Page 73 - KTUDELL E-LIT | Issue 4 - January 2025

SHORT STORIES 2025

At Dawn

by
Emine Naz ERKAN
Ece ÇAKIR
Hilal Gülsüm BAYHAN
Ayşe Zülal OCAK
Nuray DURAN
Süheyla Sude KILIÇ

D
r. Victor had spent years working tirelessly at the
Andromeda Space Research Center, a facility
equipped with the most advanced technology in the Character: A genius inventor with a dangerous
galaxy. His life’s work was a machine capable of experiment
traversing the barriers of time—a device that could Timing: At the break of dawn
open doors between past and present. For Victor, Setting: Futuristic space station
the project wasn’t just about scientific discovery; it Plot Twist: Unexpected ally arrives
was deeply personal. His ultimate goal was to bring
back his wife, who had tragically passed away ten
years ago. Finally, after countless sleepless nights, the machine
was ready once more. At dawn, under the same
Finally, at the break of dawn, the machine was ready golden light that had witnessed Victor’s initial
for its first full test. Every calculation had been failure, they activated the machine. At first,
triple-checked, every possibility accounted for—or everything seemed to work perfectly. The hum of
so he thought. With trembling hands, Victor the device grew louder, and the rift between
activated the machine. A deafening hum filled the timelines began to open. But then, disaster struck.
laboratory, and a brilliant flash of light blinded him. The machine’s mechanical arms malfunctioned,
For a fleeting moment, he thought he had threatening to destabilize the entire process.
succeeded. Through the haze, he heard the faint
sound of a woman’s voice. A proud smile crept Victor frantically tried to fix the controls, but it
across his face—before darkness enveloped him. became clear that the only way to stabilize the
machine was for someone to manually adjust the
When Victor regained consciousness, he found arms. Before he could react, Sky made her decision.
himself lying on the lab floor. Standing over him “Stay back,” she said firmly. Without hesitation, she
was a woman—a stranger. She had sharp features, sprinted toward the malfunctioning mechanism.
an air of authority, and piercing eyes fixed on him.
Confused and disoriented, Victor sat up, only to Victor yelled after her, but she didn’t stop. As the
realize that the machine, his masterpiece, was now rift began to consume her, she turned to him with a
nothing more than a heap of smouldering debris. calm smile and said her final words: “It was nice
working with you, Victor.”
Frustration and despair washed over him. Not only
had he lost the device he had poured his soul into, And then, she was gone.
but he was now stranded on the station with a
woman he had never seen before. The stranger Victor stood in silence, staring at the now-stable
introduced herself as Mrs. Sky, but their initial machine. His whispered “Thank you” trembled in
exchanges were cold and filled with mutual the still air. The machine had worked, but the cost
resentment. Sky blamed Victor for pulling her out was immeasurable.
of her timeline and away from her own life. Victor,
bitter over his failure, wanted nothing to do with As the sun rose over the Andromeda Research
her. Center, Victor vowed to honour Sky’s sacrifice. She
had taught him the true meaning of collaboration,
Days turned into weeks, and the two realized they sacrifice, and resilience. Even though she was gone,
couldn’t survive without cooperation. Slowly, they her legacy would live on—in every timeline.
began working together, sharing their knowledge.
Sky revealed that she was a scientist from a parallel
timeline, specializing in physics. Despite their
differences, they eventually found common ground
in rebuilding the machine.

71