her boyfriend’s death to her? Would it further damage her ability to walk? Tomorrow morning, he told himself,
he would help Dahlia.
The following day
The first thing Caius did, when he broke free of the pile of jackets he had covered himself with last night,
was wake Dahlia up. They soon ate their last pieces of bread and left the cave they had spent the night in.
Not long after their journey had begun, Dahlia’s legs began to shake uncontrollably and she fell to the floor
in anguish. Biting his lip, Caius lifted Dahlia onto his shoulder and trudged forward.
They tromped through deserts and grasslands. They walked on plateaus and hiked across mountains. They
were nearly there.
5
miles away from the cave where Charles was murdered
They had no food. There was a clear view of it, though. Near the Wall, a delightful array of tantalizingly
bright blue berries hung from a plant that had woven itself around a small hut. A woman sat outside the door,
her dark hair blowing in the wind. Although she clearly was quite old, her leg crippled and useless, her face was
youthful and honest. She was mixing herbs and flowers into a pot of green liquid. Her trousers were made of
some dark blue material and her shirt read “Discovered a disease. 1817”. which puzzled Caius. 1817? It was
only 1457, it must be some sort of joke. Caius walked over.
The mysterious woman put her pot on the floor. Extending her hand, she nodded. “Marvella,” she offered.
“
My friend cannot walk, I have carried her away from barbaric slaves, to this place, where the slaves have
yet to reach. The wall has not been built here yet, I need not fear they will eat her. They will reach this place
soon, though. Please, if you are kind, let us stay for a night, let us rest and heal.” Caius pleaded.
Marvella opened the door and gestured to them to enter. Hesitantly, Caius stepped inside. Surprisingly
warm, the hut was filled with shelves and shelves of labelled plants and insects. As Caius took in the outwardly
simple hut’s complexity, the old woman examined Dahlia’s legs. “No visible wounds, yet irrepressible
tremors,” she said at once.
Caius looked at her expectantly.
“
Parkinson’s disease. I discovered it.”
Without another word, which bothered Caius slightly, Marvella took a glass jar of pink liquid. “It will keep
the bradykinesia away,” Caius pretended to understand. Reaching for a jar of creamy blue liquid, she told him:
“
This should cure Parkinson completely, that is, if she drinks a bottle each day for a week.”
Staring at the old woman, Caius was shocked. Should cure? Did the woman expect him to believe her, just
like that? What if Dahlia died from her potions? Close to tears, he realised he didn’t have many options - if he
walked away, Dahlia would die. It would be better if he stayed - there was a chance of Dahlia’s survival. He
nodded. He would have to concur. There was no choice. There was something he had to know, though.
“
So, you discovered this disease in 1817?”
“
Yes.”
“
Is that a joke of some sort?”
“
No. I am from the 19th Century.” she admitted.
Caius gaped at her.
“
I am from the future. I discovered the disease that killed many before my time. I am here to cure all in
need of help.”
The ensuing week, the two travellers stayed at Marvella’s hut. A person of kind heart and soul, she did
nothing but cure Dahlia of her suffering through potions; and alleviate Caius’ traumatic memory of Charles’
murder through comforting chatter and tales from the future. Caius began to accept the strange possibility of
Marvella having come from another time.
When the week had ended, Marvella hugged both her patients goodbye. They had at last recovered, with the
help of an odd woman who claimed to be from the future.
Manchester, 1509
Caius scratched his chin. The officers had wanted them to have learnt something from the trip. What had he
learnt?
A word echoed in his head. Slavery.
It was how it was in those days, with projects comes slavery. With slavery comes desperation. With
desperation comes the unthinkable.
He had begun to forgive them for what they had done. But he now realised that with the unthinkable should
come humanity.