The world was beautiful, but soon I noticed something strange. There were deep, round wells on the hills everywhere I went. They were made of bronze. When I looked down into the dark wells, I could not see any water. However, I heard a sound like a big engine: thud, thud, thud. I also found out that a strong wind was blowing down into the dark holes.
I began to realize that my first idea about this future world was wrong. The little people spent all their time playing, eating fruit, and sleeping. I never saw any workshops or machines. But they wore nice clothes and metal sandals. Someone had to make these things. Also, I noticed that there were no old or sick people anywhere. I could not understand how this world worked.
On my third day, I made a new friend. I was watching some of the little people swimming in the river. Suddenly, one of them got sick in the water and started to drown. The others did not care at all; they just watched her cry for help. When I saw this, I quickly took off my clothes, jumped into the water, and pulled the poor little creature out. Soon, she was safe.
Later that afternoon, she met me with a big smile and gave me a beautiful chain of flowers. Her name was Weena. She was exactly like a child and wanted to be with me all the time. She followed me everywhere, and I found out that I really liked having her near me.
Through Weena, I learned that fear had not completely left this world. She was not afraid in the daylight, but she was terrified of the dark. I discovered that the little people always slept together in big groups in the great halls. They never went outside after the sun went down.
One very hot morning, I walked into a large stone ruin to get out of the bright sun. Inside, it was very dark. Suddenly, I stopped. A pair of large, bright eyes was watching me from the shadows.
I felt a sudden fear of wild animals, but I took a step forward and reached out my hand. I touched something soft. At once, the eyes looked away, and a strange, white creature ran past me. I turned around and saw a small, ape-like thing running across the sunlight. It looked sick and pale, with blonde hair on its head and back, and large, red-grey eyes. It hated the bright light. It quickly ran into another dark ruin.
I followed it and found one of the deep, dark wells. I lit a match and looked down. The little white monster was climbing down the inside of the well. I saw that there were metal steps on the wall, forming a ladder. The creature looked up at me with its huge eyes and then disappeared into the deep dark.
Suddenly, I understood the terrible truth. Humanity had not stayed as one species. It had divided into two different kinds of animals! The beautiful, lazy people in the bright sunlight were not the only humans in the future. This white, scary monster from the dark was also part of the human race.
Everything started to make sense. The deep wells with the engine noises were air holes for a huge underground world. This second species lived completely in the dark tunnels under the earth. Because they lived underground for thousands of years, they had become white and blind in the sun, like some fish in deep caves.
I thought about the world of my own time, and I made a new theory. In the nineteenth century, rich people had everything, and poor workers often worked in dark factories. I guessed that over thousands of years, this difference had grown. The rich stayed above the ground in the sunshine, playing and resting. The workers went deeper and deeper underground to make clothes and machines for the rich. Over time, the rich became the beautiful people I knew, and the workers became these white monsters. I later found out that the beautiful people above ground were called the "Eloi," and the underground workers were called the "Morlocks."
But my new theory brought up more troubling questions. I was sure the Morlocks had taken my Time Machine. But why? If the beautiful Eloi were the masters, why couldn't they get it back for me? And why were the Eloi so terribly afraid of the dark?
I tried to ask Weena about the Underworld. However, she could not, or would not, answer. She shook with fear, and when I asked her again, she started to cry. These were the only tears I ever saw in that future world. I felt bad, so I stopped asking questions. I lit a match to amuse her, and soon she was smiling and clapping her hands again.