Throughout the morning, I once or twice thought he was there. But it was just colleagues or even strangers, who from a distance and a certain angle had a minor resemblance. Every time, I felt like a total idiot to be looking for a guy who was, by definition, a stranger. I didn’t know him at all. Would he even be willing to help me? Provided that he could? Maybe Andy was right, and all this was just one hell of a freaky coincidence.
When my lunch break came around, I retreated into a little corner office that had been sitting vacant for a couple of months. I had often wondered when they would fill that slot again, but so far no one had been hired.
Sitting down at the desk, I dug out my sandwich and taking a bite I fished for my cell, dialing Abby’s number.
“Hey, girl,” she answered.
“You busy?” I asked.
“Not at all. What’s up? Any more time shifts?” I could almost hear her suppressing a grin.
“That’s not funny,” I chided, feeling annoyed. Taking another bite from my sandwich, I chewed audibly.
Now she was laughing. “Then how come it is?”
“You sound like my brother,” I complained.
That shut her up instantly. I knew it was a cheap shot, but I was so tired of being made fun of.
“All right,” she conceded after a moment. “I promise I’ll play nice if you will.”
“Deal,” I said. “There’s actually something I wanted to tell you.”
“Does it involve your brother?”
“No.”
“I’m all ears.”
Relieved that she was willing to listen, I told Abby about my encounter the day before, and unlike Andy, she seemed thrilled. Her mind went in the opposite direction, not at all thinking of any kind of danger, and when I told her that Andy had warned me to be careful, she sounded annoyed.
“Oh, that’s just like him,” she complained. “Ruining everything!”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “He kind of has a point. We know nothing about the guy. He could just as well be a psychopathic serial killer, who first stalks his victims to find the opportune moment for cutting them into pieces.”
“What? Where do you get this stuff?” she asked, a hint of disgust in her voice. “That’s just ridiculous!”
“How do you know? Andy’s idea could just as well be true as yours.” I hesitated, frowning. “By the way, what is your idea? You sounded psyched when I told you. Why?”
“Because, girl,” she said, drawing it out. “That’s what you call fate!”
“Excuse me?” I was stunned. That thought really had never crossed my mind.
“C’mon, like you’ve never thought about that,” Abby said as though she could hear my thoughts.
“Since you’re asking, no, I haven’t. That’s just you, turning everything into a match-making project.”
“Oh, please, how long has it been since you and Owen broke up?” she asked. “Isn’t it about time you got back in the saddle?”
She sounded so serious, so worried that I actually burst out laughing. I hadn’t felt this light in a while. For some reason, the carefree spirit with which she went through life, clawed its way through the phone line and over to me. I laughed and laughed, barely able to contain myself.
After a few confused what's coming from her end of the line, I finally heard her join in. It was relieving for both of us. A heavy weight had been lifted off both our shoulders, and the world suddenly seemed less gloomy and in a way promising somehow. For the first time, I thought that whatever was going on, it might just turn out all right.
“Hey, do you want to come over tonight?” I asked, catching my breath.
Hearing her hesitate, I added, “I know what you’re thinking, but you are both my family, and I really wish I could talk to the two of you. Like we used to.”
There was a faint chuckle. “As far as I remember, we never talked. At least not the three of us. We did, you and me, while your brother has always just been in the way, making inappropriate comments and just being his annoying self.” I could hear a hint of yearning in her voice and knew she missed him. It made me reconsider.
“Listen, if you’re really not up to it…”
“Are you kidding?” she said, sounding outraged. “I won’t let that little weasel ruin this for you. Whatever you two say, I know that this is monumental and transcendent. I won’t let you miss out on it. Your brother will just have to settle on ruining someone else’s destiny.”
I smiled. “Has anyone ever told you that you sound like a crazy person?”
Another chuckle. “More than once, and I’m well aware that you’re thinking exactly that right now. And you know what? I couldn’t care less. I know what I know. And I know I’ll live to see the day you admit that.”
“See you tonight then?”
“You bet your ass you will,” she said and hung up.
***
I spent the rest of the day in a much better mood, once more reminded why Abby had remained my best friend throughout all the ups and downs we’d experienced. Life without her was just too sad and uneventful. She had a way of lifting my spirits, and I was glad that she’d once more proven that to me.
On my way to the elevator, I walked by Ryan’s office and stopped, knocking on the door frame. The door was open, and he was sitting at his desk, eyes fixed on the screen in front of him, forehead in a concentrated frown.
“Awful day?” I asked.
He shook his head, looking exhausted. “Don’t get me started.”
“Anything I can do?”
His brows furrowed as he blinked at me. “Not unless you’re a master of time. I could use a few more hours to work on this.”
I chuckled. If he only knew. “Well, I could reset your clocks to give you at least the illusion of more time. How’s that?”
He grinned at me. “I’m afraid that won’t do.”
“Sorry, other than that I can’t help you.”
“Don’t sweat it. See you tomorrow,” he said, eyes already back on the screen.
Glad not to be tied to my desk for the rest of the night, I headed for the elevators. I pressed the button, and the doors slid open immediately. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad day after all.
Pressing the button for the ground floor, a shadow suddenly fell on me. I looked up and felt my heart stop.
Right in front of me in the corridor leading up to the elevator stood the guy from the restaurant. He looked as he always did. He really seemed frozen in time.
Again, his eyes were focused on mine, and there was such a desperate urgency in his face that my breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t move or speak. I just stood there staring back at him.
The ghost of a smile flickered across his face as his lips started to move. “Jena,” he said, his voice pleading.
My eyes opened wide with shock. It was like he’d slapped me in the face.
However, when I finally unfroze from the sudden paralysis that had come over me, I heard a little ping, and the elevator doors closed.
Almost in a panic, I pushed the button to reopen them, but I was too late. The elevator started moving downward.
For a moment, nothing seemed real. I stared at the closed doors as though I could open them by sheer willpower. But as expected, nothing happened, and after a minute or two, the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors slid open effortlessly.
Unfortunately, what I saw was not what I wanted to see. For a second, I actually considered riding back upstairs to try and find him. However, I quickly pushed that thought away. He wouldn’t be there anymore. I was sure of it. He never was. I’d missed my chance.
***
Arriving back at the apartment, I saw light shining into the hallway from under the door. Someone was home. I’d actually thought it was Andy and was a little surprised to see Abby instead. It must have shown on my face because she said, “Still got my keys.” Lifting her right hand, she jingled them. “A former roommate’s prerogative.”
I
just shrugged, knowing that I’d never get that key back if she wasn’t willing to hand it over voluntarily. And besides, she was my best friend. Why shouldn’t she have a key?
“Have you eaten already?” I asked, reaching for the phone. When she shook her head, I asked, “Italian all right?”
Our dinner arrived about half an hour later, shortly after followed by my brother.
Eyeing each other warily, Abby and Andy were both already digging into the food while I was still on the phone with my grandmother, who’d called barely a minute after I’d hung up with the pizza place. I knew I hadn’t spoken to her in over a week, and like clockwork, she’d gotten worried. So we went through the normal routine, she asked and I answered. The only thing I omitted was my weird time shift and the stalker, who now seemed more persistent than ever. I loved my grandmother and thought intentionally giving her a heart attack would just be insensitive.
When she was finally satisfied that I was fine and not in any imminent danger, I hung up the phone and joined the others for dinner.
“How was your day?” I asked Andy, sitting down on the chair between them, trying to create a neutral space.
He shrugged. “Nothing special. You? Any more time shifts?” He grinned at me, and I felt as though it was a challenge.
“No, not today…”
Abby looked up from her pizza, excitement on her face. “I hear a ‘but’ coming.”
Now, Andy fixed his eyes on my face as well. “What happened?”
I couldn’t hide a smile, and before I managed to say anything, Abby blurted out, “It’s the guy, right? The guy from the restaurant. You saw him again.”
“What?” Andy looked alarmed.
“Oh, shut up,” Abby hissed at him. “Don’t ruin this for her!”
A frown appeared on his face. “Ruin what?” He turned to me. “Don’t tell me you’re dating the guy now? Are you insane? We know nothing about him. And you have to admit, it’s a tad creepy him showing up and then vanishing like he does.”
Before Abby could jump down his throat, I raised a hand to silence them both and asked, “Am I part of this conversation? Or can you do without me? Because I can go and you two can continue to bitch at each other.”
Looking from one to the other, they both seemed to prefer my staying. “All right,” I said, taking another bite. “Abby, you were right. I did see the guy.”
“I knew it,” she triumphed.
Andy frowned. “And you consider that a good thing?”
Cutting off Abby’s remark, I said, “I don’t know. I’m just giving you the facts. That is if you want to hear them.”
Abby nodded eagerly while Andy looked more like this was the downside of a deal he’d made a long time ago and was kind of regretting now.
“It was actually about an hour ago. I wanted to leave the office, got on the elevator and when I looked back down the corridor, there he was.”
“He came to your work?” Andy asked, once more alarm in his voice.
This time Abby ignored him. “What happened then? Did you say something? Did he?”
Remembering the moment I’d seen him, I just nodded. For a second, I felt the same paralysis come over me.
“What?” Abby’s voice drifted to my ear, and I snapped out of it. “What’d he say?”
“Jena,” was all I said because it had been all he’d said.
Now, it was Abby’s turn to frown. “That’s your name.”
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s not much,” she said matter-of-factly.
Andy started laughing. “Sounds like it was one hell of a conversation. Maybe we should explain to you the basics of normal human interaction.”
Abby waved him away. “What’d you say?” she asked me.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I looked down at my pizza. “Nothing.”
“What? Why?”
Looking at her, I shrugged my shoulders. “Honestly, I have no idea. I…I did not expect to see him. And then suddenly he was there, and I…I froze. Only when he said my name was I able to shake off whatever had a grip on me. But it was too late. The elevator doors closed, and…it was over.”
“Okay,” Abby said slowly. “I admit that didn’t go so well. But now you know what to expect and will be better prepared next time, right?”
“Next time?” Andy interrupted.
Abby shook her head, looking at me. “Just ignore this naysayer over here.”
Leaning forward, Andy continued, “Okay, I get that you two–for whatever reason–are very excited about this. But maybe you shouldn’t throw reason out the window just yet. Even at the risk of repeating myself, we know nothing about the guy. He could be anyone from a saint to a psychopath. And most somehow weird and–you have to admit–slightly creepy dudes are no friendly neighbors. So odds are neither is he.” He looked at me intently. “Jena, you said it yourself, he might be connected to your…memory problem.” I chuckled. He still didn’t believe me. “And maybe you’re right and he is. Who knows? Maybe he drugged you, which is why you’re experiencing these weird time shifts of yours. I don’t know. But it’s all the more reason to be careful.”
I nodded. “Yes, I know. Maybe you’re right. But since–as you correctly pointed out–we know nothing about him, for me, this is exactly why I want to talk to him. Maybe he can give me some answers or by finding out more about him, I can at least rule out his involvement and consider other explanations.”
Again he frowned at me. “Are there other possible explanations?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I…maybe it’s from hitting my head. Maybe it’s just psychological and I’m hallucinating. Who knows?” Suddenly, I felt incredibly frustrated. Exhausted, I leaned back, not hungry any more.
“You hit your head?” Andy asked, more concern in his voice.
I nodded. “Yeah, at the restaurant, remember?”
For a moment, both frowned at me. Then Abby’s face brightened as she said, “Right, when we found you unconscious on the kitchen floor.”
Andy looked at her with a confused look on his face and then turned to me. “That was four years ago.”
“Not for me,” was all I could say. It was like reason was a luxury I wasn’t able to afford any more.
Chapter Nine – Into Thin Air
After talking to Abby and Andy the night before, the frustration I’d felt then still made my limbs heavy the next morning. Getting out of bed took longer than ever, and I only left the apartment very reluctantly. Who knew what was waiting for me outside? I didn’t feel strong enough to face the world. But the world didn’t care. It didn’t stop turning, and I had to move along with it.
Once more, I searched every face I met on the street, and once again, the one I was looking for was not among them. But as though that wasn’t enough, after the day before I now continued my frantic search even after entering the office. Every shadow startled me. Every word spoken to me from behind made me flinch. By midday, I was sure my colleagues thought I was losing it. They all maintained a minimum safe distance.
Even the usual lunch call from Abby couldn’t soothe my strained nerves or calm me in any way.
Then towards the end of the day, completely out of the blue, Ryan called me into his office. Wondering what he wanted, I knocked on his door.
“Come in,” he called, and I opened the door. He was on the phone, and pointing at the chair in front of his desk, he beckoned me to sit.
I looked out the window at the skyline and the setting sun. It was a beautiful view, and I was so absorbed in it that I didn’t notice when Ryan hung up the phone after a few minutes. He must have said my name a couple of times before I finally responded.
“Are you all right?” he asked, and I found another concerned face looking at me.
Forcing a smile on mine, I said, “Fine. It’s just one of these days, you know.”
He nodded. “Maybe I’ve got something to cheer you up.” He started rummaging through one of his desk drawers.
I ch
uckled. “Give it your best shot.”
He looked at me then, searching my face. “Wow, you really are in a dark place. Anything I can help you with?”
I shook my head.
“All right, then let’s move on.” He handed me a book.
Looking at the cover, I read Nathan Alexander, Window to the Future. “Is this that sci-fi author you were telling me about?”
“That’s him,” Ryan confirmed. “You’re probably wondering why I’m giving you this?”
“It crossed my mind, yes,” I said.
He lifted his hands in defense. “I know sci-fi isn’t your thing. But the other day at lunch, you seemed…let’s say…less reluctant than I’d thought, and I was thinking you might want to do this.”
I frowned. “Do what?”
“I need a review for this book. Preferably by an independent writer who’s not a sci-fi maniac. I’ve got plenty of those already.” He looked at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. “So, you up for it?”
I gaped at him a little. “You want me to write a review? For the paper? Will it be published?”
“I can’t promise you that,” he said. “Just try your best, and we’ll see.”
As though transfixed, I stared at the cover displaying a window hanging in midair with the sun shining through it from behind. “Okay.”
“Was that a ‘yes’?” Ryan asked, humor back in his voice.
I looked up at him and could feel a smile spread over my face. “It was. Thanks.”
Leaving the office, I was completely taken in by the opportunity I was holding in my hands. Reading the summary on the back, I had to smile.
Window to the Future was about a scientist, who accidentally discovered a wormhole into the future and caught up in his desire to know where it led, traveled through it without thinking twice. Only later, he realized that he had no way of getting back and was stuck in a time where his discoveries were no discoveries at all.
Sometimes the world had a sick sense of humor.