A February Incident

"Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep!"

Cried the ever-alert alarm clock, punctually, and a drowsy and unwilling William pulled his arm out to switch it off. He got up from his bed, stretched, and fumbled for his spectacles. It was quite dark as the clouds had hung over the sky, in a threatening manner, as a warning for the morning drizzle. William, by then, recovering from his lazy state, wondered why he had set the alarm, for he had no reason to wake up so early (at 6:00 a. m.) as his final examination was over and the results were yet to be out. "Might have set it by mistake...", saying thus, he walked up to the switchboard and turned on the geyser, hoping to have a warm and refreshing bath, as it was quite cold in February. He went to the pull-out calendar and changed the date as usual. His parents had gone out for some work and had left him in charge of the house, as he was old enough to take care of things by himself.

He took his shower, ate his breakfast, and was looking through the living room window which overlooked the main road when a saddening sight caught his attention. A young boy of about five or six years was sitting, crouched on the footpath. Oh, such a poor thing he was! He had a ragged sack wrapped around him, which failed to keep him warm as he was shivering vigorously; his feet also seemed to have become numb in the bitter cold as he was constantly rubbing them together. The cold drizzle made things worse.

William took pity on the poor little boy, and brought him in, as any humane person would do. The child was still shivering and was unable to speak. William made him a hot glass of milk, which he drank as if he were desperately looking for it. After the boy felt a bit better, William asked him, "Where do you come from? I haven't seen you around..."

"I don't stay here."

"Then, where is your house?" 

"I... I live in a faraway city..." 

"And your parents?" 

"Ugh... err... parents! They too don't stay here. They left me... They left me...", he kept mumbling to himself. 

William grew more curious, but he prevented himself from asking any further questions as he felt that the boy wasn't comfortable with those questions. 

" Thank you, brother, for your kindness... here is a small gift for you." Saying so, the boy laid out his hand and gave William, a sweet-smelling flower. 

"Well, thank you!", exclaimed William. 

"I'll let him stay here till Mom and Dad return. I'll ask them to buy some warm clothes for him so that he wouldn't have to suffer from the cold", said William to himself. Suddenly, William remembered something he had forgotten. 

"What is your name?", asked he. 

"My name... err... Sam, you can call me that..." 

William tried to enquire more, but he would just not get an answer. 

"I shall leave now."

"No, you will have to stay here until my parents return", opposed William. He didn't want him to leave as he had begun to grow fond of Sam's company. Sam argued no further. They had their meals together and played indoor games. To William, it was all fun as he had found a companion. William's curiosity forced him to question Sam all day long, but Sam was just too adamant and tactful to answer. 

Finally, it was bedtime. William laid a warm and cozy bed for Sam. William was happy for what he had done for Sam and he felt like a responsible elder brother. 

"Thanks, once again, brother for all this."

"Mention not! Anyway, I find pleasure in helping others. Now sleep!", replied William, trying to hide his startled expression at Sam's strange behavior and way of talking. He still couldn't figure out what kind of a child Sam was. 

" I have to be patient with him to get to know things", said William to himself and slept. 

The next morning, when William woke up, he found neither Sam nor his bed in the room. "Sam, Sam! Where are you?" William searched for him everywhere in the house, but all in vain. Sam was nowhere to be found! He was sure he wasn't dreaming as he found the empty glass of milk and the flower given to him by Sam, on the table. To his horror, the main door was locked from the inside, which meant that no one had gone out of the door, the previous night. 

William returned to his room in dismay, his mind still perplexed about how Sam got out of the house. Trying to forget the incident, William went to his pull-out calendar and changed the date. Then he went to the washroom for a shower. 

"Hey, wait! What was the date that I tore out?" 

"Today is 1st March..., which means yesterday should've been 28th February..." 

"But yesterday... was 29th! Oh my God, OH MY GOD...!" 

"29th February 2021?!"

A chill ran down William's spine. The day he spent with the weird kid, "Sam" never existed in that year!