Title: Eternal Strangers
The air shimmered in the moonlit forest as the fabric of reality tore open. A man stepped through, his clothes singed at the edges, a peculiar device strapped to his wrist. He looked around, the faint hum of his time machine fading into silence.
"Another jump, another era," he muttered, brushing ash off his coat.
"You're late," came a voice, calm and steady, from the shadows.
Startled, the man spun around. A figure emerged from the trees—a tall, elegant woman with eyes that seemed to hold the weight of centuries.
"Late?" he asked. "I didn't know anyone was expecting me."
"I wasn’t expecting you specifically," she replied, a wry smile touching her lips. "But I knew someone would come. They always do."
The man furrowed his brow. "And who are you?"
She stepped closer, her movements graceful but deliberate. "I go by many names. But you can call me Aveline. I've been here long enough to recognize a traveler when I see one."
His eyes narrowed. "Long enough? What do you mean by that?"
Aveline tilted her head, studying him. "You’re not the first time traveler I've met. Nor will you be the last. Your kind is drawn to the past, to the secrets it holds. And I... I am one of those secrets."
Realization dawned on his face. "You're immortal."
"Sharp," she said. "And you? What drives someone to tear through the fabric of time? Adventure? Knowledge? Or are you running from something?"
He hesitated. "Call it... curiosity."
"Curiosity is dangerous," she said, her voice tinged with warning. "The past is fragile. A single misstep could unravel everything."
"And yet, here you are, living through it all," he countered. "Surely you’ve meddled in the course of history."
Aveline's expression turned somber. "I’ve seen empires rise and fall, loved ones turn to dust, and the same mistakes repeated over centuries. But I’ve learned one thing: history resists change. It’s stubborn that way."
He regarded her with a mixture of awe and skepticism. "If you've been alive for so long, why stay hidden? Why not guide humanity?"
"Because humanity doesn’t need guidance from someone like me," she said. "I’m a relic, a witness, not a savior. Besides, immortality is no blessing. It's a weight, a curse you can’t put down."
The man looked down at his time machine. "And what would you say to someone like me, then? Someone who skips through time, leaving ripples in his wake?"
Aveline stepped closer, her gaze piercing. "I’d say this: be careful what you’re chasing. The past is seductive, but it’s not yours to keep. And remember, for all your machines and technology, time itself is the one thing you’ll never truly own."
The forest grew silent, the weight of her words sinking in. He took a deep breath, adjusting the dials on his wrist. "Maybe you're right," he said. "But I can’t stop now. There’s too much to learn."
Aveline nodded, a flicker of understanding in her ancient eyes. "Then go, traveler. But if you ever tire of running through the ages, come find me. I’ll still be here, waiting for eternity to pass."
The air shimmered once more as the time traveler disappeared, leaving Aveline alone beneath the eternal stars. She sighed, turning back to the forest, the faint echo of his departure a reminder of the countless others she’d met—and the countless she’d yet to meet.
