Hitchhiker's Guide to Time Travel

Far out in the well worn star paths of the more fashionable end of the universe, there resides a restaurant. Or, more specifically, a diner.

The owner of this diner is an Earthwoman - or at least she appears to be. Her short stature, brown hair, and welcoming smile makes her appear ordinary, but there is something in the way she carries herself. A natural confidence, and when she turned to look at you, you would notice the unusual sparkle in her warm brown eyes. As if she knows something that you don't. All this, and the fact that she owned a diner at the End of the Universe points to the fact that she was not exactly normal. That she had a secret or two worth sharing.

She called herself Clara.

One Thursday afternoon, (though she had been in space for far too long to actually recognize what day it was), she was chatting to one of her regular customers - who appeared to be a human male but in reality was a Zygon, a shape-shifting alien who liked to go by the name of Bob, when he started talking about a curious little news story.

"Yes, yes, I c-completely agree, Damogran is qu-quite an inconveniently arranged p-planet." While fluent in the language of English, Bob had trouble picking up the speech patterns. Currently they were having a discussion about Damogran, a planet Clara had visited much, much earlier in her days in space.

"And it's really quite hot there too, not to mention remote," Clara added, as she poured more tea into Bob's cup.

"Yes, t-that too." Bob paused for a moment to drink from the fresh cup of tea before continuing. "And have y-you heard of the new scandal Zaphod B-Beebleb-b-brox caused on that planet?"
Clara rolled her eyes at the mention of the President of the Galaxy.

"No, I haven't, what did he do now?"
   
"Oh you w-won't believe it, it's ridic-ridiculous. He st-stole a spaceship, a real special one b-by the looks of it, c-called the Heart of Gold." As Bob paused to take another sip, Clara momentarily froze. She already knew this story, though in a different time and place, and someone other than Zaphod. "And he t-took a c-companion with him, a woman h-he picked up from Earth months ago." Now, Clara laughed at the sheer irony. "Well I kn-know its ridiculous but I don't think it's w-worth laughing about." Bob said, clearly puzzled. She laughed for a couple moments before shaking her head.

"No, no, I'm not laughing because it's ridiculous, it's just weird. That story..." the smile lingers on Clara's face. "It just reminds me of my own." Bob tilts his head, confused.

"Your own? You can't possibly mean-"
    "Yes, that's exactly what I mean."
"Sorry, but you? C-C-C-Clara Oswald?! The sweet y-young Earthwoman? S-Stealing a spaceship and then running away?"
    "How do you think a woman from Earth got to be on the opposite end of the universe?" Bob chuckles.

Clara's smile fades as she stares off into the distance, and it becomes clear that her mind is somewhere else.
   
"I remember like it was yesterday....there was a boy....named Arthur."
    "Where is he now?" This snaps Clara back to reality, and she looks at Bob, eyes piercing straight through him.
"I don't know...it's...it's a very long story. " She spoke carefully, studying Bob's reaction.
    "I won't tell, and anyways," Bob swivels around looking at the sparsely occupied diner. At the far corner booth, there was a droid couple, quietly chattering with each other, and further down the counter which Bob was sitting at, there was a single Tritovore (an alien whose head resembled a giant fly), engrossed in the three plates of food he had ordered. "We have time." Clara smirked at him.

"Fine," she said giving in. She slipped out from behind the counter and walked up to the door, switching off the neon 'We're Open!' sign outside the diner. "But don't say I didn't warn you."