Time It Was

The Professor told me that he had consulted with the best medical doctors and surgeons in the States and Europe and they all concluded that nothing more could be done for me now.  A few of them indicated that at some time in the future a better treatment might be available, and that's what gave The Professor the idea to meet with doctor Tesla.

Doctor Tesla, it turns out, was attempting to create the world's first working time machine.  He explained to me that if the machine worked as planned I would have two options: travel to the future in the hopes that technology would be sufficiently advanced for my leg to be repaired, or travel to the past in an effort to prevent the tiger attack altogether.

I thanked the doctor as kindly as possible (I could hardly take the man seriously), but I as I turned to leave he revealed the reason for his generosity in allowing me to use his machine; I would be the first.  Suddenly I felt very sober indeed.

Doctor's Appointment

I was scheduled to see the doctor the next day.  Being near The Professor was excruciating but he insisted on accompanying me to my appointment, never guessing that it was his presence and not my leg that caused my pain.

I was surprised when the carriage stopped outside a brick building in the warehouse district, and even more surprised when the clinic I thought we were visiting instead turned out to be a lab.  I tried not to be distracted by flashing lights and the buzzing of electricity while The Professor introduced me to the doctor.  I could immediately tell by his glasses and excited speech that the man was a genius.  His name, The Professor told me, was Tesla.

Staring into Nothing

The journey to the States was fraught with monsters and tempests, as one might expect for a cruise aboard an airship.  However I found that most of my worry was about, not the journey nor my leg, but my feelings for The Professor and how they might affect our long-standing friendship.

The Professor and I met at school when I was just sixteen and he eighteen.  We eventually became good friends and through all these years managed to remain close, though our chosen careers kept us far apart.  Now, staring from the ship's deck into the grey mist I tried to dredge up emotions to match his own romantic bent, but my heart felt as empty and cold as the aether.  I feared my lack of feeling would at last separate us, as the great distance between us had been unable to do.

Charity and Advice

As suspected I did not have to wait long.  I mailed my letter to Rose on a Thursday, and by the next Tuesday her response had come.   First, being Rose, she immediately offered to fund my trip to the States.  I hated taking money from Rose, but as my situation was desperate and my nursing position hardly paid for passage aboard an airship, I had no real choice but to accept her offer.

Regarding The Professor,  Rose advised me to search my own heart and when I was sure of my feelings, to discuss them with him.  Then, barely containing her glee she wrote, "I knew it, I just knew it!"  Rose always had a soft spot for The Professor.

The Professor

In the midst of all my scurrying around for Management, I received a letter from The Professor.  I had of course informed him of my injury, and he was enormously concerned for me.  At least he expressed regret over the mauling and a surprising amount of anger at Management's treatment of me.  He also said he had found a doctor in the States who could be trusted to operate on my leg.  I felt grateful for the help and more than a little touched by his concern.

 I was also beginning to sense that his interest in me might be more than purely academic.  He signed his letter, "Yours always, William."

In the Jungle

For years I worked as a nurse in the jungles of Peru.  My patients were mostly children.  Some eventually recovered from their illness or injury.  Others did not.

One particular day, the day my journey really started though I didn't know it then, I was attacked by a tiger.  The tiger leaped out at me as I was walking along a well-worn path toward the home of one of my patients.  I was taken completely unawares, and before I even knew what had happened, the beast was upon me.

 I felt a sharp pain and looked down to see my leg clamped in the tiger's mouth.  He bit down hard once, then just as suddenly as he'd attacked me, he let go.  I followed him with my eyes as he stood and began to walk away.  Through the haze of shock I watched him turn back to me once, and I swear the look on his face was one of regret.  I closed my eyes and when I opened them again he had disappeared into the gloom.