If you haven’t yet, be sure to read “The Theory of Nicholas Wallace Part 1” first.
Luckily, the crowds applauded me. I wasn’t expecting it, but I’m glad they liked my presentation of my theory, and to be honest, I’m wondering if I can win this. I’m just happy that I’m a part of this event. That’s enough for me.
“That was mind-blowing.” Mr. Wall-E winked.
I blushed at the compliment. I rarely receive compliments because I either get bullied or an A+ paper. That’s it. Sometimes punches, but that’s another story. Once, Charles gutted me because I refused to help him with our Geography exam. He got an F, but that wasn’t my fault.
A few moments later, the winners were announced. The winner was the guy from Washington, a 52-year-old professor. His theory was impressive. He theorized Quantum time travel and how it was possible through experimentation. Amazingly, the RIAA is going to fund his research. The second- and third-place winners received certificates and cash prizes. I’m glad they won; they deserved it. Maybe they had devoted their youth to experimentation and preparation for their theories, and as the old folks say, “hard work pays off.”
To my surprise, my name was called, and the crowd applauded. Dr. Jacques Richard III was in front of the stage waiting for me. Mr. Wall-E was smiling at me like they would also acknowledge me. I couldn’t believe it! Did I just win fourth place? Wait, what? Did I think only top three? What did I do to receive an award?
“Congratulations, Nicholas Wallace, for being the youngest theorist ever to participate in 46 years of the Annual Theory Presentation and Scientific Forum of Rhode Island,” the speaker said. “The youngest was way back 12 years ago. Diane Gilbertson. She was 17 at the time. This award is given to you as recognition for being the youngest presenter ever to participate. Congratulations! Never give up on your dreams, and keep on theorizing!”
I can’t believe it! I received an award! Dr. Jacques even allowed me to take a picture with him using Mr. Wall-E’s phone. He even signed my ID card and told me that I reminded him of someone he knew. And oh, my Gasparis! I will treasure this moment forever! Yeah, Annibale de Gasparis. He’s an astronomer who discovered the asteroid Psyche. And yeah, did you know that 2030 was the year that the Psyche Spacecraft was destined to arrive? And it’s 2030! It will orbit said asteroid for 20 months and return to Earth. Isn’t it amazing? What a great time to be a space geek.
“I’ll take you to the nearest restaurant. It’s my treat,” Mr. Wall-E said.
Awesome, right? First, I finally fulfilled my dream of participating in the ATPSF Rhode Island. Secondly, I won an award, and last, an Astronomy professor of Keegan treated me to lunch! “I’d like to have a pizza. Five cheese, please!”
Mr. Wall-E, chuckled slightly, causing me to laugh a little as well. .
The lady served our pizza; it was scrumptious! I’ve never felt so hungry in my whole life! I forgot it was hot. I grabbed it, nearly burnt my hand, and almost dropped it on the floor. Luckily, Mr. Wall-E was there.
“Thank you, Mr. Wall-E,” I said.
“It’s okay, Nicholas. Enjoy your meal.” He took a bite of his cheeseburger.
A few moments later, Mr. Wall-E pulled out a mini attaché case that he had been carrying on his person. He looked around before opening it up between his legs and revealed a big black notebook. It was the size of an encyclopedia but not as hefty. There was a small leather strip that sealed it to prevent accidental opening. It looked like it was stuffed with receipts and weird papers.
I wonder what those are?
“Take care of this.” He slid the notebook in my direction.
Stunned, I stared at him for a second. “Uhm, I’m sorry, Mr. Wall-E, but my mum told me t–“
“Never accept anything from strangers. I know. But this time it’s different,” he told me.
Suddenly I felt a weird thump in my gut. “What do you mean, Mr. Wall-E?”
“There’s something you need to fix for–” He stopped. “–me. For you. For us. Look.” He rested his hand on the notebook. “How old are you? Twelve?”
“Yes, Mr. Wall-E.”
He opened the notebook to page 12. “Look.”
There were scribbled notes written with ugly penmanship. I found it a little hard to understand. There was a picture of . . . wait, was that me? Beside a–wait, what was that? Was that a telescope? What?
“A doctor astronomer. A doctor will send you a Telescope as a Christmas present. Dr. Jacques’ grandfather will send you that. But not in 2030. You received the same award as the youngest presenter in 1984. You were also twelve at that time!”
I swallowed the bulging pizza in my mouth. The first thing I thought was, Is Mr Wall-E sick? But I didn’t say that. I didn’t want to upset or offend him. But I felt another weird knot in my stomach. As if I wanted to get away from him. But also, I wanted to listen to him. Have you ever felt that?
“Look.” He moved his hand, flipped the notebook to his direction, and went to Page 8. It was me again. A photo of me with my dad and Mrs. Keeson beside him. The photo looked pretty old, too. And my dad’s clothing in that photograph seemed very old. “When you were eight, your dad married Mrs. Keeson, and your mum went into a depression, and she k–”
I waited for him, staring at his trembling eyes. I felt the panic through the sudden twitch of his left eye, and I felt like I should know what was going to happen. But he didn’t finish his sentence.
“What’s going to happen to her, Mr. Wall-E?”
“No. You shouldn’t know. Not yet. But you can prevent it! Please, take this, Nicholas. And promise me never to look at further pages. When you turn thirteen, you can check out the thirteenth chapter and read everything there. In that way, you can prevent bad things. Just don’t try to cause misery to others. Promise me.”
He offered me his pinky finger. At first, I hesitated, but I gave him mine as well.
“Question.” I looked around. “Are you like . . . not . . . insane? I mean, my theory is that time travelling forward is not possible. But here you are telling me that it’s possible that you came from the past, and you’re telling me that I have to be careful because you have seen my life and made jour–” I froze in the middle of what I was saying. How come I didn’t realize? Or was it too obvious that I was expecting something scientific and profound before I could figure it out? The answers were so evident that I didn’t even have to think about it.
“I have to go. You need to go home. Be mindful of everything I told you. When you’re 34, warn your wife about her pregnancy and do not make the same mistake as I did. Lastly, no peeking.” He handed me some cash, and then he left.
For a few days, I was so weirded out. I wasn’t sure what to do with this journal Mr. Wall-E gave me. Should I ask Keegan?
Yes. Maybe I should ask him about it. If there’s anyone out there who’s going to believe me, it’s him.
I took the journal, and something slipped from between the pages, like the edge of a photograph. I opened the book, forgetting what Mr. Wall-E told me. Never look beyond your age in the following the chapter.
It was too late. I saw a picture of a baby. It was in a sepia filter, and the photo was a little chipped, making it hard to clearly see the baby’s face. I flipped it backward and saw the same penmanship. The letters came and connected together, forming the name “Keegan Wallace” with December 22, 2006. Below was a short note that read: “Son, I hope that someday you’ll forgive me. This is the best thing I could think of. Love, Dad.”
Keegan? Like Keegan, Keegan? It was quite confusing.
When I put back the photograph, I saw the chapter number, and it was 34. Never look beyond your age in accordance with the chapter.
I decided to keep going forward. I read that he had a son named Keegan, and he left the boy outside the doors of a wealthy family in the–wait, what? This was the address where Keegan lived! What the heck? Did that mean he was Mr. Wall-E’s–?
I slid the old photograph back in between the pages and decided to go to Keegan and ask for help.
“Who is that?” Keegan asked, shaking his head. He sat in his bed, looking at me incredulously.
“Mr. Wallace! Mr. Wall E! Your professor at George Mason in Astronomy!” I explained.
Keegan’s eyebrows furrowed. “No joke, but I’ve never heard of that name, dude. The only Nicholas Wallace I know is you.”
I was starting to get annoyed. “Keegan!” I shouted.
He stared at me, shocked. “Mum is sleeping. Don’t shout.”
“Look.” I brought out the mysterious notebook I received from Mr. Wall E. “He gave me this! You even told me that he agreed to help me with my theory presentation a few days ago! He was there, and I met him yesterday. He talked to me about some weird things, like he time travelled and that I am not allowed to look beyond my age according to these chapters. He also said that I should help him correct all his mistakes–our mistakes. Like this one.”
Keegan was still not convinced.
“Look, this picture. It says here, Keegan. Keegan Wallace, 2006. He has a note here saying that he left this baby outside this exact address. It’s your address! Look! Doesn’t it look similar?”
Keegan was astounded, finally. Something rang in his ears so that he stood and decided to look for something. “Wait here a second,”
He went out of his room and returned with a handful of old photographs and a photo album. He sat back down, flipped open the album, and tossed me some of his pictures. “That’s me when I was a baby. Do you think that baby in the photograph looks similar?”
“I am not sure because it’s too old and a little faded. Tell me, when were you born?”
“December 22, 2006. The same date in that photograph.”
I opened the book again and read through the journal. There was a picture of a beautiful pregnant lady. Her hair was blonde, her cheeks red, and she looked like Keegan. I flipped through to the next page, and there was a picture of a burial. There was a note that read “Alishia Wallace. 1980-2006. My dearest wife, I could not bear to see you lie there, lifeless. I promise to see you again and correct everything.”
“I think she died giving birth to me,” Keegan said.
“How did you know that?”
“I’m always having this weird dream. This lady was being rushed to the hospital, giving birth prematurely, and a guy was given a choice to save only one. But saving the mother wouldn’t be the best bet because her heart was weak, and her pain tolerance was very low. The guy didn’t have the chance to choose because the doctor decided to save the baby. After all, the mother suddenly went into cardiac arrest while giving birth. It was too quick and vivid. It almost felt real. As if I was with them, witnessing every single thing.”
We were silent for a moment. But then Keegan came closer and took the journal and flipped to the last chapter. Which was 58.
January 2018
“I finally made it. But this isn’t the year 2005. My original plan was to go back in time and tell Alishia about our first child, and so we could take extra precautions and save my son and wife. I failed. I travelled to the year 2030, and I have also aged. I am now 58, I guess.”
August 2030
“I met our son. Keegan. He’s grown up and also has the same interest as me. I knew he’d look a lot like you, my beautiful wife. You wouldn’t believe me, but I swear, I was reborn again in the same year when I time-travelled. I time travelled to 2018, and another me was born in the same year. Now, 2030, he’s 12, and I remembered this was the same year I presented my theory. The theory of Nicholas Wallace. I will meet him.”
I gasped. “Yes. We met. And he helped me get inside the venue.” It was a long story, but here we were, trying to figure things out.
Keegan stayed quiet.
“Keegan?”
“I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know this guy. I’ve never met him, and he wasn’t my professor.”
“That’s weird. Because he literally just told me to–” Then it hit me. “OH, MY NEBULA!”
“What?”
“HE TOLD ME NEVER TO LOOK BEYOND MY AGE.”