Chapter 1 - Living in the Past

When I woke up that morning, I already felt that something was different, even if I couldn't quite place what it was. At first, it seemed to be my body, less popping in my joints, but I thought nothing of that at first. When I opened my eyes, though, the room around me... Well, it certainly wasn't mine. Where was I? I looked around... Most of my stuff, it seemed, was here like it should have been. Same Superman poster I recognized, same full bookshelves, even if one was considerably less worn and weathered than it should be, same TV/VCR. But the walls... Mine were natural wood with a varnish coat, these were solid milky white. And the room, it was definitely much bigger.

Then, I noticed, the bed I was laying on... This wasn't even the same bed I fell asleep on last night! What was going on? How could I have been moved to another house in the night without even noticing or waking? I got out of bed and on my feet, suddenly feeling strangely shorter, then looked out the large bedroom window. I didn't even recognize the countryside scene at all. I was used to seeing the dense woods past my backyard out my own window, but here, I seemed to be in a second-story bedroom over a garage facing front. I could see a street, and then vast, rolling hills stretching off into the distance. A beautiful view, for sure, but not one that I recognized.

I turned once again back to the bedroom, when I caught the reflection in the mirror; was that really me? As I walked toward it, I ran my hand over my face, which I suddenly realized was very smooth because my beard was gone without a trace. In fact, realizing the reason I felt shorter, I saw freckles that I hadn't seen in years! Plus, the Legend of Zelda pajamas I was wearing, where had they come from? I'd never even owned any like this before!

"What... This is impossible!" I exclaimed out loud. I had just been twenty-nine years old the night before, going on thirty. Now, I looked barely even twelve years old, and I still had no idea how far from home I was, or why. This had to be a strange dream of some kind. Yes, of course, that was it.

I decided to look around the house a little. Outside my bedroom door was a long hallway, same milky white walls as my room had. A very nice bathroom was across the hall, and down the hall was one other room, but I decided to try downstairs first. I came to a big living room, and saw my parents there.

"Oh good, you're up! You have mail here," My mom told me, pointing at a coffee table with a brown envelope on it.

"What's going on here?" I asked, not sure it still felt like a dream.

My dad looked up from his eggs, "What d'you mean, 'what's goin' on'?" he asked. It was strange to hear him talk normally, as if he had never even had his first stroke.

I continued, "I mean... What happened last night? Where are we?"

My mom looked closely at me. "Ben, did you sleep okay last night? I know it's been a lot to get used to this past month, with the move and everything. Why don't you eat some breakfast?"

"Move?"

"I know England is different, but it's going to be okay. This was right, your dad's making more, and you'll be able to get the things you want. Now get some eggs and bacon, before it gets cold."

I tried to process this... England? Judging by the hills, I was sure she didn't mean England, Arkansas, which was in the flatlands, about an hour away. Could we really have moved to Europe overnight? And this still didn't explain why we all seemed to be younger.

I went on to the kitchen where my dad was, and fixed a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. It did smell good. As I sat, I noticed a big TV positioned in the living room near the edge, where it could also be seen from the dining room, showing a morning news show. The anchors all had British accents. "Good morning, it's a beautiful day in the greater London area today, June the fifteenth, 1998. Today's breaking headlines..." I stopped chewing... 1998? Could time really have gone backwards? It was like being in the Twilight Zone or something!

I went back to eating and tried to think... If I'd somehow been sent back in time, and then something changed, shouldn't I be able to remember? I concentrated, and to my surprise, it came to me.

I could remember the last school year ending, after sixth grade, and then finding that my dad had gotten a call from someone he'd worked with many years prior. He had moved to the outskirts of London, England to open his own car business, and wanted to make my dad as his assistant manager, with a very good salary. My dad flew over first and lived in his friend's guest room until he found this house for my mom and I, then had us come as well. I also remembered being sad, saying good-bye to the few school friends I had, and all the family that lived around me on the little road I knew so well. Obviously, this wasn't exactly a trip that could be made every weekend.

As strange as it seemed, I still had my memories of the life I'd lived up til yesterday, but this new set also. Still... How and why had this happened?

I remembered that brown envelope that had come for me. Maybe it had the answers? I went over to get it. My mom saw me and said, "That thing sure was addressed specifically, look at it." I looked: Mr. Benjamin Worthington, The bedroom above the garage, 312 Danvers Drive, and the rest of my address. Something looked familiar about this style of addressing. I found a pair of scissors and cut above the sealed spot, then took out the parchment... And as I started to read, recognizing what this was, my full stomach seemed to vanish completely.