sent from: London, UK. destination: Long Beach, California, USA

“You’re saying not only would I be stranded here, but we all die; Earth, Niue, if that thing manages to close the Rift,” said Jeremiah.
Loane pulled a large folding pen-knife from his pocket. “Good for forest walks,” he said, and made slicing motions. “Cut threads.”
Loane dangled on the edge of the Rift, Jeremiah holding down his legs as he reached to slice the threads attached to the edges of the Rift. The tin machine clattered and complained as each new thread was broken until there was only one left, and it hung twisting about, climbing the one remaining thread towards its attachment point.
Jeremiah cursed Mavis’s ingenuity, as would the Rotary Club when it realised what their treasurer had been doing with the funds she’d been entrusted with.
Loane stretched fruitlessly, trying to reach the last thread. “Have to jump into Rift, cut it,” he said. Jeremiah looked at him expectantly. “Haha. Not me, man. I happy here.”
“Would I end up back on Earth again? Could I return here?” Jeremiah asked.
“It’s possible.. but people leave, no come back.”
Jeremiah thought about his world and all the worlds he would be saving if he could pull this off, and held out his hand for Loane’s knife.

Mavis, the Chosen, and the Rotary Club members were engaged in active debate by the Gap when it shuddered, spitting the still spinning machine onto the pavement, whereupon it shattered.

Their mouths agape they watched as their savior emerged, trailing behind him the smell of spring flowers.

THE END