The Omniscrolls

Just three years ago, this place was my school, its halls stretching far and wide, and its six floors reaching up to the sky; but today, it lies here upon the ground, with only two cloven pillars standing beside one another—a reminder of what we can never have again. As I walk across craters that used to be paved roads, I see my own heart reflected by the scorch marks and fissures that run deep across my homeland. I cannot imagine what could bring someone to commit such acts of destruction. The devastation and hopelessness left in their wake latch on to you and take root, and you wonder if you will ever be free from it. Will I ever be free from it? Yet even amidst the shadow that has befallen us, there still remain glints in the eyes of my younger brothers and sisters in our neighbourhood. Perhaps seeing a few of them laugh and play with one another even amidst the dark rubble that surrounds us gives me some semblance of hope. Perhaps a future to look forward to, even though the horizo...

  I was seven years old when I discovered I was different; I discovered that I could freeze time. My mom told me that much like her, I was a witch, and that time manipulation was a special ability of mine. Mom asked me to keep my abilities a secret—even from my closest friends. However, with the events that unfolded in my time, it became more and more apparent to me that I would have to break my code. It was the year 2043. The world was on the brink of catastrophe, with war about to knock on the doors of every country. Mom had passed away by then, and I was living alone. Mom transferred her powers to me when she passed, saying that a time would come when the world would face another war—and that I was the only one who could stop it. My mind went back to the day she died, and the cryptic message that she left this world with. “Tressa, you must stop the war from happening, but beware: there will be someone who’d try to stop you.” “Someone who’d try to stop me? Are they another witch,...

  The world faced yet another great war. With all the weapons of mass destruction launched, it brought forth a long, nuclear winter. Only after nearly a decade was the sun properly visible. “Mom, can we play outside?” a little boy asked. “No, Tim, not yet. We’ve been told to stay indoors.” “That’s right. We’ll let you know when it’s safe,” said my sister, Andrea, walking into the room. Andrea was among the few scientists in our town who were making sure everyone was safe. However, she was also involved in another project: one that was meant to allow time travel in order to prevent the war from spiralling into a nuclear disaster. Some considered it impossible, but a few of her colleagues joined the endeavor. Three months passed by and the time machine was complete. Andrea tested it by sending a drone through it. It was a success. What we saw was the world before the war. Andrea and her colleague Phillip were ready to travel through it, but I insisted that I join as well, given my mi...