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🍍Part 1: Patsy Bennett closed the door of her small apartment, removed her shoes and dropped down on the bed. Her entire body ached after the long shift in the restaurant and she only wanted to have some sleep until the next shift would begin. The apartment was small and shabby but it was the only place she could afford at her small waiter salary. Patsy grew up at an orphanage and she couldn’t get any decent education to get a better job. Sometimes she cursed her biological mother and the unfair fate. Why the hell couldn’t her mother keep her and raise her like any other one? Who was her mom? The life in the orphanage wasn’t that bad; it wasn’t like the old-fashioned horror houses from B movies. The staff was friendly even if the caretakers were strict. Her roommates also were nice but they couldn’t make up for mom, dad and siblings. She often dreamed of living in her own family and she wasn’t alone. Almost all children had the same dream. When she left the orphanage and found her job, her dreams changed. She had her own life even if it was a miserable one. It probably was too late to return and start anew. However she wanted to find her mother and … and what? What would Patsy be able to tell the person who had abandoned her like an unnecessary toy? Finding her biological mother seemed to be impossible. Patsy had asked about her mother earlier at the orphanage but she only learned her date of birth - the 14th of May 1995. The orphanage staff didn’t have any information on Patsy’s mother and they told her that the documents were destroyed when Patsy was released from the hospital. There was a hospital near the orphanage and Patsy guessed she was born there. All of sudden a crazy thought hit Patsy’s mind. What if she could travel back in time and find her mother at the moment she was released from the hospital? Patsy tried to scare off that intrusive image but she couldn’t. Travelling back in time was a pure fantasy though. About a week later she was in a hurry after her shift and absorbed herself in her thoughts when she took a wrong turn and stopped in front of a shabby house. It differed from all other houses and looked like it didn’t belong to the present time. She didn’t know why but she knocked on the door. “Come in,” a male voice called her and she entered the small house hesitantly. The voice that invited her belonged to a young man in his mid 30’s. Another older man was sitting in a rocking chair. Patsy noticed an incredible similarity of the men; they had to be father and son. “Sorry to disturb you but I was too curious and there is something odd that attracted my attention to your house. My name is Patsy Bennett.” “Don’t worry, miss Bennett. I’m kinda used to this kind of visitor. Our house keeps attracting the attention of passersby but they usually leave as soon as I introduce myself.” “How so? What’s strange about your name?” “It’s not the name miss. My name is James Hawkins and this is James Hawkins as well,” he pointed at the old man. “Well, it is not practical but still nice if father and son have equal names.” “Sorry miss; you are wrong. We are the same person.” “W … w … what?” Patsy almost fainted and dropped down on the nearby chair. Was she dreaming? “Well miss, are you about to run away now?” “I don’t know,” Patsy almost jumped up and ran away but her curiosity was much stronger. “How is that possible? Are you able to make your own copies or?” “That’s a long story. Would you like to hear it?” “Mister … can I say James to you? I’m tired just now but I’d like to come again tomorrow. I have a day off.” “Of course, miss … Patsy? Come tomorrow and we can talk. I also have something interesting to show you.” “I will come. It would be a little exciting to spend my day off in a more interesting way than browsing the town aimlessly.” Patsy couldn’t sleep that night and she had to think about the strange house and about ‘something interesting’. How was it possible to make copies of a person? The next morning she hurried up towards the strange house and knocked on the door impatiently: “Come in,” the voice invited her but it wasn’t the young man from the day before. The older James welcomed her: “Good morning,” “Good morning Patsy. The junior James is at work but you are welcome anyway.” “I can’t wait to hear your story; you also promised something interesting James.” “Of course, Patsy, I'll show you it first,” he stood up and brought a small case and opened it. There was something like a big clockwork inside with several metal dials and two handles inside. “Oh, what is it? I’ve never seen this kind of clockwork.” “Be patient, miss. Listen to my story. However, take it and look at the bottom.” Patsy lifted the mysterious clockwork and turned it upside down. It was surprisingly heavy. There was an inscription on the bottom: “TIMETRON A.D.1827” “Timetron? What does it mean? Where did you find this? This clockwork is a rare historical artifact.” “It’s more than a plain historical artifact and much more than a plain clockwork. Now let me continue. I bought this house long ago. It was surprisingly cheap and there were rumors about it and its history. According to those rumors two dead bodies were found there and the bodies looked like the same person. People believed in demons or similar evil powers. The house itself was abandoned and I spent a lot of time and money to do all necessary repairs. Anyway I didn’t notice any signs of supernatural powers.” “James, have you been living all alone here?” Patsy interrupted him. “Yeah, I have; I’m single and I’ve been focusing on my work the entire time. Now let’s proceed to a more interesting period. One day I decided to check the loft. Of course I did it before during the repair works but I didn’t browse all the old chests. To be honest, I don’t know why I took that decision but it changed my life forever. The chests were full of junk mostly but I found Timetron among that junk. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any idea what I had found. That day in the evening I cleaned it and studied all the buttons and dials. Look at them.” Patsy looked at the dials and she realized they were a kind of calendar. Turning the dials, she could set up any date. There was a dial numbered from 1 to 31, another one labeled with month names and four dials with numbers from 0 to 9 inside a square frame. “If I’m right, you could set up any day on these dials - from the year 0000 until 9999. Okay but it doesn’t make sense. What happens if you set the date?” “Miss Patsy, I also was curious about the mysterious machine. The first attempt was simple; I set the dials to the same day and wound up the machine. Nothing happened. I grabbed the handles, felt a bit light headed but nothing changed. The next attempt was much more courageous. I turned the dials to the day before and repeated the procedure. All of sudden the machine disappeared. I was taken aback; did I travel in time? The evidence was sitting in the chests on the loft. I hurried up and opened the correct chest. I almost fainted when I spotted the machine there.” “Wow, that really is a time travelling machine!” “Yeah, it is.” “How is it linked to your copy?” “I had an old friend but he died more than twenty years before I found the machine and unfortunately, I didn’t have any opportunity to see him. I got a call about his car accident and hurried up to the hospital but he died minutes before I arrived. I got a crazy idea to use the machine and arrive in time. Everything worked and I could say goodbye to him but I encountered myself in the hospital corridor. I returned home and found the machine. My second copy followed me. When I grabbed the handles, my copy was present in the room and returned with me.” Patsy looked at James and timetron in utter amazement. She would like to hear more but it was too much for her and she desperately wanted to see her mother. “James, your story is interesting indeed but it’s too much for me now and I’ll come later again to hear more. Now I'll tell you my reason; I’d like to find my mother; she abandoned me and I grew up in an orphanage. Maybe I’ll be able to change my past and grow up in a normal family. I know that this is a bold request but could I use timetron?” “Patsy, feel free to use it but be careful. Avoid meeting yourself in the past. If you want to change something in the past, I don’t have any idea of the consequences.” “What time should I choose. I was born on the 14th and I’d guess my mom was released two days later,” her fingers trembled when she turned the dials. 1995, May, 16th. She wound up the machine and grabbed both handles. Ticking could be heard and the world around her got blurred. Seconds later her vision cleared and she looked around. The old James had gone and she was alone in the house.