Welcome To 2023

An eye scanned the area through a slightly creaked door. Ninety-Three-year-old Adam opened the door wider as his heart felt like a speedbag, slowly moving at a decreasing speed before stopping. Adam put one shaking toe on his welcome mat. He had to shut his eyes and let his foot settle for balance before lifting the other. As his body crossed over, the rising sun met his face like an old friend saying hello. For a brief second, he had a flashback of himself standing on the grass in his backyard barefoot with his baby brother while feeling the ray from the sun at seven years old. The euphoric recollection was interrupted by a bike bell passing by. As Adam stared at his surroundings, he was utterly shocked by what he saw. The houses were the same, but the world was different. It was the same stunning middle-class neighborhood but a new reality from electric scooters to people talking to their hand while it was pressed against their ear; this surreal perspective shook Adam to his core. He was wearing a baby blue bath robe over a plain white t shirt He turned towards his open door and bent over to grab his slippers and road atlas on the doorway floor. After sliding his slippers on, he locked his front door. He walked around the corner and two blocks from his neighborhood.

Adam could hear the sound of abundant passing cars getting louder, but his eyes were fixiated on his Los Angeles road atlas. His foot stepped off the curb until he heard a little girl scream "stop" before a hand yanking his bathrobe back. When he looked up, he saw that he was on the right side of a four-way intersection on a busy street. Adam looked behind to see a scrawny blonde little girl wearing a pink sunflower shirt overflowing with food splatter and a blue stain around her lips. "What was that," she asked with her hands spread out. Adam tried processing words but was fixated on a big button on her t-shirt that said "Happy New Year 2023." "Uh, sorry. I'm, I'm trying to get to Walgreens but got distracted" he blurted out. She pointed her finger behind him and said, "it's right there," in a cracking voice. He looked back and saw a shopping outlet with a Walgreens in the parking lot next to a Panda Express. He looked back with an appreciative smile and said, "thank you," while waving his hand. He started walking into the street when the traffic signals switched to a green light, but cars honked while passing to the right. He had a couple more failed attempts until a honking car pointed to the right of him. There was a post for the traffic lights with a sign that said "push the button to cross the road." There was an arrow above the sign pointing across the street and a button below it. Adam pushed the button and watched the electric sign across the road give a hand signal as a woman's voice repeated, "wait." The voice switched to "proceed with caution," as the light-up sign had a crosswalk character. Adam tried moving as fast as he could cross, but after half a minute, he hadn't even gotten off the curb. As he proceeded while sweating, the electric sign switched to a number countdown. Adam began to panic until he felt a tiny hand grab his hand. It was the little girl guiding him across the street. After safely arriving at the other side of the road, they began making their way to Walgreens.

"Thank you,"" he said lightly. Don't mention it," she responded. "How old are you, honey bunches," he asked. "I'm seven. We're neighbors, you know. My mom and I watched you walk out of our neighborhood. She told me to see if you needed help, but I got shy, so I hid behind you. In the bushes, behind cars, anywhere you couldn't find me." He lightly laughed as they entered the Walgreens. "You know, we've never seen you before. My mom said she's never seen you before either. Did you just move in after the last neighbor died last week " Each side of his lips sank a little as his aura turned empty?" "No, I've lived there for a long time." "Oh, so who was that" she asked as they stood in the toothpaste aisle." "My brother. He passed away last week of a cardiac arrest" Adam answered. He started walking toward the pharmacy as the young girl experienced the silent noise of awkwardness for the first time. After Adam handed the prescription, the little girl's eyes curiously studied Adam from the upper right side of her eyes as they faced the cash register while waiting for the prescription. After the pharmacist returned, she handed Adam his medications and the amount the medications would cost. "Cash or credit" she asked. Adam pulled out his wallet as his hand was shaking while pulling out a credit card. His arm reached out as he attempted to hand her the card. She tapped on the computer screen and then politely smiled as her pupils focused on the card reader in front of the frame. Adam looked down and saw a small machine with a sticker on the bottom right side of the screen that said Visa next to a logo of a red and orange circle blending. He recognized the same logo on his credit card, so he quickly tapped the card against the screen. The little girl and pharmacist looked at each other confused. The little girl gently took the card and inserted the chip into the chip reader. After she pressed credit, the pharmacist handed him the receipt with the prescription smiling as she said"have a nice day"

As they left the store, the little girl mentioned, "I'm Evelyn, by the way" After Adam told her his name Evelyn asked, "when was the last time you left your house" She looked up at him with a muddled facial expression while waiting to cross the road. Moments died as the pedestrian crosswalk button repeated, "wait" as Evelyn stared at him with a stupid expression like she had been frozen in time until the button said, "proceed with caution." "1938" he answered before walking across the intersection. After they reached the sidewalk, she said lightly in a high tone, "my brother died too, you know." "Really? I'm sorry to hear that, Evelyn" Adam responded. "After he graduated high school, he joined the Army. A month after he left, these soldiers came to our house and told my mom what had happened at our front door. My mom didn't know I was sitting on the floor in the hallway, so she thinks that I think he's still over there. I didn't leave my room for a while too. What I don't get is, if you've been in your house for that long, how do you pay your bills and have a house" Evelyn questioned. "Our house used to belong to our parents until it was passed down to us, and my brother did all those things. He helped me get a credit card online. He bought groceries, clothes, books, cable, and all that stuff. Our doctor came to my house, so I was doing okay. There was a long time that I lived off of financial assistance from the state because I wasn't mentally fit to work. But, when they cut that off, the internet was already a thing, so I worked from home as a customer service representative for Time Warner Cable." "Why didn't you leave your home" Everlyn asked. Adam froze like he'd seen a ghost before proceeding home with a blank face." "Umm, so back in the day, there were were these radio shows where they would have sound effects and voice actors. Televisions were still kind of a new invention and crazy expensive, so everybody got their news, politics, sports, music, and other forms of entertainment from the radio. One day multiple shows were going on that night. I think most of America was tuning in for a big sports event that night. When that ended, people started looking for other things to listen to. That night, CBS was doing a show from the Herbert George Wells novel, Wars Of The World. It's an ancient story about an alien invasion. Because people had started listening to the show after it started, they thought it was real. So people were freaking out all over America. Before this had even started, my dad was already what some would call a kook when it came to life from another planet. He would research all these Mayan sightings along with the end of the world. Just all this crazy stuff. After this started, my dad yelled at my mom that he told her this would happen. So he told me to to get his shotgun. After I grabbed it from his gun case, I gave it to him in our backyard. He proudly put his hand on my head and said, "good job, son. Just do exactly what dad does to avoid any mistakes. I'll see you soon, bud." He winked at me, and I just smiled. Iwas so oblivious. He played the butt of the gun on the ground, and put the barrel in his mouth an..."

Adam froze in time as Evelyn stood there looking up at him. A boiling highway mirage flooded up to their knees as the unbearable silence echoed. A women's shout gott louder, from a distance yelling "Evelyn! Evelyn!" Evelyn's mother ran up to them frantically. She got on her knees while hugging Evelyn before shouting "where were you." Evelyn responded nervously, "I went to Walgreens to help him a." "She's a sweet girl. I'm sorry if we worried you" Adam interrupted. Her mother scolded him and then stormed off with Evelyn in her arms. As Adam approached his house, he saw Evelyn whispering in her mother's ear as her eyes gazed on him. After opening the door, he began to walk inside until he heard her mother yell from a distance "Sir! Sir! "" When he looked back, he saw Evelyn's mother with a newfound warm smile asking "would you like to come over for dinner."