XV. The Time Traveller’s Return

by H. G. Wells

I came back. For what felt like ages, I must have been out of it on the machine. The days and nights resumed their relentless march; the sun regained its golden hue, and the sky turned blue again. I breathed easier. The landscape shifted and morphed around me. The hands on the dials spun backward. Finally, I recognized the familiar outlines of buildings, the signs of a decaying humanity. These too transformed and faded, replaced by others.

When the million dial hit zero, I eased off the speed. I began to recognize our charming, familiar architecture as the thousands hand returned to its starting point, and the rhythm of night and day slowed to a crawl. The old walls of the laboratory came into view. Gently, I brought the machine to a stop.

One small detail struck me as odd. I think I mentioned that when I first set out, before my speed reached its peak, Mrs. Watchett had crossed the room, moving like a rocket. As I returned, I passed through that same moment when she had traversed the laboratory. But now, every movement she made seemed to be the exact opposite of what I had seen before. The door at the far end opened, and she glided backward up the lab, disappearing behind the door she had entered through. Just before that, I thought I caught a glimpse of Hillyer, but he zipped by in a flash.

Then I stopped the machine and looked around at the familiar lab, my tools and equipment just as I had left them. I climbed off the machine unsteadily and sank onto my bench. For several minutes, I trembled uncontrollably. Gradually, I calmed down. Everything around me was just as it had been. I could have believed it was all a dream.

But it wasn’t exactly that! The machine had started from the southeast corner of the lab and come to rest in the northwest, against the wall where you saw it. That gives you the precise distance from my little lawn to the pedestal of the White Sphinx, where the Morlocks had taken my machine.

For a while, my mind felt sluggish. Eventually, I got up and limped through the passage, my heel still aching and feeling grimy. I noticed the *Pall Mall Gazette* on the table by the door. The date confirmed it was indeed today, and when I checked the clock, it was nearly eight o’clock. I heard your voices and the clatter of plates. I hesitated, feeling weak and nauseous. But then I caught the scent of good, hearty food and opened the door to find you. You know the rest. I washed up, had dinner, and now I’m sharing this story with you.