I got home and just collapsed on the couch. I was sure I had just imagined a day in the sun, but then I felt my pocket, and there it was. The coin the tall man gave me. He must have known my first reaction would be to think it was a dream, but with a coin that changed, how could I ever say that? I looked at the coin again; now it read 3000, and it said “The United Country of States.” That was the most unusual thing about the coin now. There was an engraving of a real movie-star model on the front. She was, what, a knockout for sure on our coins then.
I decided I was done for today, so I made dinner and took a shower for bed. However, when I came out of the shower, there was that same lady standing in my room. Since I knew her from the picture on the coin I had just looked at, I said, “Hello there, strange finding you in my house tonight. Can I assume you’re not real and just a picture or something?” With that, she bent over, grabbed my neck, and kissed me as I had never been kissed by a picture before. Then she looked at me and said, “You still think I am cardboard, Karl?”
I sat on the bed in my towel and could not take my eyes off this person until I finally said, “I need to know why you’re here. What is your purpose to be here?”
The lovely lady went over to my dining room, got a chair, came back, and sat in front of me while I was not in my best dress by far. I was thinking if I could tell this person no if she wanted to do more than talk, and why would I? She sat down and started her story to me by leaning back and saying, “So Karl, I take it you have no more chance of thinking I am an illusion now, right? So we can move on now to why I jumped to you. You see, my little newsman Karl, you have the key. Not a key you can ever use to open up much of anything, but you have a key to bring the future back to where it should have been. You see, I know that Noris talked to you today, a tall man, black coat. Anyway, Karl, you need to understand that he is lying to you because he does not want his change in time to be stopped, as only you can. Yes, Karl, you, in your towel, can save the world’s future.
“And let me tell you how, my dear simple single man. You see, single men and those who are nice and simple no longer exist after 3200, Karl. They have been engineered away. By trying to make the perfect human, they have created puppet people, as I call them. No guts, no manhood, only a woman of the worst type in pants now. So let me get back to it, shall I, Karl, baby. So sometime in the 2000s, a secret discovery was made that would allow DNA to be shared between humans without any childbirth. No sex needed, just show up and get your baby on. And the design of that was you could pick traits and even size and shape from a list of what your son would look like. That sounds good until the basics, get knocked up and wait nine months to see what you got, began to be a thing of the past, as well as natural births. But you already know nothing easy ever ends well at all. So years later, after all normal births were practically gone and families were a dream, it was found out that none of these new men could give what was needed to start a family of their own. And since the wars and the nuclear option were used in small areas, the men who were old were mostly sterile and could not help.
“And that is when a fraction of the Earth realm decided to start finding people who might have caused this and stop it early. You see, Karl, last year we erased that man from the map to save Earth, because his son is the one who created the machine that destroyed the planet. I am here to try and correct that again. So you need to tell the tale and get people mad and awake enough to save the world from themselves.”
I looked at this lady and started out by asking her name, as she told me it was President Picler. So I went on, saying to her, “Miss Picler, do you really think an old news guy like me, working at a simple, small paper, can say anything to get people from today to care about what happens five hundred to a thousand years from now? I think you have too much hope for what I can do for you right now. And I do not think I will even try, because that will get me taken away for sure, as well as lose my job and get me taken away to a fun room of my very own.”
Yes, I was considering writing a story about the strange and unusual things going on, but not anything world-saving. “I am sorry, you have the wrong man this time.”
The lovely lady looked at me, unbuttoned the top two buttons on her blouse, and said, “Karl, you do realize I am prepared to do anything I have to in order to get a story out about this wrongdoing. And you might even give the future a new life in the long run, so what can I do to get you to tell a story, my Karl?”
With that, I was up and walking again, but not to the bed, because I do not work that way. I was going to my closet to get something between me and her more than just a flimsy towel. As I walked in that direction, I said, “Why do all you ladies who look like you do think you can get what you want just by offering yourselves as the prize, madam? I do not sell that easily, and I have more I want than a quick moment in my life, President. Is that how you became President, or do you have more to convince me to do what you want?”
When I came out of my closet, she was gone. I looked all over, and there was no lady anymore. But I did look at the bed, and there was just one card with a nude picture of her on one side and a handwritten note on the other. It said, “Karl, you know you’re the one who can help us all. I will be back if you do what you said you would do, or else you will not see this picture in person ever again, baby.”
I took the picture, tore it up, and threw it away.
Now I had a choice of two directions and no idea which one was the right way, and that is when I decided I needed to hear from the originator of the problem. So the next morning, I started early to go back to the house of the reliving, or the not-dead-anymore, or Halloween haunts for real. So whatever I need to call him, I need to talk to him outside the house, so I will try to have a nice talk. I went to the store and got two folding chairs. I then went to the magic home and put both chairs in the front yard across from one another, where I remembered there was never damage to the yard at all, in other words, outside the repaired area from the time bandits from the future. Then I knocked on the door, and like before, it was like he was waiting right there for me. Except this time, I was not nice; I was direct, very direct, as the door opened. I said, “I know who I am, and I know who you are. The only mystery now is what I will do about all this. If you want to try to tell me what you want me to do, I'll put two chairs away from the fresh rebuilt life of yours, and we can talk there, or else you might be gone, or not, tomorrow.” With that, he just stood there as I did not come in. I had my fill of creepy clocks and vanishing pictures for the week. I just stood there looking at my watch that was keeping the proper time, and seconds ticked by. I was going to give myself five minutes before I left and flip a coin.
About four minutes and a few seconds later, the man who was always in the house was no longer there, but sat in one of my normal chairs and stared at me as if it were magic. I walked to my chair and also sat in the fantasy safe zone of my own making. And I said, “Mr. Walcot, I have been visited by the keep-this-going side and also the stop-it side. I have not decided what I should do yet. I need your help so I can make an educated decision. You see, sir, I need to know what originally happened and how this recovery came into place. If you cannot tell me these things, I cannot guarantee you will still be here in a week, sir. The choice is yours.” I then sat there in my hot, uncomfortable chair in the sun and waited while I looked at this broken man, recovered for now.
Mr. Walcot got out of his chair and walked around the yard for a bit, then came back looking more animated as he said to me, and only me, “Karl, you know they are watching me. They are always watching me now, from the corner of a room to the crack in the bedroom closet, almost like I am a display life they like to watch to see what things used to be like. Even now, in my ear, I am being told to say nothing and roll the dice of my new life. Karl, I will tell you my story as well as how I feel about it, and I will let your heart and mind make the choice for you. I, however, will not ask you what I want you to do, sir.” Right then, Mr. Walcot was no longer stressed at all, and he leaned back in his chair as if it was the most forgiving place he could be as he started with the tale of his change, I guess I would call it. Right then, I got out my recorder and pressed record so I would have a recording of this conversation when I decide how to move forward. You see, I will always think through every decision and never jump without an idea of what the outcome will be, so he started.
Mr. Walcot started to talk as he looked at the blue sky, since the sun was a bit behind us he could do that and keep his eyes wide open. “You see, Karl, I was always that guy who had an idea, and you were right when you came before. I did have to rewire the whole workroom because the contractor, trying to save a dime, put wires that would overheat and burn if I did not replace them. However, I did not know the same contractor worked for the last owners, who just wanted the job fast and cheap. So when it came to installing the hot water heater and clothes dryer, they cut corners, I was told. Of course, Karl, there is no proof of this, you see. It was all a cash deal. So what they did was run the full-size wire into the wall for the inspector to see, then put a wire nut and ran double small wires to the breaker box downstairs. That was done to who knows how many things in the house, but the one that counted was the clothes dryer. You see, my wife would put the clothes to dry at night since it was in the basement. That way in the morning all would be done. The night I lost my family, the dryer wire melted from the extra-long dryer cycle from all the towels and caught the wall on fire, and the burning went all the way to the attic since the fire break was also never installed. I did not know what happened until I woke up in the ambulance next to my wife with major burns, since her side of the bed was next to that wall, Karl. I was not told about my kids being burnt alive until two days later, when I forced the nurse to tell me the truth, then my wife, Angelica, one more day after that. Everyone said I was lucky, but I was not. They were lucky, if there was luck, because they did not have to deal with the loss of my whole life as I did.”
Right then, I looked at him, and I swear I had a few tears for this poor man and what he went through, and his story had not even started yet, really. I put my hand on his and said, “I am sorry you need to go through this again.” He looked at me flat-faced and said, “No worries, Karl, it will be the last time. All is good.” I did not know what that meant then, but I do now, so let’s continue.
The old man, who even looked older than he had just a minute earlier, continued, “You see, I was done with all this and even went to the bridge to end my life of nothing, when a gorgeous lady came to me and walked right up to me and gave me a kiss, then said, ' Did I get your attention now? '” I looked at him and said, “Yeah, I know that lady, and yeah, great looks on the outside. On the inside, I am thinking tar.” After a nod, he continued.
“So after that, I did listen to her about how my family could come back to me, but I could never say anything to anyone about this conversation or what my memory was, because anyone who would know about it would try to destroy what they were doing here. I would then lose my family forever. So who would say no to that? What did I have to lose? I did not really know then what was going to happen, Karl. So I said, okay, let’s do that, and that night I was told to take these four white pills, so I did. Well, two days later, I woke up with my wife pushing me out of bed, saying I needed to get up, baby, and I remember that morning. It was the day of the fire. However, that morning I called an electrician and told him I had an emergency and needed them out today, and I would pay anything, and he came and fixed the electrical problem. I thought that was great, and this was the best choice I ever made, but then,” and I looked at him and said, “Time did not like it, and it came to try and change to what once was.”
Mr. Walcot looked at me with a haunted look and said, “Yeah, Karl. I was making love to my wife that very night, and she felt wrong, so I opened my eyes to a black burned body for twenty seconds before she said, " Baby, please do not stop, Hun. The next day, I was throwing the ball with my son out back, and when I threw the ball, it fell to the ground smoking and red hot. Karl, it was like I could see these things, but my family could not see them. So my wife wanted me upstairs, but I could not because of the fear of what she would become. My daughter, one morning, was just dust in her bed until I moved the covers, and she screamed at me for uncovering her. Then the whole house looked at me funny, like I was sick. As of now, none of them talk to me, as you saw, they keep their distance, and I am afraid we might be getting a divorce now, from what my once-loving wife says to me. As you see, Karl, the greater good is killing me slowly instead of quickly as I was going to kill myself. And it is not just the people of my house, Karl, it is also the house. Doors disappear as I walk through them. Once I walked into my room and fell all the way to the basement into a pile of ash. That was gone, and I had a sprained ankle from that. So as you saw, I walk slowly, knowing at any time things will change.”
With that last statement, he just bowed his head and sat there, and now I know why this chair seemed so much better out here in the sun. It was real and would never change, so his mind here could be at peace without needing to wonder, even for a moment. And I realized this man was a shell of his own making by saying yes only once.
But as he raised his head, I could tell he was not done at all, as he continued to tell his tale of distress like no man should ever feel. “Karl, you know what I was told. Well, I will tell you, it would be easier. I was told that everything would be great, and my son would invent the process that would save the planet in 40 years. You know, Karl, I do not think he will be here in a week. The episodes that were once a week are now daily, and I am the only one who sees them, but maybe you also know, so I would not go inside again. Who knows what nightmare you will need to fight off, as I do, of the walking burnt ones? So, Karl, with what I was told, it was a few days of problems until it all ended, and I should keep all I see inside so others will not find out. Yeah, Karl, how can I continue to make love to a crispy corpse instead of my lovely wife? It kind of kills the mood. So we have no marriage right now, and she thinks I am with another woman due to my driving and suddenly stopping. Can you see me saying to my wife, ‘Sweetie, you turned black and crispy. That is the only reason we stopped. You are back now, so let’s start again.’ Karl, you know that will put me out in a second. So I must tell you to do what you think is best. I will let it all play out. I deserve my own hell. Besides, I think from the timing, I only have another week before I would be alone again anyway. And for the lady, she is over your shoulder now, telling me that if I do not stop, I will be dead. She was also behind you in the house last time you came by, Karl. And there is another man who just stares at me in a long coat, and I can see the pain in his eyes, as if they are on competing sides of this.”
I then spoke up and said to my new poor friend as I put my hand over his, “Let me tell you some things now. I was in the park talking to that tall man in black, and you are right, he seemed very calm and powerless to stop what was happening, and I could see he was also in pain for that one fact, as if helping is what he needed to do. However, that lady came to my house right as I got out of the shower, and she kissed me as you said, and said if I stopped looking around and let things be, she would come back and give me a night I would never forget.”
Right then, Mr. Wilcot made a face and said, “I do not think you should put anything of yours near her. Who knows what she has from the future, Karl? We might already be dying from that kiss from hell.”
I had to look at him and nod as I went on, “The tall man seemed to hint that I would let things go and do nothing, and to be honest, that was what I was going to do until she came into my life, thinking she could pull me to write what she wanted. However, she only got me to go away from her with that game of hers.”
Then I took the coin from my pocket, not knowing what it would say now, and it still had her face on it, and I gave it to my poor father sitting there. And as he looked at it, it changed in his hands to 3240 and said “The fully united states of America” with a picture of an older-looking guy with a beard.
And I said, “Mr. Wilcot, I know my answer now, so say goodbye to your family today the right way, sir.”
And as I got up, I said to him, “I will leave these here in case you need a secure place again, sir.”And I walked away and got into my car and drove off to write my story that my editor would never print in a thousand years.