‘You don’t mind, do you?’ he said pointing his empty glass.
At once I ordered another drink and he resumed his narration.
‘He sat in that chamber while I was there in the next room. He instructed me to put on a few switches and I did as was told. After a few seconds, I heard a huge sound. I went and saw that the chamber was gone. I also saw that the platform was completely broken and the entire room looked like a war zone. This was when I panicked. Had I lost my friend to insanity? Should I have made him see sense?’
‘But before long, I heard a knock in my door. I answered it. It was a white young kid who asked for me. I was bewildered, who in the hell would ask for me in Jack’s house? He gave me a very old letter and told me that his great grandfather, in his will, had requested that this letter be delivered to me at this precise time. The boy was bewildered as to how it was possible for his great grandfather to know me by name. But since I was not forthcoming in my explanation, he must have assumed that I too did not know the reason.’
‘Do you have it with you now?’ I asked rather excited.
‘No. I burnt them. If I had that letter with me, I would have wanted to tell about this to everyone and would be called a loony. So I swore not to tell this to anybody and I burnt my bridge (burnt my letter, I should rather say). But don’t worry. I remember it perfectly well. It had only three words, “I made it.” And at that second I knew that I had witnessed the world’s first time travel.’
‘I was not going to tell this to anybody. But I could not stand it. You may think that I am a loony. But the hell do I care about that.’