New York City, New York, 2051

October 17th, 4:18 AM

I tossed my screwdriver behind me once I completed the finishing touches on my life's work. The last bolts and wires were in precisely the right place. Dragging a hand through my ginger hair, I exhaled in relief and stepped back to admire my work, while making sure that everything was in the right position. At last, I verified that all was perfect.

Immediately, I called Lucas. With every ring, I tried more desperately to envision Daphne's face. Over the years, the image had become blurry, but I never forgot her eyes, and how light shimmered perfectly in the caramel brown kindness of them.

"Stephen?" Lucas answered groggily.

"Hey. . . I finished it."

"What? The machine?"

"Yeah."

I closed my eyes and covered my mouth as tears began to stream my face. After 26 years, tears of joy came as I faced the reality of seeing her again.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Lucas asked.

I sniffled and wiped my eyes with my lab coat sleeve.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

There was a pause as I stared at the machine in all its beauty. It looked identical to my old one, but the technology was way different. [insert explanation].

"I just can't believe I'm gonna see her again," I added.

"I know. I know you've put your life on hold for this moment, and I guess all I can say is... good luck. I really hope it ends up being worth it."
"Thanks. I'll call you back later."

Once I hung up, it was only me and the machine. I stepped through the steel doors and typed my date and time into the mini-screen. The doors shut with a hiss, an indicator that I was about to time travel.

Vienna, Austria, 1825

October 17th, 12:24 PM

I was hit with a strong sense of deja vu when I arrived. I had landed in the exact same spot as when I first visited. The cobblestone alley smelled of earthy rain and roses from the restored flower shop next door. Overtaken with excitement, I ran to the nearest person in hopes to find where Daphne lived, if she had moved houses at all.

One young lady was able to answer my question.

"Frau Leitner lives that way," she explained, pointing to my right, "and you shouldn't be able to miss it. Her and Herr Leitner have a breathtaking home."

"Wait, did you just say Frau Leitner? Her last name is Schmidt."

"That's her maiden name, sir. She's been married to Herr Leitner for about 25 years."

"I see... thank you."

It couldn't be true. She had always talked about it, but I kept hoping she could avoid it somehow. I hurried in the direction the young lady had shown me in hopes that she was mistaken. That she had misunderstood my question and had told me about another woman named Schmidt.

Onlookers stared at me as I ran by. It had been so long since I time travelled, I forgot I had to change clothes in order to blend in, but there wasn't time to think about that.

Once I made it past the busy part of town, I found myself in front of a steel gate guarding a neighborhood so fascinating that I had to assume only the upper class lived there. Many mansions were showcased by fountains amid green lawns and floral decorations. One of them in particular was eye-catching. It rested not far away from the entrance, guarded by a lawn resembling a maze. The dark bricks and regal arches in front of the door intimidated me, and I wasn't even sure if that was Daphne's house. I hit behind one of the bushy areas of the lawn in order to catch a glimpse of the home's owners through any of the giant windows.

The unsettling feeling in my stomach was making me sweat, and I felt my lips go dry after just a few minutes. There was no sign of anyone inside, until a woman with dark hair sat down in her living room for a cup of tea. With an aching heart, I gazed upon the delicate features and stunning wardrobe of the woman I had fallen in love with 26 years ago. Daphne's smile had become brighter still, but her eyes were tired and sad.

She was talking to a young woman next to her, not younger than a teenager, and I couldn't help but notice she was a spitting image of Daphne. It was her daughter. She had her mother's eyes, complexion, smile, everything. Even the happiness her mother once had.

I couldn't even feel angry at her, because I knew she tried everything to avoid this future, but it wasn't any less painful. Seeing her, now, having lived out a loveless marriage, I could only feel pity for the two of us. I went from a physics prodigy to a mad scientist all for her. I turned down countless jobs because I knew anything bigger than teaching science at a local high school would distract me from this new machine. I tried dating again and again some years after the machine broke, but all I could see in my date's eyes was Daphne's warm gaze. It was too painful.

Then there was her side of the story. Those tired eyes told me everything I needed to know. The pressure from 18th century society forced her into abandoning her dreams, marrying a man she didn't love, and raising a child with him.

Daphne's movement snapped me out of my train of thought. She stood up to close the curtains, but I didn't think to hide behind the bush. In her scan of the lawn, before shutting it out, her eyes met mine. There was an unspoken exchange in the seconds we spent locked in each other's gaze. It was as if we both felt our lives flash before our eyes. Not our separate lives, but the life we had together, and not only the one we did have, but the one we could've had. We were both sorry, but no, not for being too late or not being able to stop time, but for having met each other at all. Yet I felt in her gaze that neither of us would rather have had it any other way.

We truly were the ruin of each other.