Always in the Details

He was a mostly nondescript middle-aged man, clothed in a slightly rumpled suit from a bygone era. Yet, he stood next to a small, stone archway carved into a hidden outcropping of rocks in the desert wastelands of Arizona, some twenty miles northeast of Chilchinbito. It appeared that a section of the boulder had crumbled away within the past few weeks or months, revealing the odd structure.

“So, just so I have this right,” I began wearily, wiping my sweaty brow with a hand, “you say you are the Guardian of Time, and this is a portal to the past.” Skepticism in my voice was about as thick as the slightly rotund man’s belly.

He sighed almost imperceptibly, then nodded. “You don’t believe. I understand.” With that, he pointed to the arch, and instead of darkness, a video began, showing scenes from history. I recognized the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Colossus of Rhodes, Buckingham Palace, the Berlin Wall, a Twin Tower collapsing, and then the video reset and began showing other scenes from ancient times once more.

Slightly less skeptical, “I don’t understand. I just walk through that portal and I’ll appear in one of those places? What would I do? How would I get back? What if I change--” and I was cut off.

“You must not change anything, for if you do, you might change something in the present, or, everything.”

I thought for a moment.

“What if I go back and kill Adolf Hitler as a youth? Wouldn’t that be a good thing for humanity?”

Eyes may be a window to one’s soul, but this man must not have had a soul, for I could see nothing in his eyes.

“I cannot comment on individual events. I can only provide you with a warning. Details. Always in the details.”

It was now my turn to sigh. I was out here looking for gemstones, not looking to change history or become a hero.

“What if I simply walk away, think about things, and come back in a week?”

There was almost a smile on his face. “Once the portal’s location has been discovered, I must hide it again. You would not find it, nor I, here, if you leave.”

He most certainly noticed my furrowed brow. “You may pass through the Guardian, then, when you wish to return, simply speak the phrase ‘Guardian, attend’ and you will be whisked back here, whether you stay a moment, a day, or a decade.”

“Can I go to an exact day, time, and location?”

He nodded.

Still not quite believing, I made my choice and walked into the portal.

I almost tripped when I arrived in the crowded room, bookshelves crammed with volumes and boxes reaching high above me.

To minimize my chances of being discovered, I asked to arrive at 12:20 pm Central Time. I moved over to a window, slowly, silently, and looking out, it appeared like I was on the fifth floor, as requested. I could see crowds had gathered.