THE MOMENT
"Uh..," Vivi took a moment to think. The stranger that asked the question looked out of place. Vivi was out shopping and enjoying a day without work or school. The pedestrians wandering downtown around her wore casual suits and simple sundresses. He wore a coppery, metallic bodysuit with an orange mask on the lower half of his face. and a white lab coat over the suit. He held a strange clockwork gizmo in his hand when he first appeared. He seemed surprised anyone was around and he asked what year it was instead of greeting Vivi. "...local or SST?" she asked.
"I'm sorry?" he tilted his head at her question. Vivi giggled.
"Local then, uh, I think it's 1930-ish?" she shrugged.
"You mean you don't know?" the man asked.
"Neither do you," Vivi replied. She decided to continue her day and took a step to walk away; but, he stopped her.
"That's because I am a time traveler!" he said. He spoke louder than he meant to and seemed embarrassed. He took a panicked look around to make sure no one else heard him.
"That's great! Good luck!" Vivi gave him a half-hearted wave and tried to leave again. He dashed around to stand in her way.
"You probably don't believe me; but it's true!" he held out the gadget in his hand. It consisted of a large gear with smaller gears inside, and it was still ticking. "I invented a time machine! I come from the far-off future year of 1980!" Vivi stopped walking and sighed.
"What's your favorite number?" she asked.
"14!" the stranger replied. He was more surprised at his answer than she was. Vivi nodded. "Hold on a second," she said. She closed her eyes to hint that she wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a moment; she could Whisper with her eyes open.
[Hey Doc. - Vivi] She sent a Whisper to her boss.
[Open for the talk today? - Vivi]
[Not today. - Mundo] she felt the reply on her wrist and heard his voice in her mind.
[I'll send someone. - Mundo] he added.
[Ok. Thanks. - Vivi] She was glad he volunteered a replacement. She did not want to bother any of the student Mundos she knew on a Sunday. She opened her eyes and the stranger was still there.
"Someone's on the way," she said.
"For .. what?" the man asked.
"To explain things to you," Vivi replied. He laughed.
"Explain.... what to me?" he chuckled. "I INVENTED a time machine! I'm a genius." Vivi smiled and shrugged. She was hoping to spend the day relaxing at her own pace; dealing with an Awakened soul was the last thing she wanted at the moment. She hoped whoever Doc Mundo sent, they'd show up soon.
"What is SST?" he asked suddenly.
"Sharp Standard Time," Vivi replied.
"Is that a different time zone?" he asked. "What difference does the year make?"
"Sorry, it's just a habit to ask," she shrugged. It wasn't particularly true; but, she wanted to avoid giving him any more questions.
"You seem very accepting of time travel...," he said. Vivi grinned. She spotted the sidewalk crumbling in the alley behind him and knew she was done waiting.
"You'll see why in just a moment,..." she nodded at the alley to get him to turn around. As he did, an Earthen figure in human shape rose out of the ground. "...Mundo here will answer all your questions," Vivi said.
The figure became more defined before their eyes. Dark, moist, brown soil took on a pale, fleshy color. In moments the figure became a woman wearing a dark green flowing dress with gold accents. Her silver, vine-like hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The woman had the number 37 tattooed below her left eye; and, the eye itself appeared to be false. A blue-green Earth-like ball spun slowly in her left eye socket.
"Not Mundo," the woman shook her head. "I prefer the name, Gaia."