The Present Past

I don’t know what’s going on anymore. One second, I was living in the present, cooking dinner. The next, I was a kid again, experiencing all of the times I didn’t know were good ones.

I was having water balloon fights with the neighborhood kids, shooting toy guns. Riding my bike down my street with my best friend, wet from swimming all day long.

Then I had to go back into this adult reality of cooking for myself and watching television until I fell asleep on the beaten up La-Z-Boy recliner. This is not what I wanted to do with my life. I am just a salesman who sits in an office from nine to five.

If only I could go into the past and change it. How I went to school, treated my friends, everything. As I started drifting off, I started to see my past again. Except this time, I wasn’t just watching.

I was in school, in my algebra class of freshman year. I was failing, and didn’t really care. I looked at my hands. They were not yet sore from years of typing. My back, not yet sore from sitting slumped and tired.

“Alright class! Get out your textbooks to page five hundred and seventy six.” the teacher announced, already looking annoyed with us. I opened the textbook, and decided to actually try for this lesson. 

Wow, it was weird, reliving a day in high school. It was easier, because I am an adult. Was an adult. Now, I just wished I was back asleep, remembering how tiring and stressful school was, despite his experience. 

Just as I wished that, I woke up in my La-Z-Boy. It was only 3:00. I got up, and went to my bed and just flopped down. This time, though, I just fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was not in my house. I was in a very luxurious room, with the newest phone next to me. It was buzzing with a call from work. I answered.

“Hello?” I asked, kind of nervously.

“Hello, Mr. Smith. You are needed at work immediately. There is a problem with the island.” a man's voice came through very clearly.

“Ummm…. What island?” I asked, concern visible on my face. 

“Your job, sir. You are a private island caretaker, remember?” the man said, a hint of amusement in his voice. 

“Okay, where should I go?” I asked, very confused. 

“Go to the airport, we have your jet waiting for you to take you there.” he stated very matter-of-factly. 

“Okay. Thank you.” There is no way this just happened. My dream job? Just as I was thinking that, a very beautiful woman walked into the room.

“Good morning, honey!” she said as she walked over, handing me a  silver platter with bacon, eggs, and toast on it. I just looked up at her in disbelief. “Here you go!” she said sweetly as she handed me it. 

I ate breakfast, and presumed this was my ‘wife’. As soon as I got finished, I got dressed in what I assumed had to be at least a one thousand dollar suit. 

“Good morning, sir.” a bald little man greeted me.

“Good morning.” I said back, still confused. As I was walking, I kept thinking. Maybe when I went back into that class, it affected my future here in the present, because math was the only thing that kept me back from doing this job. 

When I got to the car that was waiting for me, well, I should say limo, I stopped thinking about all of this mind boggling stuff. I got in the back, and it started driving. 

I looked over, and there was a compartment. And to my delight, there was snacks in it. The high end stuff that was really overpriced at all of the grocery stores. I placed a couple of those in my pockets. 

As I looked out the window, we pulled to a stop. As I got out of the car, a group of people dressed in black came and guided me to ‘my’ jet. 

While in the jet, I was able to look outside. I had never been on a plane before. I was going so fast. Now, this was the life I wanted to live. 

“ENGINE FAILURE. ENGINE FAILURE.” came a sudden alarm. I looked out of the window again, and saw that one of the engines was smoking. It made a very loud sputtering noise, and rattled until it fell off.

The jet started spiraling down, and the pilot lost control of the plane.

“BRACE!” the pilot said through the intercom, and I put my arms on the seat in front of me, protecting my head. The jet slammed into the ground. 

I woke up in my bed in my normal house. I sat up, and looked around, looking for those servants in my house, or that woman. It was just the same old house that I was living in, and I was happy I didn’t have to deal with that anymore. 

I got up, and poured myself a cup of coffee. A ray of light shone through the little window above the sink. There was the sound of trees shaking lightly in a light gust of wind. 

I walked outside in my socks, and just looked around a little bit. The way the sunlight highlights the front of flowers, casting a slim shadow. The way the trees swayed in the wind. Something about the earth now, was so beautiful.

I stepped back inside, glad that I was chosen for this life. I set my coffee down, and looked at the time. It was 8:30. I still had time to get ready for work. 

I got a suit on, did my hair, and brushed my teeth. I actually felt good about myself today. I got in my little car, and drove to my little sales building. I speed walked over to the building, ready to do my best. 

I sat at my little crowded cubicle, and picked up a paper with a list of clients that I still had to call. I dialed the numbers from the little black phone, ready to sell.