Love at First Sight (One Shot/Short Stories)

Changing Fate

“It worked, it finally worked!” I exclaimed while tears welling up in my eyes as I gazed at the mechanical contraption before me—a time-traveling machine.

I have been tirelessly building this machine for the past fifty years.

I can’t believe that it’s finally within my reach!

With my determination that spanned many years, I poured every ounce of my energy, profits, and financial resources into acquiring the essential materials for constructing a time-traveling machine.

The journey was arduously complicated, but I was willing to go to great lengths for the woman that I love.

I needed to acquire the essential components for the time machine. I spared no expense in procuring the finest alloys and intricate electronic circuits to construct the flux capacitor—the crucial device that would serve as the linchpin of my temporal voyage.

Next, I embarked on a relentless pursuit of quantum crystals, known for their extraordinary properties.

When NASA auctioned off their old stock, I seized the opportunity, even if it meant parting with a substantial sum of money. These crystals rumored to possess the ability to manipulate time and space.

But the journey didn’t end there. I delved into the realm of theoretical physics and sought out chronoton particles, elusive entities capable of creating temporal distortions that defied the limitations of the speed of light.

Yet, the pinnacle of my quest lay in obtaining the legendary material of all.

The unobtainium—also called the exotic matter.

Its substance is so rare and extraordinary that its name was a testament to its elusiveness. With the power to manipulate the very fabric of time, unobtainium was the missing piece of the puzzle.

For over four decades, I tirelessly mixed minerals and chemicals, conducting countless experiments until at long last—I held this precious material in my hands and completed building the time-traveling machine.

Now that I am at the age of seventy, my skin is wrinkled and my steps unsteady due to the sickness called aging.

I reflect on the journey that led me to create the machine. Along the way, I never considered finding a woman to share this adventure with me.

What is the point of falling in love if I am just going to leave them behind now that I have achieved what I wanted?

I fixated my gaze upon the vial of serum resting on the table before me, its contents shimmering with an ethereal glow of a mix of crimson and nature hue.

I reached out and grasped the vessel, raising it to my lips. The liquid within, a concocted astral elixir of extraordinary composition, held the promise of rejuvenation for being in a younger form.

Its formulation comprised a delicate fusion of elusive and precious elements, meticulously chosen to effectively restore one’s youthful essence.

As I gulped every last drop of the elixir—I felt a stretching force within my skin.

As I opened my eyes, I caught my reflection in the mirror. The old and once-weathered face that had stared back at me for far too long was gone. Instead, I beheld a vision of youth and vitality, smooth skin, devoid of any blemish, glowed with an otherworldly feature. The veins on my arms once pronounced and frail, now appeared strong and vibrant.

I pressed the button in the middle of the time machine after everything was ready and it lit up with an intense brightness that nearly blinded me.

I cautiously approached the radiant gateway that resembled an entrance to the past.