By Rachel Dib
“You said we were going to the beach.”
We both stared at the dark, frozen wasteland. A gust of frigid wind blew into the time machine, swirling around us and stealing our breath away.
“Um.” With one last glance at the desert of ice and snow, I slammed the door shut and frowned at the time machine’s dials. I was positive I’d entered in Hawaii, May 10, 2004. From my research of pre-exodus Earth, that meant Maeven and I should be soaking up golden rays as we ran over white sandy beaches and soaked our feet in crystal-blue waves.
“What’s going on, Ryle?” Maeven demanded, crossing her arms.
I swallowed. We may have been dating for only a few months, but I knew arm crossing was never a good sign. When I didn’t answer quickly enough, she added foot tapping to her repertoire.
I cleared my throat. “It seems we might have accidentally ended up in Antarctica.”
Maeven lowered her chin. Her glare rivaled the frosty weather outside. “Antarctica. Why in the moons and stars would we want to go to Antarctica?”
“Um, we didn’t.” I flicked my gaze over the controls again as if they could explain our dilemma. “One of us must’ve bumped something…” Seeing Maeven’s dark expression, I rushed to amend my statement. “I must’ve bumped something, and we ended up in Antarctica.”
With a short sigh, she threw out a hand. “Well, fix it already. I packed for the beach, not a snowstorm.”
“Oh!” I perked up. “The time machine comes stocked with an assortment of weather gear.”
“Fix it!”
“Right.”
I swiftly typed in our intended date and location. As soon as I locked in the coordinates, the time machine’s automated voice happily repeated them back to me. “Are you sure this is where you want to go?”
“Most definitely,” I muttered as I clicked the “yes” button.
The time machine began its start-up whir—for about two seconds—then a shrill beeping pierced the air.
“What is that?” Maeven asked, covering her ears.
“I don’t—”
“I’m sorry. The location you currently seek is unavailable,” the automated voice chirped. “Three hours until fully charged.”
Maeven’s brows shot up to her hairline. “You didn’t charge the time machine?”
I shook my head in helpless wonderment. “I did. Bringing it here must have drained the solar panels or something.”
“So, you’re saying we’re stuck?”
As if in response, the automated system spoke up once more. “Three hours until fully charged.”
And then the lights dimmed as the time machine entered power-saving mode.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Maeven punched the wall. A panel popped open, dumping a pair of white poofy snowsuits at her feet. Pursing her lips, she shook her head. “Might as well, I guess.”
Once we’d dressed, I swung open the door, bracing myself for the barren wasteland—and found dozens of large, black-and-white birds staring back at me under the time machine’s spotlight. I snapped the door shut.
“What were those?” With most of her face covered by the snowsuit, Maeven’s amber eyes looked even wider than usual. “And where did they come from?”
“Penguins?” I tried to recollect my father’s lessons concerning cold-weather birds. “They must have seen the time machine and gotten curious.”
“Penguins.” Maeven sounded uncertain.
I doubted she remembered anything from Pre-exodus Earth Ecosystems 101. Most people didn’t. Why bother studying about a place our ancestors were forced to escape? Unless your father is the station’s leading pre-exodus Earth zoological historian.
Maeven’s next question confirmed my suspicion.
“Do they eat people?”
“No.” I wrinkled my nose. “Or at least they didn’t in any of the old documentaries I watched with my father.”
She nodded slowly.
Chewing my lip, I gave her a moment to decide what she wanted to do next.
With a sigh, Maeven placed her hand on the door lever. “I hope those documentaries were accurate.”
“No risk, no reward, right?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “But if you’re wrong, you’ll be explaining to my father how I got eaten by penguins.” Before I could respond, she pushed open the door.
And whacked a penguin in the head.
When it squawked at us in annoyance, its comrades slowly backed up. As we stepped out onto the snow-packed earth, the penguins eyed us skeptically and emitted a series of honks and squeaks.
Even though I couldn’t see her mouth, I knew Maeven was smiling. Granted, I was too. It’s kind of hard not to smile at penguins.
We watched them for a while, never straying too far from the circle of the time machine’s emergency light for fear of losing sight of it in the dark, snowy expanse. When all the penguins finally waddled off, we headed back inside to rummage for something hot to eat. Fortunately, the time machine’s food dispenser contained an assortment of soups.
“I bet not many people have had that experience,” Maeven said cheerily as she slurped her tomato soup. “We’re probably some of the only ones.”
I nodded. “Besides scientists and unlucky military personnel, I don’t think pre-exodus humans came out here much.”
“They missed out.”
“You think so?”
Before she could answer, the lights brightened, and the automated voice piped up to inform us the time machine was fully charged.
Rising to my feet, I checked the dials. “Everything is ready to go. Should we head back?”
To my surprise, Maeven glanced at the door. “Let’s take one last look outside.”
I tilted my head. “I doubt there’s much else to see. The penguins seem to be the most exciting thing this place has to offer.”
“There will be stars, right? I’ve never seen them from Earth.” She pushed open the door—and there were more than just stars. A curtain of ghostly green lights danced in the sky.
“Aurora australis,” I whispered in awe.
Maeven took my hand. “You know what, Ryle? Everyone who chose the beach over this totally missed out.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An interesting and sweet story.
Thank you 😊
Great story, Rachel! I would personally prefer the beach for its warmth, but you can’t deny the spooky grandeur of the northern lights. And penguins are fascinating creatures, too!
Yea… I’m not a fan of cold myself but the penguins would be fun. Glad you enjoyed it!
Aww! It’s neat how they discover the beauty of Antarctica! I’d still want to visit the beach though :)
Me too lol. I like penguins but I hate the cold! Glad you enjoyed it!
Penguins are very cool. I like the interaction between the two.
Thank you!
Super cute and sweet. I’m not a beach fan, but I definitely don’t like the cold… And yet, I would probably react similarly. I’d be annoyed at first, then slowly warm up to it… Especially the aurora australis. 💜
Definitely. Some things are worth a little discomfort. Glad you enjoyed the story!
Sometimes a bad situation can turn out to be an unexpected great situation. Enjoyed reading this one.
Very true. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Really enjoyable story! It’s almost like a sweeter version of Doctor Who but instead of aliens, you get cute penguins :)
That’s a fun description! I’m glad you enjoyed the story!
Great ending!
Thank you!
Time traveling and dating – great idea and execution.
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
“Do they… eat people?”
🤣
Is it bad that I got a kick out of writing that part? Lol Thanks for reading!
Loved this story.
Thank you 😊 I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I wanna see penguins! Sounds like an awesome mistake to me! Love the comedy in this one!
Love it! What a great testimony to all the less traveled but beautiful places on this earth. So well written I could feel like I was in the frozen tundra with the characters.
What a prolific writer! What a broad imagination!
I’d like to invite her to our book club . . .