The Xodarap

The Discovery

     From the day I was born my father told me I had a destiny. My mom has a video of him saying that to me on that very day in the hospital room. While my mom was fanning over what beautiful emerald green eyes and soft blond hair I have my dad was telling me that I had a destiny I have to follow and not try to change no matter what. My dad is a hermit who spends all day every day studying in his small room painted black with the curtains pulled shut covering all four windows. He thinks he's brilliant and "onto something" but my mom just thinks he's crazy. He would barely pay attention to her sending excuses like he just doesn't have enough time, or he's finally about to make an amazing discovery. That's why they got a divorce. Perhaps I should elaborate on what my father told me my destiny is and what he studied all those years. My dad told me that when I grow up I'm going to travel through time. I know crazy, I used to think that too. He would stay up researching facts about time travel or watching shows like Rick And Morty or Futurama sometimes going days without sleep. I have to admit my whole life up to the day after my parents got divorced I thought my dad was insane just like my mother did.
     I still cared about my dad so I volunteered to help him pack his things into his truck while my mother bitterly sat inside on the black leather couch, glaring at her now ex-husband through the living room window. I felt this feeling I can't exactly put into words as I helped with the last load of items. I felt a mix of sad/nostalgic. Like I was drowning. I knew I would see my dad again but I knew it wouldn't be nearly as often and the thought of that made me... anxious? After I put the last item in the trunk my dad gave me a hug and I was at a loss of words. I didn't know what I should say and I still don't know now what I should've said at that moment. He told me something though. He said to me, "Read the letter after your mother goes to bed. Good luck..."
     I was confused. What letter? Good luck with what? Before I could ask any of these questions my dad jumped into the front seat, shut the door, turned the car on, and drove away to his new house. I stood still staring where his red truck used to be for two minutes before I collected myself together. What letter? Then I looked at my feet. I must've been so lost in thought that he dropped the letter in front of me without me noticing. The outside of it read "Your destiny awaits".
     It was after I picked up the letter that I heard my front door open. It was my mother. "Oliver get inside it's cold out and I'm getting tired."
     I quickly shoved the letter into my jacket pocket before I replied; "Ok mom". I walked inside and went up the stairs to the second floor of my house. I live in the attic. Go upstairs look to right and the left there's both my rooms with the slanted ceilings. I walked to the top of the stairs and hesitated there for a few seconds. Should I read this letter? No my dad's insane. This is probably just some stupid facts about time travel. I tossed the letter in my trash can and lay on my bed reading The 5th Wave. After about seven minutes I heard my mother walk by the bottom of my stairs and say to me "Goodnight don't stay up to late." I replied goodnight rolling my eyes because I planned on going to bed right then and sleeping in late. Boy was I wrong.
     I couldn't sleep. My mind was on the letter. I thought about sheep, the letter, clouds, the letter. No matter what I didn't I couldn't get my mind off of the letter. Finally curiosity got the best of me and I got out of bed and walked over to my trash can. I pulled out the envelope and opened it. The paper inside contained two sentences, "Go6 to7 basement3. Look8 behind4 broken6 dresser9."  Great now I have even more questions. Why does he want me to go to the basement? What's behind the broken dresser? What's with the number after every word in the letter? Again curiosity got the best of me and I decided to see what's behind the dresser.
     I slowly krept down the stairs and when I got to the bottom I looked to the left and peered into my moms room. She was asleep. I went out the back door down the stairs and through our gate. I only had to walk fifteen feet in the gravel before I could turn left and see the basement door. I walked down the basement stairs and took my key from my pocket. I put the key in the lock and turned the handle pushing it forwards. I could see it. All the way to the back aligned with the basement door was the broken dresser. I walked towards it wondering what could possibly lie behind that broken piece of furniture. I grunted as I lifted the dresser pushing it to the side so I could see behind it. Just a gray wall. Except there was a crack down the middle making it look like there were two doors. In the middle one inch beyond each side of the crack was a lock. It had seven numbers in the combination.
     Seven numbers? Why would've my dad tell me what these seven numbers were? Then I remembered the letter. I pulled it out and counted the numbers there were after each word. One...two...three...four...five...six... seven. There were exactly seven numbers. I put the numbers on the letter into the lock. Six, seven, three, eight, four, six, nine. Click. The combination worked! As the feelings of anxious and curious filled my body I took off the lock and the door opened on it's own. I saw a table with notebooks and a cup full of pens/pencils, I saw a bookshelf and trash all over the floor. This secret room was a mess. There was one thing that caught my eye. It was something covered with a cloth.
     I couldn't tell what it was I only knew that it was gigantic. I walked over to it and put my hand on the cloth. After taking in the atmosphere for a second I pulled the cloth off. There were two words in really small print. I couldn't read them at first so I inched my face closer. The two words are: "Time Machine".