Now, It’s Just Crazy

2024-06-30 “Now, It’s Just Crazy” by Merritt

Merritt had learned a lot about 2024 over the last two days. One had been how cellular technology invented just when he finished college in 1983 had become smart phones and had utterly changed the way life existed. In that paradigm, he had learned about email and text messaging. 

He had also learned that a woman in 2024, if so inclined, was perfectly in her rights to text a man and ask him to—essentially—meet him for a date.

A woman from the dance club that he had met the night before had texted him: “Hey, meet me for coffee? There’s a shop called Ground4You near the club where we met.”

Merritt could not explain why, but he knew he had to go meet her. Just like he knew he had to go to the club the night before and had to talk to the woman. 

She was already there waiting when he arrived, and she stood up when he approached. “Hi… Well, I'm glad you came.”

“I felt like I had to come.” Merritt motioned to the seat and waited for her to sit down.

“I felt like I had to text you,” she said. “Something inside…”

“I know exactly how you feel. It’s been like that since…”

Suddenly Jenn’s face lit up. “Since… you arrived…”

Merritt suddenly knew that she knew something about his time shift. Her face lit up more. “Me too!”

“You too what?”

Jenn leaned forward, her face hardly able to contain her smile. “I’m not from 2024. I’m from 1997.”

Merritt just stared. He knew she was telling the truth, and her nodding seemed to suggest that she was understanding things about him as well, things not spoken, and hardly thought. Merritt felt like it was truly some metaphysical phenomenon, somehow connected to whatever caused him to skip ahead 40 years.

Merrit’s reply hardly conveyed all he was thinking: “1997?”

Jenn nodded. “You?”

“It was 1984 when I got in my car two days ago. And 2024 when I got out.”

They both sat silently for a long moment, then Jenn said. “Something has brought us together, to this place and time.”

Merritt nodded. “But what?”

Then Jenn smiled in a different way. “I think I’ll enjoy us finding out together.”