ROLL BACK
by Brian S Creek
I hear Archer’s heavy footsteps as he makes his way down the jetty.
“My Anna used to love coming down here,” I say. “We’d sit on the edge here long into the night, just gazing across the river at the brightly lit city; a galaxy of stars just out of our reach.”
“I can’t let you do this,” says Archer. He’d been my partner back when I was on the force and he was always straight to the point.
“It’s not what you think.”
“I’m here for the skates,” he says, “which you should have handed in the day you quit. You know the rules. They’re not meant to be used for this.”
“You’ve got to let me go, old friend,” I say. “It will make things better.”
“Look, I’m sorry for what happened to Anna, I really am. But I can’t let you travel back and alter the timeline. They’ll lock you up in the Eternity Well just like the scum we used to hunt down. Is that what you want?”
Holding the post beside me I stand and turn. I glance down to see the wheels of Archers own time skates still smoking from his recent jump. “I’m not going to change anything, I swear. This has nothing to do with the date of the accident.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I just want to go back to the day we first met. I want to see the smile I first fell in love with just one more time, knowing this time that I’ll have to cherish it.”
“It’s too risky.”
“You know me, Archer. Time won’t even know I’ve been there.”
For a second I think maybe he’s grown heartless in his old age. But then he sighs and nods.
“In and out,” he says. “And then you hand those skates over to me, no excuses.”
I roll forward and embrace him like the best friend he once was. Then I speed off down the jetty and focus on that one perfect day.
The skates ignite and the world around me blurs as I roll back in time.
The Angry Hourglass 