You Will Land In Present

Future

His body was travelling from immense pressure. Around him was a clear sky with glittering stars but he could feel the boundaries of the tunnel he was passing through. The walls of that transparent tunnel were closing on him rapidly. He wanted to shout and broke the walls but he was not able to do so. Every passing moment was making him difficult to breath. He closed his eyes and the face of his cute innocent son Ryan appeared, which gave him a realization that why was he going through this pain.

A sudden jerk and he was almost thrown to the ground. He checked his surrounding, it was a crowded street and no one was bothered or even realized his surprise appearance. A beggar on the corner was looking at him but he soon ignored as it was none of his business. Amit felt may be this kind of ignorance was one of the reason of the beggar’s condition. But he soon realized that his clothes were so out of fashion that the people who did not notice his sudden appearance were finding his clothes and façade amusing. Most of the people around were in animated clothes which had the fine digital lines and they could change the color and texture through their fingertips. Their fingertips were attached with the small square shaped phone in their packet through digital invisible wires.

They no more required to carry the smartphone. Smart phones were completely vanished and common people were using virtual phones. The virtual phones only had a dice like structure which could be placed in man’s wallet. Though wallets were totally out of fashion few orthodox people were still using it. The phones were operated through the touch of fingertips. On pressing of which the 14”X12” screen appeared out of the blue and then everything could be done over it through voice commands.

Amit was surprised that though he had come only 12 years ahead, everything had changed drastically. People were became moving and alive digital applications. The path were no more searched through the mobile apps but the small lenses in eyes were capable of it. Many high society elite people had the chips installed in their brains which could save terabytes of data and could be available anytime through their eyes and voice commands. The population and traffic problem was so high that the government had to build the escalator roads which were working as a modern day metro stations. Everyone could just got on to it and follow the path to their destination. Every commercial and residential complex had such escalator station. The homes were foldable and people literally could settle themselves in a camp like structure wherever they want. Though the foldable homes were increasingly in demand old generation was not ready to accept because it was threatening the whatsoever remnants of family system.

Everything was amusing and scary for Amit. He had very little time and had to accomplish a major task. Fortunately, few areas of the city were still old types and had old hoteling system. Amit settled himself for one and started working on his goal. The area he was living in was full of thugs. Amit got hold of one of them and arranged a fake identity card on the name of Mr. Rohit for himself. The same person arranged some digital money debt for Amit on the promise of recovering 200% in 10 days, which Amit was never going to return. Then Amit hired two robots which were efficient and cheaper than humans. The first task he gave to one of them was to search about Mr. Shekharan.

Present

Amit was in his balcony, looking and admiring his 7 years old boy Ryan. Ryan was playing football with his friends. He was a good player. Amit could see his passion for the game. It was a small lane between two societies. An open drainage was flowing on both the sides. Kids were trying hard to stop the ball from falling in it. Passers-byes were adding in the trouble as well. Amit was feeling sorry that he could not provide a life to his family which he promised once.

Past

Amit and Shreya were classmates. Both were from different world. She was a daughter of a rich IAS officer and was born with a silver spoon. She had a legacy of famous lawyers, doctors and government officers in her family. Her family was so proud of their educationally rich background that Shreya’s father had broken ties with all those relatives who were moderately educated. Being the youngest in the family she was a spoilt kid but was always aware that she had to achieve at least a silver medal in post-graduation to remain a lovable member of family. Silver was the bare minimum expectation from her after her both elder siblings won gold. Shreya knew that silver was too far, she was even struggling to score 80 percent. Her only hope was her best friend Amit.

Amit was born in a middle class business family where education was just an investment which could be used to earn money in future. When he won the gold medal in HSC exams his father rubbed it with fingers and said, “It is just a gold cover not a real gold.” He was never admired in family because of the lack of his business skills. Whereas his younger brother was SSC failed but had more respect in family because he could completely handle his father’s grocery shop. Amit struggled a lot to take admission for higher education because it was wastage of money and time. He only agreed when one of their distant relatives assured him that the future daughter in law would bring more dowry because of Amit’s qualification.

Amit and Shreya could find the comfort in each other’s company. They became friends then best friends and then lovers. Their love blossomed during the final year of their M.Sc. Physics. They became the escape points from world for each other. Hours would pass in each other’s arms and they could not realize the time. Amit could always discuss his experiments and his future plans to become a scientist. He was sure that once he completes his dream project he would proudly ask Shreya’s father about Shreya and his marriage. But destiny had other plans for them.

Two months before their final exams when everyone was in a hustle of passing it, Shreya was immersed in deep thought. She was sat on the bench in the college garden. After searching everywhere, Amit came in the garden only to find Shreya crying. He went closer and asked, “What happened dear? Are you afraid of the exams?”

“I am afraid of life, Amit” Shreya’s voice was deeply saddened.

Amit could not understand what was happening.

“What are you saying? Why are you so sad?”

“My father has fixed my marriage. He thinks I won’t be able to do anything in my life and hence wants me to marry a Surgeon. So that he will be saved from any embarrassment. He wants me to get marry even before the exams.”

Amit was shocked. He did not know how to react. Marrying Shreya meant leaving family and economical support which would eventually cost his dream project. Leaving Shreya was also not possible for him. She was love of his life. He did not utter a word. His life had suddenly taken an 1800 turn. After staying silent for some time Shreya said, “I do not want you to sacrifice your dream Amit. Forget me” and she left.

Amit was still staring at nothingness and did not know what to do. He closed his eyes and sat still. After a while Shreya’s voice, her face, and her touch everything became alive in his mind. His soul became restless and only one voice popped out from his mind, “I love her”.

Amit left his home and flew away from their families. Their families did not even bother to find them. They had become such an embarrassment for their families which the families never wanted to remember.

They got married but the problems had just started in their life. They had to leave the city. Shreya picked the first job she could find. Amit had to compromise with his dreams and took a job in the small research firm.

No hardship could come in the way of their love. One-day Amit was having his tea while reading newspaper. Shreya came and sat beside him. He started reading news loudly as Shreya never read news, but Shreya was not listening to him. She looked pale. Amit poked her, “Where are you princes? What are you thinking?” She was on urge of crying. Amit understood it was something serious. He kept his hand on her shoulder and asked again, “Shreya, what happened dear. Any message from your home?” Shreya hugged him tightly, hid her face in his chest and said, “I am pregnant.” He could not believe his ears. Amit held her shoulders looked in her eyes and asked, “Are you sure?” Shreya did not utter a word. She showed him the two dark lines on the pregnancy kit. Amit jumped in excitement, “Oh my god Shreya, I am so happy. We are going to have a baby.” He was almost dancing. Shreya got up, she was ambiguous, “Aren’t you tensed? It’s a very big responsibility. How are we going to manage our finances? How will we manage everything alone? How about your dreams and research?” Amit kept his hand on her lips, took her close and kissed her on chick. “Don’t worry I will manage everything. I won’t let you or my baby down, and we are not alone. We have the strength of our love. And from here onwards, you and this baby will be my dream.” Shreya was speechless. She snuggled herself in his arms and all her tensions were gone.

Shreya left her job as per the doctor’s suggestion. Amit started taking extra work to take care of his family. Every day it was survival for the fittest. He started dual shifts, took a job of coaching in morning and research in afternoon. Amit did everything he could for his wife and unborn child. One-night Amit had fallen asleep, Shreya was looking at him admiringly, she realised that Amit had held something tightly in his hands. She took it out smoothly. It was a piece of paper with Einstein’s theorem of relativity written on it. Tears popped in her eyes. Suddenly, she started feeling guilty. She thought, ‘It would have been nice if I would have never proposed him. He might have achieved his dream.’ She ran her fingers from his hair with love and promised to herself, ‘I will never let any of your dream go in vain’

Time flown rapidly. Ryan was two years old and Shreya decided to continue with a job again. She told Amit to quit job and resume working on his dream project. He resisted first but after Shreya’s constant pursuance he agreed. Her earning was only fulfilling their basic needs. Amit started his research again. Ryan was growing up in the shed of his parent’s love. Amit got some funding from his previous company and got a room on rent where he could run his experiments. Every day was a new one. He failed many times and started again. He never let Shreya or Ryan see his room. After 5years of hard work, conviction and so many sacrifices he achieved success.

Present

7 years old Ryan was playing and was looking at his father for appreciation in between. Amit clapped whenever Ryan looked up. Amit could notice sudden drop in Ryan’s energy. He was about to call Ryan up and asked to stop playing but his phone rang, Mr. Sahay’s name flashed on his cell phone. Mr. Sahay was the owner of research firm and the fund giver of Amit’s experiment. But he was also rumoured to have connections with underworld and it was said that his major earning was from a drug business. The research firm was just to whiten the black money.

Amit hesitated for a moment after seeing his name. Mr. Sahay never used to call anyone personally and if he did then the matter should be damn serious. Amit received the call, “Hello Mr. Sahay. How are you?”

“Mr. Amit, I believe that you have taken funds worth Rs.10 crore from my company for an experiment which will earn 100 times more?” Sahay never believed or followed the formalities of greetings.

Amit was already in sweat. He replied, “Yes Mr. Sahay, I assure…” “Mr. Chaturvedi who has pitched for you is already with me. See you on next Monday.” Sahay did not have time to listen. He had given a silent threat to Amit already by saying that Mr. Chaturvedi was with him. Amit understood the subtitles of Mr. Sahay’s call. He had eight days to showcase success of his experiment. Amit got indulged in thoughts of his meeting with Mr. Sahay when suddenly he heard noise from the street. He looked down, Ryan had fallen unconscious and his friends were trying to wake him up.

When Shreya reached the hospital, Amit was doing rounds of a 30 by 10 feet corridor. Panic was evident on his face. Shreya came running towards him. She asked in angst, “Amit, where is Ryan? What happened to him?” Amit did not know what to answer. He was trying to console Shreya, but her anxiety was increasing with every second. At the same time, a nurse called him, “Mr. Amit Roy.” They rushed at her. “Yes, that’s me.” Amit said. Nurse had few files in her hand. She passed those files to Amit and said, “Dr. Jain is waiting for you in his cabin. Please go and meet him.” Shreya could not have held herself and asked anxiously, “Sister, is everything alright?” Nurse was bit hesitant, she replied politely and sympathetically, “Doctor can explain it better. Please consult with him” and left. Amit and Shreya ran toward the cabin. Amit knocked the door. Dr. Siddharth Jain, golden coloured letters were printed on the black shiny background nameplate. Someone said, “Come in” from inside. They entered the room. It was a 15*15 feet typical hospital cabin with a pungent smell of Dettol, spirit and sanitizer. Dr. Siddharth was sitting on his slightly relaxing chair reading some data from a report. He was well built, fair, curly haired man and was wearing thick glasses. He was in his mid-thirties. Amit wished him, “Good morning doctor.” He looked up, wished Amit and turned to Shreya for wishing her. His eyes got locked and he was looking astonishingly at Shreya. “Shreya, you are?” All his questions were evident on his face. “Sid, oh my god” exclaimed Shreya. “Do you guys know each other?” Amit asked almost in surprise. Dr. Siddharth replied, “It’s a long story but how come you guys are here?” “Ryan is our son” Amit said. A pain has overpowered Siddhartha’s face. He looked at both and requested to sit. “Well, I don’t know how to say this. After seeing Shreya, it has become more difficult for me. Ryan is suffering from leukaemia and he has very little time left.”

Those words were cutting their hearts in pieces. Suddenly, their life, their world has come to an end. All these years they have planned innumerable dreams for their only son. They could not believe whatever they were listening. Amit could still see the newly born Ryan’s face and the happiness he felt when he held his finger for the first time. Shreya could remember his first walk and the first time he said Mama in his sweet stuttering voice. All those years were falling like a bunch of cards in front of them. Shreya had held Amit’s hand tightly and started crying. Amit was trying to gather some courage to face this situation.

“What do you mean by little time? Science has advanced so much, there are many medicines available, how can you say this?” Amit was angry and frightened at the same time. Siddharth could understand their feelings, “Science has limits Amit. Now we can’t do anything.” Amit was not ready to accept the fact. He got up from the chair and asked Shreya to get up as well. “Doctor, we would like to take second opinion. They were shaken and broken in parts. Siddharth tried his best to convince them but Amit never admitted. He took Ryan to other clinics only to hear the same unfortunate result.

It was late night, Amit and Shreya were coming in Auto from the fourth clinic with the same report. Ryan was tired and slept in Shreya’s lap. Amit had concealed shivering Ryan in a thick blanket. Ryan had lost 4kgs in last 15 days and grown dark circles. Shreya was losing hope. Her eyes never dried. Amit was not losing his son but his wife too. Auto stopped in front of the society gate. Amit came out and was giving money to the driver. Shreya and Ryan headed towards home. Suddenly, two giant men came and stood beside Amit. They had almost blocked his way. They were looking cruel from the face, but their clothes were expensive. Amit understood that they were not just any thieves from the streets. One of them kept his right hand on Amit’s shoulder and spoke in the world’s heaviest voice, “Tu Amit hain na? (You are Amit, right?). I am Raghu.” Amit just nodded his head in affirmation. He spoke further, “You had a meeting with Mr. Sahay on last Monday, you didn’t turn up. Why?” A shock wave ran through Amit’s head. He had completely forgotten about the meeting. Before he could spoke anything, the other one kept his left hand on another shoulder and spoke in most pretentious voice, “Mr. Sahay never indulges himself in such a pretty affair, but I suppose you have promised him something precious. He waited for you, he will wait again on this Monday and if you fail to show your poor face to him this time, the same face will become the headline of Tuesday’s newspaper. You understand what I mean right?” He showcased a tiny, black, shiny, hidden gun from his pocket. They left without giving him any chance to explain. Apparently, Mr. Sahay did not care about anything, but his money and the promised Amit gave to him. Amit’s soul was frightened, and he realized that the time has arrived to take desperate measures.

Ryan was fast asleep. Shreya was cleaning the kitchen. Amit asked her to come and sit with him as he wanted to reveal everything. He told her everything about Mr. Sahay, debt of Rs. 10 crores and his experiment. Shreya was startled. She was silent for a very long time. Amit gave her that time to assimilate the reality. After a while, she looked at Amit and asked, “What will we do now?” “I have a plan” Amit assured her. “How do you know Dr. Siddharth?” he asked. Shreya shrugged a bit and said, “He is my childhood friend. When we were 8yrs old his family moved to USA. They came back when we were in college. Sid never talked much, he was a silent, studious guy. We did not remain same friends as we were in childhood, but he used to come home sometimes. Then one-day Papa suddenly told me to marry him, but I loved you and you know the story later.”

“Can we trust him?”

“I think so.”

“Give me his visiting card.”

Siddharth lived in a 21-storey posh apartment. Amit rang the bell, Siddharth opened the door. “Hi Amit, come in I was waiting for you. I was scared when you called first, how is Ryan?” Siddharth said while cleaning his eye wear. “Sorry for disturbing you, but I need your help. There is no one in the city whom I can trust.” said Amit desperately. Siddharth was staring at him from his thick glasses. He was amazed by Amit’s sudden friendly behaviour. “Did Shreya tell you about us?” “Yes, she told me about your friendship. I want you to come with me.” Siddharth could not understand what was going on but he could not have turned down Amit. He changed the clothes and headed with Amit.

Amit was driving Siddharth’s car. He pulled the breaks in front of a secluded garage. A 20 by 50 feet wide huge room was situated out of the city on the barren ground. It was 3am in the morning. Still dark. Siddharth was bit scared and the smell of nearby open sewer was making it more difficult. Amit lit up the torch in his mobile phone and started walking. Siddharth started following him without asking any question. A small stainless-steel lock was protecting the huge hall. They entered the room, Amit locked the door from inside and switched on the lights. Siddharth could not believe the sight which was just unveiled in front of his eyes. Four large concrete mixers like machine were planted on 5 feet heighted stands. A chair was mounted in the centre of the room. It was on the equal distance from all the machines and was connected through wires. The chair was facing a large window. All the machines were connected through the electrical wires. Siddharth was taking a round through the room and was trying to understand the set up. He was mesmerized and confused at the same time. Before he could ask anything to Amit, Amit himself started explaining the situation.

“This is a time machine. This machine works on three principles. First, wormhole. Second theory of relativity and the third one is multiverse. Wormhole is a tunnel which provides shortcuts to reach from one point in space to another. Multiverse means multiple universes. For each action, every decision, there lies a universe. There are multiple universes which has our past, similarly, many has our future, because space time is never ending. So, it must be circular. In circle, nothing ends, it just repeats after several intervals of time.”

Amit could see the confusion on Siddharth’s face. He asked Siddharth to sit on a nearby chair. Amit offered him a glass of water. Siddharth gulped the water immediately. He was seemingly calm now. Amit took a long pause and wanted Siddharth to ask him something. “I am not getting anything, Amit” finally Siddharth spoke. Amit grinned and continued, “I know it’s unbelievable and seems like a science fiction story. But trust me all this is true. Let me explain in detail.” Amit took a chair and sat in front of Siddharth. “Have you seen river Ganga?” asked Amit. Siddharth was bit surprised by this question. “Yes, of course” “Great,” Amit continued further, “So if you see Ganga in Banaras, can you say that it is not present in Kolkata? Can you say that when Ganga is in Kolkata it is not present in Gangotri? No. We can say that Banaras is future of Ganga whose past is Gangotri. So, if three different people are standing near Ganga but one at Gangotri, one at Banaras and say another one at Kolkata then all of them are seeing past and future of Ganga at the same time but we call it as present. So, if you consider the space time like a circular river then all; past, present and future lies at the same moment of time. The question arises is where? We know the location of Ganga because it is on earth but how can we find the place in space.

Here comes the multiverse and wormhole. There are multiple universes, which has many earths, many Amit’s and many Siddharth’s. Even our future lies there somewhere, and I can reach there using wormhole.”

“How can a wormhole take you there?” asked Siddharth. Amit stood up and went in the corner of the room. He picked a small clock. It was a medium sized, round, brown clock with co-ordinates mentioned instead of numbers in the circle. The clock had a rectangular block in it. This block had a provision to set a date. Amit bought it close to Siddharth and started showing him the function of the watch.

“This clock is connected to these machines.” He signalled towards the giant machines mounted in the corners. “When I will set the date in this block using the buttons on the back and start by pressing the red button below then these machines will take this as an input and calculate the possible universe our future lies in.” Amit was showing every part of the clock while mentioning the details. Then he stood up and started walking near the giant machine. Siddharth followed him. “I have named these machine as Revata as he is said to be the first time traveller. Revata has wheels inside it. All these four machines will rotate at the same time and will project right amount of magnetic field toward the window. This magnetic field will create a wormhole and apparently a tunnel to reach my destination.”

Siddharth was looking at him curiously and asked, “Why are you telling all this to me? What are you trying to achieve?” Amit took a sigh, “Because I need your help.”

“Help? How can I help?”

“Siddharth, I want to go to future. I will bring the medicine for Ryan from future.”

“What, are you mad? How can this be possible?”

“Here, I need your help. I want you to tell me exactly how many years it will take to invent the cure for Ryan’s disease.” Siddharth was in complete shock. He did not know what to answer. He replied in complete angst, “You have gone out of your mind Amit. No one ca

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n answer your question and I am certainly not going to be a part of this stupidity.”, Siddharth started walking toward the door. Amit rushed to him and held his hand to stop him. “Please help me Siddharth, not for me but for Shreya. I know you love her. I have seen in your eyes.”

Siddharth was looking at Amit in surprise then he sat on the chair in dismay. After thinking for a long time Siddharth agreed. “I can’t say any exact time but there is one scientist, Mr. Shekharan. He had brought one theory in one conference about complete cure of leukaemia. His theory was discarded by the association because they were not sure about its practical result. He had established a lab by himself in Bengaluru and started working on his theory. He claims that he will be successful in next ten years.”

“So? Do you think he will find the solution?” asked Amit in excitement.

“I think so. At least he claims so. But only time can give the answer.”, said Siddharth

“I can’t assure anything but he is a crazy fellow. If he had promised, then he would do that. 2 years ago a very dreadful virus was spread in Africa. Mr. Shekharan found the cure over it and it was successful too but his behavior was not good with the scientist or for that sake with any community. Hence, he never got the attention he deserved.” Siddharth was talking in a rhythm, but Amit was indulged in his own thoughts. “Are you listening to me?” asked Siddharth. Amit shook his head and said, “Oh yeah, of course I am listening to you. I was just thinking; how much time does Ryan have?” This question took Siddharth aback for a while. He did not know how to express his thought. Amit was looking at him expectantly. With lot of courage and mental calculations he spoke, “Not more than three months.”

It was 6 in the morning. Amit did some calculations on his laptop and said, “I have to leave today.” Siddharth was confused and surprised, “What? Where?”

“In future.” Amit said with confidence. He started connecting the Revata with the clock and then with the laptop. The laptop’s screen was turning blue and black and was displaying innumerable calculations. Amit was frantically feeding the data in it. He was looking at the calendar of 10 years from then and was trying to set the clock. He was in so much hurry that he did not realize that Siddharth was sited behind with a numb face. For half an hour Siddharth observed every movement of Amit. He was running in all over the room. Sometime, he was near Revata and on the next moment he was near laptop and on the next he was adjusting clock or doing mental calculations. Siddharth could feel Amit’s desperation to save his son. He stood up and went near Amit. He kept his hand on Amit’s shoulder and said, “I know you want to save your son, but no one is immortal. Changing present can cause an unimaginable harm to everyone. The result can be heartbreaking too. Think again my friend, are you doing right by playing with time?” Siddharth had spoken his heart.

Amit was looking at him; he knew Siddharth would try to stop. He held Siddharth’s hand in his hand and said, “I know what you mean Sid, but I am a father and I won’t leave any stone unturned to save my child. I am ready to pay any cost to save my son, even if the cost equals my life.” Amit was fully convinced.

“Ohhk then, I am with you. Tell me what my role in the story is?” Siddharth said with full energy and conviction.

Amit was glad to gather Siddharth’s support. Then he explained everything to Siddharth regarding the working of machine, adjustment of clock, the calculations and every minute thing about the set up. Siddharth was listening everything carefully and was making notes wherever it was necessary. It took another two hours. After explaining the setup, Amit told, “There is one very important thing. The time in that universe will be different from here. Three days of this universe will be equal to one day of that universe. This means If I spend 10 days there then it will be a month here.”

“This means you do not have much time.”

Amit winked at him and said, “If we are going to screw the time then what you think; will it spare us? Time is the biggest evil of all time.” They laughed for few moments.

“So, when are you leaving?” asked Siddharth.

“Now.”

“What? Who will tell Shreya?”

“You. I want one more favor. Please let Shreya and Ryan stay with you for some time. This will help me work tension free there” said Amit while changing clothes. Siddharth was more than happy to invite Shreya and Ryan to stay with him.

Amit sat on the chair. He connected himself with the attached gadgets and signaled Siddharth. Siddharth was ready at the laptop. He pressed enter key and the hands of the clock started moving frantically. Once the hands of the clock were stopped at specific co-ordinates, a slow humming started from the Revata. The discs inside the Revata started rotating and gripping the speed. The noise was increasing exponentially. Siddharth could not bear the sound, he closed his ears with both hands. Amit was trying to keep up with the process, but the intolerance was evident on his face. The noise grew so louder that Siddharth sat down and concealed his ears with his hands and knees simultaneously. The pressure in the room was intolerable. Suddenly, everything fell silent after a noise of explosion. Siddharth stood up, his ears were still numb and looked at the chair. Amit was gone.

Siddharth went to Amit’s home. He explained everything to Shreya. She already knew everything and was ready with her luggage. Ryan was much weaker now. They moved in with Siddharth. Siddharth immediately started Ryan’s chemotherapy treatment on the same day to buy some time. Shreya left her job and started spending more time with Ryan. Shreya and Ryan were bit hesitated at first but Siddharth tried his best to comfort them. Everything was going smoothly. Ryan’s health was stable. Three days later Shreya was drinking tea in the spacious balcony of Siddharth’s lavish apartment. The view was no less than any famous resort. But she was not enjoying it. Her mind was constantly travelling from past to future. Siddharth stood beside her and showed her his red wrist watch, “Do you know, what is this Shreya?” She tried to smile and answered, “An expensive watch.” He laughed and said, “Yeah, it costs around Rs. 1 crore, but this is not mine. It belongs to Amit.” Shreya was looking at him surprisingly. Suddenly, that watch had become very important for her. She exclaimed, “What? What do you mean?”

“Come, I will tell you something.”

They moved in the living room and sat there. Siddharth started explaining, “This is not an ordinary watch. I can communicate with Amit through this. Amit had worn the similar watch. I can send him three signals. Red, green and violet.” Shreya was looking at him in complete gasp. She had no idea about this watch. Siddharth continued explaining, “Red is for urgent return, green is “everything fine” signal, and violet would tell that the time to return in on the corner.”

“How will he come back?”

“A day after sending the violet signal, I will activate a code in his laptop. Then I will reset the time zone in the clock and send red signal. After a minute or two, I will start the Revatas. They will form the same path on the same place. Amit will have to reach the same place till then. He will have few minutes only.”

Shreya was indulged in deep thoughts. She did not know what was happening. Her husband was there in some other universe and her son was on the urge to leave this. She did not cry even once after Amit left but she was unable to hide her feelings anymore. A big drop of tear fell from her dejected eyes. Siddharth was looking at her, she was the same person with whom he played in childhood, to whom he remembered in all lonely years of teenage and to whom he loved throughout his adulthood. But the tears in her eyes were alien to him. Physically, they were only inches apart but mentally it was similar as a distance between two universes.

Future

Amit had enough information regarding Mr. Shekharan. The formulae Shekharan had developed, claimed to work on the genetic cells and DNA of the patient. As per the information from the robots he claimed that he had tested the medicine and it proved to be successful. But he was not ready to share it. As all the health care had privatized by government Shekharan had doubt that they will earn millions and the poor people won’t get the benefit. Hence, he had a list of terms and conditions before sharing the formula. Amit had no way but to find a middle path to reach to Shekharan and took charge of the medicine.

He, Amit told the robot to send a message on Shekharan’s personal application about a better deal to use the medicine. But the condition was to meet alone. Amit projected himself as a UK return biology scientist with the help of the robots.

Shekharan got the message. He was hesitated for a bit and asked his robots to accept the request and decided to meet at his lab in noon next day.

Present 

It had been fifteen days since Amit had gone. The awkwardness between Shreya and Siddharth was finished. They soon started sharing their childhood memories. Ryan’s health was stable but he started missing his father terribly. Shreya was trying to console him but he was becoming restless with every passing day. On the 15th day afternoon when Shreya was trying to give Ryan his medicines he threw the medicine and shut himself in another room. In the effort to console him, Shreya said, “Ryan, baby, please open the door. Papa will come back soon.”

“No, you are lying. You are living with this uncle and papa has gone. I want to go to papa” replied crying Ryan loudly.

“No beta, he has just gone to other city to bring medicine for you.”

“I want to meet Papa. He is at home. I want to go to home.”

“Ok, first you come out and take medicine. Then, we will go home in evening.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, god promise.”

Siddharth parked his car in the nearby lane. Ryan was very happy to go back to his home. Siddharth had asked Shreya, what when he won’t see his father there. But Shreya had dismissed the thought and decided to go with the flow. Siddharth had held Ryan in his arms while Shreya was trying to open the lock.

“Strange, it always opens quickly. Why is it taking so much time today” said Shreya while still struggling with the lock. Finally, it opened and they went inside but the scene inside was shocking. Everything was scattered and broken. Few important papers were thrown on the floor. Clothes, kitchen utensils were rambled. The money, jewelerry was untouched. Shreya quite understood the matter. Siddharth was speechless. His mind was not able to comprehend what exactly had happened. He asked Shreya shockingly, “What has happened here? Who have done this?”

Shreya knew it was Mr. Sahay and staying there for a minute long might cost them their lives. Ryan was astonished and afraid after seeing his home. He held Siddharth tight and hide his face in Siddharth’s arm.

“Let’s go from here. I will explain everything later” said Shreya and she held Siddharth’s hand to push him out. Suddenly, the same giant man who once threatened Amit appear on the door. He had a gun which was pointed towards Shreya. Without wasting a moment he asked, “Where is Amit?”

“We don’t know” replied Shreya. Siddharth was unable to understand anything. Large sweat balls appeared on his forehead. Shreya was relatively calm and compose. Ryan was frightened terribly.

“You are his wife right? Come with me” said the giant while moving towards Shreya.

Siddharth came in front of her and said in fearful tone, “You can’t take her.”

The giant glanced at Siddharth and said sarcastically, “Oh, sure I can.” He grabbed Shreya’s hand pulled her towards him. Shreya held a flower vase and hit that with all power on his head. He stumbled in pain and his gun felled down. Siddharth was numb. Shreya cried loudly, “run”

As soon as they reached the door, three to four gunmen appeared. They grabbed Shreya. The giant came and slapped her on face. Her lower lip started bleeding. Siddharth shouted, “Leave her you asshole.”

The giant turned and slapped Siddharth, “We want Amit. Tell him if he won’t come to meet Mr. Sahay in two days, we will kill her.” They started dragging Shreya. Shreya was shouting loudly, “Don’t call him back Sid. Don’t call him.”

They disappeared. Few people in building were looking their windows, few were listening behind the closed doors. No one was brave enough to help. After a moment or two Siddharth got out of his numbness. Ryan was still in his arms but unconscious.

Future 

When Amit reached at Mr. Shekharan’s lab he was alone. The security machine on the outside door has already done his retina, face, fingerprint and body scan. Mr. Shekharan was sited on his special massage chair, still wearing his white coat. He welcomed Amit. It was very difficult to gauge his intelligence from his personality. He had a bush of curly hair, short, remarkably pale skin and a voice of a teenage boy. His thick glasses reminded Amit about Siddharth.

“So, young man, do you have an interesting deal to offer?” Mr. Shekharan did not believe in wasting time. So he got to the point directly.

“Yes sir, but I would like to see your medicine first.” Mr. Shekharan was surprised as well as happy hearing ‘Sir’.

“Sure, here it is.” He took out a 10ml bottle. “1 ml of this should be added in 100ml of simple saline. Only 10 days and the disease is cure. Now tell me the deal.”

“How does it works?” Amit asked as he could understand the details.

“Sure, why not.” Shekharan agreed happily. “In cancer the cells division becomes uncontrollable. Which results in tumour. My medicine works on these cells. In apoptosis cell death the remains of the cells are used by the other cells as it is a programmed death. But in cancerous death this does not happen. My medicine acts on these cells and makes these cells consumed by others and make them even nutritional. That is it. I won’t give any further details.” Shekharan had finished but he was surprised by the look on Amit’s face.

Amit was staring at the medicine as the drug addict stares at the prohibited drug bottle. He took a long pause, gathered some courage and started telling his true story to Mr. Shekharan. After listening to the story, Mr. Shekharan’s face grew red in anger. He roared at Amit, “Are you crazy? I think you are some mad man from asylum or one of my rivals has sent you here for stealing my medicine. Get out of here.” Shekharan kept the bottle in rack again. Amit started apologizing and convincing him to help. But Shekharan had no plan to trust or help this masquerade. While Amit was still trying to convince him, his wrist watch started giving violet and red signals alternatively. This was a special signal which meant it was an emergency and Amit had less than two hours now. Siddharth would start the Revata at any moment and Amit had to reach the destination as soon as possible.

Amit could saw the bottle on the rack. It was the last and only chance for him to save his child. Mr. Shekharan was an uptight fellow. He had made himself loud and clear to Amit. A moment of hallucination did grab Amit. Ryan’s innocent, cute and smiling face came in front of him. He was playing and laughing loudly. Suddenly, the face grew tired and pale. He was calling Amit, “Papa, help me! I am dying.” Ryan’s face disappeared, and Shreya’s face popped up. She was crying, “You have promised to take care of us. You have failed Amit. Our son has died. Our Ryan has died.” Amit hid his face in his own palms. Sweat was running over his body. The frequency of the violet signal had decreased and the red had increased.

Mr. Shekharan was still shouting at him, “Leave from here on this very moment or I will call my security robots. If you have come from past then take my advice, do not try to change your present but face it young man. Now get out.”

Amit made his mind. He stood up, turned and hit Shekharan with his elbow. Shekharan was too fragile to resist. He fell on the floor. Amit tied both of his, Shekharan’s hands at his back with his tie. Shekharan was doing a failed try to unlock his hands. His voice was too weak to give any order to his robot. He was mumbling, “Whatever you do in the past or future, you will have to face the ramification in present. You will land in present. You will land in present.” Amit heard him, but he was too occupied to pay any attention to the crazy, old man.

Amit stole the medicine and ran towards his destination.

Present

Ryan was traumatised by the incident and fell unconscious. Siddharth admitted him in the hospital and started sending signals to Amit. Once Ryan got his conscious back, Siddharth left for bringing Amit back.

The Revata, clock, and the code in the laptop, all needed to be synced to bring Amit back. Siddharth aligned the date and coordinates of the clock with the program code. Then he touched the red signal button of his wrist watch for 5 long seconds and switched on the machine. The wheels under Revata started rotating fast. The magnetic rays shoot from all the Revata’s at once and formed a two feet diameter worm hole. The hole was looking like a mini night time sky with few glittering stars. The magnetic waves were sparkling on its perimeter. The noise was increasing rapidly but this time Siddharth was staring at the hole with a sore face. Time was lapsing fast. The size of hole and the power of electromagnetic waves were diminishing. There was no sign of Amit. Siddharth’s expression weren’t changed a bit. Suddenly, the sound of blast arose from Revata, the worm hole coughed out Amit, and disappeared.

Amit was on his knees, trying to get up. Siddharth went near him, Amit lifted his hand in expectation of a support and Siddharth slapped him on the face. Amit was thrilled and shocked.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Mr. Sahay?”

“I thought you won’t help me if you would know about him.”

“Are you mad? I love her. I can do anything for her and now she has been kidnapped by those goons.” Siddharth was almost crying. Amit was stunned, he could not utter a word.

Siddharth explained him everything. Amit could not believe his ears. The pillar of his hope was collapsing. After thinking for some time, he told Siddharth, “I will go to save Shreya. You take this medicine and start Ryan’s treatment.”

Amit explained everything about the dosage to Siddharth. Siddharth insisted that he would accompany Amit for saving Shreya, but Amit refused him and asked to take care of both of them if anything happens to his own life. Siddharth knew, only Amit could save Shreya and it was necessary to look after Ryan as well. They left towards their own path.

When Amit reached at Mr. Sahay, Mr. Sahay was quietly sited on the white leather sofa. Two gunmen were standing behind him with statue face. Amit was meeting him first time and realised that Mr. Sahay did not need any protection as he himself was a giant personality. His moustache was surprisingly small and reminded Amit about Hitler. He was wondering if Mr. Sahay has kept it like that purposefully. He was a bald, tiny eyed, and deathly serious man. He did not utter a single word since Amit had come. Amit did not want to do any mistake to upset him further and hence kept mum. He realised that one of the gunmen was the same who threatened him few days back. Amit was looking at gunman’s face keenly.

“Mr. Amit you were about to give me something. Have you brought that?” Mr. Sahay asked in the most chilling voice Amit had ever heard. “It has been destroyed in an accident” said Amit with all the courage he could gather. Sahay stared at him for a second and said, “You know, your wife is here, do you?”

“Mr. Sahay, please give me some time. I will give you a gift of your lifetime. You will be surprised and 100 times richer than now.” Amit pleaded him. Sahay looked at him, ignite his cigar and ordered, “Kill him!” Both the bodyguards turned their gun towards Amit and was about to trigger, when Amit shouted pointing towards one of them, “He is a traitor, he is policeman and will kill you in next 15 days.” As soon as Amit shouted, Raghu turned his gun to Sahay, but the other bodyguard fired on Raghu and he fell on ground, soaked in blood.

Sahay’s men searched everything and understood that Raghu was a policeman and he had orders to kill Sahay. They released Amit and Shreya after confirming Amit’s allegations. Mr. Sahay bothered a little about how Amit had this information and forget about the debt as well.

Siddharth had commenced Ryan’s treatment and was happy with the results. The medicine was working magically on Ryan’s cells and genes, apparently making him stronger. After Ryan’s successful treatment, Siddharth became a celebrity doctor. Everyone was keen to know the formula, but he always said that the medicine was still under his experiment. This was a smart way to hide the truth and buy some time to discover the ingredients of the medicine.

One Month Later

Ryan was completely recovered from cancer. Amit was awarded with 1 crore rupees by Mr. Sahay for saving his life. So, he bought a lavish apartment in the most privileged area of the city and embarked to repair his time machine. Shreya was on cloud nine and started her own boutique.

One night, Ryan was sleeping in his room, tired of playing all day. He had completely recovered from cancer. Amit and Shreya were enjoying their time by playing chess, Shreya shoot the question, “Amit, dear how you knew about that traitor in Mr. Sahay’s home?” Amit grinned and said, “When I went in future, I researched a bit about Mr. Sahay too. I realised that he was long forgotten and was killed by an inspector Pathak. Then I checked Pathak’s picture and he was the same guy.” Shreya’s face dropped suddenly, “Do you think this was a right thing to do? After all he was an honest policeman, must be having a family too.”

Amit dragged her in his arms and said, “It’s ok jaan, this is called as collateral damage. Few people are meant to be compromised.”

Next day, Shreya went to woke Ryan up and she cried loudly. Amit ran into the room and saw that Ryan had grown old. He was not able to see or walk. His skin was full of wrinkles. His teeth were loosened. He seemed almost 90 years old. Amit and Shreya were dumbstruck. They could not understand what happened to their lovely son, in an overnight period. Without wasting a moment, they took Ryan to the hospital.

Amit and Shreya were waiting in the corridor impatiently. Siddharth came out of his cabin with a report in his hand. Shreya quickly went inside the room as if she did not want to hear anything further. Siddharth sat beside Amit, Amit knew dip inside his heart that it is over. Siddharth said softly, “I told you don’t change anything. Ryan’s genes have changed drastically. It is the side effect of the medicine or may be that was a fake medicine. He is critical. He won’t be able to survive more than a week probably.”

Amit’s eyes were teary. His eyes were locked on the ground. Mr. Shekharan’s words were humming in his mind repeatedly,“Whatever you do in the past or future, you will have to face the ramification in present. You will land in present. You will land in present.”