High excursionists. It's me Narri. I want to thank you for being so patient with me during this incredibly busy time of year. Very soon we will be back to our regular release schedule, and of course I have one of our Thursday excursions for you to day. But I also have a present for
you. I know you love sharing this show with family members during this time of year, so I have one great story for you and yours of all ages that will unfold from the twentieth through the twenty fifth like a countdown to Christmas Day. I truly hope you will enjoy it. For now, let's head down the last twisted path of twenty twenty three. Are you ready? Welcome to Endo the Night. I'm Narri, your guide on today's excursion down a twisted path. Be careful not to get lost. Be it dark or
light, it's easy to lose your way. Are you ready, then let's begin the timing belt. The tinkling of bells drew the man's attention to the office door of his auto shop. Al wiped the grease from his hands onto the worn brown coveralls he wore on cool days during the fall and winter. He smiled at the neatly dressed man who stood before him. Hello, sir, is there something I can do for you? Are you all clinking beard?
Why? Yes, I am. How can I help you? My employer told me you are the best mechanic on this side of the Mississippi. Al's chest puffed out a little more than usual. Some folks say that, I take it your boss has something he needs me to tinker with. The man in the pin striped suit clearly didn't enjoy Al's folksy manner. Neither my boss nor I want you to tinker with anything. We have a sensitive piece of equipment that is of great importance, and we need the job done correctly.
If tinkering is what you do, I'm afraid I've come to the wrong establishment. He turned to leave. Now, hold on there, Feller. I may not be a city slicker, but if there's one thing I can do better than anyone else around, that's fixing anything mechanical. I apologize if I'm too country for your liking, but it's just how I was raised. I might not look like much, but I have a mechanical engineering degree from MIT. I just don't take to act and fancy. And if I did,
my neighbors would run me out of town. How about we sit down and have a conversation about the job you need done. The stranger's shoulders relaxed very well. I'm afraid I was a bit too abrupt, mister clinkingbeard, and I apologize. How you look and how you talk are of no business of mine, and I shouldn't have made assumptions about your abilities. In fact, your low key nature is an added benefit to using your skills. You see, this is a delicate matter and we can't draw attention to this project.
Okay, that sounds fair and apology accepted. Now let's go into this other room here and we can have a conversation. Discretion is imperative. You cannot speak to anyone else about this, do you understand. Look, mister, I've done jobs for the government, the military, and several big name companies, and if you not so well known secret agencies, I didn't get the reputation I have by being indiscreet. The gentleman smiled, I think I'm
in the right place. Then he followed al into what appeared to be a den. This is much nicer than what I imagined, giving your storefront and overall appearance appearances can be deceiving. I may look and sound like a hay seed, but I'm an educated man and I know about the finer things in life. Please have a seat, mister Cromwell, Edward Cromwell. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I fear I've shown bad manners all the way around, and I didn't want us to get off on the wrong footing.
I've been under a great deal of pressure trying to find the right way to fix the problem I have, and it's just put me on edge. Please accept my apologies. Al pointed once again to the leather chair he offered to his customer. Accepted. Now let's get down to the business at hand. For the next forty five minutes, Al and mister Cromwell talked at length about the problem and how it could be fixed. I see, yes, it would be important to have that engine running in tiptop shape. Al poured his
guest another cup of ConA coffee he had ordered from Heavenly Hawaiian Farms. My this is an excellent blend, my favorite, mister Cromwell. I have it shipped here since it's not available in stores, at least not in these parts. How long would it take you to begin? You're in love. Look, I just finished working on an engine rehul for that dump trug parked in the garage bay when you got here. I thought it would take me longer, but the parts came in faster than I expected. So I have the
rest of the week to work on your job. Is that quick enough for you? Edward Cromwell breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, that would fit my boss's schedule perfectly. I will bring it by this afternoon. I didn't want to tell it here unless you were hired. Consider yourself hired. The two men shook hands and spent at least an hour discussing the books filling the shelves in Aliston. I'm quite impressed. You have all the classics as well
as books covering everything from quantum physics to psychology. You truly are a well read intellectual, mister clinking beard. Now I'm further embarrassed by my initial behavior. No need to apologize a second time and call me al. I'm as smart as the next feller, I suppose, but at my core I'm still al from small town America. It suits you and your anonymity serves my purpose. Well, I'll smile mine too. I'll be back, say around two
o'clock. That would be perfect. The boys from the Highway Department will be here about noon to pick up their dump truck, so my baby will be empty. I'm eager to take a look at it. At precisely two o'clock, mister Cromwell arrived in a large flatbed truck. In the back an enormous canvas covered a medium sized piece of equipment. I'll wave the truck into the open bay and close the overhead door behind it. I had a feeling you wanted as few eyes as possible on this machine. You are correct, mister
al I think it's best for only you to know that it's here. No worries. I've worked on many sensitive projects in the past. I know what I'm doing. If you'd like to leave the truck parked inside here, I can use the winch to maneuver this off on the flatbed to overheat. He motioned to the empty space in the joining bay. The truck can stay in, and that way none of the fine folks in this community will ask questions about where the truck came from. You know how men like to gossip about
who drives what truck. Ed Cromwell smiled, I understand the concept very well. Ed. I'll get started on this today and i'll keep you updating on it if I have to order any specialty parts for it. As long as there are no delays on that end, I should have a good idea of what's wrong by tomorrow and I can have it up and run him by the end of the week. How does that sound That fits my schedule. Thank you for your help. It means a great deal to me to have this
operational once again. I'll get you taken care of. Ed. With that, the two men shook hands and Edward Cromwell strode out into the parking lot. A limousine waited for him, and he quickly slipped inside the car and disappeared down the quiet street. Only a few people at the local grocery store across the way took notice of the limousine. If anyone asks about where that limo came from, I'll just tell the folks it had a flat tire the
freeway and stopped here for me to fix it. Then they were on their way. If anyone prize, I'll tell them I didn't bother asking who they were. I just fixed their tire, took their money and went on with my day. Al undid the straps and pulled the tarp off the back of the flatbed. He carefully attached cables and used the winch to gently guide the equipment onto the concrete floor of the adjoining bay. Well, looky here,
let's see what's going on with you. Al's eyes lit up at the prospect of a challenge, and he set straight to work, unscrewing panels and diving into the inner workings of the mechanism, checking one possible problem after another. He finally figured it out without looking at the clock. He called Ed Cromwell. A groggy Cromwell answered the phone. Al glanced at the clock and apologized, Well, shoot, Ed, I didn't even notice what time it was.
It's after one in the morning. I can call you back tomorrow. No hmm, no, no, Al, what have you found out? Having this fixed is far more important than sleep. The good news is it's an easy fix. The bad news is that I have to order the part in and may have to make some adjustments to have it fit your equipment. Do whatever you have to. Money isn't an issue. What's wrong with it? It's time in belt has gone out. I've never worked on something like
this before, so it took me a while to figure it out. But the time and belt is the culprit. How long do you think it will take? I can have the part by tomorrow, give me a day or two jerry rigging it to fit. Then give me another day to make sure all the bugs are worked out. How about Friday. I'll see you Friday out. You don't know what this means to me, No problem at all, Ed, I'm happy I can help. Why being asleep from his eyes, I'll hung up the phone. I should probably get some sleep myself.
I have my work cut out for me over the next couple of days. Before I do anything, though, I need to get on the computer and order that part. The next morning. I'll anxiously await it the delivery truck's arrival. When the familiar brown van pulled up, the driver came off the truck with a box in his hand. Hey, al Mile's business been treating you. It's good to see you too, Mike. Things are fine around here. I haven't seen you in a while. I thought maybe you'd quit
or something. Nah, I didn't quit. The big bosses had me running a different route for a while because they couldn't find anyone reliable for the area. Frank covered my route while I was filling in over by Sadderfield. I'm glad to have you back. You know, it can get pretty quiet and lonely around here. Trucks aren't the great conversationalists. Mike chuckled as he handed a clipboard to Al. I bet it does get lonesome. You need to find yourself a wife, That's what you need to do. Al signed his
name, but the smile faded from his face. Mike didn't notice. You have some fancy foreign car in there, Al, This package is from one of those specialty stores. We don't deliver much stuff for them. Yeah, I'm working on one of those fancy new fangled things. Darn computers in these vehicles these days make everything harder than it used to be, when all we had to do was mess with the carburetor. Al shook off his moment of sadness and tried to sound as upbeat as possible. Well, you have a
good day, Al, I'll be seeing you soon again. I'm sure you too, Mike. I'd better get back to work. Al watched the van pull back out onto the street and driveway. He opened his door to the office, flipped the open, signed closed, turned on the light, and stepped into the shop. Having already taken the measurements he needed, he set to work adapting the timing belt to fit Edward Cromwell's project, working almost NonStop for the next forty eight hours. He finished his task, he dialed Cromwell's
number. Hey, Ed, I have you all taken care of. You can come in anytime to pick it up. I'll be right over. Within half an hour, the limousine arrived in front of Al's business. Come right back here, Ed, go ahead and take a look over. Make sure you're happy with the job I did. Ed checked every dial and turned it on the motor purd A broad smile broke out on his face. Al, this should compensate you for your trouble. It's cash. No need to raise
any red flags with the government. He handed Ali satchel. Al whistled when he opened it. This is more than I was expecting, Ed, I was just doing my job. You've helped more than you know. You've kept a major crisis from happening, and I can't explain it, but I think you're wise enough to know something like this is used for big problems that need solving. I'd figured as much. Ed paused, say, Al, I feel like I should do more for you. I noticed that you don't have
any family pictures displayed in your den. Do you have a wife? Kids? Al grew quiet. I know we don't know each other that well, Al, but I might be able to help. Please talk to me. I'm not just all business. I've sinsed you have a hole in your life that no amount of work or money could fill. Al nodded his head. Finally, after a moment of Ed Cromwell patiently waiting, Al spoke, ten years ago, I was madly in love with a beautiful girl, Loreene.
We were in undergraduate school, and I thought the sun rose and sat on her. She loved me too, and that's one thing I've been able to hang on to for all these years. What happened. We married after our senior year, and we wanted to start a family right away. We'd never been so happy as the day we found out we were expecting a baby. Al stopped for a moment and wiped his eyes. When Loreene was six months long, she was driving home from her sister's house. A drunk driver hit
her head on. Happened quick. There was nothing anyone could do for her or the baby. Both men stood silently ed, then looked at I know we haven't known each other long, Al, but I feel like we're friends already. In my line of work, I don't get to make many friends. I could see how that'd be hard to do. I understand loneliness. I don't want you to be lonely anymore. Just promise me you'll make the most of what gifts you receive. I don't know what you have in mind,
Ed, but you've more than compensated me. It's not enough, Al. Here's my card. Keep it in a safe place. If you ever need anything, email me at this website. I'll come back around. Ed scribbled an address on the back of the card. I want you to step back inside the office and don't turn around until you don't hear the motor humming anymore. Then I want you to drive to this address. Trust me. Al did as he was told. When the humming stopped, he looked at
the empty baze of his garage and scratched his head. Did I'd just imagine all that. In his hand, however, was the card ed left him. He flipped it over twenty twenty five Honeysuckle Lane. He walked to his car that was parked on the side of the garage and plug the addressing of the GPS. Within twenty minutes, he pulled down a quiet country road and arrived at twenty twenty five Honeysuckle Lane. A three story, pale yellow farmhouse
awaited him. He pulled into the driveway and stepped from his car. A little boy and girl threw open the front door and raced down the steps, yelling Daddy. Daddy confused, he almost stepped back from them as they wrapped their arms around his waist. Hearing more footsteps on the front porch, he looked, but he couldn't believe his eyes. Loreen, Loreen. He ran to her to take her in his arms, but he feared she would be no more than a figment of his imagination. But no, she was no
illusion, as lovely and vibrant as she'd ever been. She greeted him with a kiss. In her arms. She held a baby hoo cooed in his father. The children and I were hoping you'd come home soon. Lunch is almost ready, and the children were wondering if we could go for a drive to see the fall colors. She opened the door, then hesitated. A man stopped by earlier. He said, you're a good friend of his.
He wanted me to give you this, and he said you'd understand. From her jacket pocket, she pulled a copy of H. G. Wells's novel The Time Machine and handed it to her husband. Al stood still staring at the book. On its cover was an illustration of a machine. Hal had no doubts that he recognized it not more than an hour ago. It sat in the bay of his garage, having arrived on a flatbed truck a few
days earlier. He flipped open the cover and read the inscription, written in Ed Cromwell's hand to my friend, Al, you helped me when I needed it most, and I wanted to do the same for you. What's the point of having a way to help those in need unless you put it to good use. You have a second chance live life well, Loreen paused, Is everything okay? All? He put his arms around her. Things haven't been this good in the longest time. It's a wonderful to be home with
you. They walked into their house, followed by their two oldest children. For the rest of his days, Al lived a good life. Thank you for joining me for this episode of the Into the Night Anthology podcast. Written by Caroline Giamanco, narrated by Nari Quak, Theme music by Nico Rodriguez, all other original music, sound design and editing by Omenhawk Studios. You can
find our links in the show notes. Into the Night is on your favorite podcatcher, so make sure to like, subscribe, and leave a five star review to help other excursionists to join us. I'll see you next time, and remember, whether in the shadows or in the daylight, all twisted paths lead you into the night. Into the Night Anthology is a creative typo entertainment production.