~ Where am I going?

~ To 1975.

~Where is that?

~ It’s on Earth.

~ Why have I got to go there?

~ Because we found some words.

~ You need to tell me more.

~The words say “the wheels on the bus go round and round “.

~ What does that mean?

~ We don’t know, that’s why you’re going to 1975. The words are from 1975 – they seem to be important. We found them on a piece of paper.

~ Paper?

~ Yes... it’s… something used for books…well that’s where we found the words and we think they must be very important, so we need to know what they mean.

~ I see. How do I find out?

~ You’ll just go back to 1975 and see what you find.

~ What if I can’t find anything?

~ We think you will – we hope you will. It’s important, the words may matter very much. We are stuck and we need to get going and the words say that the wheels are going round and round…. our wheels have stopped and without our wheels we can’t survive.

~ Right, yes, ok…you’ve made your point.

Mariska followed the commander to the pod, where he lifted the hatch and checked the dials before helping her in. Mariska was nearly too big for the chair but managed to shuffle herself in and buckle up. The commander closed her visor and smiled before giving her the thumbs up.

The commander closed the door of the pod.

~ Ready?

~ Ready.

~ 3…2…1…. GO!

With a flick of a switch Mariska tumbled and floated and bumped her way all the way back (or forward) to 1975. On coming to a stop she climbed from the pod, unlocked her visor, opened the door and stepped out onto a pavement. The sky was blue and studded with billowing white clouds, a watery sun peeked out every now and again in between bursts of fine warm rain that released a petrichor aroma. On the road, cars and lorries and all kinds of wheeled transport drove by. Mariska had never experienced anything like it. There were buildings and trees and animals and so may things, endless things. Rumblings and roarings, screechings and beepings, laughing and barking and somewhere, the sound of bells in the distance. Gigantic hoardings covered in technicoloured pictures of beautiful people and sparkly things. The people, they were everywhere, big and small, pink and black, old and young, laughing and frowning.

Mariska walked for hours. In the beginning she tried to look for the words, but the distractions were many and in the end she forgot. 1975 was fantastic. By the time Mariska stopped wandering it wasn’t even 1975 anymore and she had friends and a job. By the time she discovered where the words belonged it was 1982 when she heard her daughter’s teacher singing them in the classroom. Mariska never got back to the Pod.

500 years later the commander called Mariska’s many times great granddaughter into the control room.

~ It’s time.

~ Where am I going?

~1982