Untouched By Time

[12.12.01] » by Brent Barron

"Do you remember, Serge? Do you remember those days? We soared above everything then… we were gods. Those times are gone now. You returned to your time and I to mine, but I always said I would find you and I haven't forgotten that promise… I never will!"

The first gentle rays of sun peered through Serge's window, awakening him from his slumber. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the morning light. There beside him laid his wife, Leena, a content look etched across her porcelain face. She was still asleep, and Serge didn't want to wake her so, instead, he arose alone that morning. After all, it's good to get away from life sometimes and go out alone, to think… to reflect. So he did.

Slipping out unnoticed, Serge made his way across the small town. Only a few early risers were out and about, tending to their duties, but for the most part the city sat veiled in a serene silence. The town soon passed away, giving way to lush, peaceful forests and long, winding trails. He had walked these paths many a time before in his thirty-two years of life and every time he did, he felt as if there was something there; the sense that something had happened here yet he knew that couldn't be true. Still, everyday he battled with strange feelings. Deep within it felt as though he longed for something. Something he couldn't put his finger on; something far away.

  Finally the glistening waters and golden sand of Opassa beach came into view. He kicked his sandals off and bathed his callused feet in the sand. A small stone jutted from the earth with the word "RADIUS" engraved upon it. Serge ran his hand along the rough stone, "What came from the sea returns to the sea…" he read out loud in a quiet whisper.

"It was here that the cogs of fate began to turn… oh Serge, was I too late? But maybe there's still hope… but would it be right to mess with time for my own desires? Oh, I've searched for so long… I can't give up now, ya bugger!"

Serge basked in the suns golden rays, the ocean waves providing the only sound whatsoever. He closed his eyes and began to drift into another world. A world where life is left behind, along with all burdens and cares. But suddenly he felt as if he were not alone. He bolted upright, his eyes peeling open. The ocean waves broke upon the shore and a lone bird pecked at the ground, searching for food, but it flew away, startled by something or someone. He shook his head, "hmn…" Searching the area once more he began to lie down again when she spoke.

"So, you got yourself married… hah, figures."

He jerked upwards once again and stared at the young girl standing before him. Her golden locks danced in the wind and her smile bore into his heart. He climbed to his feet, brushing the sand from his knees, "Who are you?"

The girl smiled and took a step forward, "You've grown so much, Serge. Eh, you still look the same to me though!" Her blue eyes reflecting the joy that swelled up inside her-- The joy of seeing him again after all those years. Yet, despite the time passed, she still looked the same, unchanged by time, for in her world, hardly any time had passed.

A look of confusion spread across Serge's face, "What do you mean? We've never met before?"

"Oh but we have! You don't remember of course, but if you did… you would certainly remember me. Funny how things work, eh? How people could grow so close and do so much together and then POOF, in an instant they forget everything. You bugger, I've been searching for you for so long and now I've finally found ya!" She ran forward and nearly leaped onto him, but stopped short, "Serge… come with me. Let me make you remember!"

"Remember what? Look, I think you've got the wrong person…" Serge's bandanna, now tattered and worn from the many years, swayed in the breeze, "I'm sorry, but I have the slightest clue of what you're talking about…"

The girl walked even closer, nearly touching Serge, "Take my hand… please?"

He took her hand hesitantly. As his flesh touched hers his mind echoed with so many words; so many thoughts yet he couldn't decipher them. He saw faces of people he had never met, places he had never been, and moments he had never lived.

"Serge…" The girl looked into his eyes, "I'll make ya remember!" The small necklace encircling her neck began to glow, "Ya see, time isn't linear like you think. You once knew that… you once saved the world in another time—another place. Those gates were closed then and you were to forget it all, but I finally made my way back here and now I want you to come back to where it all began and where it all ended." She held his hand tightly and a light began to softly glow around them. Then they were gone as if they had never been there. Maybe they hadn't…

Everything appeared the same at first, but soon Serge realized he was no longer in the same place. There was no grave and, although it was nearly identical, it all felt very foreign. He looked at the strange girl with a confused look upon his weary face.

"What happened? Where are we?"

"We're home… where we both belong!"

Serge's eyes widened, "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I want to go home now." He looked around and then back to the girl, "I don't understand…"

She took his hand once again, "C'mon, follow me."

Pulling Serge along, she took him to many familiar places. She took him to his home yet it was nothing like the home he knew. Leena was a vibrant young girl, Radius walked the streets alive and well, and his mother cooked supper on the stove as she had years ago.

"What is this?"  Serge demanded as she continued to pull him around as if he was her toy, "This isn't my home, and whatever illusion you've conjured up… stop it now."

The girl frowned, "No, I'm gonna make you remember!"

"You can't make me remember something that never happened!"

"Oh, but it did!"

Serge turned away, "Take me back, now!"

She grabbed him by the cuff of his sleeve and pulled him back, "Wait! Let me show you one more thing!"

There was no answer. Serge sat there staring at her, all color drawn from his pale face. He screwed his expressions, dleving into some sort of silent contemplation. Then, after what seemed an eternity of silence, he spoke, "Alright…"

They shot up through the air until falling onto a large platform, suspended high above the ground. Serge looked out over the earth and looked back to the girl, his wavy blue strand of hair hanging in his face.

"Okay, what did you want to show me?"

"Just a bit further mate."

She pulled him forward as they both approached a large set of doors. She pressed up against them with all her weight until finally they gave in and swung open with a loud creak. The light soon gave way to darkness as they walked into the large room, choked by a musky smell which hung stale in the air.

Serge squinted into the shadows, "So…"

"A little further now!"

He walked deeper within until he made contact with a pedestal of sorts, "huh?" His hands touched something cold. For a second there was that period of awkward silence, both of the figures standing still, the faint light of day illuminating their forms. And then it all made sense. Memories flooded into his head all at once, and suddenly those faces became his friends, those places became clear, those memories became a reality. He looked in shock to the girl.

"Kidd…"

A large smile formed on her face, "Serge!" She ran to him and threw flailing arms around his neck, "I knew I could make ya remember!"

"Oh Kidd, it's been so long… but how? How did you come back… the gates of time were sealed?"

Kidd looked at her long lost friend, "The human heart is a powerful thing and even more powerful is the emotion created within it; the emotion of love. I had to look for the longest time, but in the end I guess what they say is true… love conquers all!"

"But I've aged so much now. I'm married and you… you're still young. Time has yet to change you yet it has already transformed me for a long time now. It's too late Kidd. Why… why did you bring me here if you knew it was too late?"

Her blue eyes suddenly ignited with a burning fire, "I know it may seem that way, but if love got me this far, who's to say it can't get me farther, eh?" A small tear began to form in her misty eyes, "I've seen some amazing things in all my years and I know that some way or another we can be together! I searched a long time and I expect to get some darn results!" She said jokingly as a salty tear fell from her blue orb and rolled down her cheek.

Then, in that instant, time was once again defied. Maybe we'll never know how, but it happened for, at that very moment, Serge began to change until he was once again the Serge Kidd had known. Her eyes fluttered open and a look of amazement crossed her face, and the emptiness in her desperate orbs was suddenly filled.

"Serge… but how?

"You said love is a powerful thing, did you not? Time is a thing we will never truly understand. The Serge from in the future was here, or was he? No matter, I'm here now. The flow of time has allowed me to exist with you-- to fill the gap inside you. Maybe it's Schala looking over you from somewhere far away…"

Kidd fell deep into Serge's arms, "Oh Serge, promise you'll stay with me forever."

"I'll stay with you Kidd, as long as time gives me to live on this planet. I'll stay with you until I breathe my last and return to where I came from…"

"Serge!"

His eyes flickered open. The warm summer sky was fading, surrendering to the evening, and the sand had now cooled.

"Serge!"

The man looked over his shoulder to see his wife running towards him, her arms waving, a look of terror drawn across her face.

"Serge, you've had me so worried! You just left without saying a thing and…"

He cupped his hand over her mouth, "Shh…" Slowly, he pressed his lips to hers. All those empty spaces had now been filled, and Serge could finally rest at ease. The tide came in and broke against Radius's aging tomb. The sun began to set on another day and was sure to set on many others. All his life he had felt as if there were something that was missing. A memory that had been stolen from him, but now he knew… now he knew for sure.

"I finally found you, Serge. I always said I'd find you in some place… some time… and I did.  Maybe its not the man you know, but it's the Serge I know… the Serge I love. In your world you can live happily until the end of your days with The one you love and now, finally, I can live in my world until I die with the one I love; Serge…you. Promise me one thing though… never forget me. Hold on to the memories until the end of time; no one can take those away. No one."