Lost amid the fractured spirals of time Julian slept. She didn’t need to sleep, her body didn’t require it any longer, but she enjoyed sleeping. Perhaps it was the comfort of opening her eyes to something new after time had passed, or maybe it was her love of dreams. Whatever it was, Julian now slept. White hair short and tickling her cheeks, her baggy ‘Girls Rule!’ t-shirt loose about her, faded jeans ripped at the knees. Her feet were bare as usual. A metaphorical spiral stroked her cheek as doubt passed below her, idealism slid around her and hope propped up her head. Julian’s eyelids fluttered, and then opened to let her light purple eyes take in the scene around her. She yawned, stretched and performed all the natural functions of banishing sleep. Now fully awake and ready to face whatever was before her, she swam through impossibilities towards the door. This simple door was just hovering amid the proverbs and synonyms. Taking out one of her innumerable keys, Julian opened the door and stepped through.  

        Ah, physical reality, how quaint it was. Shaking her hair out of her face she skipped down the hall towards the kitchens. Funny, even after millennia, she still couldn’t master the fundamentals of cooking a meal. Most of her ‘accidents’ in the kitchen were probably impatience related, she admitted to herself. She was acutely aware of her inability to wait. This was amusing for one who only had time.  

        Julian suddenly stopped and looked about her, the corridors were filled with dust, the lights were low and silence had banished all laughter from the walls. The once majestic Cathedral of the Ancients had once again become a tomb for what once was.  

        A sudden loss of appetite struck her and she ran towards a black door a few meters away, hesitating only a moment she pushed open the door and entered the Graveyard. Scattered about the rooms were statues of people long gone, that she had erected. Their stony lifeless eyes stared at her; a chill was hovering in the air. Julian took a familiar twisted path past familiar faces to rest before one.  

Her favorite.  

        Tobiah’s handsome face had that irresistible quirk on his lips that always drove her wild. Even as he died, while she held his hand, he had smiled at her.  

        “Jewels, go on and find what you need,” his voice was a hoarse whisper that threatened to tear her heart to shreds. Again, the desire to take away his ailments and restore him to youth nearly overwhelmed her, but she surprised it. Not even for love could she break her vows.

        “I need you,” Julian’s eyes were like over flowing fountains. Her throat burned with sadness.  

        “You’ll love again,” he said, his wiry gray hair flopping about as he nodded in agreement with himself. Julian moved her mouth, but no sound came out, so she shook her head. “You... will that’s what you have to give...” He smiled, then closed his eyes and lay still.  

        Now as she stood before his statue look alike, no tears fell for him now. All she felt was a distant hollow ache. It frightened her; she wanted to always be gasping with pain for her love. She wished to hurt everyday for him.  

        He had died over three thousand years ago.  

        Time had taken him away from her. Now, time had consented to heal the wound his death had left without her consent. Damn it all. She spun around and stormed from the room. What was she to do? Rot alone in this Cathedral? She had finished with the Grand Library; her passion there was done with. The books were all read, documented and filed, all twelve million of them.  

        “Find what you need...”  

        Julian glanced down the hallway she now stood in, past the doors that lead to the kitchens, bedrooms, various social rooms, library and other dimensions. The golden trimmed double doors with the thick black locks on it seemed to be beckoning her forward. She ran down the hall and broke the locks with a simple flick of her wrist. She then flung the doors open.  

        In the center of the room stood the Gateway, dusty, and rather worn looking from a lack of care. But she knew it still worked. Moving over to a complex-looking panel she began to throw dials and switches, the lights in the room burst on and the Gateway hummed to life. Julian took one of the travel belts hanging from the wall, double checked the equipment, took a deep breath and stepped up to the platform before the Gateway. The air rippled with the after effects the machine had on reality, still perfect after centuries, these Gateways were built to last.  

        Julian took her first step and after six thousand years, finally took her destiny in her hands.  

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