Later that afternoon, the campus courtyard bathed in warmth and soft golden light. Groups of students wandered around, some sprawled under trees, some tossing frisbees, and others studying with earbuds in. However, for Einstein, Vinci, Hawking, and Curie, nothing else existed. They sat together on a silent bench near the science building, the napkin sketch carefully tucked into Curie's bag like a treasure map.
Vinci stretched, arms above his head, and let out a long sigh. "You know, I thought it would just be us three for the rest of our lives," he said, glancing toward Curie with a tilted, playful grin. "But now I feel the puzzle has finally come together."
Curie giggled softly, hugging her knees in. "It is really weird. I used to think that I would always be an outsider. Just a girl with too many questions."
Hawking mildly turned his head. "Well, it is exactly the questions that keep the universe alive," he said, his voice low but kind. "And, anyway, your questions make our questions even stronger."
With elbows resting on his knees, Einstein leaned forward. His gaze was that of piercing warmth, shining with that same bright spark all of them had seen at lunch. "You see," he slowly said, "we started the entire time machine idea pretty much as a joke or a wild dream, keep us up at night. But now... now it kind of feels real."
Vinci nodded, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "The pieces were there. We just needed that final spark. And now that spark is sitting right here," he said, pointing at Curie.
She flushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Stop... you're going to make me cry," she said with a small laugh.
Hawking took out his small black notebook and flipped to a blank page. He extended a pen to Curie. "Write something," he said. "Anything. Idea, question, dream... just write what comes to your mind first."
Curie hesitated, and then, slowly, she started writing with the pen held by Curie, while the boys leaned in to watch.
What if the past is just a shadow waiting for us to step into it?
They all stared at her words for a long moment.
Einstein was the first to speak, low but charged with excitement: "That... that's the core question right there. What if the past isn't gone? What if it's just waiting?"
Vinci snapped his fingers, his eyes wide. "Exactly! That's what we were missing! The emotional layer. The human reason to time travel... not just scientific but for meaning!"
Hawking carefully closed the notebook, as though sealing an oath. "That's it then," he softly declared, "We build not just to understand time, but to feel time. To touch it."
Curie gazed at them, eyes glossy, heart racing. "I still can't believe you guys trust me this much," she said.
Einstein shook his head and advanced nearer, maintaining a serious but gentle expression. "It's not about trust anymore, Curie. It's family. You are now one of us."
Vinci leaned back, gazing skyward. "You know," he said, grinning, "when the world hears about us, they'll probably think we're insane. They'll call it impossible. But maybe that's the point."
Curie let out a soft laugh, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Impossible is sounding good," she whispered.
They all smiled at that, sitting in silence, the sun vanishing through glimmering colors of orange and pink. During that golden hour glow, they ceased to be four students.
They became dreamers. Builders. Time travelers in the making.
That day began a new legacy, one not built just on equations and machines but on bonds, courage, and wonder shared.
And somewhere deep in every one of them, a tiny voice whispered the same thing:
This is only the beginning. 😜