Amina and Zayan were siblings, with Amina being the older one, but they were both known for their father’s brilliance. He wasn’t just any scientist. He had invented numerous technological innovations. He had a whole science lab in his house that was packed with tools and unknown equipment.

For the past few months, their father had been busy creating what he called a “time machine.” When he announced that to the children, the kids were very excited. Of course both the kids wanted to check it out.

Inside the lab, there was time machine, shaped like a car. Zayan and Amina were both shocked and impressed. This all felt like a scene from a science fiction story.

Zayan began to beg for a test ride. “I want to go see the dinosaurs. Those huge creatures, with their scaly skin and sharp teeth!”

Their father hesitated, but soon agreed and gave them some instructions. Amina and Zayan went to their rooms and grabbed all that they thought they would need. Once inside the time machine, both the kids fasten their seatbelts while their father sat in the seat with the controls.

A bit reluctantly, their father set the machine’s coordinates and adjusted a few buttons. Soon the machine began to tremble with speed and then, within moments, the shaking stopped. They were all scared and excited; slowly, they opened the door and gasp in astonishment at the scene in front of them.

The air smelt wild and earthy, and the sky was a brilliant shade of blue. The land around them was very muddy. There were lush green hills around them as well as tall ferns and massive trees that stretched in every direction.

Zayan screamed in excitement. Confused Amina looked in the direction he was staring at and saw gigantic creatures moving — dinosaurs!

Zayan was fascinated, pointing at every dinosaur in sight. The dinosaurs were just like those described in their science books and movies. Some were massive, towering over the treetops and using their long necks to eat the leaves. Closer to the river, smaller blue dinosaurs were running about.

They were absorbed in the setting, while their father looked at a hand-held compass and jotted down notes in his diary. The kids had been warned not to wander away from the time machine, as anything could happen at any moment. So they obeyed and stayed close — taking pictures and observing the strange plants and creatures around them.

Amina took a few cautious steps forward and noticed something in a lush green bush. She peeked inside and saw a tiny creature sleeping peacefully.

It was a baby compsognathus — a genus of carnivorous dinosaur. When she saw that Zayan was busy taking pictures and their father was making some notes, she held the baby dinosaur and slid inside her bag pack. It was not more than a regular chicken in size.

Her heart thumped as she did the deed, but she wanted to keep it as her pet and thought everyone would love it once they got back home.

Just then her father said, “Let’s go kids. It’s dangerous to stay long.”

Moments later, they were home again, safe in the present. Zayan and their father went to the kitchen to tell mum about their exciting adventure and to celebrate their success, but Amina silently went upstairs into her room. She opened her bag and took out the baby dinosaur.

For days, it was with her, and she managed to hide it as she could not gather the courage to tell her parents. She fed it chicken and sometimes cooked meat from her meals and sometimes she would give it bread.

The baby dinosaur was too adorable, she named it Dino. Days passed and she quickly began to realise that Dino was growing rapidly, and wanted more and more food. By the second week, it had grown to the size of a dog.

One day, as Amina returned home from school, she couldn’t find Dino in her room. Just then she heard the sound of glass shattering. She knew that Dino was roaming in the house. She went in the direction of the sound and saw it munching on bananas on the dining table. She called out his name, but Dino let out a high-pitched cry and ran away into their father’s lab, toppling over the trash can on the way.

Amina ran after it, Zayan who was too stunned at the scene unfolding in front of him to do anything, took a few moments to react and he also ran after her into the lab. Their mother fainted in shock.

Thankfully, their father was home. Upon hearing all the noise, he ran towards the lab. His eyes widening when he saw the creature nibbling on the wires in the lab. Without a second thought, he grabbed a dart gun that contained a tranquilliser injection and swiftly knocked the Dino out. Then he sank into a chair, staring at the smashed, rumpled scene before him.

Amina gulped, her heart racing in her chest. Now everyone came to know about her misdeed.

That evening, she sat in front of her family. Her father then told her that she couldn’t in any way alter the past, because it would change the whole present and the results would be drastic.

“We must return him back to his world,” he added.

Amina agreed, for she realised that dinosaurs can never be pets and altering the past could have drastic implications in the present.

Her father went out and brought a sturdy cage so they could place the creature inside it and take it back to where it belonged. While the Dino was still unconscious, they carefully put it in the cage, adding some meat for it to eat. Amina, with teary eyes, hugged the cage and whispered goodbye to her Dino.

Their father then stepped into the time machine and started it. It buzzed and there was silence, indicating he was gone.

Within a few minutes, the machine’s door opened again. The kids saw their father step out, looking slightly worried. He recounted that he had witnessed a big commotion among the dinosaurs. The baby Dino’s mother was angry, screeching and attacking everything that came her way. Their father then carefully opened the cage door towards its mother.

On seeing her baby, she ran towards the machine and tried to attack, but he cleverly threw the dead chicken towards it and closed the door of the time machine.

After recounting this, their father looked at Amina. Raising an eyebrow, he said nothing. But the message was clear.

“Never again. I’m sorry,” Amina replied regretfully.

Zayan giggled and leaned closer to whisper, “Next time, let’s visit the future… but this time, don’t steal a robot!”

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 12th, 2025.