"Thank you," she said, shuffling uncomfortably.
"Do you see that clock on the wall, there?" I asked, pointing at an old analogue clock hanging on the back wall behind the counter. She nodded.
"Do you know what it means?" I asked.
"It tells time," she said, carefully placing my kaleidoscopes into a white paper bag that said "THANK YOU FOR VISITING!" God, I loved her already.
"And what is time?"
She bit her lip in thought. "Well... It's this... It's this thing. It's everything and nothing all at once, isn't it? It kind of tells us when we can do things. It's really important. Are you an alien?" She asked, staring at me wide-eyed. She couldn't imagine that anyone not know what time is, I suppose.
"I guess you could say that, yes."
She gasped and charged out of the room, leaving my bag haphazard on the table. I leaned over to collect it and held it at my side, double-checking in my head that I had paid her, with tip. I had.
The girl came back with an older man, with thinning hair and a white shirt and red bow tie on. He had black dress pants and black italian shoes. Fancy for such a small store.
"Daddy, daddy, it's an alien!" She yelled, pointing at me.
The man shook his head and chuckled, looking at me apologetically.
"Well, I must be on my way," I said, walking out the door. "It was nice to meet you both. I must be on my way to Mars to meet the Mud People of Karabavagon."
I walked out the door and focused, feeling the ground underneath me shift and, eventually, disappear, sending me into a vast plane of nothingness. I focused on the year 2015, when the girl would be forty and I could finally court her.
I appeared outside the same shop, and looked around. The town had become more run-down due to the recent economic collapse, but, amazingingly, the store was still open. It appeared, however, that it wouldn't be that way for long.
A bell rung when I opened the door, and a beautiful woman turned around from her place behind the counter. It was the girl, clearly; same hair, same skin, same facial type. She was still so, so beautiful.
I walked up the counter and looked her up and down, noticing the ring stuck on her finger.
"I'm a census guy," I said quickly. I hoped she wouldn't notice that I didn't have a piece of paper, or any sort of government identification, or any reason for this at all.
She seemed busy, and nodded quickly. "Alright," she muttered.
"When did you get married?"
"In 2000," she said absentmindedly.
"Great, that's all I need," I said, and walked out.
I focused again, this time on the year 2000. I hoped that whatever day I was teleported to, it was one before the official marriage, when I could still win her over.
Again I appeared in front of the shop, noticing that there was no bell this time as I walked in. The girl was once again behind the counter, twenty years younger and, thankfully, with a full set of breasts. She was incredible.
I walked up to the counter and saw that there was a ring on her finger.
"Are you married?" I asked, looking through the glass counter at the kaleidoscopes distractedly.
"Engaged," she said, happily.
"Oh, how sweet. Does your fiance enjoy kaleidoscopes?"
She laughed quietly. "Fiancee, actually. And yes, she loves the things. We actually met when she came in here to buy one."
I tried hard to hide my disappointment.
"That's adorable," I muttered. "Do you run the store often?"
"Well, my twin sister used to, but she... She passed away when she was sixteen."
"...Oh."
"Yeah. One of the best memories I have of her is that she swore up and down that she saw an alien. She swore it. 'I saw him!' she would yell, and no amount of evidence against it would ever convince her that he didn't exist. I don't know why I'm telling you this, honestly. You're just the first person to remind me of her in a long time... Everyone assumes I don't want to talk about her, but I do. I want to talk about her so badly. I'm sorry." She stared at the ground, embarrassed.
"Do you want to see something amazing?" I asked. "Something so incredible and brilliant that it will change everything you've ever thought about the world? Something that will bring you to your knees, yelling at the Universe for hiding something so powerful and amazing from you for so long?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes."
"Close your eyes."
She closed them, shuffling uncomfortably. "Are you the alien my sister met so many years ago?"
"Focus on where you want to go, and when. The when is very important. Do you feel the ground underneath you shifting?"
"...Yes. Oh my God, it's moving!"
"It's okay, that's what's supposed to happen. Let the ground take you. Don't be nervous, it'll be fine. Just relax and let time take you where you want to go..."
The Sharp Points of My Eroded Teeth
Start from the beginning
