Shoes Forgotten

Steven flicked his hand and the scene around him started to change. It was a slow movement at first - the sun returned to its peak in the east, all was dark, and then the moon rose from the west. It sped up, and soon, the moon was gone and the sun rose in the west. Time was moving backwards as the sun and moon did their dance so fast that they blurred into a straight line across the sky. Light dimmed and brightened in turn as the grass underneath him changed into gleaming white sand. And then, as quickly as the unnatural movements had started, they began to slow down until the sun sat still overhead.  

Steven took his shoes off and wiggled his toes in the soft sand. He looked at his watch. Any moment now he would see a dog run by with a blue frisbee in its mouth, returning it to a young couple walking along the shoreline. The couple would be holding hands, and she would be laughing at some dumb joke the boy told her. She would run ahead to retrieve the frisbee from the dog, only to fling it back into the sky across the sandy beach. The boy would bend down on one knee and propose marriage to the beautiful girl with long brown hair, and she would give him an excited, “Yes!” Then the boy would swoop her up into his arms and spin her around while they both laughed about the excitement their new life would bring. The young couple would pass right by him, unaware that they were being watched, and he would listen to the girl say to the boy, “Steven, I love you so much.”

He watched the events play out as they had so many times before, yearning all the while to be back in that moment when he heard his wife say “yes” the first time. He wasn’t sure if his ability to rewind time was a blessing or a curse, but at this point, he’d seen the proposal more times than he could count. It was his fondest memory of Katelyn, and now that she was gone, he clung to it as if it were the air he needed to survive.

Steven knew that every rollback of time took its toll on him. While he spent most of his free time in the past, the present was frozen, waiting for him to return. No one aged while he was gone, but his timeclock continued, and as a result, he appeared to grow older much faster than those around him.  

He glanced down at his watch and realized he had stayed longer this time than intended. He flicked his hand through the air and time flashed forward before his eyes until he was back in his own yard sitting in the grass behind his house.  

A large raindrop splashed on his hand. In the two short hours he’d been gone a storm cloud had rolled in. A few more drops fell. He closed his eyes, turned his face to the sky, and sat there as the rain started to pour around him. Only when he heard thunder crack in the distance did he get up to go inside. He didn’t get far before he realized he was barefoot. He’d forgotten his shoes back in the past. Steven sighed and sat back down so that he could go back and retrieve his shoes.

He flicked his hand through the air and once again the light danced in front of him. When it stopped, Steven was sitting in the sand still soaking wet from the downpour. He looked around for his shoes but didn’t see them anywhere. Just then, he saw the blue frisbee fly through the air. The dog started to run for it but stopped and looked right at him. Steven froze. The dog had never stopped before. He looked down the beach expecting to see the young couple, but instead of two figures, he only saw one. His eyes grew wide as he stared at the girl with the long brown hair. Katelyn was alone, and Steven didn’t see his younger self anywhere around. He looked back at the dog that was now heading his way. Panic-stricken, he frantically got to his feet. The dog trotted right up to him and rubbed against his legs. It was comforting in a small way because he’d known this dog since he’d first met his wife, but he was still filled with fear because Katelyn was now walking towards him.

“What are you doing over here?” He was sure she was talking to the dog, but she was looking straight at him.

“Uhh… me?” he asked awkwardly. He was still in shock that she could see him let alone talk to him. It was like some weird, but amazing, dream.  

“Yes, you. I was waiting for you over at the beach house,” she said as she motioned in the direction she had just walked. “Where’d you go? And why are you soaking wet?” Steven looked down at his sopping wet clothes and noticed something peculiar. His slightly pudgy belly was now flat. He held out his arms, and noticed that his wrinkly skin was not so wrinkly anymore. He touched his head. It was full of hair. He felt fine but knew that something was definitely off.

Not sure how to answer her “where’d you go” question, he said, “I… uhh… went swimming in the ocean.” That was a lie. He’d been sitting in the middle of his backyard getting drenched by rain only moments before.  

“Well, okay. Let’s head back. We’ve got dinner plans at six, remember? They’re serving Surf ‘N Turf, and I don’t want to be late. Come on Lucy!” She turned to leave and the dog followed suit. Steven was very confused. He knew that his younger self had made plans at Hall’s Chophouse for a 6 o’clock dinner that evening. He also knew that she would eat raspberry cheesecake for desert. He started to follow her and felt something against his leg. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. He gasped in surprise because he knew what it was. To be sure, he slowly opened the box. There, in its cushion, sat the sparkling diamond ring he had used to propose marriage to Katelyn so many years ago. I must be dreaming, he thought. Was it possible that he was no longer a bystander? Could he really be reliving his memory? Katelyn turned to look at him. He quickly shoved the box back into his pocket and took a few steps in her direction. It must be real, he thought with renewed energy.

The white sand was soft under his feet, and the birds called out as they flew gracefully above him. He held his breath as he reached for her hand. This was exactly what was supposed to be happening. After he’d experienced it once, he’d seen it a thousand times since - always trying to get back in the moment, but not really knowing how. And yet, here he was about to ask the love of his life to marry him again. He pulled the box from his pocket and got down on one knee. He repeated the same words he’d used the first time, afraid that if he said something different his new reality would disappear. “Katelyn, I love you with all my heart, and I never want to wake up without you. Life is so much brighter with you in it, and I hope you’ll let me share it with you. Will you marry me?” Just as he knew she would, she shook her head up and down emphatically, giving him that familiar “yes” that filled him with such joy. He swooped her up into the air and spun her around as they laughed about the excitement their new life would bring.  

He noticed something on the ground in the direction from which he had just walked. It was a pair of shoes sitting neatly together. He smiled at the shoes, thankful that he’d forgotten them in the first place. He left them where they were. He walked off into the sunset with the woman he'd always loved, eager to relive the best years of his life.