I stood on the hill and I thought about the success of humans. The full moon came up in the sky. It was large and yellow. The little people below stopped moving. A quiet owl flew past me. I felt the cold air of the night and I shivered. I decided to go down the hill to find a place to sleep.
I looked for the building I knew. Then I saw the White Sphinx (a large white statue of a creature with a human head and a lion's body). It stood on a pedestal (a tall stone block for a statue) made of bronze (a hard, yellow-brown metal). The moon was bright now. I could see the trees and the bushes near the small lawn. I looked at the lawn again. I felt a cold fear.
I told myself that I was wrong about the lawn. But I was not wrong. I saw the white face of the sphinx. I knew the truth now. The Time Machine was gone!
I felt a terrible pain in my chest. I thought about my own time. I was now alone in this strange world. I could not breathe because I was so afraid. I began to run down the hill with long steps.
I fell down and I cut my face. I did not stop to clean the blood. I jumped up and I ran again. Blood ran down my face. I told myself that the people only moved the machine. I hoped they pushed it under the bushes.
But I knew the truth in my heart. The machine was gone. I could not reach it. I ran the two miles from the hill to the lawn in ten minutes. I am not a young man, and it was very difficult. I shouted and I cursed my own stupidity. No one answered me. The world was silent in the moonlight.
I reached the lawn and my fear was real. There was nothing there. The space between the bushes was empty. I ran around the lawn. I looked in every corner. Then I stopped and I held my hair with my hands. The white sphinx looked down at me. It seemed to smile because I was so sad.
I thought about the little people. Maybe they put the machine in a building. But they were too small and too weak. They were not smart enough to move it. This thought made me more afraid. Some other power moved my machine.
The machine did not move in time. I took away the levers (metal handles that control a machine). Without the levers, no one can travel in time. So, the machine was still in this year. It was only in a different place. But where was it?
I think I went crazy for a while. I ran through the bushes in the moonlight. I saw a small white animal, but it ran away. I hit the bushes with my hands. My hands began to bleed. I cried and I screamed because I was in pain.
Finally, I went to the great stone building. The big hall was dark and silent. I fell on the floor and I hurt my leg. I lit a match. I walked past the old curtains. I was looking for the little people.
I found a second hall with many cushions. About twenty little people slept there. I came out of the dark with my match and my loud noises. The people woke up. They were very surprised. They did not remember matches.
"Where is my Time Machine?" I shouted like an angry child. I grabbed the people and I shook them. They did not understand. Some people laughed and some were very afraid. I realized I was being foolish. These people did not understand fear during the day.
I dropped the match and I ran out of the hall. I ran back into the moonlight. I heard the little people crying in terror. They ran away from me. I do not remember everything I did that night. I felt like a strange animal in a world I did not know.
I cried to God and to Fate. I was very tired as the night passed. I looked in many places. I touched strange things in the shadows. Finally, I lay on the ground near the sphinx and I cried. I was very weak. Then I slept.
When I woke up, it was day. Two small birds hopped on the grass near my arm. I sat up in the fresh morning air. I tried to remember why I was so sad. Then everything became clear. I was calm now.
I looked at my situation. I thought about the worst possibility. Maybe the machine was destroyed. I told myself to be patient. I must learn about these people. I must find tools. Perhaps I can build a new machine. It was a small hope, but it was better than no hope.
But maybe the machine was only hidden. I must find the hiding place. I must get it back with force or with a clever plan. I stood up and I looked for a place to wash. I was very tired and dirty. The morning was beautiful, and I felt better.
I looked at the ground near the lawn. I asked the little people questions with my hands. They did not understand me. Some were quiet and some laughed. I wanted to hit their laughing faces, but I stayed calm.
I looked at the grass very closely. I found a mark in the ground. It was between the sphinx and the place where I first arrived. I saw other marks too. They looked like the footprints of a sloth (a very slow animal with long arms).
I looked at the pedestal of the sphinx. It was made of bronze. It was not a solid block of metal. It had panels on the sides. I hit the metal with my hand. The pedestal was hollow.
I looked at the panels carefully. There were no handles or keyholes. But I thought the panels were doors. They probably opened from the inside. I was sure of one thing. My Time Machine was inside that pedestal.
I saw two people in orange clothes near some trees. I smiled and I called to them. They came to me. I pointed to the bronze pedestal. I tried to show them that I wanted to open it.
The people acted very strangely. They looked insulted and angry. They walked away quickly. I tried to talk to a small man in white clothes. He also looked at me with hate. I felt ashamed.
But I wanted my Time Machine. I tried to talk to him again. He turned away. Then I lost my temper. I ran to him and I grabbed his clothes. I dragged him toward the sphinx. I saw the horror on his face. Suddenly, I let him go.
I was not finished. I hit the bronze doors with my hand. I thought I heard a sound inside. It sounded like a quiet laugh. But maybe I was wrong. I took a big stone from the river. I hit the metal many times.
I hit the doors until the metal was flat. The little people heard the noise from far away. A crowd of people watched me from the hills. They looked at me with fear. Finally, I was hot and tired. I sat down to watch the pedestal.
I could not wait for a long time. I am a man of action. I cannot sit still for twenty-four hours. After a while, I got up. I walked toward the hill. I told myself to have patience.
"If you want your machine, leave the sphinx alone," I said to myself. I could not break the bronze doors with a stone. I needed to learn the ways of this world. I needed to watch and be careful.
Suddenly, I thought about my situation. I spent many years working to reach the future. Now, I wanted to leave the future. I was in a trap that I built myself. I laughed out loud at the joke.
I walked through the big palace. The little people stayed away from me. Maybe they did not like my hammering. I did not follow them. After two days, things were normal again.
I tried to learn their language. The language was very simple. They only used words for things you can touch. They did not have words for big ideas. Their sentences were only two words long. I could only understand simple things.
I decided to wait. I put the thought of the machine in the back of my mind. I hoped my knowledge would help me later. But I stayed near the sphinx. I did not want to walk too far away from my machine.