Author: Sam Brown

“From the beginning?” she asked, “What do you mean?”

Harry dropped his face into his hands and groaned. Charlotte looked around. They were sitting in a quiet corner of the restaurant, a candle between them, the light reflecting off their empty plates.

“How long have we been dating?” Harry asked.

“Three years,” she answered. “Three years today.”

“Today’s the day. Today’s always today.”

A waitress began to approach their table. Before she could say anything, Harry turned to her and said, “We don’t need a dessert menu.” The waitress turned back to the kitchen. “Listen,” Harry continued, leaning in to whisper, “one day, I’m going to invent a time machine.”

“Stop messing around,” Charlotte laughed.

“I’m being serious. And I’ll use it to travel to the past, to relive my happiest memory.”

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Charlotte gasped.

“The night I proposed.”

“Oh, Harry,” Charlotte cried.

“It worked,” he said “the machine worked. I get to relive my happiest memory – forever. It won’t stop. No matter what I do, this moment keeps repeating on a loop.”

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s okay,” Harry said, smiling sadly, “let’s start from the beginning.”