Saving Today

Today could only be described as the perfect day for Tilly.

She woke up nice and early from a sleep filled with pleasant dreams. The sun was shining, and it was hot enough to enjoy the garden, but it wasn’t the classic ‘sticky heat’ you tend to find here in the UK. For once, it was perfect.

The summer sun raised everyone’s spirits. Her two older brothers didn’t pick on her at all. In fact, that morning, after a breakfast of pancakes and waffles (a rarity, but her mum was also in a good mood), they all had a water fight, and for once, Tilly won, and for once, it didn’t end in tears!

Midday, Tilly’s friends, Milli and Nala, invited her over for lunch. They spent hours running around Milli’s house, playing with her extensive collection of dolls, teddy bears, minifigures and robots. They had pizza, and later went to the park where they chatted and gossiped for what felt like an eternity. When her Mum arrived to pick her up mid-afternoon, Tilly was just the right amount of tired to agree that it was time to go, and didn’t argue.

Tea time came next, which, to Tilly’s surprise, was her absolute favourite: Fish fingers, chips, and peas. She wolfed it down with delight whilst watching her favourite movie: The Parent Trap.

Just when things couldn’t seem to get any better, her Mum brought out the ice cream, which quite literally featured the cherry on top.

All was good in the world.

Now, Tilly is lying on the sofa in what can only be described as the optimal position for comfort (PJs on, one cushion behind her, two under her feet, and Wobbles, her toy bunny, snuggled on her chest). The movie comes to its happy conclusion and the credits begin to roll. Tilly smiles to herself. Life is good.

Now, what next? Maybe she could play with her dollhouse, or she could do something in the garden again. How about a rematch of the water fight?

“Right, brush your teeth, Tilly, it’s almost bedtime,” her Mum says, walking into the room and switching off the TV. Tilly sits up with a bolt.

“What? No! It can’t be bedtime already!” She leaps off the sofa and rushes to the window. Sure enough, the sun has started its descent, the final remnants of the summer blue sky trailing behind it, replaced with the fiery sky of sunset. “The day can’t be over yet!”

“Afraid so!” her Mum says, “It’s been a good one, hasn’t it?”

But Tilly doesn’t reply, her eyes are glued to the sky, to the sun dipping behind the houses of her neighbourhood. There is no way she is letting today, the best day ever, end just like that.

Then she has an idea.

If Tilly can catch up with the sun, then today will never end!

Before anyone can stop her, she runs for the back door, clutching Wobbles tightly in her grasp. “Tilly?” her Mum calls after her, taken aback by the sudden rush, “Where are you going?”

“To get today back!” she says with a determined smile, before grabbing her dressing gown and disappearing into the evening.

And off Tilly runs, down the back garden path and out of the gate towards the sun. The mild summer evening air gently strokes her face. She breathes heavily as she charges down the road. The streetlights around her are just starting to flicker on with a gentle tink tink tink.

“I will not let today end, there’s so much more I want to do!” she huffs to herself.

Only one or two people are enjoying the evening. One is a woman dressed head to toe in fluorescent pink Lycra, jogging on the other side of the street. Her get-up makes her hard to miss, and for a second, Tilly’s eyes are peeled from the setting sun as she watches her closely; maybe she’s chasing the sun, too, she wonders.

In front of Tilly is an elderly couple, slowly walking hand in hand with a little white papillon trotting happily at their feet. Of course, Tilly is too fixated on the jogging lady to realise how quickly she caught up with this lovely couple and their dog.

Before she knows it, Tilly crashes into the back of old man, knocking all four of them across the pavement and sending Wobbles flying. “I’m so sorry!” Tilly says, brushing herself off and helping the lady up first, “I didn’t see you.”

“That’s quite all right, dear,” she says kindly, wobbling to her feet and straightening the huge glasses on her tiny nose, “Nothing seems to be broken. Are you alright down there, Fredrick?” She reaches down to help her husband. Tilly helps too, glancing at the setting sun. Time is slipping through her fingers, but she can’t just leave them!

“Oh yes,” the man chuckles, “Nothing that exciting has happened to me in years.” Once Fredrick is back on his feet, Tilly looks down to see the fluffy white dog has grabbed Wobbles by the neck and is shaking him violently. She manages to catch one of the rabbit’s floppy ears mid-shake and attempts to tug him back, gently at first, but the dog is stronger than it looks.

The couple, unaware, keep talking. “So, what are you doing out here at this time? The day’s almost over,” the lady asks.

“Well…” Tilly begins between harder tugs, “Funny you should say that, I’ve been having a really good day and–”

“Ooooh, lovely! We’ve had a glorious day, haven’t we, Fredick? First, we went to the beach, then we went to bingo with the girls, now we’re just going on a little stroll before bed.”

“That’s nice,” Tilly says with a polite smile, now practically lifting the dog off the floor.

“Of course, Frederick had to get his morning paper from the post office, so we got that on the way to the beach. Didn’t we, love?” Frederick mumbles some sort of agreement, “Then we got ice cream as a little treat.”

The mention of the word “treat” seems to catch the dog’s attention, and its eyes are momentarily distracted as Tilly gives one final yank, pulling Wobbles free at last. “I’m sorry, but I have to go,” she says, already squeezing between the couple and taking off down the path, “Bye!”

The elderly couple watch with a mix of confusion and fascination, “Oh, to be young again,” the lady sighs.

“So much wasted time,” Tilly huffs to herself, eyes locked on the red sky, “No more distractions, I can’t let today end!”

She picks up the pace, catching up to the pink jogger and, despite running uphill, speeds past with ease. Once at the top of the hill, Tilly’s hopes are flattened by the sight of the orange sun slowly sinking behind the glistening sea.

How is she supposed to catch up with today now?

She’s a pretty good swimmer, having just earned her 50-meter swimming badge, but the ocean is a bit bigger than the pool at the leisure centre…

But then she sees it, a small speedboat docked at a small rickety pier.

Perfect.

Tilly charges down the hill and leaps onto the beach. The softness of the dry sand is a relief on her bare feet after all that running on the bumpy pavement.

A man is standing on the pier, polishing his boat’s white and red paint job. He, too, is wearing white and red from head to toe, with his red polo tucked tightly into his white shorts, and a well-worn white cap on his head. Tilly bounds over to him, kicking sand in every direction. “Careful, girl! I’ve just finished cleaning her!” the man shouts.

“Who?” asks Tilly, looking around for a clean lady.

“Florence,” he says matter-of-factly, gesturing to the gleaming boat.

“Oh, OK. Sorry, Florence.” Tilly says to the boat.

The man leans towards the boat as if it’s whispering to him. “She forgives you,”

Tilly nods awkwardly, “OK, well, can I possibly borrow Florence for a little while? I need to get somewhere fast.”

The man looks confused, “What? You seem a little young to drive a speedboat, and even if you were old enough, there’s no way I’d let you take my Flo.”

“Ok, fine! Then you drive!”

“I’m not kidnapping you! Where are your parents, anyway?” The man looks around the beach. Only a few other people are scattered across the shore, mostly couples walking hand in hand for a romantic evening. “Is that them over there?” he says, pointing at one couple frolicking in the sand.

But Tilly is already in the boat, eyeing up all of the buttons and levers. She presses something that turns on a headlight, which catches the man’s attention. “Hey! Get out of Florence!” he shouts, climbing into the boat. Still, it’s too late. Tilly’s found the string to set the motor running, and with a few pushes of some random pedals and buttons, the boat is off in a flash.

“Weeeeeee!” shouts Tilly, gripping the wheel, her dressing gown flowing behind her like a cape.

“Stop! Stop!” shouts the man, his cap flying off his head and into the sea. “Fine! I’ll take you to where you want to go! Just let me drive!”

Tilly shifts to the passenger seat as the man takes her place at the wheel, “There,” she says, pointing at the sun, “I need to catch up with today.”

“Today,” he repeats, rolling his eyes, “Kids will do anything to get out of bedtime…”

Still, he doesn’t question her, pushing down hard on a pedal as Florence bounces up and down the wavy ocean. Tilly looks behind her at the dark sky crawling ever closer. Maybe, just maybe, she could do it.

As they gracefully glide over the gentle ocean, Tilly sits back and thinks about all the things she can do once she’s caught up with the day.

First, there’s the food. She’d already hit the jackpot with pancakes, pizza, ice cream and, of course, fish fingers, chips and peas. Maybe she might be allowed to have a Chinese, or a chocolate cake, or that mango juice she can only sometimes have because it makes her hyper. Tomorrow could bring porridge, or broccoli, or anything with mushrooms in it… Tilly shivers at the thought. That alone is enough to make sure today never ends. 

Then there are all the fun things she still wants to do whilst everyone is in a good mood, maybe her brothers will finally allow her to play their video games! Or maybe they could go for a nice walk in the sun. The water fight was so fun, and tomorrow might cause everyone to stop wanting to play. We simply can’t have that.

Of course, there’s also the weather. It’s been so glorious today. What if tomorrow starts with rain? What if it rains forever after today?

They head in a straight line for what feels like forever, directly towards the centre of the sun. The man looks at a dial in front of him and frowns, “Listen, I’m going to have to turn around soon. I only have half a tank left.”

Tilly gives a sad sigh, the sun is still setting! “That’s fine, could you drop me off at that land over there, please?” She points at the hilly landscape emerging over the horizon.

“If you say so,” the man says as they approach the land.

When they arrive, he finds a place to park his boat and helps Tilly climb out. “Good luck with reaching today,” he says, “I’m off to tomorrow.”

“Thank you for the lift.” Tilly says, “Thank you, too, Florence.”

“She says you’re welcome,” the man smiles as he turns the boat around, giving one final salute before disappearing into the distance.

Back on foot, Tilly runs into what appears to be a city. People are still wandering around, doing some evening shopping, talking and laughing in small groups. It’s much more full of life here than back home, and as she weaves between the crowds, Tilly realises everyone’s voices sound different, too. They have a funny accent, it’s sharper, and they talk quickly, but there’s something musical about it.

It’s quite disorientating here, and on a few occasions, Tilly loses sight of the sun behind the buildings. She needs to get out of this maze of a city before the night catches up to her.

That’s when she sees it, a sign saying “Dublin Connolly Station”, which directs her to the station entrance as the streetlights flicker on around her with a tink tink tink.

Slipping onto the first train she sees, Tilly sits quietly in the corner, next to a family of four, all chatting giddily about a trip they’re going on. Once the train sets off, a large man wanders up and down the carriage, checking for tickets. “Tickets, please,” he growls at the family. The Mum pulls out her phone, which the man scans with four beeps. He gives a grunt of thanks before turning his back to scan the opposite seats. The Mum glances at Tilly.

“Oh, sir, you forgot–”

Tilly’s eyes widen as she shakes her head at the Mum, who, luckily, pipes down. “Where are you off to?” she whispers in her strong accent.

“I’m trying to catch up with the sun so that today never ends,” Tilly explains. The parents exchange a look.

“Well, you’re in luck, this train will take you straight to the other side of Ireland,” the Dad says, “Would you like a Capri Sun?” he reaches into a bag and hands Tilly the drink, which she drains within seconds.

“Can we follow the sun too, Daddy?” the little boy next to Tilly asks.

“If we chase the sun, then we’ll never get to Grandma’s tomorrow morning, Liam,” the Mum explains patiently.

“Good,” grunts a teenager, curled up in a ball of black clothes opposite Tilly, eyes glued to their phone. Everyone seems to ignore them.

Tilly spends the next few hours looking out of the window at the setting sun. Despite her best efforts to keep up with it, it seems to be dipping beneath the rolling hills more than ever. Eventually, the family get up to leave, they wish Tilly well, give her another Capri Sun, and disappear into the crowd on the platform.

Tilly is one of the only people on board now, and there’s something eerie about the quiet carriage.

She sips her drink slowly as the train once again picks up speed, when an announcement comes out of the speakers, telling her that they’re reaching their final stop. When the doors open, Tilly tightens her dressing down and jumps onto the platform.

Galway is very nice, it’s much greener than Dublin, with colourful houses and impressive towers, but that’s all that Tilly can take in, because she’s once again on the run, albeit a bit slower than before, in the direction of today.

Or am I running away from tomorrow? She thinks to herself briefly.

She’s just running out of the town when she sees the familiar sight of the sea, but no speedboat in sight. Once again, she questions her swimming ability when something shiny catches Tilly’s eye ahead of her.

In an open field a few hundred meters away, an impressive helicopter sits proudly in the centre of the grass. A lady stands next to it on her phone, one hand on her hip. Despite wearing large sunglasses, Tilly can tell she’s looking tense.

“For the last time, Benjamin, I specifically told you to meet me outside of Galway! Where in the world are you? Belfast? You’ve got to be kidding me, Ben.”

Before Tilly has thought about what to say as she bounds towards the helicopter, her lips begin to move, “Excuse me! I’ve lost my parents, please can you help me find them?”

The lady stuffs her phone in her pocket mid-argument and bends down to Tilly’s height, “Oh my word! Of course, sweetheart! Where did you last see them?”

Tilly points in the direction of the sun, “That way.”

The lady takes off her sunglasses and straightens up, “On the beach?”

“No, over there!” says Tilly, jumping up and down, as if pointing over the horizon. The lady’s hand returns to her hip.

“They’re on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean?”

Tilly nods innocently. The lady gives a big sigh, “Well, since Ben’s not getting here anytime soon, what’s a little detour going to do?” With that, she opens the helicopter door and gestures for Tilly to jump in, handing her a pair of large earphones that make her head triple in size. The lady hops into the other side, and the helicopter comes to life, the blades above their heads spinning rapidly. Even with the headphones, it’s very loud!

“And we’re off!” the lady announces as the helicopter wobbles into the air. Tilly has a huge smile plastered across her face as the ground beneath her gets smaller and smaller.

Within minutes, they’re flying over the Atlantic Ocean, with nothing but the deep blue sea and the deep orange sun ahead of them. They fly and fly and fly. With nothing to stop them, Tilly is sure today will be back in her grasp in no time.

The Statue of Liberty comes into view first. It’s much smaller than Tilly imagined, but then she remembers she’s flying high in the air.

“Can you see your parents yet?” the lady asks. Tilly looks around and points at the tallest building she can see.

“There they are.”

“Of course they are,” the lady laughs, flying the helicopter to the roof of the Empire State Building. The helicopter is just small enough to land on the roof, and when it touches down, Tilly climbs out, taking in the ginormous city around her, and is hit with the sound of the city that never sleeps. Car horns, people shouting, and a hundred different bars blasting a hundred different songs.

“Well, glad I could get you here in time for bed, I sure need mine.” the lady shouts from the helicopter. 

Tilly looks at her in shock, “What? No! I thought we were catching up with the sun!” She looks up and is surprised when she sees a thousand twinkling stars staring back at her. In the long flight, she’d barely noticed the darkness overtake them. A wave of defeat crashes over her.

“Enjoy your evening! I’m off to find Benjamin,” says the lady. Tilly gives a sad wave as the helicopter takes flight and disappears into the night.

Tilly looks out at the thousands of twinkling lights shimmering in the darkness below her, the cool night breeze giving her goosebumps. Desperately, she begins to list off all the ways she could possibly try to get today back.

How fast are horses? Are there cowboys down there?

Surely a celebrity with a private jet will show up eventually.

Do any billionaires have a spare rocketship they’re not using?

But no matter what comes to mind, her thoughts are interrupted by yawns… and the urge to sleep.

“Maybe I’ll just go home,” she finally says, watching the last glint of sunset slip away into yesterday. Reluctantly, she heads inside the building and plods down the many, many flights of stairs.

It takes Tilly three days to get home.

When she finally reaches her back door at the crack of dawn, her Mum welcomes her with a smile, “There she is! Did you manage to get today back?” Tilly shakes her head glumly, dragging herself to the sofa and falling face-first into the cushions. Her feet are throbbing, and fatigue consumes her every being.

“Never mind, eh” her Mum says cheerfully, “How about we start today with a nice breakfast? Pancakes?” Tilly can only nod in agreement. But by the time the pancakes are made, warm, spongy, and dripping with chocolate spread, Tilly is fast asleep.