History

History. It’s funny, I am not quite fond of history, it's important in its own way I am sure, but the truth is that no matter what way I look at it, I can't bring myself to become immersed in it, in any way. It's as old as time itself, here from the beginning, and it'll be here long after I've gone. I've never given much thought to history, we are taught it in school, but besides the basics such as dates and the information I used to cram into my head for exams, nothing quite seems to stay. We are taught history to avoid making the same mistakes and to pay homage to those that came before us. Yet, rather than learn, I believe humans repeat. We're repetitive creatures, imitating the simplest of things from when we first talk, too much more complex things like war. This world is cruel, there's no doubt about that, or rather more accurately people are cruel. I know I'm ranting, and you might be bored. Heck, I'm sure you probably aren't aware of what my point is. Well, do I even have a point...I can't say I do. I began to write first to record what is happening, but now mainly because it feels right. I suppose I should write as if I'm writing a story, but it feels more comfortable to write as if I'm talking to someone, which in a way I will be when someone reads it, in this sense you. My name is, well that doesn't quite matter, we'll say I'm X, not to be mysterious, although that certainly has some charm, but just because I feel it isn't necessary. I don't know you, and you don't know me, but everyone has a story to tell and needs someone to listen, so with this maybe you can get to know me, and I can tell my story.

To begin from the start, we have to go back to years before everything went to hell. In a way, I believe it was my fault, not everything, but I am to blame for much of what happened. It began in the year 2098. Humans had developed immensely in technology, yet it seems like usual we were never satisfied. I say we, not only because I am human, but because I am also one of those who was always unsatisfied. I am a scientist and an engineer, and in my efforts to improve technology, I created something that would doom us all. At the time, it seemed like an amazing creation, but the aftermath was destructive. It took many years, but after thousands of calculations and a few hundred failures, it was finally done my time machine. Yes, those things we would see in movies, something so cliché, yet I believed it could help us in learning more about the past, and we could change things for our future to make life better. Yet, fate had different plans, my partner, you will know them as Y had been in contact with the government about my creation. Y believed that money was far better and more important than knowledge, so it was their goal to sell my machine (I say my machine because while Y was my partner, the time machine was my own independent creation). I wasn’t persuaded, by Y’s lust for money, yet things only got worse, when I discovered that Y had notified not only our own government but also the government of several other countries. They had wanted to sell it to the highest bidder, but each country was greedy, and rather than think about the possibilities of working together, they wanted it for themselves, and if they couldn’t have it, no one else could.

After discovering that my creation was done, some government officials came to my house because they wanted to speak to me, they wanted me to give them my time machine, but I refused. It wasn’t long after that, that war was waged against the United States, but it wasn’t by just one country, it was several, every country fending for themselves, all in search of one thing, the time machine. Times became hard, people were being shipped off left and right, everyone was preparing for the worst. Grocery stores were being left bare, prices were being shot up, times were dark. The battle was being fought hard, with many people protecting our government buildings, especially the White House, where my machine was being held. There was so much death and agony, and the United States sought to use the time machine in any way possible, which is when he came. His name for the sake of this story is Z, he called himself an explorer and a historian. He said that if he could use the time machine, he could bring back an artifact from ancient Egypt, an artifact that has now been lost for over a million years. He called it the heart of wishes. An old heart locket that once belonged to a powerful witch. Everyone laughed at him at first, and disregarded him, saying witches were for fairytales, and they had no time to waste right now when the country was in shambles. Looking back to that time now I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had just ignored him then. Would life be any better, would things have changed.

I thought he was insane, but I was desperate, desperate to end this war, death, and famine, I had caused. I decided to listen and go with him. Finding the locket was easy enough, the problem was the warning that came with it. It was buried deep underground as if it was trying to stay hidden. The walls were painted with pictures of horrors, basically yelling out to avoid this piece of jewelry at any cost. When I asked X, what this locket really was, and what it did all he responded with was, “it’ll be the solution to all our problems.” He said we had to hurry back, and despite all the warnings, I went along with it, my stupid self being so naïve as to believe I could trust another human. When we arrived, back to our present time, he said that now all this could be fixed, and he opened the locket. I don’t know what I was expecting, but when nothing happened, I figured I had fallen for a prank, but then, it happened. I heard the screams, the roars, the horror. I had no idea what had happened, as X stood there laughing maniacally. I asked him what he had done, and he looked me straight in the eyes and said, “put an end to this god-forsaken world” and left. I was left in shock and didn't have a chance to go after him.

I don’t know what became of X, well with all the chaos that had ensued, he may have died, or he may very well be hiding somewhere in the many colonies that are being formed underground, of people trying their best to survive. I don’t have much time left, so while I wish I could explain everything in detail, I’ll make it simple. What Z has discovered and brought back was like pandora’s box in a way, but about 100 times worse. It brought about monsters, viruses, and natural disasters to our world. It was a curse that led our planet to famine, death, destruction. The homes we once knew, the lives we once had were ruined. The war was forgotten sure, but what was the point when everything was being destroyed. It began so suddenly, in the blink of a second earthquakes were happening worldwide, tsunamis were swallowing up cities, giant monsters made of fire were burning down towns, stepping down on everything in their path. Then the viruses began, people were beginning to cough up blood, others simply fell and died where they were. It was like nothing we had seen before. All I honestly wanted to know was why, why did Z do it. To bring judgment day upon us, to end this cruel world, nothing seemed quite right. People are horrifying sure, but not everyone was, it seemed unfair. Now you can see why I blame myself. If I could go back in time now, I would change ever having built that stupid contraption, ironic isn’t it. In the end, every effort made was empty, the war was done, but every battle was lost. Thousands of lives were spared at the expense of others, and the locket had only brought about our end. People ran and made new colonies underground, many people were still trying to find a way to end this. Governments are being rebuilt underground to create order, for a fake sense of peace. We are told peace is a thing in this world, that with hard work and resolve we may one day reach it, but it’s a lie, peace isn’t real, or this world will never truly know peace.

Now we get to me, what am I doing now. Well, I am dying, I’m sick, one of the unlucky few who was hit by a deadly virus I suppose. I could seek medical help in the colonies although I’m not sure they could do much, to be honest, I’m much too tired to do so. Therefore, I decided to write instead, so that everyone may know how this began, so I can allow my mind to be at ease, and to let you (whoever is reading this), know some of my thoughts. About everything that happened, about life, about anything and everything that comes to mind. I wanted to create change and make life better. Life, which is so complicated and full of strife, or maybe I just made my own life that way, and everyone experiences it differently. Maybe life is simple, and it isn't meant to be complicated. I may not know the meaning of life, and if I did have a meaning for it, mine may be different than yours. Life feels like a dream sometimes, and the point of life, at least to me, is to enjoy the special moments, the best parts like in a dream in which we do not want to wake up. But there is no point in thinking that now. My life is coming to an end, but I can’t help but be comforted. Because while my life may be approaching its end, yours and everyone else’s that will be part of the future is just beginning, and in a way that’s a relief. This world won’t last forever, and mistakes will be made. They always will because we can never seem to learn, but while nothing lasts forever, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t act as of it could last forever. We all have a different life and a different story to tell, and if our lives are like a book, we have to live in the best way possible so that when we reach the end, it was a book worth writing.

So now we reach the end, of my book, and I hope you will remember me because although we may be strangers, now we are strangers who share a story. You know my story, and like a picture in a locket, I'll stay there, a faint memory in your mind of something you once knew. It’s sad really, but I suppose, in the end, years from now once I’ve gone, the one simple thing I never paid much attention to is what lives on. I’ll be part of another page, from another book, yet another moment in history.