The Professor Returns

 

(Josie Sayz: This has been in the works for a while. Ever since ‘Watcher’ killed off the beloved Professor, I have had this story idea to revive him. It has evolved a little over time, and I ended out writing seven thousand more words that I had originally planned, but I am happy with it and that’s all that matters.
Please note: the Professor, ‘Puppet History’ and ‘Watcher’ are not my own creations, but are that of ‘Watcher’.)

 

Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled. Parting the vertical blinds, an eye peered through the gap to watch the rain lash down. Wind whistled through the trees. The grass, below, became swamped with puddles. As the hammering of the rain grew louder, the eye withdrew and the gap in the blinds disappeared.

Outside, partway up the wall, at the back of the house, a saturated blue ball of fur clung to the wall. A beige jacket and matching pith hat hung from its frame. With miniature pickaxes in its hands, it heaved itself up the side of the house. Lifting its head, it looked up, towards the window, where the eye had appeared, moments ago.

Inside, the man who had peered out of the window, sat at his desk, slurping his mug of steaming coffee. He let out a hum, as he returned his mug to its coaster and tugged at the blanket on his lap. Something tapped against the glass of the window. A frown furrowed upon his forehead. He was upstairs. It was a straight, vertical drop to the ground below. No ledges. No garage roof to reach from. Tap-tap-tap. Turning to the window, he tugged on the blinds’ chain. As the vertical strips zipped to the right, a round, blue, furry face and a large pair of round eyes stared back at him. Frozen, the man stared at the creature in front of him.

“Hello there,” shouted the saturated, fuzzy creature, from outside. “Are you Richard Bewston?”

“Yes,” the man replied, as the lines on his forehead deepened.

“Phew,” gasped the creature. “I’m in the right place. Say, would you mind letting me in? In case you haven’t noticed, it’s pouring with rain,” it asked in an upbeat, sincere tone, despite dangling from a windowsill, in a storm.

Uncertain as to why he did it, Richard found himself opening the window and holding a hand out to the creature, to help it clamber inside. As the creature clambered through the window and onto the arm of Richard’s desk chair, the creature rummaged around in the satchel, at its waist, stuffing the pickaxes inside, as Richard slammed the window closed. “Who… what are you?” Richard asked, looking up and down at the sopping mass of blue fur, perched on the arm of his chair, as it rummaged in a satchel, looped across its body. The blue, furry creature was no bigger than a cat, with long limbs and an over-sized round head. “Are you some kind of Muppet? You’re the blue version of that Elmo guy, right?”

“I go by the term puppet,” the creature told him. “And may I add that I find the term ‘Muppet’ to be offensive,” it said with a firm nod. “I will have you know that I am a professor of history,” it told Richard with another nod, as it folded its arms. “The name’s Professor. Nice to meet you.” Richard’s eyes widened in alarm, before he threw his head over his shoulder, towards the window.

“Who’s controlling you?” growled Richard, rubbing at the window’s condensation, with his sleeve. “How do animatronics work through all that rain?” Shaking his head, the little, blue professor sighed.

“Always the sceptic, Richard. No wonder you’re a man in his late thirties, sat alone in his study,” sighed the Professor, shaking his head.

“What?” Richard growled, with alarm, as his eyes bulged wide and he snarled his nose. “What are you playing at? Is this Lotti’s idea?”

“I can assure you, I am an anthropomorphic puppet and I came here of my own accord,” explained the Professor. As Richard’s snarled expression remained, the Professor sighed once more. “In order for you to believe me, you’ll have to let me explain from the beginning… but do I start from my original time line or from the beginning of this time line? Hmm,” Scratching a hand to his head, the Professor looked beyond Richard, and pointed at the wall behind him. “Before I begin, would you mind sitting me on the radiator? It’s been raining since last night, and us plush folks don’t do too well, being wet.”

Pleased to remove the dripping creature from his chair, Richard scooped him up and perched the Professor on the edge of the radiator. “Thanks Big Guy,” nodded the puppet. “Now where to begin? Where to begin?” Crossing one leg over his knee, the Professor tapped his dripping, little foot. “Well, as you obviously don’t recognise me, it is clear to assume that you are not familiar with the Watcher series ‘Puppet History’, hosted by yours truly.” As Richard shook his head, the Professor continued, “Long story short, I made a wish with a genie, so that I could travel back in time to wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, in order to learn about the dancing plague of fifteen-eighteen, the most feared samurai of the early seventeenth century Miyamoto Musashi and Mansa Musa, the richest man in all of history – parts of history that school teachings often forget about or gloss over. Let’s just say that the genie regretted the time travelling power that he had given me, and with the assistance of Beef Boy, had me transported to prehistoric times, where I got swallowed by a t-rex.” At this, the Professor shuddered. “Getting out of that wasn’t pretty.”

“Yeah right,” scoffed Richard, with spite. “And I’m the Easter Bunny. I’m supposed to believe that a stuffed toy can travel through time. What, do you have a miniature, magic DeLorean or something? Come on, this has Lotti written all over it. Come out, wherever you are Lotti. This isn’t funny. I’ll get the police involved, if I have to.”

“You’re a real stick in the mud, Richard,” the Professor grumbled. “No wonder Lotti got bored of you. And for someone who hasn’t seen her in years, you mention her an awful lot.”

“How d’you know I haven’t-“

“I’m a time travelling puppet,” said the Professor simply.

“That doesn’t explain how you know Lotti,” Richard raged.

“Richard, again, I am a time travelling puppet,” sighed the Professor. “What will it take to have you believe me? I can walk and talk, all of my own accord. I climbed up the side of your house, by myself. I have been travelling through time from the day of the dinosaurs, to ancient Egypt, to ancient Greece, ancient Romans, all of the way through to Medieval, Tudor, Elizabethan, the rule of Oliver Cromwell, Victorian, Edwardian, you name it, I’ve been there,” rage began to build inside the Professor. The little, blue guy began to tremble, as his speech grew louder and fastened in pace. “I’ve been spying on you, from the birds nest in your apple tree, for the past few months, just to make sure I’ve got the right guy. I have seen things, man, things that you’d wish you could never see. I’m on a quest of my own, to restore life back to my reality, so that I can return to my life, get revenge on Ryan Bergara and stop the genie once and for all!” Snapping his mouth shut, the Professor sat, shaking. Richard’s eyes widened, as he forced a swallow. “Sorry about that,” muttered the Professor, with a little shudder. “It’s just every time I’m certain that I’ve done a good deed, by helping someone out in distress, and that I’ve proven myself worthy of my time travelling powers, to the universe, and I’m finally going to make it back home, I get tangled up in another mess of broken promises and it always circles back to you,” huffed the Professor, wrinkling his nose.

“Me?” Richard exclaimed.

“Yes you,” replied the Professor, far calmer than he had been a moment ago. “Well, a reincarnation of you.” Before Richard could object to another of the Professor’s statements, the furry, blue puppet continued, “My previous ventures through time, one might say, were… at times, selfish. I wanted to be the one to help Shakespeare write his sonnets, to assist Leonardo da Vinci as he painted the Mona Lisa and be Christopher Columbus’ second mate as he sailed the seven seas. However, I realise now that my selfish endeavours may have damaged the space time continuum, as every time I returned from my adventure, an anthropomorphic creature from that period in time appeared alongside me and would break into song. Anyway, being sent back into the prehistoric times gave me time to reflect, and I decided that rather than use my time travelling ability for selfish gain, I was going to try and help people. I figured that the more good deeds I accomplished, the better karma I’d receive when I got back, and the better about myself I began to feel. So, I set about helping people.

“On my travels through time, I found myself in the thirteen-hundreds. I came across a young couple, Charlotte and Ronan, who were very much in love. Much like the Shakespearian play of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ their families disapproved of them being together and the pair agreed to run away together. One night, they met under a magical, sacred oak tree,” upon seeing Richard’s disapproving frown return, the Professor added, “It was the thirteen-hundreds, everyone believed in magical sacred trees and wishing wells back then. Haven’t you ever read a fantasy story – jeez. Now where was I, yes, the two love birds met up at the village’s magical, sacred oak tree and promised each other that if things didn’t work out in that life, that they would forever find each other in the next life and the next, until they were able to work things out and finally be together – remember that part; it’s important. They promised to meet up early the very next morning and start their new life together. The next day arrived. Charlotte had snuck out of the house, with nothing more than the clothes she was wearing, leaving her family behind. Having arrived, first, at their special meeting place, the sacred, wishing tree, she waited… and waited… and waited, but Ronan did not show. Worried that something had happened to her lover, Charlotte raced back to the village, only to find him with someone else. Ronan told her his family approved of this other woman and things would be easier for them both this way. Poor Charlotte was devastated. Completely heartbroken. Her entire world, her future, everything that she had been looking forward to, that had given her hope, was destroyed. I found her distraught, contemplating drowning herself in the local well. I managed to convince her everything was going to be okay and to return to her family. I thought that this was my good deed, and by helping her, I might be able to return to my time line with karma on my side, so I set my destination for home, but instead, I found myself in a similar situation.

“I was now in the time of the Tudors. There, I met a young woman, Lorenna, the black sheep of her family, and a young man, Aldrich, the disappointment of his. The two had fallen in love. Again, their families disapproved. Lorenna’s wanted her to marry the village blacksmith’s son, a much wealthier line of work than her father’s failing farm. Aldrich’s family wanted him to join the village guard. The two were very much in love and would meet, in secret, at the village oak tree. There, they would fantasise about running away together and how happy they would be to start afresh, away from the people who disapproved of them and their love. One day, they promised to make their fantasy a reality. They were going to marry and start a new life, in the next village over, growing and selling bouquets of beautiful flowers. Lorenna waited and waited and waited for Aldrich, but he didn’t show. When she returned to the village to look for him, she discovered that Aldrich had enlisted in the village guard. “It’s better for both of us this way,” he told her. “I’d only disappoint you.” Again, I helped out the distressed young woman, who attempted to throw herself in front of a bustling horse and carriage, and convinced her to return to her family. Hoping this was it, I travelled forward in time once more, where time and time again I came across the exact same story – a young man and woman, both struggling to be accepted by their families, unexpectedly meet, fall in love and make a promise together under the village’s magical, sacred oak tree. And as the centuries go by and no one believes in magic anymore, I have still found myself following the same two souls, over and over, reliving the same heartache over and over. After every repeated event I have seen, I still see the exact same, original two’s faces over and over. This isn’t just the universe sending me to help out random broken hearted girls time after time after time, no. This is the same two people, from the original promise that they made… that they would continue to meet up in every reincarnation, until they eventually ended up together. And each time I commit a good deed and attempt to return home, the universe throws me into the same situation over and over. And time after time, it all boils down to the same man, who refuses to stand up for himself and the one he loves, and would rather ruin that poor woman’s life over and over and over, and live a lie for the sake of his family, than be happy, truly happy himself. He convinces himself time and time again that he is happy, because it is what his parents want or what his friends want, but deep down, he knows something isn’t right. Deep down, he remembers that promise that he made to the one he truly loves, all those years ago. And you, Richard Bewston, are that man. The one who always lets her down time after time after time.”

“Look blue Elmo, you’ve got the wrong guy,” Richard insisted, hunching his shoulders. “I’m with someone. Things’re great. My family like her. Everything’s fine.”

“How many bottles of wine have you had to get through to convince yourself that, Big Guy?” asked the Professor, with a snigger, eyeing up the line of seven empty bottles of red wine and two bottles of whiskey that lined the shelf above his desk, as well as the several that littered the floor. “You’re not listening to your heart.”

“How the hell would you know?” raged Richard. “I’m happy. She’s happy. My family like her and I like to think hers like me. What more is there? I’m sorry, but I’m not helping you. Just because you think there’s some kooky magical connection between Lotti and I, doesn’t mean I’m going to ruin my life. I’m happy now, can’t you see that? What happened between Lotti and I was a long time ago. She had her problems and I left her to it. End of. I don’t care what she’s up to now or anything, okay? I want nothing to do with her.”

“I never said this has anything to do with Lotti, Richard,” the Professor pointed out. “You’re the one who keeps bringing her up… is that a guilty conscience talking?”

“Get out!” roared Richard. “Just get out!”

“Okay,” the Professor muttered, with a shrug. “I’ll leave, but I will place an unforgivable curse on you. No matter what path you take, every single thing you do in life will be less than satisfactory to everyone around you.”

“Yeah right,” scoffed Richard. “As if you can do that.”

“Oh really, you don’t believe me, Big Guy?” the Professor mocked. “In that case, no matter who you date, your family and friends will never approve of them. Your place of work will never value the efforts that you put in. Any person that you kiss or make love to will be repulsed by your inability to do anything right and-”

“Okay, I get it!” projected Richard, throwing his hands up in surrender. Lowering his head, the Professor hid a snigger, as Richard fell for his trick. “Look,” the tall man sighed. “You may think that I’m doing the wrong thing with my life, but I don’t,” he told the Professor, with a shrug. “I genuinely am happy, despite the mistakes that I’ve made. I can’t help you in your quest. What may feel like the right thing to you, doesn’t to me. I’m sorry,” Richard confessed, with a shrug. “I can’t help you with whatever this is. Maybe you have got the wrong guy, or maybe there’s a reason why things just haven’t worked out time, after time, after time… maybe it is the universe telling you that it’s inevitable, it’s just not going to work… if that’s what you believe in.” With a deflating sigh, the Professor lowered his head, focusing his sight on a bottle on the floor. “I’m sorry pal,” muttered Richard. “I don’t know what else to say.”

“I can’t convince you to even talk to her?” the Professor asked, as he continued to stare at an empty bottle of Jack Daniels. “Lotti, that is,” he added, shuddering out of his trance and turning to face Richard.

“Not a chance,” replied Richard, shaking his head.

“But I need you to introduce me to her,” muttered the Professor. “I need to see that she’s okay.”

“Shouldn’t that come earlier in your story?” asked Richard, with a frown.

“This is where my time travelling escapades transported me to…” the Professor told him, with a shrug. “The aftermath. I don’t question the universe’s decisions. I just follow them. And they led me here.” Shuffling his position on the radiator, the Professor added, “I don’t know the reason why any more than you do. At the very least, will you take me to see Lotti, to see if I can help her?”

“I’ll drive you there, nothing more,” mumbled Richard, with a raised voice.

“Thank you,” nodded the Professor. “That’s all I ask.”

Once the Professor had dried off, Richard agreed to drive the blue furry creature to Lotti’s house. With Richard in the driver’s seat, he sat the Professor into the passenger seat and tugged the seatbelt around him. Squirming, the Professor gasped for air, as the seatbelt crushed his chest. “Are you trying to kill me?” raged the Professor. As if he could not hear the fluffy, blue Professor’s cries, Richard stared ahead at the road and turned the key in the ignition.

Having remained silent from the moment they got in the car, as they neared Lotti’s village, Richard grumbled, “If you know Lotti, haven’t you been here before?”

“I have,” answered the Professor, squirming, as he tried to pull the seatbelt away from his neck.

“So couldn’t you just magic yourself here?” Richard asked.

“I couldn’t walk all this way in the storm,” exclaimed the Professor. “For one, it would take me forever, have you seen the size of my feet, Big Guy? And two, it’s still pouring with rain and I’ve only just dried out.” With no response from his giant companion, the Professor sunk in his seat, dropping his sight to the floor. An empty coffee cup, two empty energy cans and an empty cigarette box danced around at the feet of the passenger seat, as the car swerved around an island.

Pulling up outside Lotti’s house, Richard’s heart hammered in his ribcage. He forced a swallow, feeling a lump lodge in his throat. Shuffling in his seat, Richard lowered his head and tugged at the collar of his coat, hoping to hide his burning ears. “You okay, Big Guy?” asked the Professor, upon seeing Richard fidgeting.

“I’m fine,” he shrugged, gazing over at Lotti’s house. “You gonna climb the wall to her room, like you did t’ me?”

“Of course,” the Professor replied. “Unless, you’d like to introduce us yourself.”

“Her room’s the back of the house upstairs, just like my study,” grunted Richard, ignoring the Professor’s remark. As Richard tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his veins bulged to the surface.

“I think you’re mistaken,” the Professor corrected him. “Like I did with you, I’ve been observing Lotti too. She lives in the front bedroom now, above the porch.”

“But that’s the spare room. There’s not enough room in there to swing a cat,” objected Richard.

“Wow, for a minute there, you almost sounded concerned for her,” said the Professor, trying to hide a snigger, as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“What?” Richard growled. “No, no I’m not. I’m just… you’re wrong that’s all.”

“If you don’t believe me, you could always ask her yourself,” the Professor suggested. As Richard’s hard stare returned, the small, blue puppet clambered to his feet. “Well, thanks for the lift, Big Guy,” he said with a wave, swinging open the car door and clambering out.

As the Professor slammed the passenger door closed behind him, Richard called out, “Are you sure about-” but his mouth froze open, as his eyes lingered upon the house. The Professor stopped walking and turned back to face Richard. As soon as their eyes met, Richard scrunched his nose and shouted, “You’re on your own.”

 

*

 

Surrounded by blankets and cushions, a woman lay curled up against a pillow reading a book. She chuckled to herself, before letting out a sad sigh. Sliding her bookmark into the page, she dropped her book beside her and tugged at the blankets around her. Tap, tap, tap. Her eyes shot wide open, as she bolted upright. Tap, tap, tap. Something rapped on her window. Her heart trembled. She shuffled towards the curtain, curling a hand to her mouth. Holding her breath, she tugged at the curtain. She gasped. A large, furry, blue head, with two round eyes stared back at her, through a tiny pair of spectacles, balanced on its lemon coloured nose. “Hi, are you Lotti Symone?” asked the blue creature, stood on the porch roof. Lips parted, Lotti nodded. “Would you mind letting me in?” it asked, shuddering against the rain. Hands shaking, Lotti fumbled with the catch, opening the window. She held a hand out to the furry creature and helped it inside. As it clambered onto her table, Lotti’s eyes flickered to a white car, parked at the curb below, with its headlights on. Her eyes sparkled for a moment, as she gazed. Shuddering herself out of her trance, she turned to the fuzzy blue creature, pulling the window closed. “Are you okay?” asked the creature.

“I’m fine,” Lotti muttered, shuddering again, as she tugged the curtain closed. “Wait” she froze, as her eyes widened. “You can talk?”

“Yes, I can,” beamed the Professor.

“You… you… you’re, you’re him,” she stuttered, pointing at a blue, plush creature on her desk, wearing a beige suit jacket, with a matching satchel and pith hat, and a scarlet bowtie. The identical plush puppet sat amongst a collection of books, two pink candles, a red candle still in its packaging that read ‘Peony and Cherry Blossom Scented’, a cauldron mug full of pens, and a small, knitted pink pig.

“You know who I am? Wow,” breathed the Professor, looking back at his motionless double. “I must be so close to getting back now,” he muttered to himself.

“What was that, sorry?” asked Lotti. “Are you okay? You look cold. Do you want a blanket?” The fuzzy puppet nodded his head.

“Please,” he replied. “It’s pretty cold out there.” Nodding, Lotti scooped the Professor up and cradled him in her arms, as she lifted him from her desk. “Nice pig by the way,” said the Professor, arching his head over his shoulder, to admire the knitted creature beside his twin. “Did you knit him yourself?”

“Kind of,” Lotti replied with a shrug. “I can’t knit using knitting needles, but I can use a knitting loom. It gives you the same effect.”

“Funny… I don’t remember meeting a pig in any ‘Puppet History’ episodes,” pondered the Professor, as Lotti tugged at her blankets and tucked them around the fuzzy blue puppet.

“Oh, erm,” Lotti muttered, as her cheeks grew red. “I knitted him to remind me of…” she hesitated, dropping her eyes to the floor. “An old friend. We don’t talk anymore, but,” ending her sentence, Lotti forced a swallow, as she hugged her knees to her chest.

“I, I can’t believe it. I, I don’t understand,” Lotti muttered, as she turned to face the Professor, lines puckered upon her forehead. “You’re real… and you’re here. Why are you here?” she asked him. Tilting her head towards the Professor, Lotti fidgeted, as she struggled to find a comfortable position to lie on the floor. She jabbed an elbow into a pillow and propped her head up, in her hand.

The Professor waited for Lotti to settle. As she curled her legs up and tugged on a blanket, the Professor asked her, “I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but did you watch my last episode of ‘Puppet History’?”

“Yes,” Lotti replied, with a nod.

“So you know that the evil Ryan Bergara made a deal with the devil and had me sent back in time, to that of the dinosaurs?” he asked her. Lotti nodded.

“I thought you got eaten by a t-rex,” she told him, with wide eyes.

“I did,” exclaimed the puppet. “It swallowed me whole – and good thing too, or I really would be dead,” he added. “But for a long time, I thought I was a goner. I lay in the dinosaur’s stomach, feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t know what to do. I was betrayed… and hurt and confused. I was in a really, really dark place – both figuratively and literally. For a long time, I didn’t want to do anything, so I just sat, alone, with my thoughts. For the first time, since I began travelling through time did I feel bad for the meddling that I did. To begin with, I had just wanted to learn, but the more I time travelled, the more I wanted to be a part of history. I wanted to help the ancient Egyptians build the pyramids. I wanted to help Shakespeare write his plays. I wanted to be there and sign the Declaration of Independence, alongside the Founding Fathers. I realised that I hadn’t been silently observing history, like I had intended. Looking back, I wasn’t even helping people. I was just a selfish puppet, fulfilling selfish whims. I had changed the passage of time, all  to get the most notable people in history to recognise me. I felt rotten. Dead rotten. All the people I had met, the friendships I had made, not to mention the anthropomorphic creatures that I created from each time zone I meddled in, were all based on selfish means.” The Professor let out a sigh, as his shoulders drooped. “I just wanted to bring joy to people and have them, not just learn, but enjoy and appreciate history, in the way that I do… but I guess the power went to my head and I messed things up along the way. I was beginning to think that Beef Boy was right for banishing me… that I deserved it. I deserved to be swallowed by a dinosaur. I deserved to be swallowed whole and be trapped inside its stomach to wallow over the errors of my ways, replaying them over and over and over, in my mind, knowing that I had lost everyone and everything that I held most dear… wishing that every waking moment death itself would swallow me up and end my cruel suffering.”

“Oh dear,” Lotti muttered. “How horrible. I know what that’s like.” Dropping her sight to the carpet, beside them, Lotti’s vision blurred as she stared. “How did you break free?” she asked, after a long pause, flickering her sight back to the furry, blue puppet before her.

“From the t-rex or the slump I was in?” asked the Professor.

“Both,” Lotti replied.

“Well,” the Professor went on. “I was thinking of my friends and then I got a warm, fuzzy feeling, in my chest and it gave me the power I needed. I knew from that moment on that I wanted to end my selfish ways. I decided that I wanted to use my time travelling power for good and to help people. I believed that by carrying out good deeds, the universe would see that I had learnt my lesson and help me return home.”

“So, you can’t just go home?” Lotti asked with a shrug. “Can’t you just use your powers to travel back to the point in time you were taken from?” The Professor shook his head. “Well, can’t you get on a plane and just travel back to your home from here? Surely you’re back in the correct time now?” Again, the Professor sighed.

“While it does seem I am now back in the correct time, I still have one last mission that I need to accomplish,” he told her, with a firm nod. “At least I hope this is the last,” he muttered. A shudder crept up the Professor’s back.

“Once I decided that I wanted to use my powers for good, and put right all of my wrongs, I grabbed a jelly bean and set forth with the plan to fix everything,” the fuzzy, blue puppet began to explain. “Instead of picturing the exact moment in time that I wanted to travel to, I decided to ask the universe to guide me to people that needed saving. It started out with small things, lending a hand here and there to average townsfolk, during the ancient times. Each time, once I felt I had succeeded in providing my support, I time travelled again, letting the universe be my guide. It wasn’t until I found myself in the fourteenth century, that a pattern started to occur. Here, I met a young couple named Charlotte and Ronan, lovers who promised to always be together… and if things didn’t work out between them that they would try again in another life and another and another, until they finally got their happily ever after.” Pinching her lips in, Lotti’s eyes sparkled, as she smiled back at the Professor. “Long story short, their parents had other plans for them and rather than follow his heart and fight for what he wanted, Ronan chose to do what his parents wanted of him and left Charlotte for someone else.” Lotti gave a sharp sniff and flopped her head to her pillow. “I tried to help Charlotte overcome her grief the best that I could, before travelling on. Then I met another couple, whose fate ended on similar terms. I helped the poor girl out, after her heartbreak… made sure she was safe and carried on my journey. I have been hop, skip and jumping my way through time, trying to get back home, but each time I am faced with another reincarnation of the same star-crossed lovers. I am so close now, I can feel it. I just have to reunite them somehow.”

“How sad,” Lotti breathed, sitting upright. “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked. “I know what that feels like. I wish no one ever had to go through that.” With a sniff, she forced a swallow. “Ow, how rude of me,” Lotti gasped, with a shudder. “Can I get you anything to eat or drink? You must be starving, through all that travelling. Do puppets eat human food?”

“I’m fine, thank you Lotti,” the Professor chuckled. “You really are quite the opposite, from a recent encounter I have just had.”

“Oh,” she murmured, dropping her sight to the patch of blanket that lay between them.

“It’s a good thing,” chuckled the Professor, seeing Lotti’s head droop. “A real stick in the mud, the last guy was. Very on edge and angry all the time. Although he did agree to let me sit on his radiator, to dry off and he agreed to give me a lift, but that was more of a selfish means to get rid of me.” At this, Lotti’s eyes widened. “Don’t worry,” the Professor reassured her. “That was just to get me outta his house, not to end me.” Lotti let out a nervous laugh, as she returned her head to her pillow. “Would you like me to tell you the story of the star-crossed lovers I am tracking down?” the Professor asked, seeing Lotti’s eyes flicker, as her head sunk deeper into her pillow. “A sort of Romeo and Juliet tale.”

“Yes please,” she replied with a yawn. “Then maybe I can help you.”

“Of course,” said the Professor, as a warmth tingled inside him. “I will start at the beginning, when I met Charlotte and Ronan, sat together, hand in hand, under a magical oak tree.” A dreamy sigh escaped Lotti, as her eyes flickered closed.

 

*

 

A gentle thud shuddered Lotti awake. Squinting her eyes, sunlight seeped around the edges of her curtain. ‘The Professor!’ she remembered and her eyes widened, as she spun her head towards him. He was gone. A bundle of blankets lay beside her. Holding a hand to her head, Lotti exhaled a chuckle. “What a dream?” she mused to herself, shaking her head. “As if my Professor puppet came to life.”

 

*

 

Typing away on the computer, at the back of the warehouse, Richard’s brow creased, as he focused on his work. A hum of chatter sounded in the distance, as his team stacked and sorted through the store’s delivery. As Richard typed up the delivery report, a small, plush pig slid into his vision. He flinched, looking down at the desk. “Morning Richard!” cheered the Professor, as he plonked himself down on Richard’s desk. “How are you today?”

“What the heck?” growled Richard, in an angered whisper. “What are you doing here?”

“What d’you mean, what am I doing here? I’m still on my mission, to return back to my life on Watcher. I have students to teach,” the Professor reminded him, in a chirpy, upbeat tone.

“I mean, what are you doing here, at my workplace?” Richard hissed. “I thought I left you at Lotti’s. Isn’t that what we agreed? She is spying on me through you, isn’t she?” Slamming his fist down on the desk, Richard growled through gritted teeth.

“Calm down, Big Guy. Lotti doesn’t know I’m here,” the Professor told him, with a shrug. “I haven’t even mentioned you to her.” Richard snarled his nose, as he grumbled to himself. “I told her the history behind my mission and she fell asleep before I could tell her anymore,” the Professor explained.

“And what’s with the pig?” asked Richard. The Professor chuckled.

“Lotti appeared to have a fondness for them, so I thought I’d see if it sparked a little memory,” chuckled the little blue puppet. “Seems it worked,” he mused.

“She put you up to this, didn’t she?” Richard growled. “Just, just, just leave me alone!” Clenching his fists, Richard hissed a hash breath through gritted teeth. “Lotti means nothing to me, how many times have I gotta tell you? I’m happy. Tell her to move on already. And get the hell outta my workplace, you Muppet.” Leaping to his feet, Richard clawed a hand through his hair. “Jeez, everyone’s gonna think I’ve gone mad… talking to a puppet. There’s a real important visit today, from the area manager,” he warned the Professor. “I’m stressed enough as it is. If you get in my way, I’m as good as dead. Now get outta here, before anyone sees you.”

As Richard stormed away, down the warehouse and disappeared out of sight, behind a mountain of toilet roll, the Professor slid the plush pig closer to the computer.

 

*

 

As the Professor trudged up another flight of stairs, he leant against the wall, panting. ‘How can humans race up these things?’ he wondered, with a groan. Lowering his head, the Professor pressed his hands into his knees, as he steadied his breathing. A whimpering murmur sounded from around the corner. The Professor shot his head up. A nearby voice squeaked, followed by a shaky breath and a deep sniff. Scrambling up the stairs, the Professor peered his head around the corner. Sat at the bottom of the stairs, with her arms hugging her knees and her head in the nook of her elbow, was a lady with a head full of red hair flopped over her face. Taking in small, shallow breaths, she sniffed, murmuring all the while. “Erm, excuse me, miss,” said the Professor, as he reached a hand out towards her. “Are you okay?” The lady gave another sniff, as she lifted her head. With her eyes red and her skin blotchy, from crying, the Professor gasped, “Lotti, what’s happened.”

“It’s nothing,” she told him, with another sniff. Her chest trembled, as she removed her glasses and rubbed a hand across her face. “I’m fine,” she told him, shaking her head.

“No you’re not,” replied the Professor, with a quiver to his voice, as he perched down beside her. “You shouldn’t be crying at work. What happened?” Lotti shook her head, sniffing again, as she slid her spectacles back up her nose.

“It’s nothing,” she muttered. “Dawn and Roz just don’t want to follow the company rules, so they twist my words and turn them into lies and report me to my manager’s boss.” A squeak escaped her, as she gasped for another breath. Sniffing, she murmured, “They keep saying they’ll get me sacked, all because they don’t like the new rules that the company’s making. It’s not my fault. I’m just doing what I’m told.”

“Well that’s not right,” the Professor declared. “Can’t you report them to your manager or HR?”

“My manager knows what they’re doing,” Lotti told him. “They do it all the time, often several times a day. My manager’s boss is getting sick of them complaining and thinks that there must be a problem with me being here, if they complain about me all the time.” Lotti snapped her eyes shut, as she inhaled several shaky, shallow breaths. Clenching her nails into the sides of her legs, as she hugged them tight to her chest, she went on, “And HR can’t do anything. They just tell their manager, who turns ‘round and says, “That’s just what they’re like, You can’t change them.” But it’s getting worse,” she cried. “The more changes the company makes, the worse Dawn and Roz are.”

“Well, we need to find a solution,” the Professor told her. “You can’t stay out here forever.”

“I know,” she sniffed, daggering her nails into her legs even harder. She stiffened her shoulders and snapped her eyes tight, as she inhaled another round of shaky breaths. “Things just get worse and worse and worse,” she cried. “If it isn’t work, then it’s home,” she added, as she flopped her head back onto her knees. The Professor placed a hand on Lotti’s elbow and let out a sad sigh.

“I promise I will do what I can,” he told her. “Now try and get back to work. I’ll come and find you later, okay?” Lifting her head to face him, Lotti sniffed, as she nodded her head.

 

*

 

Having watched Richard march up and down the aisles of the supermarket, to check on the stock levels and that his team were working hard, the Professor set about putting his plan into action. Hiding down an empty aisle, the fuzzy, blue guy listened in on Richard’s conversations with his colleagues. Over in the next aisle, the Professor had heard a man’s voice call for Richard’s attention. “Thanks Bill,” the Professor heard Richard reply to his colleague. “If you start on this one, I’ll just give the aisle a once over.” As the thudding of Richard’s shoes clopped nearer, the Professor began to clamber up one of the shelves.

“Arh ha!” exclaimed the little, blue creature to himself, as he spotted the item that he was after. Grabbing a packet of milk bottle sweets from the shelf, the Professor hurtled them down the aisle. As the sweet packet skidded across the floor, the Professor heaved himself up onto the top stock shelf. Squeezed in between two cardboard boxes, he watched on, as Richard turned down the aisle.

Richard’s head of dark curls turned from right to left and back again, as he examined his colleagues’ work, of stocking up the aisle. He nodded and began muttering to himself, when something crunched under foot. “Bill, I thought you said you cleaned this aisle,” Richard shouted. Lifting his foot, he stepped to the side and scooped the fallen item from the ground. A frown furrowed his brow. For a brief second, a warmth fluttered into his chest. ‘Lotti’s favourite,’ he realised.

“What was that, chief?” came a shout from a man on the other side of the aisle. Shuddering out of his trance, Richard’s snarled expression returned. He straightened his back. His eyes darted from left to right. A cardboard box, above his head, to his left of the top stock shelf moved. He spun his head towards it. A glimmer of blue fur shimmered out of view.

‘That blasted puppet!’ Richard fumed, as he slammed the packet of milk bottle sweets back into their box, on the shelf.

“You alright Rich?” asked a man with thinning, grey hair, almost a head shorter than Richard, as he appeared from around the corner.

“I’m fine,” he growled back. “If yer see a blue cat, kill it,” he snarled. Wide eyed, the colleague forced a swallow and side-stepped out of Richard’s way, as Richard stormed around the corner.

Reaching the end of the next aisle, Richard glanced at the bakery, over his shoulder, before arching his head at the items on the edge of the aisle. This week chocolate bars were on the promotional end. He flickered his eyes across the shelf-edge labels, making sure that each product on display matched their description and showed the correct price. Thud. A bar slid from the shelf. With a huffed exhale, Richard bent down and picked it up. A light purple packet with white and brown cow splotches lay in his hand. “I’m gonna kill that puppet!” Richard raged, as he stood up, throwing the bar of chocolate back on the floor. Gasps sounded and eyes darted towards him, as he strode back into the warehouse, slamming the door into the wall.

With the blue puppet nowhere in sight, Richard plonked himself down at his desk chair, at the back of the warehouse, and let out an exasperated sigh, as he returned to updating the system. Vibration rattled at his side, accompanied with a burb-burb… burb-burb. Exhaling another deep sigh, Richard unclipped the warehouse phone from his trouser pocket and answered the call. “What?” he growled.

“Richy?” gasped a female voice. His anger melted away, upon hearing her say his name. “Are you okay? Bill and Diane said you completely lost it and threw a pack of biscuits at someone.”

“It was only chocolate,” he told her in a calm tone, as a smile poked into the corner of his mouth. “And I threw it at the floor, Pheebs, not a person.”

“I was worried about you,” she warned him. “I’ve never known you do something like that before.”

“I’m fine,” he chuckled. “I’m very okay now I’m speaking to you. Are you going on break around two?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

“Well once I see you, I’ll feel a lot better,” Richard told her.

“Okay. See you soon, babe. Love you,” she sang.

“You too,” he told her, as his heart twitched, spotting the plush pig beside the phone’s charging base.

 

*

 

The wooden contraption swayed, as a man in a hard hat hoisted a rope. The rickety metal bars and wooden planking came to a halt in front of a row of office windows. The red-head inside flinched, as two large workman appeared at the window. “Don’t mind us,” shouted one of the men, waving at her, with a hammer. “Just routine maintenance.”

“Carry on as though we aren’t here,” yelled the other, as he began drilling away at the cladding, on the shell of the building. She gave them her biggest smile, before ducking behind her computer screen. Flickering her eyes closed, she took in a long, slow breath, as the vibration of the drilling and banging rang out across the room. A fist banged upon the open door behind her. The red-head jumped, spinning her head over her shoulder.

“Lotti, how are we expected to work with that racket?” raged a petite, stern woman, with short grey hair. “Make them stop,” she ordered.

“I can’t,” Lotti told her with a shrug, as she turned to face her. “The landlord has said the work has to be done this week. He did send around an email letting everyone know. Shakespeares did say you could work from home this week, whilst the works are carried out,” she explained.

“Not good enough,” barked the woman, placing her hands on her hips. “You tell them to stop it right now, or I’ll report you to Kathy Buchanan.”

“Uh,” murmured Lotti, as her heart raced in her chest. Rooted to the spot, her chest trembled. As the drilling eased, momentarily, there was a soft tap-tap-tap on the window. Flickering her sight over her shoulder, Lotti spotted the Professor on the window pully, with the workmen.

“Well,” growled the woman in the doorway. “Do you want me to tell Kathy Buchanan that you told the workman that it was okay to bang through our work time, instead of asking them to come back after hours?”

“Bu, but,” Lotti stuttered. Tap-tap-tap rapped upon the glass again. Her eyes flickered to her furry blue friend.

“You’re useless,” spat the woman. “Utterly useless!” Turning on her heels, she marched off, back to her desk.

Closing her eyes, Lotti let out a shuddering exhale and a shiver quivered down her spine. Tap-tap-tap. “I can’t open the window,” Lotti mouthed to the Professor, pointing at the workmen, who had returned to drilling and hammering, above the rim of the window. The Professor’s pith hat dipped, as he nodded at Lotti and scooted out of sight. Metal crashed. The workmen staggered back, looking over their shoulders. A frown fixed upon Lotti’s forehead. The Professor returned at the window. “Quick,” he whispered. “Open up.” Lotti leapt to the window and cracked it open enough for the Professor to slip through.

Closing the latch, Lotti whispered, “What did you do?”

“I only slid their toolbox to the other side of the platform,” the Professor told her. “Just enough to distract them. How goes things here?” he asked. “Any better?” Lotti shook her head.

As the workmen’s drilling and banging resumed, Lotti lifted the Professor up onto her desk. Arching his head around the room, the Professor glanced around at the stacks of paper and cardboard boxes that filled the room that Lotti worked in. He tilted his head to his left and watched as the members of staff in the open plan office typed away at their computers and answered their telephones. The short, stout woman that had ordered Lotti about moments ago, swept past the Professor’s view. “You shouldn’t let that woman speak to you like that,” the Professor told Lotti.

“I have no choice,” she replied, with a shrug.

“Of course you do. You should demand to be spoken to, with respect,” he told her, with a firm nod.

“If I do that then I’m sacked,” said Lotti, as she forced a swallow.

“Then you can look for another job,” the Professor beamed.

“I am looking,” Lotti sighed. “I’ve been looking for months. I’m just stuck here.”

“Lotti!” screamed the voice of the woman from earlier, as her heels marched towards the open doorway to Lotti’s room. “There’s no paper in the printer,” huffed the woman, folding her arms.

“I’m sorry Roz. Have we ran out of boxes of paper, out there, to fill it up?” Lotti asked. Leaping from her chair, Lotti tugged open a cupboard door and slid her hand behind a box, full of reams of printer paper and slid it to the front of the shelf.

“No,” huffed the woman in the doorway, as she stomped her foot. “I don’t need you to get out more paper. I need you to put the paper in the printer.”

“Sorry Roz,” Lotti muttered, lowering her head. “I miss understood.” Striding towards the door, Lotti slipped out of the room and raced towards the printer. With a shake of her head, Roz followed after her.

As Lotti returned to her desk, her heart rattled in her ribcage. She perched on the edge of her stool and let out a slow shaky breath. Her stiffened shoulders drooped. “What’s that woman’s problem?” barked the Professor, over the workmen drilling and hammering away on the other side of the window. “Can’t she put paper in the printer tray herself?”

“Apparently not,” Lotti muttered.

“Does everybody else here treat you like a slave too?” he asked.

“Sometimes,” she told the Professor, with a shrug. “No one’s as bad as her though.”

Scrunching her brow, from the drilling, Lotti scribbled something down in her notebook, before turning her attention to her computer screen. “So, how has your day been?” asked Lotti, as she turned towards the Professor. “Have you managed to find the two lovers that need your help?”

“Yes, although this stick in the mud is going to take a lot more convincing than I had hoped,” he told her, with a deflated sigh. “If only I could get him to see how much of a difference he could make to her life, I’m sure he’d put things right.”

“Yeah,” Lotti squeaked. “I hope so too. I remember what it felt like to have someone in my life that when I saw them, it made all of the bad things, momentarily, go away. I hope she gets to experience that too,” she said, as the corners of her eyes began to sparkle.

“Me too,” whispered the Professor, placing a hand on hers. “Me too.”

A rhythmical vibration buzzed. Lotti grabbed out for the phone, on the desk beside her. “Hello Lotti speaking,” she answered. Holding the phone to her left ear, Lotti pressed a finger into her right ear and scrunched up her face, as the rattling from the window outside continued. “Yes… okay… I’ll be right down,” Lotti told the person on the other end of the phone, before hanging up. Turning to the Professor, she told him, “I’m sorry, I’ve got to run. There’s a delivery downstairs.” The Professor nodded, as Lotti scooted off, out of the room and grew smaller and smaller, as she dashed through the office and out of sight.

 

*

 

Perched on the top of the counter, the Professor wedged himself between the toaster and the microwave. Chatter bubbled around him. With a newspaper on his lap, the Professor passed the time, by skimming through that day’s news stories, glancing up at the occasional room enterer. A group of three men sat in the far right corner, eating sandwiches and crisps, whilst two ladies sat in the centre of the room sipping mugs of coffee. Closest to him sat a blonde lady, with a sandwich in front of her, who kept glancing up at the door with a wrinkled brow. ‘She looks just like Lotti, but blonde,’ the Professor mused, peering over his newspaper.

The door to the canteen opened. As Richard’s head appeared in the doorway, the Professor lost all interest in the news stories and watched on, as his tall companion approached the blonde. “Hey babe,” she said with a weak smile. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I’m fine,” Richard told her with a shrug, as he plonked himself down into the chair beside her. Hooking his arm across the back of her chair, Richard kissed the top of the blonde’s head.

“I’ve been worried about you,” she told him.

“Don’t be,” he shrugged. “I told you I’m fine.” Turning to face her, he forced a big grin. She giggled at him. “So how’s the day treating you?” Richard asked, before taking a large bite out of his sandwich. Hearing the blonde chatter away beside him, Richard fixed a hard stare at his sandwich, as he began to roll over the events of the past twelve hours in his mind. The blue muppet. Driving to Lotti’s. The restless sleep he had had. The store’s visit. The plush pig on desk in the warehouse. The packet of milk bottle sweets in the middle of the aisle. That blasted puppet messing up his chance of promotion by throwing Lotti’s favourite things at him.

“Richy? Richy? Are you even listening to me?” demanded the blonde, seeing Richard’s zoned out stare.

“Sorry Lotti,” Richard shuddered. “I was deep in thought.”

“Lotti?” she frowned. “Who’s Lotti?” Lifting the newspaper in front of his face, the Professor hid a snigger.

“Pheebs, sorry, miles away, babe,” Richard said, as his heart dropped to his stomach. The Professor peeped around his page, to see Richard forcing a big smile at the blonde lady, that Richard called Pheebs. Richard’s brow daggered, as he spotted the furry, blue puppet beside the toaster, mocking him with his laughter.

“Were you thinking about someone else?” she asked, with a pout.

“It’s nothing,” Richard grumbled, dropping his eyes to the table. “I’m just stressed with work,” he added, before taking another huge bite from his sandwich. The Professor went back to reading, as the two ate on in silence.

Chairs scraped back, as the earlier canteen enterers made their way back into the store. “I hope the afternoon’s less stressful for you,” Pheebs said to Richard, as she tossed her empty can in the bin. The Professor peered over his newspaper, once more. “You know where to find me if you need me.” Richard nodded.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“I love you Richy,” she said with a smile.

“You too,” he muttered.

 

*

 

Swiping his mobile phone from his locker, Richard pressed his thumb to the power button. The screen lit up: 18:30. It had been a long day. He let out a groan, stuffed his phone into his coat pocket and tapped down all of his pockets. ‘Phone, keys, wallet, check,’ Richard told himself, before he grabbed the plush pig from the top the locker bank and raced back down the stairs and back into the store. Looping a shopping basket onto his arm, Richard threw the pig inside it, as he strode towards the first aisle.

“Hi Big Guy!” exclaimed the Professor, his head appearing from behind a stack of candles, as Richard strode down the first aisle.

“What the-“ Richard gasped, freezing to the spot. Spinning around to face the puppet, he yelled, “Why are you following me?”

“I’m not,” said the Professor, with a shrug. “I was just chilling out here, next to the peony and cherry blossom scented candles. Would you care to buy one?” he asked, holding one out towards Richard.

“If I do, will you leave me alone?” Richard growled. Flickering his sight to the candle, the raging inside Richard grew greater. ‘Another one of Lotti’s favourites,’ he remembered, clenching his hand into a fist, at his side.

“I see you decided to buy monsieur piggie,” the Professor observed, spotting the plush pig in Richard’s shopping basket.

“I’m putting it back where it belongs,” snarled Richard. “Now get lost.”

“Only if you agree to meet me at the large oak tree, in the park, once you’re done shopping. Then, I’ll leave you alone forever,” the Professor told him.

“Forever?” repeated Richard, with a raised eyebrow. The Professor nodded. “Fine,” Richard shrugged. “Whatever. Just get outta here.”

“Wait!” called the Professor, as Richard stormed passed him. “You forgot your candle.” Ignoring the puppet, Richard marched on.

 

*

 

Sat cross-legged on a bench, Lotti shivered, as a gust of icy wind swept against her. Scrunching her face, she sniffed. As a couple walked by, hand in hand, Lotti lowered her chin to her chest and held her breath, to conceal a squeaky murmur. Her vision blurred. She pinched her eyes tight. Taking in a long slow breath, her chest trembled. Splosh. A droplet of rain plonked on her head. She shuffled, bringing her knees to her chest. Resting her cheek on the top of her knees, she gazed down at a patch of grass, watching the blades droop as the rain fell.

Tottering through the park, the Professor neared the large oak tree, where he had asked Richard to meet him. With the rain beginning to fall, he trotter faster, to hide beneath the branches of the tree. As he neared his destination, he flickered a glance ahead of him, as a head of red hair caught his attention. A gasp escaped him. “Lotti!” he cried, seeing her hunched up on a bench, without a coat and raced towards her. “Lotti, what are you doing here?” he exclaimed, through panting.

“Professor, what are you doing here?” Lotti muttered, as she lifted her head to face him. The Professor’s shoulders drooped, as he saw Lotti’s red eyes and blotchy face.

“I’m still on my mission,” he reminded her. “To find the two star-crossed lovers and reunite them, remember?” With a grunt, the Professor heaved himself up onto the bench, beside her. “Why don’t you go home, Lotti. Get out of the rain.”

“I can’t go home,” she muttered, with a sniff, her chest jittering.

“What? Why not?” asked the Professor.

“I can’t go home,” Lotti sniffed again, Rubbing her nose against her sleeve. “I’m not allowed to go home. My brother and his new girlfriend won’t let me be in the house, when my mum’s at work, even though I pay for them to live there.”

“That’s not right,” the Professor growled.

“I’m not allowed to go home, no one wants me at work. What’s the point?” Lotti cried, as she buried her head in her knees.

“I’ll fix things Lotti,” the Professor told her, tapping a hand to her elbow.

A dark figure swept into view. Looking up, a shiver shot down the Professor’s back, as the angered glare of Richard approached. “Uh-oh,” muttered the Professor. “Wait here, Lotti,” he told her, tapping her elbow one last time, before shuffling himself off the bench and trotting towards Richard.

“What the hell?” Richard raged. “I knew it! I knew it!”

“Calm down, Big Guy,” muttered the Professor, wavering his hands about, signalling for Richard to stop.

“What’s he doing here?” Lotti cried, as her eyes widened, as Richard stood several steps away from her. “Wait, how did you know I know Richard?” she pouted at the Professor. “He is the last person in the whole world I want to see me like this,” she exclaimed, as she stood up from the bench.

“Lotti, I’m not interested in seeing you at all. Not now, not ever again,” Richard raged. “You are dead to me. You hear me: dead! Tell this blue Muppet of yours to leave me alone,” he yelled. Scrunching her face tight, Lotti ran past Richard and towards the park exit. “I knew it,” Richard spat, as he turned to the Professor. “I knew she was behind this.”

“Richard, you are an idiot,” the Professor said simply. The blue puppet shook his head at the tall man in front of him, before racing towards the park entrance. “Lotti wait!” he called after her.

Thunder rumbled. A gushing gale wobbled him, as he raced one little blue foot after another. “This was not how it was supposed to go,” the Professor cried to himself. “Oh, I’ll never catch up to Lotti like this,” he fumed. Flickering a glance up to the sky, a splotchy droplet splattered onto the end of his lemony nose. “One last time travel ought to do it,” he muttered to himself, as he rummaged a hand into his satchel. Pulling his hand out, he held out a pink, speckled jelly bean. “Take me to Lotti,” he told the sweet, before placing it in his mouth. As the Professor chewed, his body vibrated. He closed his eyes. He swallowed.

Opening his eyes, the pattering of rain saturated his fur and echoed off the stone ledge that he found himself sat upon. A frown furrowed his brow, as he looked down to the ground, many metres below. Two metal, parallel tracks and wooden slats of train track lined the ground and passed underneath the bridge that he found himself perched upon. Twisting his head from left to right, a gasp escaped him, as he saw Lotti beside him, stood on the edge of the bridge’s stone ledge. “Lotti!” the Professor gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Leave me alone,” cried Lotti, shaking.

“Lotti!” the Professor exclaimed. ”Please come down. Sit with me. We can talk.”

”No,” cried Lotti, as tears trickled down her cheeks. “You’ve done enough. Home is too much, work is horrible and the only friend I ever had wants me dead.”

“No he doesn’t. Of course he doesn’t,” the Professor told her. “Please sit down with me. We can talk. Richard’s just hurting.” Lotti let out a sarcastic laugh.

“He’s not hurting. He has a new life, without me,” she sniffed, snarling her nose, staring ahead at the signal light, as it blinked from yellow to green. “He’s left me with nothing, and things only get worse and worse and worse,” she muttered, lowering her eyes to the drop below.

A bright, white light flickered into view. Vibration rumbled. A train appeared. Lotti shot her head up. “Lotti,” the Professor said, with a shaky breath. “Please, let me help you. We’ll fix things… together.” The train sped up. The Professor shuddered. Taking in a shaky breath, Lotti’s heart trembled.

“I can fix everything,” Lotti said plainly, as she stared ahead. The train sped closer. Lotti jumped.

“No!” screamed the blue puppet, throwing an arm out towards her. “No!” he screamed again, as the train screeched, cracking against something at the entrance, to the bridge, below. The Professor snapped his eyes tight, as his insides swirled. Removing his pith hat, from his head, the Professor clutched it to his chest. “This is all my fault,” he said, as his stuffing spiralled inside him. Shuffling backwards, he stepped away from the edge of the bridge. His legs trembled. “I… I… I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he said aloud. He forced a swallow at the lump in his throat. “In all my years of time travelling, I,” unable to finish his sentence, the Professor threw a hand to his churning stomach. “I have to fix this,” he said, with determination. Gripping a hand to his satchel, the Professor snarled his nose. “I promised myself no more travelling back in time, only forward, until I restore my reality, but this… this is important. I have to fix things.” Rummaging around in his satchel, the Professor retrieved a dark brown jellybean, with khaki green speckles. He placed it into his mouth. A vibrating pulse engulfed his body. Shaking, he closed his eyes. Light flashed.

 

*

 

Thud. Opening his eyes, the Professor tilted his head to the left, as he found himself perched on the edge of the computer desk, at the back of the warehouse, at Richard’s workplace. A plush pig, a little smaller than his head, sat beside him. “What are you doing back here?” growled Richard. “I thought I told you to get lost.”

“Richard?” the Professor gasped. “I’m trying to fix my mistakes,” the puppet confessed. “And I don’t want anyone to die,” he blurted out, as he leapt to his feet. A frown furrowed on Richard’s forehead, as he took a step back from the blue furry puppet.

Lowering his head, the Professor let out a sad sigh. “I’m sorry I pushed you Richard. I was so obsessed with wanting to fix things, for myself, so that I could get home that I didn’t think about you and your feelings, and I’m sorry, Big Guy,” the Professor explained, as he lifted his head to face him. “It’s not about what I want… it’s about what you want and I should have trusted you. You’re a grown man and old enough to make your own decisions. So longs as you’re doing the right thing for you in here,” the Professor went on, as he tapped a hand to his own heart. “And not what others want or expect of you, then I will respect that and leave you in peace.”

“Thanks,” Richard said with a nod, as the corner of his mouth prodded up into his cheek.

“You should never cave in to the expectations of others,” the Professor told him. “Be it your family, your friends or your colleagues. Who cares what they want from you or what they expect you to do. You’ll put too much pressure on yourself and never be truly happy, and that’s the whole point of life really, isn’t it Big Guy… to do something with your life that makes you happy for you, not anyone else… just you.” A smirk crept into the corner of Richards mouth, as a puff of air escaped from his nostrils.

“Look Big Guy,” the Professor went on. “I know we got off on the wrong foot. I just thought I was doing the right thing. I wanted to fix things. Seven hundred years should’ve proven to me that I’m wasting my time. That there’s nothing I can do to help her and she’s always going to get hurt again and again and again. And as longs as you’re happy that’s all that matters, right?” As the Professor said this, Richard’s smirk drained from his face. His shoulders drooped and his hands flopped to his sides. Dropping his sight to a scuff in the floor, Richard’s vision blurred, as his mind began to spin. “You said there was an important visit today,” Richard heard the Professor say. Shuddering out of his thoughts, Richard turned towards the Professor with a blank gaze. “You said there was an important visit today,” the Professor said again.

“Erm, yeah,” Richard murmured, with a nod.

“Let me help you out. I’ll start with this pig,” said the Professor, hooking an arm over the pig’s back. “Tell me where it goes and I’ll return it to its place.”

“Okay, look, you don’t have to,” muttered Richard, scratching a hand across the back of his neck.

“I need to help,” the Professor insisted. “I need to put things right. If I help you out today, I’ll feel better about myself for interfering.”

“Okay,” said Richard with a shrug. “But leave the pig,” he added, with a soft smirk, as he looked down at it. “I’ll sort it.”

 

*

 

Lotti forced her biggest smile, clawing her nails into her palms. “That’s not right!” Dawn barked in her face. “I’m going to Carl and he can report you to Kathy Buchanan.”

“I’m only following the company rules,” insisted Lotti, as she forced a swallow. “All the other offices have to do it too.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Dawn snapped. “I’m telling Carl,” she added, before stomping off, back to her desk.

‘It’s not my fault everyone in this office think they’re above the rules,” Lotti sniffed, as she sunk back into her chair. “I wish just one time someone would listen to me, instead of twisting everything I say and reporting me… I guess it beats them telling me to kill myself, like they did last year.” Lotti closed her eyes and inhaled a long, slow breath.

Vibration buzzed beside her. Fluttering her eyes open, Lotti sighed, as she grabbed her phone. “Hello, Lotti speaking,” she sang.

“Lotti, it’s Jenny from downstairs. There’s a package for your office outside. It’s very strange, when the courier buzzed us on intercom, he said he didn’t want to come in and would wait outside,” spoke the voice on the other end of the phone.

“That’s okay,” Lotti replied. “I’ll be down in a sec.”

Clipping the phone onto her pocket, Lotti sprinted through the office and raced down the stairs. As she reached the bottom, she froze for a second and inhaled a slow breath. ‘I can do this,’ she told herself. ‘It’s just a parcel. They’re not going to scream at you.’ Lotti gave herself a firm nod, before heading to the door. ‘They’re not going to scream at you,’ she repeated to herself. ‘They’re not going to scream at you.’

The front doors to the office block parted, as Lotti peered outside. A frown wrinkled her brow, as she looked right, then left. There was no one there. “Over here!” called a small voice. The lines on Lotti’s forehead deepened, as she glanced around. She gasped, spotting the little blue puppet, sat beside a cardboard box, on the rim of the flowerbed ahead.

“Professor,” Lotti gasped, as she raced towards him. “You… you’re… what are you doing here?” she asked, as her eyes widened. “I thought I dreamt seeing you last night.”

“I, I, Lotti,” stuttered the Professor, seeing the red-head skip towards him. A lump lodged in his throat, as the memories of the last time he saw her, jumping down in front of the train, flashed to the front of his mind. “I, I’m sorry,” he told her.

“Sorry?” she frowned.

“I’m s-sorry I left without saying goodbye, this morning,” the Professor told her, as his voice went high. “I, erm, I got side-tracked with my mission.” Looking from Lotti, to the parcel beside him, he told her, “I know you’re struggling with those rotten people in your workplace, so I thought I would give you a breather from them, by pretending to be a delivery guy and pay you a visit.” Reaching towards the furry, blue puppet, Lotti wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight squeeze.

“Thank you,” she whispered. A smile prodded into Lotti’s cheeks, as she sat beside her friend on the planter. “So, how is your mission going?” she asked. “Are you any closer to returning home?” The Professor let out a sigh.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get back to my timeline,” he muttered. “I’ve meddled too much. I tried to fix things,” he told her. “I forcefully tried to get the two to meet, but it ended in disaster.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Lotti told him, with a giggle. “I bet you’re over exaggerating. What happened? Maybe I can help.”

“You are sweet,” the Professor smiled. “But I really did a terrible thing.” A shudder caused his entire body to quiver, as he dropped his sight to the ground. “Because of me… because of my meddling… she, she,” the Professor inhaled a shaky breath. “She ended her life.” Lotti gasped.

“Oh no!” she cried. “That can’t be all your fault,” she assured him. “You were only trying to help her.”

“I pushed things too far,” he muttered. “I thought him seeing her… as soon as he did, he’d realise that he still cared for her and be a part of her life, at the very least… but I was wrong. He shouted something at her that no one should ever have to hear, especially not in the frame of mind she was in… and it pushed her too far. And I did this to her.” Turning his head away from Lotti, the Professor sniffed.

“Please don’t blame yourself,” Lotti told him, as she placed a hand on his arm. “There would have been a lot of things torturing her mind that would have pushed her to do such a thing. Maybe it was inevitable and she would have done it anyway, even if you hadn’t intervened.” The Professor lowered his head even more. “Just know that you tried to help her. You weren’t trying to push her into doing something terrible. You wanted to help her. That was a brave and lovely thing you did. I’m sure she appreciated you as a friend,” Lotti told him, with a sniff. “I know I do.” As he sniffed, the Professor twisted himself around to face Lotti.

“Really?” he whispered.

“Of course,” she told him, with a giggle. “You’re so nice and you’re trying to help people. I felt better when you came to visit me, last night and I feel better sitting with you now… although I should get back to work,” she added, clicking a button on the side of her phone, clipped at her side.

“No matter what anyone else says to you Lotti,” the Professor began. “You are one of the sweetest, kindest, most caring person I have ever come across. You’re always helping people, and you know how to make someone feel better. Please, never, ever, ever forget that, no matter how much you’re hurting, no matter how alone you feel. This puppet will always know how much of a truly, lovely person you are.”

“Thank you,” Lotti squeaked, as the corners of her eyes stung.

 

*

 

After seeing Lotti, the Professor raced back to Richard’s place of work, to continue helping him, as he promised he would. Having picked up all of the fallen bananas that a customer knocked over and restacked the tower of grape punnets, the Professor trodded down the centre aisle, searching left and right for Richard, who was giving the store tour to the area manager. ‘Arh ha,’ the puppet noted, seeing Richard talking to the area manager about how he decided to attach security tags on razor blades and place them next to the locked perfume cabinet, to reduce theft, the Professor made his way down the next aisle. He gasped. A packet of cotton buds lay scattered across the floor. Racing to the rescue, the Professor scooped up all of the rolls of paper with cotton ends and cradled them in his arms, as he trundled back into the warehouse and plonked them into the waste bin. He gave a firm nod of satisfaction to himself, as he wrote out the item’s description on the clipboard, beside the waste bin, and placed Richard’s initials next to his scribble.

Returning to the shop floor, the Professor clambered on top of the top stock, to get a better view of the aisles. A rather large lady booted the trolley of plastic milk bottles, with her hip, as she raced down the aisle, with her shopping trolley. Rattling against their crate, two bottles plonked to the ground. The Professor covered his eyes. Thud. He sighed to himself, shaking his head, before clambering down the shelves and searching for something to clean up the mess. As the store cleaner rattled their trolley, heading in the opposite direction to the spillage, the Professor swiped the roll of blue paper towels, from the trolley and raced to the spillage. His heart raced as he unravelled the roll as fast as he could. Blue sheets of paper towel flew from the Professor’s hands, flopping to the floor. The faded periwinkle absorbent roll darkened to deep royal blue as the milk spillage soaked in.

With the spilt milk cleaned up, the Professor, returned to his hiding place, on the top of the shelves. Holding a hand to his brow, the Professor searched the store for anything out of place. Two boys raced each other, down the pet aisle, playing tag. An elderly lady tugged at the bottom roll of a stack of bin liners, causing them to tumble. She shrugged and walked away. The Professor was about to leap to assistance, when one of Richard’s colleague’s, Bill, appeared and began tidying. Two teenagers, with baseball caps hiding their faces, strolled down the alcohol aisle, with a beefy security guard following close behind them.

Cuh-clank. The Professor spun his head around. A stack of sweetcorn trundled to the ground, down the tinned foods aisle, as a child ran away, looking for his mum, who had already walked off and into the next aisle. The Professor leapt to the rescue. Scanning the area, to make sure that there were no people around, he crept down the shelves and began swiping up all of the tins. ‘Goodness,’ the Professor panted. ‘Working here is hard work.’ Stretching his arm up, the Professor let out a groan, as he reached up to return the last tin of sweetcorn to the shelf. Footsteps thudded towards him. Richard and the area manager swept into view. With a gasp, the Professor scrambled up the shelves and out of sight.

Staying hidden upon the top stock shelves, the Professor kept watch, as Richard led the area manager around the store. ‘Only three more aisles to go, after this one,’ the Professor told himself, as the two men strode down the world food aisle. Pleased with his efforts, the Professor clambered down the shelves of the confectionary aisle. As he made his way to the back of the store, he watched a bar of chocolate fall from the promotional end shelf, as Richard’s head appeared around the corner. Richard’s brown daggered and his nose snarled, as he glared at the fallen item. The chocolate’s purple wrapper, with white and brown cow splotches stared back at him. Gasping, the Professor raced forwards, skidding and swiped the bar from the ground. “I got it, Big Guy,” said the Professor, as he leapt into the air and grabbed onto the shelf. He slid the chocolate bar into its place, before scrambling back up onto the top stock, out of the way.

“Phew!” gasped the Professor, as he leant against a large box, containing packets of custard creams. Glancing around the remaining aisles and back wall, the Professor’s eyes wanted to pop from his fur, as he spotted a young boy, no older than four, swipe a packet of eggs, grab one and throw his arm back to aim it at the back of the short, wide man that was following Richard around the store.

Clambering down the shelves, the Professor arched his head over his shoulder, as he neared the child. ‘I could be a goner for this,’ he told himself, as he leapt from the shelf. With a thud, the fluffy, blue puppet landed in front of the child and immediately behind the area manager. The boy gasped. “Hey there,” said the Professor, in a soft, slow voice. “Whatcha doing?” The boy’s eyes widened and his lips parted, as he stared at the talking puppet. Hearing the Professor’s voice, Richard turned on his heels, with a puzzled crease on his brow. The boy wavered his hand, holding the egg, at the Professor. “Why don’t we put that down and I can help you find your guardian,” the Professor told the boy. The little boy scrunched up his face and shook his head. The boy pointed a hand over the Professor’s shoulder and hurled back his hand, holding the egg. “No!” cried the Professor, wavering his arms out, for the boy to stop. “Why don’t we play… together… down the next aisle?” Letting out a giggle, the boy lowered his arms to his sides. “Good boy,” said the Professor with a nod.

“Ethan?!” screeched a woman’s voice. “Ethan?” As the woman appeared at the top of the aisle, the Professor flopped to the floor.

“Mama,” shouted the boy, throwing his head over his shoulder.

“Come on!” she barked.

“But,” cried the boy, pointing at the blue plush puppet, lying on the floor.

“Don’t worry about that thing,” said Richard, as he took a step towards the Professor. “I’ll take it to the customer service desk,” Richard announced, picking the blue professor puppet up, from off the floor. “Someone’s probably lost it,” he told the woman with a nod. Turning back to the area manager, Richard told him, “I won’t keep you a moment.”

“Thanks Big Guy,” the Professor gasped, once they were out of ear shot.

“No, thank you,” said Richard. “I saw what you did, stopping that kid from egging the area manager. Thanks. You really saved the day. The area manager seems happy with the visit. I’ve only got two more aisles to go, fingers crossed,” said Richard, as they snuck into the warehouse.

“Oh, I erm, tried helping you out, picking things up that customers knocked over,” the Professor told him, as the door to the store swung closed behind them. “Anything that was damaged, I put in your waste bin, over there,” he said pointing to the large red tub, to the right of the entrance.

“Wow,” breathed Richard. “Cheers.”

“I made sure I filled out the clipboard and stuff, except I put your initials against everything, to not look suspicious,” the puppet went on. “Well erm, I best let you get back to work, Big Guy,” the Professor said, scratching a hand to the back of his neck. “Thanks again for the rescue, back there.” A smile broke out across Richard’s face, as he gave the Professor a nod.

 

*

 

Having changed his morning’s outcome with Richard, the Professor’s heart sunk when his time spent in Lotti’s office turned out to be exactly the same, as his previous attempt. The workmen made noise, Roz marched over to Lotti screaming about the printer running out of paper, complained about the noise and stormed off, before Lotti got called away to collect a delivery, from the reception area, downstairs. No matter what he said, or how he intervened, the Professor could not find a way to change the outcome of Lotti’s day.

Uncertain of what to do next, the Professor returned to Richard’s workplace and squeezed himself between the toaster and the microwave, flicking through the newspaper, as he did previously, whilst the chatter built around him. A mirror image to his previously lived day, the Professor spotted a group of three men sat in the far right corner, eating their lunch, whilst two ladies sat in the centre of the room, with drinks that they had dispensed from the canteen’s coffee machine. Sat at the table closest to him, was the blonde lady, that Richard called Pheebs, who looked the spitting image of Lotti.

As the Professor flicked through the newspaper, to the comic strip, near the back, his attention was drawn back to the people in the room, as he heard the blonde lady say, “Hey babe. You okay?”

“I’m fine babe, you?” replied Richard, as he dropped down into the seat beside her. Not giving the blonde a second glance, Richard unwrapped his sandwich, in his hands, and took a big bite.

“I’ve been worried about you,” said the blonde.

“Don’t be,” he shrugged. “I’m good. Visit went well,” he told her, as he unwrapped more of his clingfilm. “How’s your day going?” he asked, flickering her a brief glance.

As the blonde chattered away beside him, Richard’s mind went back to the words that the Professor had spoken to him earlier that morning, “You should never cave in to the expectations of others, be it your family, your friends or your colleagues… do something with your life that makes you happy for you, not anyone else.” The image of the pig on his desk flickered to the front of his mind, causing his cheeks to flush. A memory embraced his mind, sending a warm hug throughout his body. He was sat in the countryside, upon a hill, with a beautiful view of trees and grassy land in every direction. Not a supermarket or housing estate in sight. Beside him sat a woman, with a head full of red hair that made his heart race, like no one else ever had.

“I think I just saw a pig over there,” he had said to his companion.

“Where?” she giggled. He loved it when she giggled. “That’s a field full of sheep.”

“I know,” he told her, as he leant forwards to squint. “But I’m sure I saw one.”

“You’re silly,” she told him, with another giggle.

“Yes, but I’m your silly,” he told her, as he stretched his arm around her shoulder and leant towards her. As he flickered his eyes closed, her sweet scent drifted towards him. He pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back. His heart raced. His insides swirled around in a circumbendibus. “Wow,” he breathed, as they parted.

“Richy? Richy? Babe, are you even listening to me?” demanded the blonde, seeing Richard’s zoned out stare.

“Sorry Lotti,” Richard shuddered. “I was deep in thought.”

“Lotti?” she frowned. “Who’s Lotti?” The Professor sniggered.

“Pheebs, sorry, miles away, babe,” Richard said, as his heart dropped to his stomach. Watching Richard force a smile, the Professor noticed how Richard’s eyebrows slanted towards one another.

“Were you thinking about someone else?” she asked, her brow lined with worry.

“It’s nothing,” Richard muttered, with a shrug, dropping his eyes to the table. “I was thinking about how the visit went today,” he told her, as he tugged on the tab of his can, before taking a massive gulp.

The two sat in silence for some time. As they did, Richard’s thoughts returned to the red-head that had made his heart race. The last time he had seen her. The frustration he felt. How he had wanted to hold her tight, on his doorstep forever and never let go, but he had to. He had to push her away. He did not want to, but he had to. She and his housemate, Shelly, had fallen out and his parents would never accept her, for her Asperger’s, anxiety and mental health struggles. They did not believe in any of those things. He did, and he wanted to help her, but being with him would only make her struggle more, he had told himself, so he pushed her away. “I don’t care for you anymore Lotti,” he had told her with a shrug.

“Don’t say that,” she had cried, squeezing him tighter, as she nuzzled her head into his chest. “I need you,” she sniffed. “You make all the bad things go away.”

“Stop being childish,” he had growled at her, removing her arms from his torso. “You need to move on,” he told her. “I already have.”

“But I love you, Richard,” she squeaked.

“I love you Richy,” Pheebs announced, having watched Richard’s face scrunch up, over the past few minutes, as he appeared deep in thought.

“I love you too, Lotti. I always have,” he replied, flickering his eyes, as he returned from his daydream. The Professor clasped both hands to his mouth, dropping his newspaper.

“You just said you love Lotti,” Pheebs told Richard, with a frown.

“No I didn’t,” declared Richard.

“Yes you did, man,” said one of the guys in the corner of the canteen. The Professor’s eyes almost bulged from his head and he had to grip his hands tighter to his mouth.

“What, I… Lotti, I mean Pheebs, I, can we talk, in private,” Richard bumbled, as he slid his chair back. The canteen fell silent. All eyes stared at them.

“Okay,” mumbled Pheebs, barely opening her mouth, as she gave her boyfriend a hard stare. She rose from her chair and followed Richard out of the canteen. The Professor gawked on, with the rest of the canteen onlookers, as Richard and Pheebs left the room.

Turning the corner, into the locker area, Richard scanned the area for people. They were alone. He turned to face the blonde, his eyes quivering, as he looked at her. “Richy… what’s going on?” she asked him. “Why are you acting weird? Why won’t you talk to me?”

“Can I just, have some space for a minute?” asked Richard, as he turned his back to the blonde and clawed his hands threw his hair. He whistled a deep exhale. “I don’t know,” he muttered, as he turned back, but kept his eyes on the floor. “I just don’t know anymore. I don’t-” His voice trailed. Flickering his eyes towards her, the creases on his forehead deepened.

“Are you breaking up with me?” Pheebs asked, as she clutched her hands to her chest.

“No, no,” he told her, reaching a hand out towards her. The blonde took a step back. “I just need some space, just t’ clear my head for a bit, Pheebs.”

“But I thought things were going well,” she muttered, looking away from him, to her shoes.

“They are,” Richard assured her. “I just need some space, please. I’ve just gotta figure some stuff out.” He gave a shrug, as he stiffened his shoulder blades.

“I can help you,” the blonde told him. Her eyes grew wide, as she gazed at him. Snarling his nose, Richard shook his head. “It’s about this Lotti, isn’t it?” Her words were cold.

“No!” Richard blurted out. “I mean…” He ran a hand across the back of his neck. “I just have to see her. I need to know she’s okay.”

 

*

 

Twisting her key into the lock, Lotti waited for the alarm to bleep, before returning her keys to her bag. As she looped the strap of her backpack over her arm, she exhaled a long, slow breath. ‘The working day is over,’ she told herself, as she made her way down the stairs. ‘Now I just have to kill three and a half hours, before I’m allowed to go to sleep.’ A cackle of echoed laughter drifted up the stairwell. Lotti’s eyes widened and she froze on the spot. “It’s not that bad,” she heard a female voice say.

“Come on,” a second voice exclaimed. “D’you still want your kids living at home, when they’re thirty? When I was Lotti’s age, I was married, owned my own house and had had both my kids. Lucy turns twenty-eight next month and her and Darren have just bought their own place, and they got married last year. I know Ben’s not far behind; he can’t handle the humiliation of being twenty-four and still living with his parents.” As the three ladies sniggered, Lotti felt her insides spiral. Her breathing grew shallow and shaky. She clawed her hand into the railing, as her feet rooted to the spot on the stairs.

“Don’t be too hard on her,” said a third voice. Lotti let out a breath that she had not realised she was holding. “It ain’t her fault the guy she was with left her for someone else.”

“But it is,” snapped the voice of the ranting woman. “She should’ve known better. She was with him before she started working here. They didn’t live together. He hadn’t proposed. She should of known things weren’t right. I wouldn’t have dated Pete that long, if he hadn’t proposed or spoke of buying a house together after a year or two. I’d have left him.”

“True,” said the lady who had spoke first. “After six months of dating Steve, we lived together.”

“Yeah, mum wasn’t too happy about that,” cackled the second lady.

“And?” she exclaimed. “Married over thirty years, two kids, mortgage paid for.”

“Exactly,” snapped the second lady. “Becky, you have to stop defending Lotti. There must be something wrong with her, to be her age and still single.”

As the three women descended the stairs and their voices trailed, Lotti leant against the wall and shuddered an exhale. Her shoulders hunched forward. She sniffed. The corners of her eyes stung. Her heart panged. ‘Why does it matter to them that I’m single and still live at home?’ she thought, as her heart hammered into her ribcage. ‘It’s not like I parade around, talking about it. They’re the ones who always ask about it, as if I’m going to magically meet someone and get married and live happily ever after, with them, since last week, when they asked.’

The staircase fell silent. A gentle hum, from a nearby generator, perked up. Lotti inhale a slow, deep breath, as she descended the stairs. ‘Maybe I should walk home the back way,’ she told herself. ‘Just in case I bump into anyone on the way home and they want to lecture me on what I should be doing with my life.’

Having plodded home, Lotti placed her keys in her front door and turned them as slow and quiet as she could. Music blasted through the walls. She squinted her eyes. As she placed her hand on the door handle, she seeped a breath. Her heart hammered in her chest. She held her breath. Etching the door open a little, Lotti crept inside. As she turned around, to pull the front door closed, a door to her left swung open. Footsteps stomped near. “What d’ya think you’re doin’ ‘ere?” raged a male voice.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, lowering her chin to her chest. “I was just dropping my work laptop off.” A pair of feet neared her. She shuffled back, holding her breath.

“I’ve told you, yer not allowed in here,” he growled. Snarling his nose, the male gritted his teeth. As he breathed heavily, spittle shot out, between his teeth. “Get out or I’ll smash the laptop.”

“It’s not mine,” she exclaimed. “It’s work’s.”

“Not my problem,” he barked, squaring his shoulders, millimetres from her face. Lotti pressed her back against the door and forced a swallow. “Now, get out or I’ll slice the ears off yer rabbit.”

“No!” Lotti screamed. “You can’t!”

“You’re supposed ta follow the rules an’ stay outta my way,” he spat. “You should be grateful,” he told her, as he lunged at her face. “I could do far worse things t’ ya, you know. Now get out, affor I grab a knife and slice that ***** rabbit’s head off.” Dropping her work backpack on the floor, a squeaking murmur escaped Lotti, as she hunched her back and squirmed back out of the front door.

 

*

 

Looping a shopping basket onto his arm, Richard placed the plush pig inside it, as he made his way into the shop, after he had finished his shift. As he approached the first aisle, Richard spotted the furry, blue puppet, in his beige suit jacket and matching pith hat, tidying the candle display. “You can stop tidying now,” Richard said with a chuckle. “The area manager’s gone.”

“I guess I got a little carried away,” the Professor said with a shrug, as he stacked two peony and cherry blossom scented candles on the top of his display.

“Thanks for helping me out today,” Richard told him. “Sorry I gave you a hard time earlier,” he added with a shrug.

“No worries, Big Guy,” said the Professor with a smile, spotting the pig in Richard’s shopping basket. “If you don’t mind, can I have one final word with you, once you’re done with your shopping,” the Professor nodded to the basket looped over Richard’s arm. “Meet me in the park, by the oak tree. Just for a few minutes, then I’ll be on my way.” Richard nodded and swiped a peony and cherry blossom scented candle from the shelf, dropping it into his basket. Looking down at the two items in his shopping basket, his heart fluttered and a smirk prodded into his cheeks. The Professor threw Richard and inquisitive glance, but Richard seemed too focused on his shopping to notice.

Shaking his head, Richard shuddered his thoughts away and continued his mission down the vegetable aisle. With a tray of mashed potato and a packet of sausages added, Richard swiped a packet of pasta from the shelf. As he plonked it in his basket, a small crinkly packet fell to the floor. Scooping it up, a warmth tingled at his stomach. A small, pastel yellow toy, about the size of the bend of his thumb rattled around, inside the transparent packaging. The yellow rectangle resembled a box of tissues, with a cute little face. Unknown as to why he recognised it, the warm hug that wrapped around his chest caused him to add it to his basket, beside the candle and the plush pig.

As he continued with the rest of his shopping, Richard added the packet of milk bottle sweets and the bar of chocolate that had made him explode previously. Having added his favourite bottle of red wine, a jar of honey, a pot of coffee and some mini chocolate rolls to his basket, Richard made one final trip to the greeting card aisle. He picked up a card with a bear on it, some purple tissue paper and a small matching gift bag, before heading to the self-service checkout.

 

*

 

A tennis ball skidded towards her feet. Lotti flinched. Looking up a cream and chocolatey-brown coloured dog bound towards her. “Hello,” Lotti cooed, as the dog skidded to a halt in front of her, sat on the bench, his tail wagging. She bend down and retrieved the ball. “Is this yours?” she asked. An excited bark escaped him.

“I’m sorry!” shouted a lady, as she jogged towards them.

“No worries,” Lotti called, waving. She held the tennis ball out, in the palm of her hand. “Here you go,” she smiled, waiting for the dog to take it. He barked at her again and bounced up. “You want me to throw it?” Lotti asked. The dog barked once more, throwing his head over his shoulder and back again to Lotti. “Here you go,” she giggled, as she threw the tennis ball near the direction of his owner.

“Thank you!” the lady shouted back.

“It was nice meeting you both! Have a nice evening,” Lotti called after them, as the dog galloped away.

With the dog and his owner, shrinking to the size of ants, as they travelled further away, Lotti dug her heels into the edge of the seat, pressed her knees into her chest and hugged them tight. An icy gush of wind cracked through the trees. Hunching her shoulders, Lotti’s chest began to tremble. A nearby lamp flickered its glow several times, before extinguishing. The shadows surrounding her dimmed. ‘Looks like another cold, dark night in the park,’ she sniffed. A droplet spolshed on her head. “Great,” she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. ‘And now it’s raining.’

 

*

 

Perched on a lower branch of the oak tree, the Professor swung his legs back and forth, as he kept a watch out for Richard. ‘The sooner I catch the Big Guy, the sooner I can find Lotti,’ the Professor told himself. As his previous attempt at this evening’s events played on loop in his mind, the Professor’s vision began to blur. A tall figure, with a head of dark curls and a bag of groceries in his hand, strode towards him. Shuddering out of his thoughts, The Professor waved Richard to his side. “Hey, Big Guy, thanks for coming,” said the Professor. Richard shrugged. “I guess I just wanted to wrap things up, before I leave,” the Professor went on, as he shrugged his right shoulder. “I know me helping you out today isn’t enough to make up for the mess that I caused,” he said, as the final images of a distressed Lotti leaping to her death flickered to the front of his mind. “But I’m hoping it will change the immediate damage that I otherwise would have inflicted,” he said with a shudder.

A frown fixed on Richard’s face, as the Professor’s cryptic speech continued. “I hope, if anything, Big Guy, my visit has taught you that not everything is what it seems on the surface. So, try not to jump too hard to assumptions, before you bark at someone,” the Professor told him. Lowering his head, Richard nodded. “I was never out to ruin you, Richard. Quite the opposite, actually. I wanted to save you from making the mistake of doing what everyone else wants and expects of you, instead of doing the right thing and listening to your heart.” Richard twitched his head, flickering a glance down at the shopping bag, in his left hand. “So longs as you are doing what is right for you and you’re not suppressing your feelings and masking your problems with whiskey and wine and you are completely happy, absolutely joyous, in knowing that your actions could lead to someone, who you once cared so much for, ending their life, because of the harsh words that you spoke, in a rage of anger… if you can sleep at night and be the happiest you have ever been, knowing deep down that you could have done something, said something… helped in anyway, to prevent that life from being lost… so longs as you, Richard Brewston, are happy, truly happy… that’s all that matters.”

Richard’s heart sunk to the depths of his stomach. If he had not needed the bottle of wine before leaving work, he did now. Raising his head, to look up at the Professor, a glittering sparkle, flickered his attention to a red-head, sat alone on a bench, several metres away. She curled a piece of hair behind her ear, before gazing off into the distance. Snarling his nose, Richard balled his hands into fists at his sides. “You set this up,” Richard growled at the Professor, through gritted teeth. “You knew Lotti was gonna be here.”

“What?!” cried the Professor, throwing his head over his shoulder. “No, oh gosh no,” he muttered to himself, shaking. “Don’t move,” the Professor barked, at Richard.

“What?” frowned Richard.

“You heard me, Big Guy,” snapped the Professor. “Don’t move.” The Professor’s heart raged, in his chest. Throwing his head over his shoulder, the Professor squinted towards Lotti. ‘Good,’ he breathed. She did not appear to have seen them.

“Answer me,” growled Richard. “What is she doing here?”

“Hopefully nothing more than crying,” huffed the Professor. “No, I didn’t set this up. No, I didn’t ask Lotti to come here. Now, unless you’re going to run over there and comfort her, I suggest you hide,” the Professor ordered.

“What? You, you, you mean you d, didn’t-” stuttered Richard.

“No,” the Professor sighed. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Now get back here,” he hissed, prodding his head behind the tree. “And not a word,” he warned.

Clambering through the bushes and behind the bench, the Professor appeared on Lotti’s right side. “Hey Lotti, why so blue?” asked the Professor, as he hopped up and sat beside her. Lotti gave a sharp sniff, as she twisted her head towards him, her back to the oak tree. Her eyes widened. Her furry, blue, professor puppet was sat beside her. “Why are you crying? What’s wrong? Where’s the cheerful, smiley you that I met last night and who sat with me outside of your office block, this morning?” Lotti shrugged and sniffed.

“I try to be happy and cheerful all the time,” she told him, before taking a small, sharp gasp of air. “But between work and home and people constantly reminding me that I’m the only person over the age of twenty-five that isn’t married, and I’m thirty and telling me that my life doesn’t matter, because I don’t have a wife or a husband or a partner of any kind or children or anything, so I don’t count as a human being.” Clamping her teeth together, she squeezed her eyes tight, as she hummed and murmured several sad moans. “I can’t even go home, because my brother and his new girlfriend rule the house,” Lotti went on, her voice shaking. “I try so hard every day to be happy and to help people and to make others happy, but everyone just takes and takes and takes from me, until I have nothing left to give and I can’t take it anymore that I’ve become too much of a nervous wreck to even function.” She shuddered another hesitating shaky breath. “And the second I try to stand up for myself, everyone turns against me and says that I’m the most horrible person to ever exist, but they are the ones who’ve run me to the ground, to the point where I feel completely worthless.”

Throwing her head into her knees, at her chest, Lotti let out a howling cry. Stroking a hand to Lotti’s elbow, the Professor opened his mouth several times, to speak, but no words came out. He flickered a glance over to Richard, who dropped his sight to the floor.

“All I’m asking,” Lotti squeaked. “Is if I actually meant anything to anyone at all… because if I did, they wouldn’t make me feel this way… this low, like I’m not worth existing. Everyone does this to me. Everyone!” she exclaimed. “And the very second I stand up for myself, I’m in the wrong. I’m done, Professor. I’m done,” she repeated, shaking.

“Lotti,” muttered the Professor. “You’re scaring me.”

Ignoring her blue friend, Lotti continued, “I’m done with people telling me I can’t do things, without letting me try. I’m done with people pretending to be my friend, then pushing me away and pushing me away, making me feel like I’m not good enough and I can’t do anything, to the point where my anxiety is so bad, I can’t look at a person without crying,” she ranted. “Then the second I find the strength to ask them is that how they want me to feel, and is that really what I’m  worth to them, they tell me I’m out of order, the most horrible person to ever live and have said the most hurtful things to them ever. Why does this happen to me every single time? Why?” she projected, as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Why isn’t there one nice person left in the world? Or are they all right? Am I a monster? Am I supposed to feel absolutely worthless and be too scared to even speak to anyone and let my partner, my friends and family make me feel completely worthless all of the time? I can’t do this anymore,” she murmured, shaking. “I can’t, Professor. I can’t. It hurts too much and it doesn’t go away.”

Sniffing, she scrubbed a hand across her face. Her chest jittered, as she sniffed small, sharp breaths, “I can be fine and put up with it for a few weeks, maybe even a few months, but it always gets too much after a while and I can’t cope again. I can’t keep doing this forever, Professor. I can’t. I can’t,” she cried.

“Then don’t,” he said simply, placing his hand on her arm.

“And what, jump off a bridge?” she muttered, with a wrinkled brow.

“No!” he cried, gripping Lotti’s arm tight. “Goodness, Lotti, no. I didn’t mean that,” he gasped. “I meant take control of your life and do something about it.”

“Like what?” she shrugged. “I can’t afford to run away. I don’t have anywhere to go. I did once… but that was a long time ago. I learnt from that mistake that I can never have anything like that again. Anyway,” she said with a sniff. Sliding her feet back to the floor, Lotti straightened her back. “I shouldn’t be sat here complaining,” she told the Professor, as she shook her head. “At least I have a roof over my head, albeit not great. You have a much worse problem than me, don’t you? Have you figured out how you can return home and restore your reality, now that the female you were looking for has passed on?” Sinking his shoulders, the Professor sighed.

“I think seven hundred years should have taught me they were never meant to be,” the Professor told her, with a sigh. “It’s sad really, because I’ve been routing for them to get their happily ever after for so long.” Tapping his foot, he hummed to himself. “Maybe I misinterpreted the message that my powers and the universe threw at me, but right now, none of that matters,” the Professor went on as he shook his head.  “What matters most right now is that we get you home, safe, okay?” Lowering her head, Lotti flickered her sight away from the Professor, to a patch of grass, on her left. “Come on, how about I walk you there,” he told her. “Well, maybe you can carry me,” he added with a chuckle. “But I’ll keep you company until you get there.”

“Can’t you stay with me?” she murmured, as her waterline began to sparkle. “You’re so nice and you don’t have anywhere to stay. Maybe I can look after you, until you figure out how to get home?”

“You really are a sweet, kind hearted person, Lotti,” the Professor told her, as he placed a hand on her knee. “But I need to figure this out on my own. My thought of reuniting these two together obviously isn’t the right thing to do. My returning home isn’t your burden to share. I promise I will pay you a visit before I leave, how about that?” he asked. Pinching her lips in, Lotti nodded. “Good,” he said, with a nod. “Then let’s get you home.”

Hugging the Professor tight, at her chest, Lotti plodded past the oak tree. She did not notice the footsteps that shuffled behind it or the man, with a head of curls, a dark coat and a bag of shopping who watched her walk away.

 

*

 

Having propped a pillow up, against her wall, Lotti sat on the floor, in her room, reading. Beside her, she had propped up her lifeless, plush, blue puppet of the Professor that she had assembled. As she flickered a glance down at the puppet, a smile prodded into the right corner of her cheek.

Someone rapped against the front door. Lotti flinched, bolting upright. Her eyes widened. ‘Who would knock on our house?’ she wondered, as she clambered to her feet. Creeping down the stairs, squeals and stomping could be heard, along with the over bearing music, from her brother’s room. A silhouette loomed in the frosted glass window of the front door.

Forcing a swallow, Lotti placed a hesitant hand on the door handle. A puzzle of worry furrowed her brow, as she opened the door. Lotti’s eyes widened. Her lips parted. Her heart panged against her ribcage. Before her, a tall man towered above her, with a head of dark curls. “Erm… hi,” was all Richard managed to say, as his heart jumped into his throat, as he saw her. Feeling his ears burn, he scratched a hand to the back of his head.

“Richard?” Lotti managed to mutter, as her tongue turned to sandpaper. “Hu-hi.”

“Can I come in?” he asked. His pupils dilated.

“Not really,” she muttered, with a shrug, dropping her sight to her socks.

“Well, can we talk?” he asked. Squeezing a hand to the back of his neck, his eye brows darted up his forehead.

“I don’t-” she began to mutter, looking at him.

“I have a peace offering,” Richard told her, holding out a small purple gift bag, sparkling with an iridescent shimmer and a crinkle of lilac tissue paper protruding out of the top. Lotti felt her cheeks tingle, as she flickered her eyes to Richard’s peace offering and back to his kind eyes and soft smile. The drumming in her chest increased. Her stomach spiralled. Her lips parted. “My car’s just there, if you’d rather sit and talk,” he said, pointing over his shoulder. “I’d offer you a walk around the park, but it’s pouring with rain,” he added, with a nervous laugh.

“One sec,” mumbled Lotti, gesturing for Richard to wait, as she stepped away from the door.

Whilst Richard waited for Lotti to return, a heat glowed from his chest. The hair on the back of his neck prickled, as he heard her rustling on the other side of the door. His palms dampened. Tugging at the collar of his coat, he swallowed at the lump in his throat. The door swung open. Richard’s eyes widened, as the red-head bounced out of the door beside him, with a pair of shoes on and her house keys jangling in her hand. She had taken her hair out of her ponytail too; this caused the tingling in Richard’s ears to burn stronger.

As he led Lotti over to his car, Richard hesitated to start several sentences, a pang in his heart stopping him each time. With Lotti sat in the passenger seat, Richard walked around to the driver’s side and dropped down into the seat. A flicker of blue caught his eye. Richard let out a breath, as he flickered his sight to the neighbour’s stone fence. There was nothing there. Tugging his door closed, Richard let out a dreamy sigh. With a smile prodding into both cheeks, he held out the purple gift bag to Lotti. “Here you go,” he sang. As Lotti held her palms out, Richard let go of the handles. The parcel wobbled towards Lotti. She let out a nervous laugh, flickering a glance from the glittering gift bag, to Richard. “Maybe open the card first,” he told her, feeling his smile creep further into his cheeks.

Forcing a swallow, Lotti tried hard to ignore the excited rapping in her chest, the heat of her pulse pounding through her body and the burning urge to look Richard in the eye. ‘He hates me,’ Lotti reminded herself, as she exhaled a slow, shaky breath. ‘He hates me,’ she told herself again, before tugging an envelope out of the gift bag. Lowering her chin, Lotti focused on removing as much of Richard from her line of vision, as she could, as she placed the bag on her lap. ‘Why is he doing this?’ Lotti shuddered. ‘And why is he looking at me, like that?’ Even without looking at him, Lotti could feel Richard’s gaze upon her. It made her cheeks burn. She could feel them heating up.

Staring at the front of the envelope, a smirk prodded into the corner of her mouth, as she looked down at Richard’s handwriting. A flutter of butterflies danced in her stomach. ‘Stop it,’ she scolded herself. Sliding her finger under the envelope’s seal, she tore open the flap and gave the card a tug. A brown teddy bear, holding a sorry sign and a bouquet of flowers sat on the front of the card. Lotti felt her brows slant together. She opened it. “To Lotti,” the card read. “You know I’m not good with words. I’m sorry for being a d***. I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to protect you from me. See, even when I’m trying to help you, I end up hurting you. I’m sorry Lotti. I understand if you don’t forgive me. From Richard x.” A shaky breath escaped from Lotti’s nose, as her eyeline began to sparkle. She pinched her lips in and turned towards the window, to hide her reaction from him.

“There’s a peace offering in the purple bag,” Richard told her, as he leant forwards to try and see her face. “Maybe leave the bigger one for last.” As Lotti flickered him a glance, a brief smile lit up her face. Richard watched her with wide eyes and his smile ached at his cheeks, as Lotti pulled out the flat rectangular shaped present. Having slid the card onto the dashboard, she took her time to slowly peel back the sticky tape that held the tissue paper together, before unrolling Richard’s wrapping in her hands. She hummed a chuckle, her cheeks glowing, as her favourite bar of chocolate landed on her lap. The heat in Richard’s chest rippled. “Not sure if you still like it,” he muttered, as his knee bounced. “When I saw it I thought of you… it used to be your favourite.”

“It is,” Lotti beamed, looking at the bar of chocolate in her lap. “I haven’t had it since-” Ending her sentence, the smile drained from her face. Richard felt his heart twinge.

“Open something else,” he told her, desperate to see Lotti’s smile return.

As Lotti pulled out another present and took her time to remove the tape and unravel the surprise, Richard grew just as excited to see Lotti’s expression, as she was to find her favourite candle sat on her lap, followed by her favourite sweets and a cute mini plastic figure of a box of tissues. A giggle escaped her, as she opened each one. Richard clasped one hand to his steering wheel. The urge to place a hand on Lotti’s, to run a hand through her hair, to stroke her cheek, buzzed through his veins.

“A piggy?” Lotti giggled. Lines appeared on her brow, as she unravelled the last of Richard’s gifts.

“Yeah,” he told her, “because the first picnic I took you on, I thought I saw a pig in the field, and we kinda made a running joke – where’s my pig?” He held his breath, swallowing a chuckle, as he waited for Lotti’s response.

“I know,” she said, with a nervous laugh. Gazing down at the pig, she stroked a thumb across its plush fur.

“So when I saw it,” Richard went on. “I thought of you.”

“Thank you,” she squeaked, as she closed her eyes, hugging the pig tight at her chest. She sniffed and the sparkling returned to the corners of her eyes, as she stroked the fluffy fabric against her cheek. “I love him.”

“I thought he’d make you smile,” Richard beamed.

“Thank you,” squeaked Lotti, as she gave him her biggest smile, through sparkling eyes.

“I love it when you smile,” Richard breathed, as he shuffled to face her and stretched out a hand. With a shuddery gasp, Lotti dropped her eyes to her lap. Richard retracted his hand, scratching it to the back of his neck. “I didn’t do a very good job at making you happy, did I?” he mumbled, lowering his eyes, to a scuff in his trouser knee.

“Of course you did,” Lotti told him, her voice no louder than a whispered squeak. “When you were in a good frame of mind,” she added, dropping her sight back to the plush pig in her hands. “You just kinda made me feel so worthless that I wasn’t able to be there and help you anymore, no matter how hard I tried, I just wasn’t good enough.” Lotti’s shoulders sunk, as her bottom lip quivered.

“No, you were, you were,” muttered Richard, unable to look at her. “It was just me… and I’m… sorry I made you feel that way.”

“It’s okay,” Lotti whispered, with a shrug. Stroking her thumb against the plush pig, Lotti forced a swallow, adding, “That was a long time ago.”

As a swarm of guilt washed over Richard, he let out a heavy breath. His eyes wandered to Lotti’s lap. He watched as Lotti stroked her thumb over the pig’s back. The corner of his mouth prodded into his cheek and the warmth rushed back to his chest. “So what have you been up to?” he asked, with a chuckle. “It’s been a while.”

“Over two years,” Lotti muttered, eyes focused, as she stared down at the pig, stroking her thumb over it in a repeated rhythm.

“Really?” gasped Richard, in disbelief. “It’s really been that long?”

“Yeah,” Lotti muttered. “I’ve just been working, and working and working,” she told him with a shrug, as she continued to stare at her lap. “I often do over fifteen hours a week for free.”

“That’s bad,” Richard warned her. Lotti shrugged.

“I don’t have much choice,” she said, as her shoulders sunk. “It’s not like I want to come home either,” she added, folding her arms tight at her chest.

“Are things still bad?” Richard swallowed at the lump in his throat, as he slouched in his seat.

Hunching her shoulders, Lotti shrugged again. She focus a hard stare on the dashboard and inhaled several soft, jittery breaths. ‘You have to be strong,’ she told herself. ‘He mustn’t see you’re struggling.’ Tightening her grip around herself, Lotti clenched her nails into her palms. “My brother’s new girlfriend is even worse that his old one,” she said, after a long pause. “And kids next door no longer have a bedtime, now that they’re eleven and nine.” Richard shuffled beside her. Lotti flickered her sight to the window. A bright blur of blue caught her eye, in the wing mirror. Her heart leapt. She shuddered. With a swallow, Lotti went on, “The eleven year old stays up until eleven o’clock every night, watching films on her wall projector, with surround-sound subwoofer speakers.” Letting out a sigh, Lotti’s hands dropped to her lap, wrapping around her plush pig once more. “But I can’t just go to sleep once she’s finally gone quite, because I’ve wound myself up so much, wanting to go to sleep since half eight. I have to get up at five for work.”

“Surely you can go ‘round and tell her to stop it,” she heard Richard say, beside her. Lotti shook her head. She flickered Richard a glance, before lowering her gaze to a thinning patch of fabric at his trouser knee.

“My brother’s so loud all of the time,” she went on. “And next door never complain about him or call the police, so mum says I have to put up with it. I moved myself into the box room about a year ago. I only have blankets and a table, but at least I can somewhat sleep.”

“That’s no way to live,” Richard declared.

“I don’t have a choice,” she told him with another shrug. “Whenever I say something, all I get is, “We could be so much worse, so you should consider yourself lucky,” and then they act worse. And if I say something again, they get worse again. And it just escalates, so I’m better off as I am, because things will only get worse otherwise.”

Twisting away from him, Lotti hugged her pig to her chest and gazed out of the window. “I can’t afford to rent anywhere, on my own, in a ten mile radius. Being single and female, I can only get a mortgage for two to three times my wages, so there’s no point even trying to look at buying,” she said with a sniff. “The local councils say that if I want to move out, I have to go from B&B to B&B for the rest of my life.”

A breathy, sarcastic laugh escaped her. Her chest shaking, Lotti inhaled a sharp sniff. “A therapist told me that if I could find someone who was willing to take a chance on me, and let us live together,” her voice grew quiet and shaky. She paused, swallowing at the lump in her throat. Dropping her eyes to her lap, she sniffed, feeling her chest quake. “And it be just the two of us… give it six months, and a lot of the struggles that I have in my head might go away.” Letting out a nervous laugh, she rubbed a hand to her right eye, in an attempt to hide a tear. “And then, and only then, if any of them are still left, I can start to get help…” she sniffed. Dropping her hands and pig to her lap, she leant back against the headboard and let out a breathy, nervous laugh. “But no one’s ever going to take a chance on me, so I’ve given up on thinking that I’m ever going to be okay.”

“You could live with me,” Richard blurted out. Lotti’s eyes widened. Her heart leapt to her throat. Her lips parted, as she stared at him. “I mean, I’ve got a spare room. Shelly moved out, so the room’s all yours if you want it,” he told her with a shrug.

“I’d like that,” she squeaked, her eyes sparkling as she beamed at him. Lotti’s smile drained, as she dropped her sight back the fraying thread on his knee. “But it’s not fair for your girlfriend,” she murmured. ‘I told you not to get carried away,’ she scolded herself. ‘You’re only going to get hurt.’ With a sniff, she twisted her head towards the wing mirror, certain she saw a blur of blue flicker by. “I know what it’s like to not be able to live with your boyfriend because he lives with someone else,” Lotti murmured, with a struggle, as she forced another swallow. “I couldn’t do that to her.”

Sniffing again, Lotti pinched her lips in, as she braved to look at Richard. The bright smile he had worn when he first saw her, had faded. He reached over and squeezed a hand to her knee. “And you won’t,” he whispered. “My attention is solely on you. Look at me, Lotti… look at me,” his voice was soft and caring, just like she remembered. Her chest trembled. As Richard leant towards her, Lotti pinched her eyes tight, to hide her tears and shook her head. “Come on,” he whispered. “What if you move in, as my housemate, as soon as you want to, and we take it from there,” he told her, as he lifted his hand to her shoulder. “If anything happens between us, it happens, and if things don’t work out,” he paused. Lotti gasped, turning her head to face him. “I’ll help you find somewhere you can afford to live. That’ll be better than staying here, right?”

Inhaling a raspy breath, Lotti lifted her head. Richard’s smile returned, as he opened his arms out. With a sniff, Lotti pressed her head into his chest, her left hand clawing at the edge of his coat. Richard hummed, as he wrapped his arms around her. Shaking against him, Lotti wept. “It’s okay,” he whispered, rubbing a hand up and down her back. Nuzzling her head at his chest, a squeak escaped her. Richard’s eyes dropped closed, as he held Lotti tight. Lowering his head, he rested his chin against the top of her head and inhaled a slow, deep breath, through his nose. A sweet fragrance drifted into his nostrils. Lotti’s chest trembled. “It’s okay,” Richard whispered again. “It’s okay.” Feeling her cheeks dampen, Lotti squeezed Richard tighter. “I missed you,” he breathed.

“I missed you too,” she cried, with a sniff. Lifting her head, Lotti smiled up at him, with sparkling eyes. He brushed a hand across her cheek. She flushed under his touch. Lowering his eyes, Richard leant towards her. Lotti let out a shaky breath, as the red in her cheeks grew brighter. Her eyes flickered closed. Richard’s lips pressed against hers. Lotti rested her hand to his chest, as she kissed him back. “I love you, Lotti,” he breathed, as they parted.

“I love you too, Richard,” she beamed, flickering her eyes open. “I… where did this come from?”

“I was talking to someone and they made me see how stupid I’ve been,” Richard told her, as he rubbed a hand across her back. “I kept pushing you away, because I thought I had to. Then there’s my parents and-“

“I know,” she sighed, pushing herself out of his embrace. Dropping her sight back to her lap, she let out a sad sigh. “You always said I’d never cope around them. That I’m not good enough.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” he hissed. “I just meant… they put so much pressure on me and I didn’t want you to have to put up with that too, and,” Richard let out a sigh. His shoulders deflated. A blue blur brushed past the corner of his vision, as he flickered a brief glance to his wing mirror. “I just wanted them to be proud of me,” he muttered. “Which meant doing what they wanted, which wasn’t what I wanted, but now I do want what I want.”

“Okay…” said Lotti slowly, as she stared at him.

“I want you, silly,” he told her, with a chuckle, tugging her into an embrace.

“I want to be with you too,” Lotti whispered in his ear, with a soft giggle. “I always have.”

As the rain hammered down outside, a saturated ball of blue fur perched on the bricked ledge, outside Lotti’s next door neighbour’s house. Tugging his pith hat tight on his head, the Professor let out a warm hum, as he watched Lotti and Richard embrace. “Great job, Big Guy,” the Professor beamed. “I knew you had it in you.” With the warmth tugging at his heart, the Professor rummaged in his satchel for a jellybean. Pulling his hand out, a bright, bubble-gum blue bean appeared in his hand. “Universe, I truly have tried,” the Professor spoke aloud, gazing up at a tiny patch of sky, between the storm clouds. “I promise to never, ever use my time travelling powers to meddle and change the course of history for my own personal involvement. I have attempted time and time again to assist with the broken hearts that I met seven hundred years ago, not for my own personal gain, but to truly help them. Whether Lotti and Richard are together at last or whether two friends are finally reunited, in hopes of being a part of one another’s lives for as long as they need each other and as long as they are happy, then I am too. If this is not repayment enough for my mistreatment of time travel, rather than sending me on another cryptic quest, just leave me here, to live out the rest of my days.” His shoulders drooped. Turning to face Richard’s car, a soft smile prodded into the corner of the Professor’s cheek, as he watched Richard kiss Lotti’s forehead.

Satisfied with his accomplishments, the Professor threw the jellybean in his mouth and began to chew. His head grew heavy. His vision blurred. Trying to look up at Richard’s car, he saw a fuzzy blur of Lotti’s grey sleeves wrap around the back of Richard’s neck, as her head of red hair collided with Richard’s mop of dark brown curls. The weight of the Professor’s head grew heavier. His eyes closed. Thud. He flopped back against the wall.

 

*

 

Flickering open his eyes, the Professor gave a groan. He gripped his head. His fur was dry. His eyes pierced open. An aged brick wall stared back at him. Looking down at himself, he was sat in a worn sage green armchair, with faded cream diamonds. Brass studs fastened the fabric to the red leather edging. ‘My chair?!’ the Professor gasped, as his eyes widened.

“Hey Steven, tell them I’ll be there in a sec,” called a familiar voice. The Professor gasped. Turning his head to the right, the Professor’s jaw dropped.

“Beef Boy?” he breathed. “Is that you?”

“P, Professor?”  came a stutter, from the one the puppet called Beef Boy. “Wait, you’re back?”

“I am,” replied the Professor, leaping from his chair.

“Wh-what happened? I thought, I thought you were gone,” cried the man who stood before him. “I mean, I banished you, not on purpose. I mean, I got carried away, I made a deal with the devil,” he babbled, shuffling backwards. “I just wanted the gosh darn trophy for once,” he cried, clawing a hand through his hair. “I never meant… I never meant for you to die. How did you come back? No wait, don’t tell me. Am I dead too?” he exclaimed. “I knew I shouldn’t have drank that two week old carton of milk,” he muttered to himself, tugging the orange beanie from his head.

“No Ryan, you’re not dead,” the Professor told him, with a chuckle. “But I am back. And actually, I want to thank you.”

“Thank me?” repeated Ryan, frowning.

“Yes,” nodded the little, blue puppet. “You see, I’ve done some soul searching. Spending the past sixty-six million years alone has helped me to think. Before, I was using my time travelling powers for my own selfish gains, going back in time talking to the locals, helping out with the biggest and best historic events, getting my name in the news, my pictures in the paintings. It was wrong,” the Professor explained, as he shook his head. “Now, I’ve been helping people. Stopping those in distress from making terrible decisions.”

“But wait, isn’t that also meddling?” asked Ryan.

“Well, erm yes, to a certain extent it is,” the Professor told him, as he scratched his head. “But it’s not for my own personal gain. I stopped a girl from drowning herself in a well. I prevented a guy from getting stabbed by his nemesis. I helped a very loving and giving young woman overcome a mentally hard struggle in her life and find a friend.”

“Wow,” breathed Ryan. “That sounds like a pretty good deed.”

“Yeah,” nodded the Professor. “And it felt great too, to see how happy she was, after moments of tragedy and despair. It gave me the warm fuzzies.”

“Aww, well that’s good to hear. And are we cool?” asked Ryan, with a shrug, as he shoved his hat back on his head. “You know, despite the whole, me trying t’ get rid a you, thing?”

“Sure,” nodded the Professor. “We’re cool. Say, I may even give you the Coveted Cup of the History Master, if you answer all the questions right and play fair.”

“Thanks Little Guy,” Ryan smiled. “It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back,” the Professor beamed. “Come here,” said the puppet, as he stretched his arms out.

“Aww,” Ryan grinned, leaning into the Professor’s embrace.

“It’s good to be back, Beef Boy,” said the Professor with a dreamy sigh. “It’s good to be back.”

 

The end

 

- Josie -