2024-08-31 “Time With Friends” by Emma

Turns out, camping ain’t about doing without ‘lectricty or sleeping on the ground. It’s ‘bout being with friends and not having anything else to do.

Anyway, there is ‘lectricy at all the campsites, an’ some people have campers an’ you know what they are. But I’ll jus’ say they sure beat our 1880 shack ‘cept they’re smaller.

We’re camping in tents, so we have to walk to a bathroom building a ways off. There’s plenty of folks around on account this is so near a town. It not like being in the wilderness, so you can’t jus’ go squat off somewhere.

Well, today was a lot of fun. It was cloudy an’ not too hot compared to the Mississippi delta, but Hannah wanted to go to the beach and wear our bikinis. She tol’ about that in her post, and I didn’t much see why, but it was fun. Merritt and Devon even got in the lake and swam some, but me and Hannah just laid on the towel an’ watched. 

She’s comin’ to be like a sister to me. I never had a sister, but I had some girl cousins and they always seemed lucky to have each other. I sort of get the feeling why.

Since all of us are in this picture, I’m gonna make it so we all post together. It’s called collaborating, an’ most o’ you know that.

I tol’ Merritt I’d say some things different if I left him off the post, and he ‘mmediately wanted know what. I said it was girl stuff and he didn’t need to know.

I guess you can guess some of what I’d ‘ave said. I’ll pro’lly make a post tomorrow with some of it in it.

Now, I’ll tell you something for nothing! I’m sure glad there was a Halmart close enough Merritt and Devon could go get us air mattresses. The ground was worse than my straw mattress back in 1880!

Well, that’s about all for tonight. Thanks for reading all my stories!

2024-08-31 “Cloudbathing” by Hannah

It’s like sunbathing, but without the sun.

Before I say anything else, I should say that we conscripted Devon into the not-reading-posts covenant. He conceded that it would allow the stories to be more honest and interesting.

Speaking of honesty.

I told Emma we should make the boys go to the beach with us to sunbathe just so we could wear our bikinis to… shall we say attract their interest. Emma was only a little keen on the idea, but she went along.

The guys put on trunks and they both even dared the water. It’s only 78°F / 25°C, and it’s cloudy. Then, we got a little passing drizzle which got Emma and me laughing.

So, I have to say that I have never had a girl friend that I feel as close to in so short a period of time. Possibly none, whatsoever regardless of how long I knew them. The connection Merritt calls metaphysical is strong, and Emma told me she feels really close to me, as well. We talked about our first impressions of each other (I read her remarks about being jealous before we agreed I’d not read posts) that came before the dream.

We decided that the metaphysics started then and the dream just kicked it into overdrive.

The rain didn’t last long, but it was a fun, silly little escapade. 

Also, it must be noted that the goal of getting the boys to notice us seemed to have been successful. To what end? I’m not sure.

Also, it is supposed to clear up Monday afternoon, so we’ll dry the bikinis and see what happens then!

2024-08-31 “Morning Campfire” by Merritt

I did a fair amount of camping as I grew up. Naturally, I was a Boy Scout in the 70s. Yes, I got Eagle.

The ground is a lot harder at age 24 than at age 14. Just saying.

A trip to the closest Halmart is on tap to get air mattresses.

The weather is not ideal for camping. It’s in the low 70s this morning. Hannah and Emma had planned to go to the beach at the nearby lake, but I’m on the doubtful side of things; the high is forecast to be 81°F / 27°C and mostly cloudy.

So far, nothing profound has been discussed about time traveling. Last night, however, Devon did have one thought about Hannah-2024 not being time shifted.

He speculated that, perhaps, in each time period there’s one traveler from that time not shifted. That would mean that in 1880, there was a 4th traveler we didn’t know about who was from 1880.

Likewise, in the 1984 swap, there would have been another. Emma tossed in the idea that Jenn could have been unshifted.

Devon then said, “Well, you are assuming there are only 4 of you, total and that there are only 3 possible time destinations.”

When he said that, we all just shook our heads, and I decided it was time for smores.

Emma, as she would say, “took t’ cookin’ on the grill” as if it was hardly a departure from what she was accustomed to. Thinking about it, it actually wasn’t! Hence, dinner and breakfast was amazing.

We are at Cheesequake State Park, which is a 1,610-acre park with a nature center, camping area,  biking/hiking trails, and a fishing lake. Not a huge park, but big enough for a leisurely hike. That’s what we’re doing next.

Thanks for reading and following our… let’s call them “adventures.”

2024-08-30 “I Guess It Will Be Fun” by Emma

Seems the idea o’ forsaking ‘lectricty, cooking over a fire, an’ sleeping on the ground is fun to people who aren’t from 1880.

Tom called just when I was s’posed to go to the theater to say some workers who were s’posed to be inspecting the pipes broke ‘em and there was a little problem meaning the theater got closed for tonight an’ tomorrow. What with Monday a holiday, I have four days without work.

I tol’ Hannah an’ Merritt, an’Hannah got t’ cooking up an idea.

We’re all packing up to go camping out. An’ Devon is gonna go, too, ‘cause he can work or not by the day. Merritt said it would be fun for us all, an’ Hannah said it would give us time to talk ‘bout all the time-shifting, plus it would be a good get-away.

There’s a place called Cheesequake State Park. Far as I can tell, it ain’t famous for anything, but it’s not far away and has a camping area. It ain’t out in the wilderness, so we can go get a meal at a restaurant, if we want to, but Hannah has the idea cooking over a fire will be fun. I don’t plan on telling her its a lot harder than the stoves in the apartment, ‘cause I think it being hard is somehow fun in her mind.

Me an’ her will share a tent an, naturally, Merritt and Devon will share another one. Hannah already went to a Halmart store and bought the tents and sleeping bags. I played along like I knew what they were, then looked on the Internet. Seems like fancy, zip-up blankets, but Hannah and Merritt thought they were regular parts of camping out.

Well, one thing I’m sure about. I guess it don’t matter as much what I’m doing as it does who I’m doing it with. An’ here in 2024, I don’t know of anyone b’sides them three that I’d rather spend a weekend with, but I wish Jenn was here with us, too.

I guess we’ll have some fun pictures to share o’er the next few days!

Last thing… Hannah got real excited by the fact that 1000 people on Instagram are reading my stories and looking at my pictures regularly.

Thanks to everyone who follows what I’m writing and doing. I sure means a lot to me!

2024-08-30 “Finally Friday” by Hannah

I am far too young to be this tired. I have not slept well since that dream I shared with Emma and Merritt. Furthermore, what Merritt calls the metaphysical connection intrudes on my thoughts constantly.

It was one thing to think about Merritt as potentially someone I’d have a long-term relationship with. Now, my mind additionally wanders to Emma, creating space for her that a sister would normally fill.

I assume they feel the same connection, and I further assume it is satisfied by the fact that they see each other every day. I, on the other hand, am left to catch up via SnapChat and the occasional path-crossing with Merritt. 

If I were to try and reword the connection, it’s like a burning impulse that we are meant to be together. Which is just about equivalent to what they said about it when it was new to them.

So, it’s Friday, and I have to wash off yesterday’s makeup that I was too tired or too lazy to take off before bed, drag myself out of this shower, get dressed, and spend the day checking old blueprints and comparing them to the existing conditions of a small machine shop in Long Island.

I’m going to text Will and see if I can have a chat with him this afternoon. I’d like to pick his brain about this connection thing. I don’t know…

An optimistic thought to end the post with. I didn’t read Emma’s picnic post from yesterday (per our agreement to not), but she sure looked like she was having fun with Devon. I hope that works out for her!

Obviously, I want good for her. Then, there’s the obvious OTHER reason!

2024-08-29 “Off Work” by Emma

Yesterday was hot like back in Mississippi, near about 95°F. Whereas some of you don’t do the F temperatures, it was ‘bout 34°C. Merritt showed me how to say it that way. Today, It’ll be ‘bout 20° cooler. About 10°C.

The theater is closed today, an’ Devon didn’t get picked for day working, so me and him decided we’d go to the thrift shop, then make a picnic for the park.

Devon don’t hardly believe all the business ‘bout shifting time and Hannah connecting to it all after that dream me, Merritt, an’ her shared. We talked a lot ‘bout it, an’ he warmed up to the idea.

Then he brought up the money getting put in my bank. “Looks like you're supposed to do good deeds or something.”

“That’s what me an’ Merrit come up with,” I said.

“But why? Why drag you through 144 years just so you can let a fella use the bathroom?”

“I ain’t… I don’t have a reason.” I tried to talk like 2024 ‘stead of how I talk at the theater. “But it lines up with what happened.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Devon replied. “I’m grateful. And the idea of ‘pay it foward’ appeals to me. It just doesn’t make sense. If they wanted to do some magic money-giving, they could find people who were already here for that.”

We talked ‘bout that a little while and both agreed. Doing good deeds didn’t have nothing to do with me being from 1880.

“There must be more to it,” Devon said, shrugging his shoulders and leaning back on the picnic blanket.

“I’ll mention all this t’ Merritt tonight.”

Devon nodded. “Hey… I got an idea… Since we’re both off, let’s make something special for dinner. What’s his favorite? I can help you make it.”

I tol’ him I fried up chicken an’ made gravy now and ag’in, and Merritt liked that. He said we should make it.

“Snap Hannah,” he added. “Maybe she’d like to come eat with us, too.”

I thought that sounded like a good idea, so I sent a Snap. She didn’t Snap right back, and Devon said that was called “left on delivered.” When she did, she said she was excited to come.

It was real thoughtful for Devon to come up with that plan.

2024-08-29 “Okay With This” by Merritt

I ought to say thanks to Hannah for teaching Emma and me about SnapChat. Actually, I probably won't mention this.

2024-08-29 “‘Mornin'” by Emma

I jus’ wanted to make a post t’ say ‘morning to ever'body like I see other people do. I’m ‘bout to get in the shower and then go o’er to Merritt’s, same as most always, ‘cept now I’m making up breakfast for three of us… Merritt, Devon, an’ me.

I’m jus’ gonna make some eggs and use the microwave oven to do up some already-cooked sausage. An’ I’ll pro’ally make up a li’le gravy from the sausage renderings.

I’ll tell you this for nothing… cooking in 2024 sure is a lot easier than 1880! If my granny knew ‘bout this, she’d get up outta her gave and cook up enough to feed all of Vicksburg!

No chopping kindling… no stoking the stove… 

A ain’t even gonna mention how it is with a dishwashing machine!

Well… that’s ‘bout all. Like I said, I wanted to do a good morning post just to try it out.

2024-08-28 “It’s Not The Same” by Hannah

A thing happened today that got me thinking.

As I was dressing today, I let my mind play with the idea of 1984-me back in 1880. From what I know, she would be so out of her element. 1984 me would have been born in 1962 and would have grown up in a world actively trying to create women’s rights.

Dropped back into 1880… A man’s world, I’d imagine. She would have been stifled!

2024 finds equality still wanting for women and minorities. On paper, it should be there. And I think the struggle for it has created an interesting situation.

I stopped into a coffee shop between my first site and second. There was a young man, maybe 25 or so, ahead of me. 

The 50-something barista gave him a big smile. “What can I get for you, Sweetie?”

That seemed cordial. He didn’t seem to mind.

At the next site I visited, a 50-something electrician said to me as he passed by, “Hey, Honey, if you want some donuts, there’s plenty in the office.”

I cringed at the vocative use of “honey,” yet “sweetie” rolled over me without any ill-effect. Why? They are parallel if viewed in a vacuum.

Because of the struggle… Women and minorities are very sensitive to anything that threatens the struggle for equality. Is “honey” always demeaning? I don’t think the man meant it that way, yet I cringed. Certainly, some men who demean women would use words like that in some attempt, conscious or not, to show power. Or something.

But, gender flipped, the equivalent use of “sweetie” has no such effect.

I gratefully indulged in a donut, by the way.

What the 1984 version of me must be going through!

My final thoughts dragged Merriett into my mind exercises. It occurred to me that his demeanor is respectful, kind, and thoughtful. So, hook that up with his good looks, good personality, and promising career and there’s no wonder he has taken over such a big space in my idle thoughts.

And… sharing that dream just made it more intense.

024-08-27 “Matinee Morning” by Emma

MATINEE MORNING—If my granny saw these pants… Holes in your britches sure wudn’t fashionable back in 1880. Granny’d hop outta her grave and run outta thread sewing up holes!

I s’pose you can see I made pancakes for Devon an’ Merritt. An’ you can see I made too many, ‘cause I got distracted and put in too much flour, so I just added ingredients to get the batter right.

I come over same as regular, and opened the door. The chain was off, but Devon was sitting on the couch waiting on the shower wearing just his boxers. He didn’t care, though, so I hurried to the kitchen after a nice hello.

He was real sweet saying I looked nice, an’ that’s what got me thinking about pants with holes in ‘em.

Well, you oughta hear ‘bout what Tom tol’ us. He made a email an’ sent it to us, so I’ll copy it.

The Pay It Forward Society is a privately owned organization that qualifies for many of the privacy rights of a church. It’is a sub-organization of another organization called The Random Acts Institution.

I asked ‘bout that, an’ Devon tol’ me and Merritt ‘bout somethin’ called Random Acts of Kindness. While I’m on Devon, Merritt an’ me asked him if he knew anything ‘bout Pay It Forward an’ the money, and that brought up a lot of talk, so we went on an’ tol’ him all that we tol’ Tom yesterday

Tom went on to say that there was other companies all twined together with them first two. He’d unravaled it all to identify two more: Aux Autres (that’s French for Unto Others) an’ Back To Basics Partnership. There’s more, he thinks, but he can’t get names of. They’re all private.

Merritt summed it all up. “Now we have names for something we know nothing about.”

That’s about it on that.

Merritt’s got to go way off to Long Island today, an’ I work Matinee. Devon’s doing roof work, so he’ll be done ‘cause o’ the heat ‘bout same time as me. He said he’d come walk me home to play it safe, even though it’s daytime when I get done.

Merritt said that was smart since everything seems tossed up right now.

2024-08-26 “Looking For Answers” by Merritt

If you have only recently started reading the Time Travelers storyline, this is a good post to catch, so I’m Collabbing Emma and Hannah on it.

If you know pretty much everything from the beginning, don’t skip the last few paragraphs. There are a couple of details about the end of the meeting that tell a lot.

Beyond what I say here, there are some relationship dynamics that are better left to the individuals to explain and post.

With that said, I’ll add that we three have agreed not to read each other’s posts unless we are tagged or collaborated. That started at different times for us, but we all adhere to it now.

Today comes after a whirlwind weekend where a lot of things happened resulting in us needing to talk to Tom, owner of the theater where Emma Works. Hannah and I got in touch with Will Robertson, our boss and he understood, telling us to take 4 hours of PTO.

We went with Emma to the theater to talk to Tom so that we could eventually ask him for help. Addison, the show’s director came into the meeting, too.

“Tom,” Emma said, “somthin’s come up an’ we hope you can help us out. Merritt will ‘splain it all an’ get to the question.”

I’ll sum up what I told Tom.

Everything started in 1997 for a woman named @timetravelerjenn1997 Jenn when she skipped through time and ended up in 2023. A year passed and she decided she was stuck in 2024. Shortly after that, I shifted from 1984 to 2024.

Something that I can only describe as metaphysical drew me to a place and compelled me to meet Jenn. We both felt a connection that we attributed to being time shifted. As we were heading to Atlanta, on July 4, we encountered Emma. The same feeling compelled us to meet each other. As it turned out, she had skipped from 1880 where she was a sharecropper's daughter to 1984.

After that, it has been a matter of adjusting and figuring out how to live in 2024. Naturally, Emma has faced the biggest changes.

We felt like we had been compelled together for a reason so we wanted to see if things worked better if we stayed together. I had a job waiting for me in New York, so Emma and Jenn went there with me. We had no idea what the time-sift was about, but we pushed on as well as we could.

At the end of July, we encountered a strange figure that said, “There is a reason you were brought to this time and place. But now is not the time to reveal what it is. The threads of time weave through the nether, so it was… convenient… to assemble you here and now. They will twine back together again, and when they do, your purpose here will be revealed.”

That wasn’t very helpful and Jenn was frustrated, so she decided to retreat into solitude for a while to get her head sorted out. 

At the end of July, Emma got a job at the theater “acting” like she was from a Mississippi sharecropper farm in 1880. She wasn’t acting. She was just being herself.

It wasn’t long before she and I felt like we needed to let our bosses (Addison Magee and Will Robetson) know that we time shifted. As it turned out, Will and I had been in college together and had taken classes. He was easiest to convince about the time travel, then he helped us convince Addison.

For a few weeks, Emma and I did the best we could to go through daily life. I became friends with Hannah (who also worked for Will) as Emma became friends with Addison.

A week ago, Hannah was assigned to do some work at the theater where Emma works, and the two of them meet a guy named Devon who was down on his luck. 

They were kind to him and he was grateful. Then I decided I’d try to help him get back on his feet and ended up letting him move in (yesterday) with me.

Meanwhile, Hannah found out about the time traveling. Though skeptical, she fell asleep wondering if Emma and I came into 2024 versions of ourselves, what happened to the 2024 versions.

That night she, Emma, and I dreamed the same dream: we were all back in 1880, we all knew each other, and we all knew we were time travelers.

Something happened in that dream—even though we don’t know if the dream represented something actual or not, we all awoke mutually feeling that metaphysical connection to each other. Particularly Emma and Hannah felt compelled to hang out on Sunday, yesterday.

On her way to visit, Hannah encountered what we believe to be the same, strange figure that had been encountered earlier. Its message this time was more specific, though equally unexplainable: “Tell Emma and Merritt not to quit their day jobs. Same for you…”

Hannah delivered the message and we attempted to carry on with our day (yesterday). 

It was then that we discovered unexplainable deposits in our bank accounts from something called Pay It Forward Society. We could connect each of the three deposits to a time we had done something nice for Devon. We tried to figure out what the Pay It Forward Society is, which brought us to see Tom hoping his business experience could help.

Having shared all of that, Tom was far more accepting than I would have guessed. He had asked questions throughout my discourse, so when it came to an end he seemed to understand.

“Okay, so you want help finding out about this organization. I’ll see what I can do.”

We chatted then it was time for everyone to move on. I’ll share one more detail, something new that happened then. I think it will give you some insight into the relationship scene I brought up at the beginning. Since everyone was there, no one will be surprised.

As we were about to leave, Addison, who I have met a few times said, “Hey, Merritt… When you get your bearings and feel settled, I’m still hoping you’ll give me a call.”

Both Hannah and Emma’s expressions revealed their disapproval.

“What did I say?” Addison asked.

Hannah shot out a quick reply. “Not a good time. You just heard all that… things are more up in the air than ever.”

I nodded. “I appreciate your interest. But… yeah, my whole life is a mess right now.”

That must have been, based on both Hannah and Emma’s expressions, the wrong thing to say.

Addison smiled and shrugged. “Time changes things. And time just keeps going. Sorry if I was out of line.”

No one had anything else to say about that.

Thing is, time does change things and time does just keep going. Just sometimes, some of us skip around in it.

2024-08-25 “Keep The Day Jobs” by Emma

I know Merritt and Hannah both done tol’ a lot that happened today, but I wanna add a little more ‘bout what happened after Merritt made the last post.

But, first off, I wanna say that I’m confused by liking Hannah and being jealous that she’s trying to win over Merritt.

Now, Merritt is always honest with me an’ tol’ about the Snaps Hannah sends him. So, I took this picture of me in my dressing gown—you pro’lly call in a nightie—as a Snap and just wrote “Good night. Pancakes?” Meaning I’d make pancakes for us t’morrow.

He Snapped back a picture of him smiling and wrote, “Yummy. And pancakes sound good, too.”

That kinda was like flirting, if you ask me, and I’m glad.

Well, after Merritt’s post, me and him and Hannah talked a long time, ‘bout the money. We figured out something. Whenever we got it was right after we did something nice for Devon. Mine come when I let him use the bathroom. Merritts come when he tol’ Devon he could live with him, even though Devon first said “no.” An’ Hannah’s come right after she gave him the muffin.

So, we think all this what Merritt calls metaphysical is lookin’ at us and wants us to do nice things an’ it’s talking to that Pay It Forward Society. Or it might be one an’ the same. That ain’t definite, but it lines up with how it happened.

An’ maybe Devon’s a part of it all or maybe not. We don’t know.

But we also think the dream we shared musta connected Hannah to all this time shifting even though she ain’t shifted. We can’t be sure the dream meant all that we saw was happening, either.

There’s a lot we don’t know yet.

But a thing we do know is me and Hannah woke up today feeling that urge to visit each other just like when I had to go talk to Merritt an’ Jenn back on July 4 and like when Merritt had to go dancing before that.

It all sounds crazy, an’ feels crazy too.

Lastly, we think the money won’t be regular, ‘cause that muffin man—that’s what we called him today—said not to quit the day jobs.

So we go on, an’ try to make the best of it all.

2024-08-25 “Pay It Forward” by Merritt

Today started with a call from Devon. He was ready to move in with me.

Emma came over as she does for breakfast and Hannah texted saying she wanted to hang out. Of course Emma said yes.

Since we shared the dream—I don’t know—Emma and I feel sort of connected to Hannah.

Devon arrived and unpacked. By that I mean he put a box in the corner and set a laundry bag on the floor.

“I don’t have much.” He went on to say he had run into a friend from high school, and he would be staying over with him tonight, but would be back after work on Monday. “I really need to do laundry today.”

Emma showed him to the laundry room. They weren’t gone 5 minutes when Hannah showed up with muffins. And a strange story that she said she shared on IG.

“Where’s Emma?”

I took her to the laundry room and Emma lit up. “Hannah, you remember Devon?”

There was a little chatting, then Hannah said, “I brought muffins.”

She handed one to Emma, Devon, and me, then Devon noticed she didn’t have 4. “Here… I don’t want you to go without…”

Hannah said no, for him to have it. She insisted she didn’t really need it.

Then her phone buzzed and she looked at it, and Emma said, “Did you just get a Snap?”

(Hannah at some point got Emma on SnapChat, too.)

“No,” Hannah said, “it was a bank notification. I’ll check it later.”

Skipping ahead until after Devon had left… Hannah retold her story from earlier. The disappearing door had to be the same as before.

She had to explain what “keep your day job” meant, but we didn’t know how that connected to anything. Until…

Hannah finally got around to checking the bank notice.

She had a $50 deposit she couldn’t explain from “Pay It Forward Society.” She explained what “pay it forward” meant, then there was a lot of discussion leading to Emma and me checking our bank accounts.

I was stunned. “$500.”

Emma had a deposit for $250.

We tried to find out what the Pay It Forward society was, but couldn’t. Emma said Tom, the theater owner, knew a lot about business, so we could ask him after the matinee on Monday.

As for why they would give us money, we could not guess.

2024-08-25 “I Have A Feeling” by Hannah

When Merritt and Emma’s posts from early July mentioned some metaphysical feeling drawing them to each other, I sort of scoffed. Now, after the dream we all shared, I know what they meant.

I woke up, and all I could think about was that it’s Emma’s day off and I ought to hang out with her. Admittedly, my second thought was that it would probably mean being with Merritt, but I think it is notable that Emma was the first thought.

I sent her a text and she said she’d be glad for my company.

I was getting ready to go to Brooklyn when the dream replayed in my thoughts—stronger than just remembering it, but I was awake. Something jumped out at me.

I’m, in 2024, not time shifted. But as far as Merritt and I could work out, Emma and he are shifted in all three paradigms that we know about. I’m not sure what to make of that.

I’m speculating now. If time shifting somehow creates that metaphysical attraction, I didn’t experience it until after the dream. Which means that I somehow connected with 1984-me who is stuck in 1880 with 1984-Emma, and the dream transferred the connection to me.

Backtrack a second: We don’t even know if the dream represents anything real. Whatever time-shifted them could have just given us all the same dream. But why? I know I went to sleep wondering about the 2024 versions of Emma and Merritt if they really were time shifted. Did that trigger the connection to 1880, and reveal that a version of me is a time traveler, too?

Back to now: It gets really strange.

I picked up some muffins after I got to Brooklyn and nearly bumped into some dude—might have been a girl—wearing black boots and black hoodie. I didn’t see the face.

“Tell Emma and Merritt not to quit their day jobs. Same for you…”

As the words trailed off, a muffin somehow fell from the bag. I looked down quickly, then back up and s/he was walking into a door a little ways from the muffin shop.

I picked up the muffin, put it back in the bag, and turned to follow him/her, but…

There was no door. 

Oh, and there was no hole in the bag, either.

2024-08-24 “Keep On Going” by Emma

I think I did somethin’ bad. But first, I gotta tell some other things about today. I learned some things that’s not ‘xactly part of what I want to tell.

Merritt tol’ me all what him and Hannah said at the beach, and he said she promised she’d not read anymore stories from me and Merritt an’ he said we’d not read hers so as we can say things private like before. Naturally, if we collab’rate, we’ll know. An’ we see ‘em so we’ll touch the heart on ‘em.

Now, I’m working up to the being bad. I was glad Merritt and Hannah had time to work out about our dreams. I wasn’t glad she was wearing a bikini and they was at the beach, what with me knowing she’s interested in him on account she tol’ me when she was working at the theater.

So, when I got home from work an’ Merritt called, I was real glad. I was more glad when he said come over and watch movies.

Now here’s where I got a little bad. I was only wearing a tank top ‘cause I was getting dressed.  An’ all o’ sudden, I thought ‘bout that picture Hannah made for SnapChat, and wanted him to think of me that way.

“I just got outta the shower. Can I just put on some shorts and my bathrobe?”

“That’s fine with me.”

I didn’t ‘xactly lie but I said it like I was necked ‘cept for the robe an’ shorts.

We sat an’ talked a lot ‘bout those us-es in different times. I said I wish I was the 1984 me back in 1880 so I could help Merritt.

“Emma, we can’t worry about the others in the other years. We gotta stick with each other and get through where we are. In every case we know about, you and I are shifted together. We just gotta figure out why. We don’t know if we’re going to shift again, but if we do, I hope we shift together.”

I ‘bout cried, ‘cause that was almost like him saying he loved me. An’ I reckon that’s why I did the bad thing next.

“Look at this picture I found from 1880 in Memphis.” I held up my iPhone and leaned over against him so he could see. But, when he was done looking, I just stayed leaned over on him and it was so nice I just didn’t ever wanna stop.

2024-08-24 “It Was Just A Dream, Right?” by Emma and Merritt

Well, today’ sure has started off on the strange side o’ things. I’m gonna start off telling ‘bout it, then Merritt can take over on account he can say it with less words.

I wudn’t even dressed from my washup and my head was spinning around with ideas that’ll come out later in this story when my iPhone rang. It was Hannah, and she was in a tizzy. 

“Emma, I can’t get Merritt to answer. Something happened last night and I want to talk about it.”

She seemed real upset, so I went o’er to Merritt’s ‘parment in my bathrobe, so now he can go on ‘bout what happened.

~~~

Emma showed up at my door saying Hannah was upset and wanted to talk immediately. We agreed to meet at a coffee shop as soon as we could get dressed and get there.

So, I need to say that Emma and I both were a little shaken, too, but we didn’t mention why, at that moment, nor on the way to the shop.

Hannah started talking before we got in the door. “I had a crazy dream. Insane…”

Strangely, it was also a crazy dream that had me shaken.

Emma replied to Hannah, “I had a crazy dream, too!”

By the time we had finished our refills, we realized that a most incredible thing had happened.

We had all dreamed the same dream.

“I went to bed thinking about your time shift,” Hannah said. “I was wondering what happened to the yous you replaced.”

We were all in Memphis, TN in 1880. We were standing in the lobby of Leubrie’s Theatre. However, it wasn’t exactly us. It was different versions of us.

Emma was from 1984, shifted back to 1880. She had hitched a ride on a semi and woken up in a boxcar.

I was from 2024. I’d been driving to Vancouver, hit a strange cloud, and came out on a train from Knoxville.

Hannah was from 1984, too, shifted back. She had gone to sleep in her college dorm room and had woken up in a boarding house.

“The dream didn’t ‘splain how we come to meet,” Emma said.

Emma was a cleaning lady at the theater. I was an engineer working on the new sewer project.

“At least your jobs fit.” Hannah was a dancer in a burlesque show.

We finished the coffees but still wanted to talk about the dreams, and we thought a day at the beach, given the waning summer, would be fun, but Emma had to go to work.

“You two go,” Emma said, “an’ tell me tonight what you figure out.”

Hannah went to a boutique and bought a bikini on our way to Brighton Beach. Once we settled down, we resumed talking about the details of the dream.

In the dream, we all knew each other and we all knew we had time shifted. There were numerous parallels.

Emma and I lived next door to each other in one boarding house. Hannah lived nearby in a different boarding house.

The 1880 version of me had just finished studying to be an engineer at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which was at that time the closest engineering school to Atlanta and the 2024 version of me somehow knew that.

The 1984 version of Hannah had been just about to graduate from Syracuse as an engineer, and she had taken the place of the 1880 version of herself as a burlesque dancer.

“Why that job?” she asked.

My mind raced for an answer, then I sort of let the words stumble out. “Attractive woman confident enough to be… inviting… to men…”

Hannah furrowed her brow, so I went on. “Your Snap last night… What would that look like in 1880?”

“I don’t know. I'm sorry if it…”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. It was…”

Hannah rolled her eyes and laughed. “Inviting…”

We changed the subject back to the dream, and I said, “So, in 1880 are the 1984 versions of you and Emma and the 2024 version of me.”

Hannah nodded.

“And in 2024 are the 1880 version of Emma and the 1984 version of me.”

“Yes.”

I looked at Hannah. “You said you were from the future… Is…”

She was shaking her head. “No! I was flirting… I’m the 2024 version of me!”

“So if 1984-you went back, where is the 1880 version of you?”

We made a chart in the sand. We decided that 1984 must have versions Emma-2024, Merritt-1880, and Hannah-1880.

“Poor Emma,” Hannah sighed. “She’s got her hands full!”

2024-08-23 “One Nice Thing” by Merritt

Today was rough at work. I went to a site to deliver some documents that had to be posted according to code, but as soon as I got there the foreman approached. Will was on the phone, they had a problem, and I was supposed to be the solution.

It sounded a lot worse than it turned out to be, but there was a good long period of confusion followed by crawling around under dirty old stairs.

In short, the existing stairs went up floor by floor making 90° turns at each landing leaving an attractive opening in the middle. The re-engineering of the site caused the building inspector to deem them too narrow, so they have to be rebuilt wider without the opening, making 180° turns at each landing.

The whole day went like that, making a hot refreshing shower seem more than necessary.

But, I did get a little surprise. Just after I put my boxers on and was about to go to the bedroom, I got a kinda cool Snap from Hannah. She just wanted to say she was thinking about me and said she’d check in over the weekend to make sure I was okay.

I thought what she said and the picture she sent were pretty nice.

2024-08-23 “How Could This Be?” by Hannah

This time shifting business has been mind boggling, and I guess I’m a little stressed out. But, a hot shower can do wonders and help clear the mind. And, I have a couple of thoughts. Let me explain.

After my chat with Merritt ended with me believing that—at least he believes—he was born in 1960 and skipped from 1984 to last June, he had to take off for an assignment.

Now, if you think about it, Will has nearly nothing to gain from taking part in Merritt and Emma’s lie. And, as a respected engineer in a respected firm, he has a lot on the line. I’m not at all surprised he’s being hush-hush about it.

So, today, I went back to talk to Will.

“How could this be?” I asked.

“I am digging around in current quantum and string theories. It’s not getting me anywhere.”

“Is this like some sci-fi parallel universe thing?”

Will shook his head. “More like offset than parallel… They shifted from the past to now. Not from some other version of 2024. Like there’s another universe running beside ours, but at a different point in time. The Merritt born in 1960 took the place of the Merritt born 2000.”

I nodded. “And you’re buying this?”

Will ignored my question. “It’s more complex, though. Some of their off-set life moved with them. The Merritt in the office yesterday is the same guy I was in school with. But there is a Merritt 2000 with parents and a home that I don’t know anything about. I haven’t even thought about all the ramifications.”

After I left the meeting with Will, I thought of a couple.

First off, what happened to Merritt 2000? And Emma 2004? Just think about that for a minute!

Now a second ramification is this. Merritt basically has been in this version of the universe only since June. That means that, besides Emma, there’s not many if any other potential relationships I don’t know about.

He might be from 1960, but he’s still nice. Maybe because of it? And he has a good job and everything else… 

So, I’m sticking to my plan until I have a reason not to.

 

2024-08-23 “He Seems Sweet” by Emma

It’s Friday, so I have the reg’lar show ‘stead of the matinee today. Earlier I went to the store that sells clothes an’ looked for some shirts what would be better for winter. It’s called a thrift shop on account it sells things folk don’t need to folks that need ‘em.

I was ‘tween the thrift shop an’ the theater when I ran into Devon. He waved and come over to me.

“Morning Emma.” He seemed happy to see me.

We talked a little bit just this and that an’ I mentioned the thrift shop.

“Oh, I need to check that out,” Devon said. “You have time to show me around?”

“Not today, but I work matinee tomorrow, so ‘round 4:00 I’ll be done.”

We made a plan to meet up at the theater and walk back, then he changed the conversation.

“Listen… You think Merritt is a legit guy?”

I didn’t ‘xactly understand the question, but he ‘plained what he meant, so I said, “He’s about the nicest person I ever have known.”

Devon nodded. “You think you could tell him something?”

“Sure.”

“Well, my day-work job isn’t as steady as I hoped, and the room I’m renting isn’t… very nice. I got confronted by a couple guys who wanted my McDonalds and were going to hurt me for it. I mean, they were banking on me not fighting them for a burger and fries… But, that’s just then.”

“Sounds awful,” I said.

Devon shrugged. “Merritt offered for me to crash at his place for a while. Would you ask him if the offer still stands?”

I said I would.

“I’ll keep working, of course,” Devon added. “And I’ll buy my own food and chip in on rent and utilities as much as I can. I just need to get my affairs in order and get back to a real job.”

He went on to say he talked to a man at a grocery store who said he’d hire him as soon as he got his I-9 and W2 filled out. I didn’t ‘member the names but I asked Tom, who owns the theater, about it for my story.

Anyway, that was my day today, so far. I guess you read all what happened with Merritt and Hannah, so I’ll skip telling that.

Thanks for reading all this! I really ‘preciate it.

2024-08-22 “Cornered And Caught” by Merritt

There are over 8 million people in NYC. Last time I checked, I had 210 followers, and certainly they are not all from NYC.

I haven’t really talked about having IG to anyone, so what happened at the office today totally caught me off-guard. I was on the Re-engineering floor waiting for Will. He was at his desk on the phone and I was just leaning on a cabinet nearby.

Hannah saw when she got off the elevator, waved and came my way. “Hey, Handsome, how are you?”

I smiled. “I’m good. How do you like getting out doing site surveys?”

She said she liked it and gave some examples, then said, “So… I was wondering if you’d give me your Snap?”

I tried desperately to guess what that was. I had the feeling it was something common, something any 24 y/o would know. I didn’t.

Will rescued me out of nowhere. “Hannah, can he circle back on that? I need him to look at a report and the client is on the phone…”

Will directed me into the conference room and closed the door. “Get your phone. App store. Hurry…”

Will explained about SnapChat and got me to set up an account, explaining, “Pretty much everyone your age has SnapChat.”

“And she wants my username?”

“So she can send you messages.”

“She could just call.”

Will laughed. “It doesn’t work like that. She’ll Snap you for a while, then maybe a call or two, then FaceTime.”

So, new Snap at the ready, I prepared to face Hannah, but Will added, “Don’t let it interfere with your work, okay?”

I was still trying to infer what he meant when I reached Hannah. I gave her my snap and she did something with her phone and then I got a picture of ½ of her face.

Then, she dropped a bomb. “What’s all that on your IG about traveling through time? Are you and Emma making up some sort of story?”

“IG? You… read my posts?”

“Very creative,” she said.

I guess my dumbfounded look lasted long enough that she eventually realized I wasn’t going to claim it was made up.

She finally spoke. “Merritt, don’t act like you think all that’s true.”

I could finally reply. “It’s not an act. It… happened.”

“Ha ha.” She fake-laughed.

We went back and forth a little, then I said, “The reason I seemed so familiar to Will is because we sat in classes together.”

She froze and looked at Will. I looked, too. He was close enough that I guess he could tell what was going on. He shrugged and nodded.

Hannah took my hand with both of hers. “No way! This is not real!”

I nodded. “Look, I didn’t even know what SnapChat was until Will dragged me into the conference room.”

Her eyes bugged out. “Yeah, you…”

I could see her thoughts racing. She looked at Will again, then back at me, finally letting go of my hand. She looked out the nearest window into the distance, then shook her head.

“Emma’s really not acting!”

I laughed. “She’s just being herself.”

Hannah stared and shook her head. I became aware that Will was standing close. Hannah looked at him.

“Is this real?”

He nodded. “I can tell you I was in class with a guy named Merritt Gray, and I found some old photos. Prints, not digital. Same guy.”

Hannah blurted out, “I want to see them.”

I guess it took half an hour, but in the end, she more or less accepted that it was true, even though we couldn’t explain it.

Will had to take a call, leaving us alone.

We sat in silence for a while, then Hannah smiled and said, “So, you’re a time traveler, for real?”

I nodded.

Her smile became mischievous. “I’m glad.”

“Oh?”

“Now, I can stop pretending… I’m a time traveler, too.”

“Oh?” I looked at her.

“I’m from the future, though.”

“Oh?”

She nodded. “I’m your wife. I came back to make sure you don’t get into trouble.”

I laughed. “Is that so?”

She smiled. “It is!”

“I’m not sure about that,” I said.

She smiled again. “We’ll just have to see, then, won’t we?”

2024-08-22 “How Did I Miss This?” by Hannah

I had a comment on Instagram from Tara Blossom Johnson about Snaping Merritt in my last post. She said he was “time displaced.”

I seem to have overlooked that claim. I had to go back and re-read all of his (and Emma’s) posts. 

Time travelers? This is some elaborate joke! It has to be.

There is no way all that craziness about 1984 and 1880 is true. I have to hand it to them, though… Very creative and very well done.

Yet, Tara seems to think it is real. And… it would explain…

But… no way… literally no way it is real.

I’m going to see what happens if I push some buttons, though. If this, as unlikely as it is, were true… how cool what that be? 

But… It can’t be true. There’s just no way it can be.

2024-08-21 “Too Cute” by Hannah

Well, I have to say, based on her earlier post, that I’m very happy to see Emma has caught the attention of Devon. Of course, I’m happy things are working out for Devon, as well.

I’ve read all of Emma and Merritt’s IG posts, and I know they have agreed to not read each other’s posts. I’m not part of that agreement, though. I don’t know if they know I’m making posts or not. I’m pretty sure they don’t, so I feel free to share what I’m thinking.

Right now, I’m thinking Devon absolutely must be thinking about Emma. He shows up with flowers and she comes out of the theater greeting him with that devastatingly cute smile and her happy little girl bits in that tank top… I’m sure he’ll remember the moment.

That, I think, is great news for Emma. She must be lonely, and he’d be good company for her. She might not be thinking about it like that, but after what Merritt is doing for him, I’d imagine this isn’t the last time they’ll cross paths. Further, I’d bet if he looks at her IG post, he’ll be hoping for that to happen.

I’m so happy for Emma!

As for me… Merritt was only in the office once, so far this week, and I was out on a site, so we didn’t cross paths. I’m thinking I’ll send him a Snap and say, “Hey… I was thinking about you. Hope you’re having a good week.”

I thought about sending this picture, but… nah… too soon, right?

2024-08-21 “A Surprising Turn” by Emma

I come out from the theater after today’s matinee an’ ran right into a big surprise! That boy what used to live in his car, Devon Collier, was waiting on me to come out with a big bouquet of daisies.

“These are for you…” He handed them to me. “…for being nice about the bathroom and for introducing me to Merritt.”

Merritt tol’ me already he had worked out proper for Devon to use his address for mail so he could get on his feet. An’ he also tol’ me about Devon’s day-job and renting a room.

I said to him, “You didn’t need to buy flowers. That’s awful nice!”

He shrugged. “Don’t get too impressed. They were for sale at the checkout line in the grocery. It’s usual for people to give actors flowers after a performance, right?”

I said I didn’t know anything about that and that it wudn’t common at my theater.

“Well still,” he said, “I’m grateful for your kindness. My room is just down the block around the corner. I came by earlier to see when your show was… I really appreciate what you did. Plus, introducing me to Merritt. Having an address is going to change everything.”

We talked a little while longer, polite and ever’thing, but basically said the same things over with different words. Then he went his way an’ I went home.

I made a nice dinner for me an’ Merritt and tol’ him about Devon an’ showed him the flowers. Merritt thought it was thoughtful.

“I’m sorry he doesn’t feel like he can trust me enough to just crash on the couch,” Merritt said. “That would save him some money, and the landlord said it would be fine.”

I said, “Well, maybe when he gets to know us better, he’ll feel safe.”

After we ate, Merritt and me sat on the sofa and watched a show on his TV. I gotta tell you, I wanted to fall asleep and lean on hi like happened once before, and I even thought about pretending. But, I know his mind is all knotted up right know, so I didn’t.

Maybe another time, though.

2024-08-20 “Willing To Try” by Merritt

I’ve thought a lot about Devon Collier since I met him, wondering how I could help him get back on his feet. I don’t know why he’s been on my mind so much; maybe just something to occupy my thoughts besides worrying about getting fired or… I don’t know… wondering why and how I ended up skipping over 40 years.

Back to Devon… His social security card dilemma seems like it would be easy enough to deal with. I called my dad and asked him what he knew about replacing a social security card. I also looked on the Internet.

The process is clouded by bureaucracy, and while other means may exist, having a mailing address makes it easier.

My idea is pretty simple, really. I could add Devon to my lease. That would give him an address. He could sleep on the couch and have a bathroom, as well.

So, I went back to the alley to talk to him. He seemed grateful. And suspicious.

“Look, dude,” he said, “you seem like a nice guy, but how do I know? I could go from living in a car to living in a shipping container on my way across the Pacific as some sort of labor trafficking scheme.”

I was surprised by his worries, but I guess they were not unfounded. I asked about his other options and he admitted he didn’t really have anything on the table.

We talked about how I could help him without him feeling in danger. Eventually, he agreed; at least he could get mail sent there. It was a start.

Meanwhile, he’d hooked up with a crew that did day labor and was paid by the job. He explained that it was a scheme to allow undocumented workers access to an income, but he was desperate and needed money.

“I found a place to rent by the week.” He went on to say it was close and more or less clean. 

We swapped phone numbers, but he said his service was due to be cut off, and since it was in his deceased mother’s name, he couldn’t really do anything about it. 

So, I went back and set up a meeting with my landlord to get the ball rolling. It would take a few steps, but it would work.