Harri looked at the space Elliot had occupied and marveled at what she’d just witnessed. Part of her refused to believe any of this was real, but the larger part of her couldn’t refute what she’d seen and heard.
Her assessment of Ben had changed through the telling of his story. A boy who had suffered terrible loss. A man cast as a villain, who endured prison rather than break his fate; a soul alone, raising himself, trapped in a loop in time to save the life of his mother and free his father from grief. No wonder he’d seemed unhinged. No wonder he couldn’t tell her the truth.
Her initial assessment of him on their very first date had been right. He was a good man, the noblest of souls, and she regretted all the evil she had believed of him and all the hurt she’d caused.
She realized everything she’d thought about him had been wrong. He was no villain. He’d suffered grief, loss, prison, and vilification, and he’d done it all for the happiness of others. She’d been so wrong about him. And so right about him. Her initial impression had been true. He was greater than good: he was heroic beyond any normal measure. He was the man she’d first fallen in love with, and he was so much more.
“You’ll have to accept my apologies,” Ben said on-screen. “Now Elliot is no longer here, I have no memory of what happens, so my timing will be off and I can no longer answer any questions.”
“What choice do I—” Harri began, but the video cut her off.
“There are two transits left,” Ben said, and a light illuminated two stone plinths. There was a sphere on each. “The one on your left will bring you to me. The other will send the boulder that blocks the cave ten seconds into the future. Long enough for you to escape. Know that if you come to me, you’ll be leaving your life behind forever. We’ll be together in another place, another time.”
Harri approached the two plinths. They were about six feet apart, and she stood between them.
“Do you know what happens? Do you know which one I choose?” she asked.
There was no answer, and when she looked at the screen, she saw Ben was stuck in a loop, repeating his last movement—a slight turn of the head. It was the end of the recording.
Harri walked to the right plinth and pocketed the sphere and then grabbed the other one.
She hurried through the cavern into the rough stone tunnel to the giant boulder. She pulled the sphere from her right pocket and threw it at the giant rock. She watched it dematerialize and quickly ran through the tunnel mouth into the well.
Seconds later, the boulder thudded back into place with a thunderous crack. She looked up at the sky. Patches of blue broke through the cotton-wad clouds. She reflected on the times she’d been with Ben and considered all the unkind thoughts she’d had about him. If she’d known. If only she’d known. She thought of all the years wasted, time they could have spent together. She looked at the crawl space that led to the tiny tunnel that would take her home, and questioned what waited for her. An empty flat? A job? What mystery would ever compare to this?
No crime could measure up to the adventure that lay before her.
The moment Ben had presented her with the choice, she’d known what her answer would be. She’d taken the other sphere to use on the rock because she didn’t want to leave any trace of his technology to be found by others. People who might come looking for him and the wonder he’d invented. There was never any doubt in her mind. She wanted to be with him.
She removed the last transit from her pocket and squeezed until it shattered in her hand. Whatever encased the stars looked like glass, but it broke harmlessly. The energy spread over her skin, electrifying every inch of her body, and a moment later she was gone.