1880-09-19 “Out Of Time” by Merritt (born 2000)

I, Merritt Gray, born in the year 2000, but living in the year 1880 will now set out to begin a journal that will record the unthinkable, unimaginable circumstances that have become my life. I am a time traveler, and with me are two others; Emma Knox, born in 1965, and Hannah Maddison, born in 1962. My time shift occurred in 2024 and theirs in 1984 placing us together in Memphis, Tennessee in 1880.

Because of some dream experiences, we have concluded that there are versions of ourselves living in 2024 and most likely in 1984 as well. How it happened and why is unknown, but we believe it is metaphysical and beyond the bounds of any science we know.

There are many things readers might find interesting. How we arrived in 1880… How we are living now… What we are planning to do… Hannah, Emma, and I have decided that we will start journaling our experiences. To what end, we are unsure, but whatever metaphysics shifted us might have some way to make use of them.

I believe addressing how we live is a good place to start, for that is the most certain of all things.

The 1880 version of me just graduated from University of Tennessee as an engineer before taking the place (we think) the 1984 version of me who just graduated from University of Georgia as an engineer who we know took the place of the 2024 version of me, who also graduated from Georgia as an engineer.

I will write about all that later, but that all is to say, as an engineer, I make a good living. Three weeks ago, I closed on a house (Mortgages are new, but I was able to get a loan) that is pretty nice, and it includes running water (which became a thing in Memphis in 1873) of a sort. We also have a cistern that collects rainwater.

Everyone moved in with me—there are four bedrooms plus a servant’s quarters. It has an 1880s version of a bathroom with a sink, toilet, and tub.

The boarding house Hannah lived in was barely a notch above a brothel, and Emma and my place wasn’t nice by any standards. I more or less insisted we all move in together.

There’s a fourth member of our household. As soon as we moved in, a young man named Devon Collier introduced himself and asked if I needed a gardener and house boy. He is a 22 year old orphan who was born as a slave in 1858. His parents were house slaves, and their owner named Devon. His parents died in the yellow fever epidemic in 1878.

Devon knows we are time-shifted, but it’s hard for him to imagine the things we’ve told him about. He uses the servant quarters, insisting it wouldn’t be proper to do otherwise.

Another thing Devon does not understand is the social relationships between Emma, Hannah, and me. The metaphysics that time-shifted us has further given us an intense feeling of connection.

I was born in 2000, and socially, I was exposed to the idea of more fluidity in relationships. Born in the 60s, Hannah and Emma were not blind to what their parents would call non-traditional arrangements.

That said, I’d say we are all pretty conservative in our thinking. Even by 1880 standards, which outside the public light embraces brothels and that sort of thing. And given the uncertainties of being time-shifted, we quickly decided that pursuing anything remotely like a serious romantic relationship was sketchy.

Yet, the social connection is strong, and begs for some level of affectionate expression. I’d honestly say it falls far short of being romantic, but our interactions regularly include hugs and cuddles. It seems deviant in the context of 1880, but would hardly be noticed in 2024.

We sit together in the parlor, frequently all three of us, musing over our situation and the ramifications of it. And yes, you would definitely say we are cuddling. And yes, kissing them goodnight is common. Again, I’d honestly say it comes up far short of romantic and is way way short of being passionate. Intimate? Indeed.

In my next journal entry, I’ll write about my arrival in 1880. Emma and Hannah will journal about theirs.

So, I’ve started with how things are. I’ll next write about how I came to be here. Then, I’ll write about what we think is going on and what we might do about it.

  

Hang on. This is going to be a crazy ride!