Christopher Columbus Dialectical Journal

This story begins in the springtime of Folly Beach, a fairly peaceful and beautiful town in South Carolina.
Thomas Fowl, your average seventeen year old teenager is at the bay watch alone with no one around to be seen. Suddenly, a tornado grows before his eyes could blink and becomes large enough to wipe the entire city and turn it into a dust-pile. As the lighthouse was about to fall on him he wakes up and realizes it was nothing but a nightmare, or was it. His teacher yells at him then asks “So Thomas, how many ships did Columbus have on his first journey to the Americas?” Thomas unsure but with conviction answers “Four!”. An awkward silence fills the classroom as the teacher stares at him and says “Come see me after class.” then resumed his lesson.
The bell rings the end of class, Thomas gets sermoned and each word came in through his left ear and left from the right. Lunch time, Thomas heads to the washroom where he usually hides when feeling down. While sitting on the bathroom stall he hears two people having a heated argument. Slowly, he opens up the door as quiet as possible and peeks out. He sees nothing but the jock’s back covering whomever he was bullying . To put things clear, he was massive but one detail caught Thomas’ attention.
He had a gun hidden in his back pocket, and as things escalated his hand was slowly
reaching for it. Before Thomas could blink an eye, his gun was already pointed at his victim and ready to fire. The victim yelled “leave me alone! I don’t have your money!” shoved the jock then a gunshot was fired. Thomas reached forward with his hand screaming “No!!!!” and before he could run out of breath he was back in the classroom.
Thomas, confused about what had just happened gets asked again by his professor. “So Thomas, how many ships did Columbus have on his first journey?” Unsure and doubtful he answers “Three..?” His professor surprised, adds nothing but “impressive, looks like what they say about multitasking isn’t bad after all”

It was at this moment that Thomas knew he wasn’t just having a deja-vu, but that time had just rewinded before his eyes. As soon as the bell goes off, he sprints to the washroom and waits in the exact same stall and looks at his watch. Each second felt like an eternity but when he finally heard the door open and in corner of his eye once again saw the jock and the hidden victim he waited a little longer. Right before the situation escalates to the gunshot and possibly the death of the student he intervenes and yells “STOP!”. The jock turns around looks back at his victim and leaves.
The victim turned out to be Adam, one of Thomas’ closest friends.
He was surprised and was curious as to how he could possibly owe the jock money. When Thomas asks him what that was all about Adam says nothing, it was just him being a typical jock. Thomas not wanting to be nosy, does not ask him any further questions but mentions the fact that he had a gun. Which Adam then asks him to not to talk about what just happened to anyone. Hesitant but kind-hearted he agrees to keep that promise. On the same day a report from the United Nations Environment Program spread that there was a high risk of a tornado forming in the city during this
week.
A few days later, news broke that Adam was involved in a deadly car accident on his way to school. However, a new report came out claiming that the report about the tornado was nothing but a false alarm and a mishap in the system. Thomas decides to go back in time early that morning to offer his friend a ride to school. Once the two arrived at school Thomas felt nothing but relief. Until the morning announcement played, “All classes are cancelled today due to an environmental alarm system triggered in the city. Parents and guardians have been notified and will arrive shortly to bring every student home.”
For Thomas it was clear, by saving his friend Adam he was also affecting the world’s balance and ultimately tampered with the chain of events . Panicked, he tries to find alternatives by going back in time and this time around and altering the decisions like calling his friend tell him to not drive himself to school instead of giving him a ride. Or ask him to skip school instead and play video games with him. But once again, each time he messes with the chain events that lead up to saving his friend also lead up to the tornado forming.
Thomas had to make a choice and had a very small window to do so, either save his friend and allow the tornado to wipe out the entire town causing hundreds of casualties. Or say his goodbyes while at the same time preventing a catastrophe.

In tears and broken down, Thomas was faced with an ultimatum that no teenager should ever have to deal with. To either save his friend and let the town get wiped out, or let his friend die, allowing the regular course of actions go by, which also means saving the entire city. In hopes of finding a solution, Thomas goes back to when it all started. History class, where the teacher once again asks him “So Thomas how many ships did Columbus on his first journey to the Americas?”. Once again he answers correctly however before the professor could add his comment, Thomas bounces with the question “Would Columbus have sacrificed his men in exchange of glory and gold?”
The professor giggles slightly, “Thomas, if you’re going to base your morality on someone Columbus is probably the last person you want to look up to. He may have introduced the Americas to the Eastern World, but to accomplish that he did many disgraceful things. Like abducted, murdered and taken advantage of the natives that were there previously. But to answer your question, yes, in my opinion Columbus would have sacrificed anything to get what he wants.”
Thomas’ moral compass had now shifted on one clear side but still had trouble making up his mind. Questions like should he kill one to save five? But then again, would that make him a murderer? Laying in his bed the night before he had to make his choice, holding his phone and staring at the screen. The sun rose, the school bell rang, it was clear that he had made his choice and was only waiting for a proper justification to save his friend but once the radio broadcast announced the false alarm about the weather forecast he felt relieved even though inside he was filled with guilt.