3/18/2024
2:47 am
This is the last story from the writing prompts. Day 6 was the alphabet poem that I had posted previously. I think this prompt was a good test of my creative thoughts.
Day 7 – Back from the Future
Synopsis: A Knock at the door catches you off guard. Upon answering it, you’re greeted by a man who says he’s from the future – and he can prove it. More importantly, he says he has information that will save your life.
***************************************************
It was looking like a dreary day. The rain had started early that morning and the sound of thunder woke Alice up well before her alarm clock was set to go off.
She had always been an early riser but the weekends were supposed to be her days for sleeping in but today Mother Nature decided that wasn’t going to happen. She got up and turned on the television to get a weather update while Shadow the cat sat patiently by the bathroom door watching her wash her face. Shadow sat there gently purring and washing the sleep off her face waiting for her human to head to the kitchen so she could eat breakfast too.
Alice fed Shadow and started making her morning coffee. Alice was going to meet her boyfriend later that day and they were going to go house hunting. They had planned on getting married later in the year but decided to find their future home now while they both had the time and money for the down payment.
Once the wedding was over and they were settled in, Alice was going to start working part-time from home while she completed her master’s in business. Her boyfriend had just got a promotion and would be traveling for work more for the first year then would be settled as well. They had it all planned out so now it was just a matter of time.
She was busy checking her e-mails, waiting for her coffee to be made when there was a knock at the door. She was startled and looked at the clock, it was only 7:30, who could that be? She wasn’t expecting anyone and her boyfriend always texted when he was down the street. Alice picked up the bat aptly named “The Equalizer” a gift from their grandfather when she was 10. She kept it by her back door and walked slowly toward the living room.
It was still lightly raining; the thunderstorm had already passed and as she peered out the living room window to the porch she saw a young man standing at her door. For some reason, he looked familiar but Alice couldn’t place him.
Alice saw her next-door neighbor, a city police officer, was home and sitting on his porch having coffee with his wife so she felt safe to answer the door. She opened the door and knew the screen door was locked.
“Hello, can I help you?” she said to the young man.
He was tall, maybe in his early twenties, lanky with brown hair and kind blue eyes. He looked so familiar to Alice but she wasn’t sure where she had met him before, maybe he was from one of her classes. His jacket looked soaking wet and Alice wondered if he had been caught in the storm earlier.
“Hello, Na…Mrs. Jones” he said. She looked at him strangely, that was going to be her new last name once she got married but for now, it was still Smith. How did this person know that she wondered?
She said, “Well, you’re a little early for the Mrs. Jones part, the wedding isn’t for another six months.” He blinked at her “You mean you’re not married yet?” he asked. She looked at him with an amused face and asked him once more “I’m sorry but what was your name again?”
He hesitated for a moment then said his name was Andrew. She smiled at him. She liked the name Andrew; it was her grandfather’s name and the name she had picked out for any future little Joneses they may have.
“Well, Andrew, it has been raining cats and dogs all morning and it looks like you got caught up in it so whatever your reason for being at my door at 7:30 must be pretty important, please tell me you’re not trying to sell me something.” “Once again, how can I help you?” she said.
He smiled at her and then began to explain why he was there.
“Alice, uh Miss. Smith, I’m here because you are in danger and your future is in jeopardy and I’m here to help.” Alice looked at him and started to feel uneasy. She hadn’t told him her first or last name had she?
“Ok, Andrew, I’m not sure what kind of game you’re playing but it isn’t funny and I don’t have time for this.” Alice started to close the door when Andrew blurted out “If you don’t listen then everything you planned won’t happen.” Alice stopped and looked at him. The look in his eyes told her he was being honest; she didn’t know why but she knew she had to listen to him.
“Ok, Andrew, I don’t know why I’m doing this but give me a minute, I’ll be back.” She shut and locked the door, went to her room, and quickly changed then swung by the kitchen, grabbing two cups of coffee and a tea towel.
Shadow meowed at her as she passed by, she stopped and rubbed her back to let her know that she heard her. Shadow then curled up in a ball by the front door and went back to sleep.
Alice went back to the front porch and handed Andrew the towel and a cup of coffee as they sat down. She asked him if needed any sugar or creamer but he said no. “Okay, Andrew, why are you here, and what is so urgent?”
He took the towel, and a cup of coffee and said thank you. After he dried up the best he could and took a few sips of the coffee he began telling her why he was there.
“I know this is going to sound crazy but I hope that you will listen to what I have to say,” Andrew said. “I’m here because today while you are house hunting with Jack you both may be seriously hurt.”
Alice looked at him and now was feeling more alarmed, she never mentioned her boyfriend’s name and how did he know they were going house hunting? She kept listening.
“You will be looking at some houses down by the riverside and there will be a terrible flash flood that will sweep up your car and the others there.” He looked at her and his eyes looked so sad. Alice knew he wasn’t lying to her; she didn’t know how but she knew it was the truth. Jack and Alice were going house hunting but she didn’t know where yet, he had the listing from the realtor.
She began to hear the birds chirping and the rain had finally stopped. They sat there quietly just looking at each other.
“Ok, so if you know all this are you going around warning everyone?” Alice asked as she sipped her coffee. He looked at her and told her “No, just the person who needs to know it.” Alice looked at him and didn’t know what to believe. Who was this person and why would he tell her this?
“Okay so if you know this why you wouldn’t warn the others that would supposedly be affected by it?” Alice was starting to feel anxious and wanted to know who he was. “Who are you, how do you know me and how do you know this?”
He looked at her and said, “I can’t tell you who I am but you and Jack are important to not only me but others as well, our future depends on you listening to me today and hearing what I have to say, all I can tell you is that I’m from the future and was sent back to put you on a different path.”
Alice started laughing and couldn’t help herself. “Oh brother, now that is one hell of a backstory.” She continued laughing. He just looked down at his shoes and then said, “Your stubbornness was carried on, he told me you wouldn’t believe it.”
“What? Who told you?” she had stopped laughing and looked at him sternly. He continued to tell her that he wasn’t supposed to mention anyone else otherwise it wouldn’t work.
“Okay, say that what you are telling me is the truth and you are supposedly from the future, isn’t this supposed to cause some sort of paradox or something just like in the movies?” Alice asked.
He looked at her and said, “No, actually it doesn’t work exactly like that since we figured out a way to time travel.” He looked dead serious at her.
Alice couldn’t believe she was still sitting here talking to him. She looked at her watch and it was almost 8:15. Jack would be arriving about 9:30, they were going to go to breakfast first and then go through the realtor listing before heading out. She still had some work to go over before they left for the day.
“Ok, Andrew, this has been an interesting way to waste 30 minutes of my day but I’m really busy and have to get some work done before I leave, so this is going to have to be it.” Alice started getting up.
Andrew grabbed her arm “Please, you have to take what I said seriously” his eyes were pleading with her and she still had the feeling that he was telling her the truth.
“Okay, say you are telling me the truth, where’s the proof?” “You have to give me something that will let me know that this isn’t just some sort of joke, a sick joke.”
Andrew sat there and thought about what he could tell her that would let her know he wasn’t lying to her. “Okay, the address of one of the houses you are going to look at by the river is 1515 E. Elm, it’s a two-story yellow house with a white picket fence and a big oak tree in the front.” “Jack is going to tell you it reminded him of his grandmother’s house.”
Alice looked at him and didn’t know what to think. “Okay, I’ve had about enough of this, you have to go.” She grabbed the towel, and coffee cups and started heading into the house. Shadow meowed and stretched as she opened the screen door.
Andrew stood on the porch waiting for Alice to say something else. “Thank you Alice for your time and for not introducing me to The Equalizer.” She had a look of surprise when he said that and told him to “Have a good day” and then closed the door.
He didn’t know if she had listened to him or not. He wouldn’t know until he got back if it had worked. She was the reason he existed in the first place and hopefully, the change they needed to get things back on track. She was an important part of the future and didn’t even know it.
He walked down the street and disappeared around the corner. Alice was watching him from the upstairs bedroom window, “How the hell did he know about The Equalizer?” Maybe he saw it by the front door. Maybe it was one of her friends playing a twisted joke on her. Most of her family and friends knew about the bat, she has played softball every spring and summer since she was ten.
She didn’t have any more time to waste on this nonsense. She got a text from Jack he was on his way. She had decided not to tell him about that whole weird scenario but it was still gnawing at her thoughts when they arrived at their favorite corner café.
The thunderstorms had one last final downpour before heading out, they sat at the café talking and drinking coffee. Jack had already gone through the realtor listing the night before and had some addresses all ready to go when they started driving around.
They looked at a few condos and decided that wasn’t the route they wanted to take. They agreed that it had to be a place big enough for when they decided to start a family, a place that they could be in for quite a while.
They went to a nice subdivision in the hillside and liked some of the potential homes plus it was in a great school district, they had both graduated from the same high school in that district.
They had stopped at a gas station to fill up, some of the homes were out in the country and it would take a while. While Jack went to pay for the gas, Alice picked up the realtor listing and started to look through some of the pictures.
Jacked hopped back in the car and started pulling out heading back down past the main square toward the riverside. They were stopped, waiting for the train that was slowly moving past them, when Alice came upon the picture of the house. It was exactly as he had described it. Yellow, two-story, white picket fence and a big oak tree. Jack saw her looking at the house and said that it had reminded him of his grandma’s house then asked for the address he had circled.
Alice said “1515 E. Elm” She looked at him and asked where it was located. Jack said he thought it was off the riverside somewhere but they would have to find it, he wasn’t familiar with that part of town. Alice started feeling lightheaded and her face started looking pale. Jack looking concerned asked, “Are you okay?”
Alice told him “No, we can’t go down there.” She told him she didn’t want any houses located by the river and was adamant about it. Jack just smiled at her, kissed her on the forehead, and said “Okay, princess, whatever you want.” Alice looked at her watch it was almost 11. He turned the car around after the train had finally passed and they headed out of town.
Later that day, when they were heading back to town, they came upon a traffic backup on the bridge. The policeman told them they were diverting all traffic away from the riverfront.
Jack had gotten out and walked up to ask what was going on but Alice already knew. Jack got back in the car and looked at Alice with concern. “The officer said that the levee broke this morning and flooded most of the riverfront” She asked him what time it happened. “The officer said it happened sometime after 11 before 11:30” He held her hand and told her it would be okay. Alice knew it would be.
As time passed on, thoughts about that morning would pop up, and Alice still wondered who that young man was. She had to trust that things happened for a reason and she probably would never know why he was sent to her.
Fast forward, 50 years later, it was a beautiful spring day, a great day for a birthday party.
Alice and Jack had built up a wonderful life together, and now well into their late 70s, they had become successful, great kids who were becoming successes too.
Today they were celebrating the 5th birthday of their third grandson and one of the six grandchildren. Their family would continue to grow long after Alice and Jack passed on.
The day was winding down as Alice sat on the porch watching the children running, laughing, and playing when the screen door opened. He ran over to his Nana and jumped up on her lap. He was a talkative one that was for sure, Alice thought as he was showing her his new toy.
He told her that one day he was going to go into space and live on another planet. His mother came by and told him to let Nana rest. Alice smiled at him. She smiled because she knew that one day he might just do that as she looked into those familiar, kind blue eyes. “Andrew, you can do whatever, be whatever you want just remember I will always be there and will always listen to you.”
He hugged her neck and gave her a big sloppy kiss on the cheek. He jumped off her lap, grabbed The Equalizer off the porch, and ran after his cousins who were heading off to play some ball.
Alice sat there and listened to the birds chirping, watching the day wear on. She closed her eyes, felt the warm breeze on her face, and smiled because now she knew.
**********************************************
Thank you for stopping by.
Have a wonderful week!
Peace, love, happiness, and good vibes, always!
Suzanne
love to bake 