Rewind

• Mackenzie Brown, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2016

I trek through the piling snow, tightening my scarf and pulling my thin jacket up over my ears. In the forest, spindly trees line the edges of a crumbling path, and their twisted branches create a spider web of shadows across the snowy ground. I walk at a steady pace, my heavy boots leaving a clear trail in the snow. My journey is undisturbed, until…
It lies just beside the path, but catches my eye instantly. It shines brightly against the white snow, no imperfections on its smooth skin. I pick the key up and hold it in my gloved hand. As I look closer, my eyes focus on a small sentence engraved on the key’s shining body.
100 steps towards the tallest tree
I turn right towards the tallest tree in the forest and leave the well-trodden path, counting my steps as I walk.
Ninety-nine, one hundred. I stop. My breath spirals in front of me in the cold air. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spot something behind me. As I turn, a surprised yell escapes my mouth. Hovering just above the ground, is a wooden door.
I reach my hand out and quickly brush my fingers along the wood. Immediately, letters begin to form around the edges of the door, creating a thin border of words. I snatch my fingers away, but take a step closer. They say…
Think of the moment you most wish to change. Knock three times and open the door. Step back in time for two minutes, no more. Change the past, present and future.
Instantly I think of a moment, the worst moment of my life. Three months ago, on the 1st of September, my twin sister Jasmine died.
I knock. A warmth flows through my body, beginning with my fist and traveling right down to my toes. As I swing the door open, a blinding light knocks me to the ground, and suddenly I am there.
I stand beside Jasmine at the top of our street, she holds her scooter, I hold my skateboard. Panic rises inside me. Here comes the moment I need to change. She yells, but all I here is whispers. ‘3,2,1, GO!’ We race down the hill, and I glimpse a large car turning the corner at the bottom. It comes closer, closer, closer. I race ahead of Jasmine, determined to make sure that the car hits me, not her. This time I don’t dive out of the way. As I leap in front of the car, I hear her scream, then I tumble to the ground as it hits me, and everything goes black.
I wake up in hospital. Mum, Dad and Jasmine sit around my bed. My head hurts. My vision is foggy. But I did it, she’s alive. The next day, I walk through the forest again, but this time Jasmine is with me. I did it. I went back in time, I changed the past, present, and future.