Second Runner-up in short story writing competition- Spin A Yarn

1. A Timeline to Follow
BY ASAWARI WALKADE

2. The clock struck one. “Time to go back
to the past”, said Arjun Bhaiya looking
at me. And as he could probably tell
from my expression, I wasn’t quite
eager to go back in time. But I followed
him and climbed onto the weird
contraption, a Time Machine. It must
have been the length of a small canoe
and could easily accommodate two kids.

3. Each time we’ve used the Time Machine, Bhaiya explained to me how he
had used various elements to act as the fuel, how time and space acted like a
fabric, and each time I got bored. Bhaiya and I could not be more opposite;
he loves science and technology and has already been selected by some
prestigious universities. I, on the other hand, am crazy about history and I
probably want to go in for research work; if he enjoys sci-fi movies, I prefer
historical dramas; if he is a very practical person, I am an emotional girl. But
since our parents have gone for some environmental work in the Amazon,
Bhaiya is in-charge.

4. Yet Bhaiya is always there to
help me through various
ingenious methods. So, when I
told him about my project on
the Roman Empire, he was
surprisingly interested and at
once went to his room in a very
excited state. Before I knew,
Bhaiya had made a fantastic
Time Machine! I don’t know
much about science but Bhaiya
did a good job of explaining
how we could use the TiMa, his
nickname for the Time
Machine, to go back to ancient
histories, but not the recent past.

5. We would go to ancient Rome, visit the marketplace, meet gladiators, converse
with the legionaries and enjoy reliving history. Bhaiya had even gone out of his
way and made a special fluid which helped us understand and converse in Latin,
Greek and Hebrew. Don’t ask me how it worked because frankly speaking I don’t
know. All I know is that we had disguised ourselves as Roman siblings, Cecilia, and
Remus. I was the one who designed our clothes; simple tunics and leather sandals
for both of us. While I went around befriending some Roman girls and learning
about their day-to-day lives, Bhaiya went around, noted the designs of the great
structures built by the Romans, saw gladiator fights and generally had a good time.

6. The problem occurred when I left my set
of notes, in Latin and English, about the
various rulers of Rome, their birth dates,
the dates when they died and how. When I
remembered, I tried going back but wasn’t
able to find those notes. It might not seem
significant to you, but imagine a certain
Roman leader finding it and trying to reset
the course of history! The result could be
disastrous and could lead to a series of
problems.

7. And so, Bhaiya and I
were going back to
Rome, and trying to
find out where my
papers were. We had a
deadline to meet; Mom
and Dad were coming
back in less than 8
hours! By one o’clock
we had collected
enough supplies and
information to go back
to Rome.

8. So we went back and hid TiMa in our regular hiding place, in a small
opening near the theatre, wore our sibling-TiMa trackers and started
looking for trouble, I mean, the notes. Suddenly I felt suspicious and I
saw someone following me. I was scared and decided to check where
Bhaiya was. He had already reached the other end of the city. Just then I
came face-to-face with a tall, dark-haired Roman boy, who had been
shadowing me. He must have been the same age as Bhaiya, probably
younger. He didn’t look aggressive like some of the Romans I had seen,
in fact, he was looking quite sheepish.

9. I asked him, “Who are you and why were you following me?”
His reply came fast and apologetic,” I am sorry if I scared you. I
am Antonius, and I was following you because you are my
Cecilia. ”
“I am your Cecilia? How do you know my name?” I almost
shouted.

10. “The Augur said that a maiden with hair like that of a raven, eyes
like that of an ox and with a vast ocean of knowledge will be my
other half, my soul mate. And a budding poet like me needs a
special someone like you, my dear Cecilia. ”
I moaned, "But… I think you have made a mistake, I am not
Cecilia and I definitely do not resemble a raven and an ox. What
made you think that I am knowledgeable?"

11. "I found you reading and writing on this
piece of paper in Latin and a foreign
language." he replied nonchalantly,
showing me my notes and went on by
saying, "I have written a poem for you,
Cecilia. It consists of twelve verses of
your beauty and intelligence." That’s
when I snatched my notes and ran, with
that crazy Roman right behind me,
yelling, "My Cecilia! Wait! Don’t run!"

12. Luckily I saw Arjun Bhaiya, whose practical mind saw the whole situation
and understood at once. "Come on. We have no time to waste." He pulled
me onto TiMa which had miraculously appeared right beside him. Next
thing I knew, we had reached home, and as we were getting off TiMa, I
heard the front open and saw Mom and Dad enter.
They both were quite surprised seeing us in such strange attire, but they
believed our story about taking us part in a school play.

13. Soon the day of my project submission came. As usual, I got the
highest marks. But Mrs. Sharma, my History teacher, had a
surprise and told us, "Students, while surfing the net and reading
some books, I found this interesting poem written by a Roman
teenager, for his soul mate Cecilia. It goes something like this,

14. Your raven-like hair,
Your ox-like eyes…
I groaned and put my head down at the
thought of hearing twelve verses about me…
*All the beautiful paintings are painted by the great 18th century artist, Giovanni Paolo Panini.