Lost in Time

He gave her phone back and they left the house. Davis knew that he didn't know where to go or what to do at the moment. "So where will you go?" Immediately after they reached the lowest floor in her apartment she popped the million-dollar question. "Honestly, I don't know, but I'll figure it out."

He knew that this had to be the greatest lie he had ever told. He did not even know if this was real or not. "I am Lizzy from last night. I hope you remember that one." She said as she giggled, opening the gate for them to leave. They stepped outside the gate and there it was, the city of Tenei.

He had never seen such development. Even in movies. It was as if he had made a trip into the future. "Why do you look surprised. Are you okay?" Lizzy asked as she stood in front of him. "No, no. I'm fine. I just need to find my way home." "Well, okay, good luck with that. Take care, drunk boy."

"I'm Davis." His voice was so faint that Lizzy, from just a meter away could not hear him say his name. They parted ways and now Davis was all alone in a city that had advanced vehicles and roads like nothing he had seen in his dreams. He knew no one and had no money on him. He was too afraid to even walk.

"Wait, we entered the club, had too many drinks, and … Aargh, why can't I remember anything from last night." Davis was so furious that he kicked a stone and didn't even care about the pain. Things were not adding up or making any sense. How did going to the club turn to waking up in a foreign country?

What bothered him the most was how he may have met Lizzy in the night, in a country that he had no idea about, yet he was just out with his friends. His mind was racing. He had no one to talk to. He hoped that this would have been a dream or a prank being played on him. He walked to wherever his feet took him.

Everything about the city was astonishing. From the way these people dressed to the vehicles that they were driving, it was all different. "Maybe, I'm in heaven." He comforted himself with a smile on his countenance. "If heaven did exchange programs with hell, you'd definitely make it." The same voice answered him.

He decided to look for a payphone to try ringing his friends again. He went to a newspaper shop to inquire. "Hey, do you know where I can find a payphone?" he asked in a low tone. "A payphone?" the shopkeeper answered with a laugh. "Where do you think this is? America?" He added.

Some people also laughed at the back quite hard. "Heiyo boys, see what I did there? Mahn, I always loved that song." The old man turned back to Davis, laughing his soul out. "You are tough to crack. Loosen up, my boy. This is Tenei, no one worries here." Another reminder that he was not home, in fact, he was not in his home country.

"I just need to find a phone or something that I can contact people with." Davis told him in total boredom. "I have never seen a payphone in my 70 years how did such a young boy get to even know the word. Here, use mine." He handed him his phone. "But don't take too long cause I am reading my feeds."

He tried his friends' numbers again but the response was the same. No one had his phone on. He almost smashed the phone to the ground but remembered that it was not his. Things were getting out of hand. He didn't know what to think anymore. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate your help." He returned his phone.

"You heard that Bob? The only time somebody called you sir was at your wedding when you chose to be knighted as husband and wife. I will never understand what came into you that day." Another burst of laughter from the back. This time it was bigger. "No biggie but next time buy a newspaper son."

Davis seemed too disturbed to even hear him. His eyes met a newspaper and he saw the date and almost lost his mind. The newspaper read 20th December 2000. He rushed back to the counter. "Sir, what date is it?" he asked the old man in haste and shock. This was a mindblower.

"Yow, relax, It's 7th. Are you okay? What's into you?" The old man was a little frightened by the way he rushed to him. "No, it's nothing. I just saw your newspaper saying it's 2000…" he explained. "And you thought it's 2000?" the old man laughed so intensely that he coughed.

Davis left the shop. He could not understand how these things were funny to the shopkeeper. He went back to thinking about how things had happened and walking aimlessly. He hoped for a miracle but his sins could not allow divine interventions. He walked until he was not able to walk anymore.

He chose to sit. Telling himself that something will just have to happen that will explain everything. 7th meant that it was just a day past the day he can remember but how did he manage to get to a country he'd never known in a short while. And the airport, what was he doing at the airport.

Confusion would be seen on his forehead. He walked the streets of Tenei till he did not know where he was anymore. It was time. Davis sat in the middle of the road and cried till tears fell from his eyes. Now, this was a difficult thing for a man to do from his home town but he had reached that point.

"Why, are you crying?" A soft voice from behind asked. "Nothing, I was just leaving." He woke up to continue his journey to nowhere. It was getting dark and his anxiety levels were high enough to provide a ledge for a suicide attempt. Then it struck him that the old shopkeeper never told him the year or month it was.

"Hey, what year is it?" He asked the young teen behind him. "What?" She hadn't heard him because she was on her phone. "What is the exact date today?" "7th April 2023." "Wait, did you say April." His pupils were dilated to their maximum. The shock on his face was tangible.

"Where can I find an old man's newspaper shop?" He asked the girl with his heart pounding and his head spinning. He didn't know what had happened to an entire month. That is not only a significant amount of time but a scary experience. He had to find Lizzy, maybe she would help him understand all this.

"Just down Baze Street. Why?" "Please give me directions, I'm new here." Davis was almost running, the only problem was where to. "Okay, okay calm down. Take that right there, across the street you will see a green bench, on its left, that's the shop." That was his cue to run. He wasted no second.