“You may gobble when ready,” said Daniel.

“Farewell then,” said Trudi.

She opened her mouth wide again.

“Hey, can I climb in slowly myself,” he asked.

“Be my guest,” said Trudi, “I’ll give you a long time on my tongue, before I gulp you down of course. It’s the least I can do ... for both of us.”

He crawled over her lower lip and onto her tongue, which was still laid out for him like a moist and expectant carpet. Settling himself down, he enjoyed lying comfortably on the most time travelled tongue in history, until she swallowed him whole.

Decades later, 43 year old Trudi separated from her boyfriend, and became a single mother, as they went on to share alternating custody periods with their son. Taking another Irish holiday walk, she headed through the far village woods, on her way to the meadow. A man approached in the distance, and was about to pass her. He was in his early thirties. As he made to step around her, she quickly side stepped into his path to block his way, and threw her arms around him and kissed him for several minutes, before she released her mouth to catch her breath.

“That was ... my first kiss actually,” he said, “But what was it for?”

“For being Murray!” she said.

“You know my name,” said Murray.

“Will you come back to the meadow with me? I was on my way there anyway. There’s so much to explain,” she said.

She told him the story of all the timelines, including all of his original involvements, and everything that had happened with Daniel. It took her until the middle of the afternoon, by which time they were both feeling the need to head into the village for an overdue lunch.

“It’s incredible. But I believe you. When I was 26, in this timeline, I still found the information about time travel in the encrypted folder on my old boss’s computer. But there must have been a butterfly effect of time travelling somewhere along the way. I never found the portal nor met you,” said Daniel.

“I had to make sure of that,” said Trudi.

“So I never had any reason to take the risk of attempting time travel.”

Trudi just realised that she’d missed a golden opportunity to trick him into making an attempt that might well shrink him, and meet up with him at some point in the past. He saw the look of consternation on her face. She’d told him too much. He knew the risks now.

“Sorry,” she said, “I was just thinking...”

“That if I’d time travelled, you could have eaten me again. Well I won’t do that now,” said Daniel.

“Would you really want to be with me, after learning all that about me?” she asked.

“From what you’ve said, when you finally ate Daniel for the last time, even he on that last occasion offered himself voluntarily. You sold me with that kiss you laid on me in the wood,” said Murray.

“I’m feeling hungry,” said Trudi.

“Then let me buy you something other than me to fill your tummy,” he said.

They stood up, held hands and walked into the village.