40]

I recently read a fan fic version of Pride and Prejudice where Mr Darcy is a werewolf. It was problematic because the dialogue was 21st century (I could live with the werewolf plot!) If you look at the original Mr Darcy he would never have spoken so coolly and casually as he did in this version I read and I doubt your character would have spoken like this either and this brings me to authenticity of a character in a story.

You can have an interesting plot but it can crumble for various reasons, non authentic dialogue being one of them.

I'd love to write these kind of stories myself but I would have to ensure my time traveller's voice was distinctive. In this case I could not tell the difference. See if you can make it stand out with some original quirks!

[free]

Thank you, fountains and Delta.

If I chose the 1st version I would continue the story describing their life in the present. But, I asked some friends and most of them adviced me to continue the story with the 2nd version. Hmmm... I just might do it.

As for the language of 'the traveller', it is going to be considered, too.

Thanks again, best wishes to you. :)

[free]

Unable to find an answer, we both set there for awhile talking nothing. But, suddenly, as if attracted by some, to me, invisible sight, he got up from my sofa and rushed out of the room. I was surprised, but could understand nothing from what made him do this. After a few minutes, I pulled myself together and rushed through the same door, but there was no sign of him. I stood there, watching the garden, but, no, he disappeared again. Disappointed a bit, I went back into the room. But, wait! There was a sign of him. On the floor there was a piece of paper, probably dropped out of his pocket, or whatever he had had on him to contain such a piece of paper.

It was a handwriting in an old style, but very beautiful and adorned with initials surrounded by little flowers and tree branches. It was a poem, a love poem, somehow known to me, but I just could not remember where from. Then I remembered who could help me with this. I dialed my good friend's phone number and described to him what had I found.

- A Renaissance manuscript?

He was astonished.

- Where from? How have you got it?

He asked me.

I did not know what to tell him. If I told him that it had been brought to me from its owner, he would have most certainly thought that I got mad. So, I hurried to tell some lie, no matter how stupid.

- A friend of mine is a collector of old things and stuff, you know... He brought this to me so that I could help him find out from which period it was....

- OK. Bring it to me, as soon s possible. I'll see what I can do.

When we met, he was so curious that he did not waste our time, but went straight to his academy and gave the paper for an analysis. It turned out that the manuscript was really from Renaissance, originally written by a poetess of that time and that it was a very rare artefact for which I got a large amount of money.

Wow! My time traveler has made me rich. Now I don't have to work and can devote my time to whatever I want.