32 Years In 9 Hours

The bewildered main character, age 43, suddenly finds himself back in March 1985 and sees himself as a 10 year old boy.

"March fourth, nineteen-freakin'-eighty-five??!!", I scream in utter shock and confusion as I read the date on the Orlando Sun through the window of the yellow metal paper box. On March 4, 1985, I was vacationing in Orlando with my parents when I was 10; I am 43 years old right now! The last thing I remember was sitting on my meditation pillow, deep in meditation, in my den in St. Petersburg- on Monday May 15, 2017! Then I suddenly find myself sitting on a sidewalk by a newspaper box? I take in my surroundings, and I realize I am on the small side street in front of Continental Plaza hotel, which is where we in fact stayed on that childhood trip. "What the hell is going on?", I ask myself, very much in a daze. This experience feels so real and tangable to me. I examine the palm trees in front of the three-story hotel with my own two hands. Scanning the parking lot, the newest automobile I see is a white '85 Chysler LeBaron. I hear a sports car racing down International Drive. Duran Duran's "Save a Prayer" is blaring from a red Firebird seemingly attempting to break the sound barrier. The sky is bright blue and the sun is about at its highest point for the day, indicating that it is obviously the middle of the day. Cautiously, I walk toward International Drive and go left, walking towards Kirkman Road.

I-Drive is beginning to look so desolate and undeveloped, which certainly is not true in 2017. I walk rapidly down Kirkman Road a bit, which would be insanely congested in 2017, but is so tranquil right now, with the exception of a sprinking of cars coming to and going from the interstate. There are signs of new upcoming construction as I look across I-4 towards what should be Universal Studios. Waves of adreneline begin to fill every square inch of my body as I realize that I have in fact accomplished a feat that I have read so much about. In all my years of studying quantum physics, I truly wanted to believe that time travel was possible. But that was the extent of my interest in time travel. So here I am, in 1985, walking down International Drive in Orlando by way of some freakish meditaton-induced quantum leap I had not even consciously attempted. I do, however, remember thinking about monumental past events of my life during previous mediations. Maybe something "kicked-in", and my subconscious mind figured out how to transcend time and space. Thoughts and theories come and go so quickly at this moment, but my waking mind wants no part of them. Right now, I simply do not care how I got here. Rather, all I know is that I am here, and I'm going to do some major exploring, as long as I am here!

I make my way back to the Continental Plaza, and open the aluminum white gate enclosing the pool area. I figure my parents and my "mini-me" should be arriving at any time, if memory serves me correctly. Smiling, I lounge back on the poolside beach chair, and watch a wide array of families coming and going from the busy hotel. A pig-tailed girl swimming in the pool suddenly is mesmerized by me. And then I realize- I am wearing my 2015 Tampa Bay Rays baseball World Series Champions t'shirt! The team won't exist for another ten or so years. Nonchalantly, I grin and tell the befuddled child, "A buddy of mine runs a t'shirt shop in Tampa, and he likes to make weird shirts, claiming they're from the future. He's a bit wacko". The girl turns away, somewhat frightened, and jumps out of the pool. Her parents give me a funny look as the child runs into her mother's arms. Stretching my arms out to my sides and leaning back in my chair, I am suddenly jolted by the scene of my own parents emerging from a white Buick in the hotel parking lot. My gaze is fixed upon them. They look so young, happy and relaxed. Then I see the 10-year-old me jump out of the back seat, and look over the entire hotel, smiling. I distinctly remember that moment when I first set foot on the parking lot at Continental Plaza. Those wonderful memories and feelings hit me once again like a two-ton sack of Disney World merchandise. My feelings of joy and excitement mirror those exact feelings of my childhood counterpart. I discreetly exit the pool area, and enter the hotel lobby after my parents and 10-year-old Danny are inside. Taking a seat in one of the chairs by the front window, I watch and listen as my dad talks to the young lady at the desk, and is handed his key for room 322. Pretending to read a brochure for EPCOT, I glance at myself and my parents as they leave the lobby, and head for the rental car to get the luggage.

The clock inside the tourist souvenir shop shows 7:30, and it is now dark outside. I'm getting very tired. Time travel really takes alot out of a person apparently. But where do I go? Munching on the Slim Jims I just lifted from the touristy junk shop, I make my way down I-Drive, with no destination in mind. I feel awful about shoplifting, but I am starving, and my money and credit cards from the future probably won't get me very far here. My 2017 money looks like colorful monopoly money compared to the old "green backs" of 30 plus years ago, so my options are somewhat limited. Every hour I am here in 1985, I grow increasingly more mindful and cautious about these things, for I would not want to throw the spectrum of time out of wack by handing a store clerk my Visa card with a July 2019 expiration date. My younger self and my parents have settled in for the evening. And I really should keep my distance before anyone at the hotel, especially my parents, get suspicious, like I'm stalking them. The sidewalks of International Drive are still quite busy with families exploring the souvenir shops and restaurants. As for me, my enthusiasm has waned considerably, and I have seen enough of 1985. Right now I just want to reappear on my meditation pillow in my beautiful house in 2017 with my beautiful wife, Katie. For some unknown reason, I veer off the main drag of I-Drive and proceed down a deserted alley behind a hotel. My desire to return home safely is extremely powerful at this point.

And just as I sit down against the back wall of the hotel, I feel a familiar softness; I now can see my home theater system in front of me, rather than the back side of a restaurant! I am back home! The digital clock on the wall reads 9:02, Monday May 15, 2017. It was around noon when I left, but those nine hours of me missing don't phase me, at least not now. "Yes, I made it home!" I yell in excitement. "Is that you, sweetie?" I hear from the kitchen. "When did you come in, Danny? I wish you had left me note telling me you were gone. I had no idea what happened to you", Katie says to me, quite irritated, but relieved. " Taking her into my arms and kissing her cheek, I whisper, "It's great to be back home with you." Katie most likely would not believe I had spent the day in 1985, but I have always prided myself on being open and honest. Luckily towards the end of my journey, I thought about this moment, and made necessary preparations. So I've armed myself with a pocketful of ripped-out magazine articles and a various assortment of 32 year-old travel brochures, which look brand-new as I pull them out of my back pocket. Of course, I also wanted souvenirs to bring home from '85. Telling my wife I had time travelled certainly isn't very believable to her, but hey, I'm not lying. I put my arm around my confused wife as she inspects the articles. I walk her upstairs as I begin to explain my little unplanned trip.

Reviews

[Danny Phoenix]

Thanks for the suggestion. I wrote this story months ago, and thought I'd share it with Writers' Cafe; I may go through it and do some fine tuning. Thanks for reading/commenting!

[Jacquelene Vanessa More..]

i enjoyed the way you described the charactersin subtle ways throughout the story. i would suggest splitting up some of the paragraphs so the reader soak up each piece of the story :)