THE MAN WHO WASN'T HIS FATHER
854 Words
Aarav crouched behind the Meridian Gate, barely breathing. Beside him, Kabir was staring through the gap between two metal panels at the man standing in the doorway.
It looked exactly like Aarav's father.
Same face. Same grey jacket. Even the small scar above his eyebrow was there.
“Come out, Aarav,” the man said calmly. “We need to talk.”
Aarav felt a strange sense of relief.
“Dad?” he whispered.
The older Aarav immediately grabbed his arm.
“Don't.”
“But that's my father.”
“No,” the older version whispered. “It isn't.”
The man in the doorway smiled.
“Aarav, I know you're there.”
Kabir leaned closer and whispered, “How does he know we're here?”
The older Aarav looked at the countdown.
08:12
“We have to leave.”
Before they could move, the man stepped into the room.
His eyes slowly scanned the chamber.
Then he looked directly at the machine.
“You shouldn't have brought him here,” he said.
The older Aarav stepped out from behind the Gate.
“Stay away from him.”
The man's expression changed.
For the first time, his calm smile disappeared.
“So you finally came back.”
Aarav stared at them.
“What is going on?”
Neither answered.
The man looked at Aarav.
“Your father wanted you to stay out of this.”
Aarav's voice shook.
“Where is my father?”
The man smiled again.
“That's the right question.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small photograph.
He threw it toward Aarav.
The photograph landed on the floor.
Aarav picked it up.
It showed his father standing beside the Meridian Gate.
But there was something strange.
The photograph was dated 2031.
Aarav turned it over.
Written on the back were five words:
I NEVER CAME BACK HOME.
Aarav looked up.
“What does this mean?”
The man didn't answer.
Instead, the Meridian Gate suddenly made a loud metallic sound.
The countdown jumped.
07:00
The lights turned red.
The older Aarav looked toward the machine.
“It's starting.”
The man smiled.
“Exactly.”
Aarav stepped forward.
“Starting what?”
“The merge.”
The floor trembled beneath them.
The circular machine began rotating.
A bright light appeared at its center, and the room filled with a deep humming sound.
Aarav looked through the glowing opening.
For a brief moment, he saw his bedroom.
His desk.
His books.
His bed.
Everything looked exactly as it had that morning.
Then he saw himself sitting at the desk.
The other Aarav suddenly looked up.
He was staring directly through the Gate.
At them.
Aarav stepped backward.
“That can't be me.”
The older Aarav's face became pale.
“It is.”
The other Aarav stood up.
Then he walked toward the Gate.
Aarav watched in disbelief as the alternate version of himself reached the other side.
He raised his hand.
Aarav raised his own hand without thinking.
Their palms touched the glowing surface.
The moment they did, a wave of images flooded Aarav's mind.
He saw himself running through the station.
He saw Kabir standing alone in an empty street.
He saw his father arguing with someone.
He saw Mira crying beside the Meridian Gate.
Then he saw the station clock.
6:15 p.m.
Everything went black.
Aarav collapsed.
When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor.
Kabir was beside him.
“Aarav! Wake up!”
Aarav sat up.
The chamber was empty.
The older Aarav was gone.
The man who looked like his father was gone.
Even the Meridian Gate had stopped moving.
Kabir looked around.
“Where did they go?”
Aarav didn't answer.
Something was lying beside his hand.
A black watch.
He picked it up.
The screen displayed a single message:
TIMELINE 02 ACCEPTED.
Aarav stared at it.
“What does that mean?”
Before Kabir could answer, a voice came from the darkness.
“You chose it.”
Aarav turned.
Mira stood at the entrance.
She looked exactly like the girl from the photograph.
“How did you get here?” Aarav asked.
Mira didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at the watch.
“You weren't supposed to activate it.”
Aarav stood.
“What is happening?”
Mira looked at him with fear in her eyes.
“You've already changed the timeline.”
Aarav shook his head.
“I didn't choose anything.”
“You touched the Gate.”
“So?”
Mira stepped closer.
“Every time you touch it, reality changes.”
The station suddenly shook.
A distant announcement echoed through the underground chamber.
“Attention. The station will close in five minutes.”
Kabir frowned.
“That's strange.”
Mira looked at him.
“No.”
“What?”
She pointed toward the clock.
It read:
5:59 p.m.
Aarav stared at it.
“But it's not even evening yet.”
Mira's expression became serious.
“In this timeline, it is.”
Aarav's phone suddenly vibrated.
A new message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
**YOU HAVE SIXTE
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