The Time Traveler finished his story and was silent. He looked at his friends. He knew they did not believe him. He told them to think of the story as a dream. He looked at the Medical Man. He asked his friends what they thought of the story.
The room was very quiet. His friends moved in their chairs. They did not know what to say. The Editor stood up and sighed. He put his hand on the Time Traveler’s shoulder. The Editor said the story was very good, but he did not believe it was true.
The Time Traveler looked for some matches. He lit his pipe and smoked. He said that he almost did not believe the story himself. Then he looked at the small white flowers on the table. He looked at the old cuts on his hands.
The Medical Man stood up and looked at the flowers. He said the flowers were very strange. He did not know what kind of plants they were. The Journalist looked at his watch. It was very late. He said it was time to go home.
The Medical Man asked to keep the flowers. The Time Traveler said no. He put the flowers in his pocket. He said the flowers were from Weena. He felt very confused. He wondered if his life was a dream. He wanted to see the Time Machine again.
The Time Traveler took a lamp and went to the laboratory. His friends followed him. The machine was there. It was dirty and had brown spots on it. There was grass and moss on the bottom of the machine. One part of the machine was bent.
The Time Traveler touched the machine. He told his friends that the story was true. He was sorry that the room was cold. His friends said good-night and left the house. They did not believe him, but the narrator was not sure.
The next day, the narrator went to see the Time Traveler again. The laboratory was empty. The narrator touched the Time Machine. The machine moved easily. Then the Time Traveler came into the room. He had a camera and a bag.
The Time Traveler said he was very busy. He told the narrator to stay for lunch. He said he would travel in time again and bring back proof. The Time Traveler went into the laboratory and closed the door. The narrator waited in the other room.
Suddenly, the narrator heard a loud sound. He heard a thud (the sound of something heavy hitting the floor). He ran to the laboratory and opened the door. There was a cold wind in the room. He heard the sound of broken glass.
The Time Traveler was not there. For one second, the narrator saw a ghostly shape on the machine. Then the shape vanished (disappeared suddenly). The Time Machine was gone. Only some dust moved in the air.
The narrator called for the Time Traveler, but no one answered. The servant came into the room. The servant said that the Time Traveler did not go out through the garden. The narrator stayed and waited, but the Time Traveler did not come back.
Epilogue
The narrator still wonders about the Time Traveler. Where did he go? Perhaps he went to the past. Perhaps he is with humans from a long time ago. Or perhaps he is watching giant dinosaurs (very large animals that lived millions of years ago).
Maybe the Time Traveler went to the future. He wanted to see if the world became better. The Time Traveler thought the future was a sad place. He thought that civilization would fall. But the narrator does not want to believe that.
The narrator still has the two white flowers. The flowers are old and brown now. But the flowers prove that the story was true. They show that even in the future, people can still feel love and kindness.