Sometime In The Past

I walked through the olden town of random people that I didn't know.

At first, this adventure was partially exhilarating and a little unnerving, but now it was boring.

This had lasted for what seemed like weeks as I looked at tidbits of time of people I didn't know.

They must have been relatives because they said the surname I don't-know-how-many times.

It wasn't like I was exaggerating when I said that this felt like a month. It was a literal month, and I am positive of it.

I would occasionally be stuck at a particular point for days, and I'd watch the same people over and over again.

At one point, I knew I was there for a week because I kept an eye on the calendar in the house I was stuck in.

I was in some town before when there were monarchs, and I only learned this because I heard how many populations dreaded the king.

So that crossed off America.

I would always try to discover where I was depending on how people spoke and what and who they spoke of.

The time periods I was stuck in place, just kept getting lengthier, and I was extremely exhausted.

I was dreadfully tired, and all of my senses were in hyper mode, where I responded to any noise I heard.

I hadn't been able to sleep, not in the condition I was in.

I wouldn't want to be asleep while I altered moments, otherwise, I'd injure myself because of falling. And I had realized that I could get hurt here.

At some point or another, I thrust my toes into a table, causing them to bleed.

And at another point, I was walking around town, and I sliced myself on a sword.

I kept getting sicker and weaker. And I didn't know why.

I desperately craved food, but I couldn't seem to touch it. My hand would always meander through the dish, and leave me hungry.

For some reason, I hadn't died yet. It seemed like I couldn't.

I could get hurt, but not die.

Which was almost depressing, because I would have gladly picked death over this endless cycle.

I was walking around the town, that I knew pretty well at this point.

I had been stuck for 2 weeks, following around a little girl and watching her go to work.

I know it sounds curious, but it was the only thing I could do. She was only 5 years old and had blonde wavy hair, that her mom pulled into a ponytail. She had piercing blue eyes and pale skin. She had a striking smile that brightened up the room.

She was about the only thing I had going for me.

I hadn't found as much entertainment with anyone else except for this girl.

She constantly got in trouble for talking with her dog, because it was 'uncouth'. And her mom, who punished her for the weirdest things, barely let the child out of the house.

The poor girl was basically like a hostage there.

I hadn't picked up on her name yet, surprisingly, because apparently, her mother didn't know her own child on a first-name basis.

I strolled out of the house as the girl went to sleep and adventured the night of this small town.

The great thing about the past is that you can always see the stars.

There are a few things I've always had a connection with, swimming, music, and space.

I and my dad are science nerds and love to learn about NASA and stars and rockets. When I was 10 I went to space camp, and spent a week there, learning about rockets and shuttles and stars and everything about space you can imagine.

My parents always told me that one day they'd take me to Hawaii or Oregon or Vermont, or anywhere you could see the stars.

Where I lived, there was too much light pollution to be able to fully see the stars.

Who knew what we were missing...

I smiled and climbed up the roof of a house, and sat atop it.

"Woah." I heard a voice say behind me.

I jumped in fear and slid down the side of the roof.

"Woah Woah Woah! I didn't mean to scare you." A voice said above me.

The person was standing beside me, attempting to help me up.

It wasn't until I was taking his soft cold hand that I realized that he could see, hear, and touch me.

I almost shrieked.

The boy was way taller than me, despite me being tall already.

He had black hair that flowed over his forehead neatly. He had pale skin and was lanky and gaunt. He had a thin face and a light smile.

But the thing that confused me was his eyes.

His eyes, which were obviously blue, were neon glowing.

"Thank you," I exclaimed, trying not to focus on his eyes, but it ended up failing.

"Hey, what's up with your eyes?" he asked me.

I was confused. My eyes?

"What?" I asserted bewildered.

"Your eyes. They're neon green, and kind of like a light," he whispered pointing to my eyes.

"What's up with your eyes? They're neon blue." I said crossing my arms as if this were an argument.

"What?" he asked.

I nodded.

"How can you see me?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I've found no one else who can see or hear me either," he confessed.

"Ugghh. I just want this to be over. I've been like this for at least a month." I said annoyed.

"I've been going for at least two years." he declared.

"How can you tell?"

"Just how you can. And looking at my own reflection."

"How can you-"

"In the dark when you look in a mirror, you can see your eyes' irises, right?"

"Yeah," I remembered, "But how does that help  you see how much time has passed?"

"I've gotten taller. Much taller," he mumbled, almost embarrassed.

"I'm Lauren," I said after a pause.

"Luke." he announced, holding out his hand.

I shook it and I confessed, "Welp, I don't have anything better to do, other than to follow that troublemaker around, and watch the stars. Want to join me?"

"Sure." he said.

We sat down and watched the stars.

________________________________

Luke and I hadn't been able to travel without each other ever since that night. Whatever kept us here, kept sending us to the same place as one another.

It was nice having some company, and he isn't bad to hang out with. I'd even consider him a friend.

Apparently, our eyes never stop glowing because they've been stuck this way for a while now.

I think this is the first time in a while that I've been... happy.

For a while, I had been depressed and hadn't found any purpose in what I was doing. I found that I was lying to myself. And I thought that we might be able to stay here forever.

Constantly going back in time.

Luke is pretty cool. He's relaxed and chill, and doesn't care when I'm awkward or when I do something weird.

Turns out that he's a nerd too, and is actually very intelligent. He stinks at sports though.

Sometimes, we're able to get ahold of a soccer ball and play in the fields at night. I've won every single time, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop playing. I'm perfectly fine with winning.

We'd go out to the empty field and grab a somewhat usable ball, and I'd kick it around, for a minute. Luke would attempt to be goalie but would end up either missing the ball in an attempt, or he'd miss the ball because he cowered in fear.

This is the first time I've enjoyed normal so much. I haven't thought of anything else. I should've noticed that I started lying to myself again. And started ignoring reality.

I couldn't have thought to myself, "Huh, this is weird, why does this work like this."

I had seemed to have lost all my curiosity and innocence of being a child.

It was like we were living in our own little world. And I should've known that all good, and bad, things come to a close.

Luke and I were sitting down in an ice cavern in the Ice Age, trying to find a way to stay warm.

"It's been nice watching Pangea come together," Luke said calmly.

"Yeah. But it's not like we can see it from outer space or something. It doesn't make that big of a difference from our point of view." I complained, putting my hands on my cheeks.

"You sure you're not super cold?" Luke inquired, "Your cheeks and nose are super red, same with your fingers."

I was used to my skin turning red when it gets cold or hot. It would always be evident at gym class when I'm trying and when I'm using half-effort.

I knew that I was cold, but I was fine with it.

"When do you think that'll all be over?" Luke asked me.

We hadn't ever brought it up. And I have a tendency to ignore reality or lie to myself.

"I don't know. We can't really be sure." I mumbled.

"It's hard to even remember my family. Say, why haven't you ever told me about yours?" Luke asked with a tinge of condescending.

"Well, I guess..." I began.

I racked my brain to remember my family.

"I-I don't remember them..." I declared anxiously.

Luke looked at me, shocked, his eyes widening in fear.

"I don't remember them. I DON'T REMEMBER THEM?!" I screamed loudly.

I was confused and scared.

"Luke, we need to get out of here. How do we get out of here?" I said quickly.

"Lauren, calm down, calm down." He said hugging me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders gently, "You're right, but we shouldn't panic."

"I want to get out of here! I want my family! I want my life to go back to normal!" I cried between sobs.

"Lauren, please..." he whispered hugging me tighter.

I was having a mental breakdown, it was

ridiculous.

And pathetic.

Mostly pathetic.

I was crying and attempting to breathe.

"Well, if we're trying to get out of here, if we succeed, I still want to know you. Can we trade numbers?" Luke asked, super relaxed.

I laughed a little, "Okay, here's mine." I grabbed a pen from the 1900s and wrote on his arm.

"You text me first, okay?" I said.

"That's basically saying that we are definitely going to get out of here!" Luke exclaimed.

I laughed and said, "Yeah! Let's get out of here!"

And just like that, the floor crashed from beneath us and turned shadowy all around us.

We began to fall into the pitch black, and for as long as I know, we kept falling.

I felt scared. Almost worried about what my family thought happened to me. I was scared for myself.

Would I keep lying to myself?

Would I ever be the same again?

Will I die?

What even happened in the first place?

My body began to get tired of trying to fight the wind. So I just went numb. And let myself float through the air.

I didn't know at the time that I was lying to myself more than I ever had before.

And little did I know, that the adventure, had just begun.