“Don’t go so soon, Druzella,” Mom said. “How about staying for dinner?”
By then Druzella was standing and slinging her bag of goodies over shoulder.
“Great idea, Mom,” I encouraged.
Druzella was already heading for the living room, steps from the front door. “No thanks,” she said, scurrying away in a hurry.
“Wait up,” I said, rushing to get the door for her. I turned to Mom. “I’ll walk your friend to her car, Mom. Be right back.”
I followed Druzella down the sidewalk, struggling to keep pace with her. “Are you coming back soon?” I asked. “I’d really like to talk to you about parallel universes.”
She stopped abruptly and turned around so fast that I nearly bumped into her. She grabbed my hand and stared into my eyes for what seemed an eternity. I was uncomfortable and felt a chilling sensation come over her. Her hands were ice cold even though it was eighty degrees outside in late June and she was covered in layers of colorful clothes.
“How long have you been here?”
Her question floored me and I felt the rush of fire burning across my face. But how to answer her question was my biggest concern. Currently, nothing was normal in my life, so why should this exchange be any different?
“My whole life?” I answered in the form of a question in case she hadn’t noticed me following her out the door.
“How longthistime?” she asked, reframing her question.
I froze. How should I answer? Did she actually know?
“I’m . . . well, I’m not quite sure what you mean,” I stammered.
“I think you do,” she stated.
Oh, I did alright, but I wouldn’t admit to something this insane to a person I’d just met, even if it was the illustrious Madame Druzella from 2023.
“You’re what, seventeen or eighteen?” she asked, studying me.
I nodded.
“But not actually, am I correct?”
I didn’t respond.
“You’re going to make me say it?”
I nodded again. Better her than me. I no longer thought she was nuts, but she didn’t know that.
“I cannot pinpoint your precise age, young man, but you’re no teenage boy. Your aura is far too mature to fool me. Is your mother buying this version so far?”
What do I say?
“So,” I began, revealing nothing. “Do you know anything about parallel universes?”
She stepped closer so that her face was inches from mine, glancing toward the front window in case Mom was watching. “I know you don’t fuck around in them. How about that?”
“Helpful. Direct,” I stated.
“You seem like a wise man, Michael,” she said. “So listen closely.”
I held my breath out of fear that I may have alreadyfucked aroundin this dimension.
“Do what you came to do and then stop tinkering; or better yet, leave.”
“That’s where you come in,Madame Druzella,” I asserted. “I don’t know how to go back.”
