Chapter One: Past

 

I felt destined to die as Hermly and I sped along the street. A car zipped by, flying through the dark air. Clouds floated above my head. I reached out and managed to touch one, my fingers trailing in the wispy mist. 

“This is insane!” I exclaimed, holding onto Hermly’s waist. My face turned red as he swiveled his head around to look at me, raising his light eyebrow as if to say, “Could you possibly hold on any tighther?”

“Sorry,” I said, dropping my arms. I instantly felt extremely off-balance. The flying scooter under us was thin and  shaking violently under the pressure of gravity...like it still exisited. 

“We’ll be there in a sec,” Hermly said, keeping his eyes trained on the road under us. He released his grip on the gas, and we floated back down to earth. I sighed with relief.

“You could’ve had me killed!” I stepped off of the scooter. 

“C’mon Melanie, don’t you trust air travel?” Hermly asked, looking serious. He hopped off. “We’ve had it for centuries.”

“I don’t care!” I pouted, sticking my small hands in my jean pockets. “Mom says I’m an old soul.”

“Old for sure,” Hermly mumbled, barely audible.

I rolled my eyes. “You can’t live for the future Hermly.”

“You also can’t live for the past,” He retorted. “The future does matter, where as the past, doesn’t.”

“And why not?” I asked. “It’s all we have that’s real to us.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, wheeling the scooter over to a patch of grass, green despite summer’s heat. 

“We know it’s real. It’s true. And it can never be taken away from  us.” I shrugged. “It makes sense.”

Hermly looked bored. “So?”

I stuck my tounge out at him. “So, there!”

Hermly laughed. “You are such a dork!”

“Yes I am!” I said, laughing along. We plopped down next to the scooter and couldn’t stop. We laughed until we were clutching our stomachs. I stopped gradually, and eventually all that escaped were little hiccups. 

“Okay,” Hermly said, gulping for air. “Okay. We’re fine.” I propped myself up on my elbows. 

“Hermly,” I said, returning to normal. “Don’t you wish we could go back in time. You know, to see everything that happened?”

“Not really,” he admitted, his voice low. “We’d miss it here.”

“I don’t like it,” I said. “I want to go back.”

“I know,” Hermly said. He turned to look at me. “You mention it almost every day.”

I closed my eyes, transporting myself to the pictures in books. Clear air, green grass, blue skies. I sighed, in my own little world.

“Hey,” Hermly suddenly said, nudging me. “Wake up.”

“Huh?” I asked, sitting up. I yawned. Had I been asleep?

Hermly burst out laughing. “Your hair!”

I reached up to my neck but it wasn’t there. My hand traveled up my neck, to my jaw, over my ear, and to my scalp, where my hair was all pushed up. I tore my fingers through it, wincing when I tugged at some tangles. My scalp tingled.

“How long have I been asleep?” I asked, afraid for the answer.

“Only a couple of hours,” Hermly said. “I worked on the computer for a while. No need to worry about my level of boredom.”

“I wasn’t.”

Hermly wagged a scolding finger at me. “Rude girl.”

“Rude boy,” I said, waving my finger back. “Mom’s gonna kill me and you don’t even care.”

“Well,” Hermly said. “If you die can I have your c.d. player?”

“You can have it either way,” I promised, climbing onto the scooter. “This time I’m driving.”

“Party pooper,” Hermly said, climbing on behind me. He strapped his feet to the board. 

I gave him a look of disgust. “You never showed those to me.”

“I know,” Hermly grinned. “You would’ve never given them back.” He sniffed. “My life is more valuable anyway.”

I glared at him. “Shut. Up.”

“I was just joking!” He exclaimed, but Hermly remained quiet as I started up the scooter and sped off. 

Within seconds I was looking over the city. People rushed along the street like ants. Those flying were in large cars, making Hermly’s scooter resemble an ant too. 

I steered my way across the sky, avoiding a bird. I turned around to see a car come barreling past. It finished the bird off. I bit my lip. 

“Did you see that?” I asked, pointing at the car. “They hit a bird.”

“So?” Hermly said, reaching past me and grabbing onto the handlebars. “It’s just one bird.”

I made a face and pulled his hands from the bars. “It’s my turn. Not yours. And think about that poor bird, maybe it has babies.”

Hermly shouted and a car horn honked. He pushed me forward and grabbed onto the bars. He turned the scooter just enough for us to miss the large flying truck. 

“Thanks,” I said, breathless.

“Pay attention!” Hermly demanded. His face was red with exhauistion and anxiety. “That time you really almost killed us!”

I looked down, and Hermly gave me another look. Once again, I wasn’t watching the road...er...sky. 

“Hermly,” I said. “When there’s so much out there how do you expect me to be able to focus?”

Hermly rolled his eyes. “Sorry, I guess concern for our lives is just too much to ask. Isn’t it?”

I gritted my teeth. “Hermly,” I said, speaking slowly. “You need to come up with something useful to do besides critisize me!”

“Sorry,” Hermly said. “I just am so selfish. I actually have a bit of care for our safety.”

I let go of the gas and we drifted down. Once again, we landed in the road, slightly bumpy.

“Thanks,” Hermly said. “I’ll take that.” He reached across my lap and grabbed his straps. “Bye.”

“Bye.” I replied to him. Hermly walked off, already on his computer. I sighed.

Why is the world so mixed up? I wondered. I glanced up at the brown air, gathered in a cloud above my head. Ew. I wanted clear air, like in the old days. This was the year 5019, and it was way too advanced for me. 

I made my way home, picking my way across the mini animals on the street. The robotic animals barked and meowed at me, their small faces bright with happiness. 

“Hi,” I said to a dog name Bward. 

“Bark,” he replied, then moved to another human to bid them a loud hello.

Some houses were suspended in the air, with elevators hanging down. I was happy to see our house firmly on the ground, although it was still advanced in technology. 

“Melanie Tompson,” I said, speaking my name. The door swung open in response to my voice. 

“Hello, Melanie Tompson,” a loudspeaker said. I looked up, wondering where exactly the speaker was. 

I sat down on the couch. “Fluff, please,” I said. The couch bounced around until the cushions were nice and puffed up. 

“T.V. on.” I looked at the row of d.v.d’s. There it was, on the top shelf of the television. A classic. Almost four thousand years old. It had been re-created recently. “Twilight, please.”

The disc was popped on. Edward’s face filled the screen.

“I love you Bella,” he was saying. She smiled, aware that he was a vampire and could eat her, if wanted.

I was lost in Twilight when mom walked in. 

“Hey hon,” she said, taking a seat beside me. “The computer is making tacos for dinner. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I answered, focused only on the t.v. 

Mom replied, but I was blocking everything. I watched and nodded as she would say something, asking my opinion. But the words were like laundry...before I had a good look at what they were they were folded up and piled with others alike. 

“Mom,” I suddenly said, sitting up straighter. “Don’t you wish we could go back to the two-thousands?”

Mom shook her head. “Nope. I like it here. Besides, that’s ridicoulous, hoping for something that.”

“That’s just it,” I said. “Can’t I hope?”

“Hope is useless,” mom said. “Dreamers sit all around and don’t do anything to improve themselves or their lives.”

“I think it’s the opposite,” I replied, my voice sounding shaky. “I think it’s useful.”

Mom stood up. “Alright. That’s fine, hon. Dinner in five.”

I shifted on the couch. 

“Talk to me,” I commanded the speaker. Instantly there was a recorded voice.

“Hi Melanie.” The voice was robotic, without feeling in the words. 

“Hi,” I said. “Don’t you think time travel is real?”

“Yes,” they said. But I knew it was a programmed response.

“Why?” I asked, questioning the computer’s ability.

“All other sorts of things have happened,” it replied.

“Huh,” I said, confused. “That’s actually a good answer.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you. Alright, I’m done.”

The voice said bye and then died down. I closed my eyes, thinking of it’s response. Everything made sense now. 

“Hey mom,” I said, my voice ringing out clear and pure in the house. 

“Yeah?” She answered from the kitchen.

“I’m going out.”

“Be back in ten minutes.”

I got up and grabbed my jacket on the way out. The door closed firmly behind me.

Once outside, I stuffed my hands in the jacket pockets. But they were not relaxed. They wanted to do something. I just wasn’t sure what yet. 

I noticed most of the items that were grounded long ago were either floating in mid-air or flying. Did taking gravity away from something necessarily make it hi-tech, or futuristic?

“Hey Melanie!” Janet Fran said, flying down the street on a hover board, the newest form of flight transportation.

“Hi,” I said, deciding I wasn’t in the talking mood. Janet was.

“Do you want to go to Flying Fran’s?” She asked. “Ma said it was modeled after us. That the owner is dad’s best friend. Isn’t that rad?”

“Yeah,” I said, biting my lip. “Hey, Janet?”

“What?”

“Do you wish you could travel back in time?” 

Janet paused. “Well, it depends. On how long ago.”

“Four thousand years?”

“No,” Janet said. “That’s too far back.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, what did you mean then?”

“Like, five minutes ago so I would’ve gotten the pink nail polish instead of the purple. But I guess it’s still cool, ‘cause it applies it for you!” Janet turned around on her board. “See ya!”

“Bye,” I said, giving a small wave. 

I turned back around to face the street. There was a tech-y McDonald’s, Wendey’s, and Sudway’s. But none of those sounded good and I was excited for tacos. 

“Good day,” Miss Palansky said, walking down the street. I was surprised to see my teacher outside. She seemed like such a hermit.

“Hello,” I said, gulping. Miss Palansky was a little off, even if she was a talented teacher. I started to walk away. 

“What are you up to, Mealnie?” She asked, her gray hair swishing up and down as she turned her head to look back at me. 

“Nothing,” I admitted, picking at a hangnail on my finger. 

“Would you like to see something?” She asked. I noticed how her blue eyes sparkled. 

“Sure,” I replied. Miss Panlansky turned and started back. I followed in silence. As we walked, I took the new sights in. This was a part of town I had never been in. Perfectly trim yards with wild flowers accented plain brown homes, firmly on the ground. 

“Wow,” I said, looking at the birds sweep down. Cars, like fords or toyatas, were parked in perfectly paved driveways. Everything looked...normal.

“This is amazing,” I said as Miss Palansky walked up to a small house. It seemed to be idential to the others, but something was different. I couldn’t place it. 

“Thanks,” she said, unlocking the door. I was surprised that the computer didn’t do it for her. She hung her jacket up. There wan’t a robot maid to take it. 

“Welcome to my home,” she said, sweeping her arm out in a friendly guesture. 

“I really like it,” I replied. I wasn’t sure of what to do next. 

“Soda?” Miss Palansky asked. I nodded. Strange. In all of the books old ladies offered kids tea. 

“I’ll be back,” she said, dashing into the next room. I had a feeling she didn’t have company often. She was much too enthusiastic. 

I took in the room. There was a beige couch, tan carpet, a yellow rug, and brown walls with yellow trim. This room, as told from one of my books, would be considered modern. The modern home. 

The windows were large and open, letting light flow in and dance across the stained glass figures on a mantle above the fireplace. There was a lamp, similar to the one we had, by the couch. 

“On,” I commanded it. The light didn’t respond. 

“On!” Nothing. “On! On! On! ON! ON ON ON!” I was shouting at a lamp, at the top of my lungs, when Miss Palansky walked in. She burst out laughing. 

“Dear, dear, stop!” She said, unable to contain herself. She set an orange soda down. I grabbed it up and twisted the cap off. 

“Thank you. My favorite.” I took a swig.

“Mine too,” she said, holding up an identical bottle. 

“How do you turn that on?” I asked, wiping orange froth from my mouth. Miss Palansky went over to the lamp. She reached under the shade, and the next second a brilliant light flashed across the room. 

“How?” I asked. 

“Come here,” Miss Palansky said, gently grabbing my arm. She had me bend over. I noticed a little knob sticking put from the lightbulb holder. I reached out and pulled at it. 

“Twist it,” Miss Palansky said. I followed her command, and the light’s brilliant glare dissapeared. 

“Wow,” I said, standing back. “What kind of house is this?”

“It’s from the two thousands,” she said. “Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yeah,” I said, looking around. “You seem to be interested in the past. Right?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice full of passion. She apparently was very fond of that. “It’s all I have. Besdies school, of course.”

I laughed. “I’m into it too. No one understands, though.”

“I know what you mean,” Miss Palansky said. 

We were silent as we sipped at the orange sodas. The world had decided to be quiet too. 

“Melanie,” Miss Palansky said suddenly. “Would you  like to see something?”

I stared into her eager face. I didn’t want to dissapoint her. So I nodded. Miss Palansky was up and in the kitchen in a split second. She stuck the orange soda in a bin. 

I started to throw the bottle in the trash but Miss Palansky snatched it out of my hand. I gave her a look as she threw my bottle in the bin aswell. 

“Why couldn’t I throw it away?” I asked. 

“We recycle,” she said. 

“Huh?” I asked, my voice visibly shocked. 

“It helps the environment,” she said. “Too bad there  aren’t a whole lot of recycling bins around here. I have to drive all the way over to Spring Port when I want to turn it in. But even then the bins aren’t very full. About once a month I travel to all the towns within a hundred miles of here and go to the next state, Illinois, to drop it all off at a main land pile.”

“Then what do they do?” I asked, intrigued. 

“They re-create the items using what I’ve delivered.” 

I had a million questions to follow, that I was sure of. But she was already starting for a door on then other side of the room. 

She reached under a small breadbox, her hand feeling for something. Miss Palansky came up with a set of keys. They were all different, some more colorful than others. 

“You know what these are?” She asked, holding them up. 

I nodded. “Yes, keys.”

“You’re right,” Miss Palansky said, approvingly. “Keys. But you seem startled by the other household items.”

“I check out books every now and then,” I admitted. “That’s only how I know. To be honest, my mom wouldn’t know what half the things in the house are.”

“Very interesting,” Miss Palansky said. “People today seem to live for the present and the future.”

“Never the past,” I agreed. 

“That’s what I cannot grasp,” she said, her voice sounding tired. “That’s why I’ve kept this.” She swung the door open. “Viola!” She exclaimed. 

I gasped, because, before me, was the most beautiful unexpected thing in the whole wide world. 

It was a cat. 

“Kitty!” I exclaimed. The cat looked up from it’s bowl of water. I could tell this wasn’t a robot. I pulled the cat to my chest. He or she had a beating heart. This was the first real cat I had ever seen. 

I felt my tounge hot with questions, but I wanted to savor this moment. This cat was some sort of truth about our past. About those prehistoric days. 

“Amazing,” I gushed. 

“Isn’t it?” She asked. “By the way, you might like to know that the cat’s name is Timely. How appropirate, huh?”

“Perfect,” I said. “He’s perfect. He is a he?” the cat struggled under my firm grip. 

“Yes,” she said. “I didn’t want to expose him to the press. They might take him from me. They might try to create a new cat breed. I don’t want them to do that.”

“Have a vet fix him,” I said. 

“They would just expose him as well. They would offer me money. And I wouldn’t take it, but they’d find a...legal...way to take him.”

“Can I ask a question?” I wondered. 

Miss Palansky laughed. “Sure.”

“How did you get him.”

“Oh,” her face fell. “I knew that one was coming.”

“Please,” I begged. 

“I went back...in time,” she said, her voice slow as if I was mentally unstable. 

“What?” I asked, my head spinning. 

“About five years ago, I was walking along this path. And then sudddenly, someone was speaking, I was running, and then I blacked out. I woke up in a new world. There I got my sweetie.”

“What time age?” I asked. 

“Prehistoric days,” she whispered. “The two-thousands.”

I  gasped. “Woah-oah.”

“I still wonder if I imagined it,” she said, sitting down to stroke Timely. “But then I think, well, how would my sweet boy be here. I surely didn’t imagine that. I don’t have a vivid enough imagination.” She chuckled. “And then you see him. So he must be real.”

“He is,” I promised. I was surprised by my reaction. I mean, this lady, the teacher I barely knew, had just claimed she had time-traveled and I wasn’t scared in the least bit. I was a bit excited, actually. 

“Do you think you could re-create the moment when that happened?” I asked. 

“I’ve tried,” Miss Palansky said. My face fell. “I’ve re-walked the path almost a hundred times and nothing happened.”

“How do you think it happened?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. 

“I don’t know,” Miss Palansky replied, her volume an octave lower than mine. 

“Meow,” Timely said, rubbing against my legs. I giggled. The happy mood returned. 

“Silly, silly boy!” Miss Palansky exclaimed, picking him up. “You are the cutest fatest kitty in this whole wide world.”

I laughed when he replied with a mad meow. But inside I felt completely changed. 

Eventually we both stood up. “Miss Palansky?” I asked, my voice unsure. She looked up. 

“Yes, Melanie?”

“Do you mind if I come back tomorrow?”

I couldn’t be sure but I thought I saw a brief flash of light cross her eyes. “Of course.”

“Around lunchtime, then?” I asked. 

“Yes, I’ll make something.”

“Cool. Thanks!” I waved then walked out her front door. The street was still silent. Not even the birds chirped. 

Silence seemed to be an important part of what I was today. To most poeople silence was empty, upsetting. 

To me, it said the most.

 

Chapter Two: Mixed up

 

The next week was almost entirely spent with Miss Palansky. I discovered she was a lot like me. She loved nature and all it had to offer. She hated the pollution in the air. She loved home-cooked food. And I grew to love the way her house was. I found it almost satisfying to stand up on my own and turn the lamp on. And about a third of each visit was spent petting Timely. He grew to love me. I just added that to mylist of things including the word love. 

So I was naturally surprised when there was a knock at the door. I was suppossed to visit Miss Palansky in five minutes. Why did she come to get me? Was Timely sick? I ran to the door, afraid for the news she had brought. I was so used to doing things on my own that I now forgot to even use voice commands.

“Miss Palansky!” I said, flinging the door open. But the person who stepped back from the flying door wasn’t her. It was Hermly. As I looked into his face, I realized I was suppossed to have spent this week with him. Oh no. 

“Hermly!” I cried. “Um...hi! How are you?” I held the door open for him. He stepped in, almost robotically. 

“Hey,” he said, still robotic. 

“Hermly, I am so so so  so so sorry!” I cried. “I completely forgot about our week! See, Miss Palansky, she’s not that bad! She-”

“You chose to hang out with a slimy old teacher lady over me?” He asked, pointing at his chest. His face turned red. “Well, why?”

“It was all by accident,” I said. “At first we met along the street. And then she invited me over. Hermly, we’re so alike! She could be my mom. Grandmother, actully. She’s too old to be a mom.” I rambled on about what we did, skipping the part about time travel and Timely. 

“So you see,” I said, finishing up, “it was all a misunderstanding.” I studied his face. It was a mix of shock and anger. 

“But you’re suppossed to by my best friend!” He screeched. “Then you go and forget me.”

“I apologized,” I said. “And you can come in. We’ll go over to the park.” Hermly’s face lit up. 

“Does your housekeeper have any good food in the fridge?” He asked. 

“Ask her,” I said. “She’ll make a lot of things. Homemade ice cream too. Will you ask her to make buttery cream almond spice?” 

“That sounds good,” Hermly said. “Sure.” He went into the other room. Soon their was the sound of pans clinking. 

“Mmm.” Hermly emerged, a bowl of  ice cream in his hands. 

“Gimme,” I said, reaching for it. Her jerked the bowl back. 

“Get your own pig!” I watched as he ate a giant spoonfull. It dribbled down his chin. 

“I’m not the pig,” I said, marching past him into the kitchen. 

I began to say the name of the buttery treat but froze. What was it like to make my own ice cream? 

I flew back into the  living room, briefly grabbing my computer. I typed the name in the Click It search box. Click it was a new search program. A box popped open. I clicked it, eager for the recipe. 

 

Buttery Cream Almond Spice

 

1 cup ice

1 cup cold milk

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla 

1/2 a cup butter

1 teaspoon pumpkin spice

1/2 cup whole almonds

 

In a small bowl, mix the milk, ice, sugar, and vanilla. Put in a freezer overnight. Stir until it comes apart, but is soft, not watery. If it isn’t soft, put back into fridge overnight. After it is soft when stirred, mix in punpkin spice. Add softened butter. Add almonds. Put back into freezer for two hours. Then you can enjoy!

 

I printed out the sheet. I was fully aware a computer would do this all for me, the searching, typing, printing, but I wanted to do it myself. 

I walked into the kitchen, grabbing the necessary supplies for the ice cream. We had an instant freezer, so fast that if you left something in for five seconds it would never defrost, but I wanted to follow the recipie exactly. It seemed to be pretty outdated, using words I didn’t understand. What was a cup? A teaspoon? A tablespoon? I sat back  down at the computer to search these. They all read the same thing. Measurement. I groaned.

“Let’s go,” Hermly said, walking into the kitchen where I had propped up the computer. 

“What’s a cup?” I asked. He looked at me. 

“One of these things,” he said, reaching over and grabbing a glass off of the counter. “Have you gone brain-dead?”

“No,” I said. “Okay. If you’re so smart then what’s a table spoon?”

Hermly walked over to our kitchen table. “What kind of spoons do you usually put on here?” He asked. I grabbed a considerably large spoon and held it up. 

“Alright, then what is a tea spoon?” 

“If you drink tea then take the cup and use that. It’s deep like a spoon, right?” Hermly replied. 

“Sure,” I said, sounding confident. It all made sense. 

“Good, then I’ll go start up the scooter. I hate having to turn the key. I can’t wait until I get a hoverboard. You just step on and it takes off. I heard they have GPS.”

“Cool, Hermly,” I said, actually bored out of my mind. 

He turned on his heel and stomped out of the room. When I heard the door click I got to work. 

I took the large glass Hermly had given me and measure the three things. But then it called for a teaspoon of vanilla. I took the bottles out and dumped them in. But it still was missing more. 

I almost called out for the computer to transport some here, but I wanted to do this entireloy on my own. I ran outside and started to jog down the street. Hermly was beside me in a second. 

“Where ya going?” He asked.

I barely glanced at him. “The store.”

“Why?” He asked, fully aware of the ability to trasport things. 

“Because I felt like a walk.”

“The scooter is waiting...and so am I.”

I felt my stomach jerk. Why did he have to ask so many questions? And care only about himself?

“Listen. My life doesn’t revolve around you. So go away.”

Hermly’s face crumpled. He looked ready to burst into tears. 

“There, I said it,” I exclaimed. “Hermly, you’re my best friend, but you can never do things I want to do.”

Hermly awkwardly turned. I could tell he’d been stung. 

“Well, if that’s what you think.”

“Yes.” My voice wavered. I hope Hermly didn’t hear it. 

“Fine. Go and hang out with the hag! I hope you go to the two thousands! Then I won’t have to see you!”

“FINE!” I shouted back. Hermly hopped on the scooter and sped away. I sat down on the busy, technical street. 

Flying cars zoomed by. Their engines were rumbling with the fury I felt inside. I. Hated. Hermly. Or, at least, strongly disliked him at the moment. I had tired to hard to make him understand...

There was a loud crash, and a boom. I looked up. There, in the middle of the street, was a blazing car. I jumped back as it uttered yet another explosion. The driver was already out, perfectly fine. So were the three kids inside. 

“Are you okay?” People cried, running for the small family. I saw the driver, an older woman, nod. 

“The flying gave out and we sank down...hard. I was always told to jump out of a falling car growing up.” The woman had tears in here eyes. “This has never happened before.”

I watched as the Future News van pulled up. The main reported, Roxanne Rockson, hopped out. She stumbled on her high heels. A burly man with a camera walked out, his expression unreadable. 

“Hello,” Roxanne said into the camera. “This is Future News. And I’m reporting live from the site of a car crash. Samantha Park was flying along the streets on the way to the park when the car gave out and started to fall downward. Samantha took her three kids, hopped on a hoverboard, and flew to safety. Seconds after they hit the ground, the car blew up! We’re here with Samantha the savior.” She turned to Samantha. 

“Hi,” Samantha said into the camera. “I just wanted to say I feel so lucky to have gotten away with all my kids safe. The true hero is my son, Thomas, who begged me to take his hoverboard. At first I said no, then relented. It is because of him we are alive and safe.” 

I watched with fasination as they talked. An hour passed, then two, three, and four. The sun dissapeared, and the moon came out. They weren’t interviewing the whole time though. Firefighters came seconds after Samantha said her son saved her, and put out the fire. A flying robot EMT came and checked them all out. The car company, Futuristic, came and gave them a new car, this one fully built and safe. An investigator discovered that the cause of the accident. A flying device, the very one keeping us in the air, had worked it’s way out. 

I stood up. My legs were stiff and cold. 

“This is what we get for trying to be so...advanced,” I muttered to myself. “This is our fault!”

It took me a while to remember what I had come for in the first place. I evetually remembered, and went to the store for three containers of vanilla. But as I walked home, I didn’t feel much like cooking, or doing anything. 

Hermly, my best friend, was gone...just like that! I had just witnessed a car accident, and when I got home, I discovered my ingerdients had been put up, and my vanilla had been poured out. 

I didn’t taste dinner. 

“Hey honey!” Mom said two hours later, as I climbed into bed. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” I grumbled, turning away from her. 

“Melanie,” she said, sounding worried. I turned back.

“Yes?” 

“What’s the matter, really. You can tell me.”

I pushed up on my elbows. “That’s just it. I can’t.You won’t understand. No on understands me except for Miss Palansky.”

“Your teacher?” She asked, a look of confusion crossing her face. 

“Yes. I’ve been going over to her house lately, not Hermly’s. And besides,” my face fell, “Hermly’s not my friend anymore.”

“Now, I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Melanie,” mom said. “Sometimes, people won’t always understand your dreams. But I always will.”

“That’s just it-you don’t! My dream is to stop all this future stuff and go back to the way things were, four thousand years ago.”

“That’s just not...” 

“Possible,” I finished. “I know. But maybe people will change their minds. Today I saw a car accident and-”

“A CAR ACCIDENT!” Mom yelled. “WERE YOU HURT! MELANIE! WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU GO NEAR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!”

“Because,” I said, “I was walking and the car came barreling down and there was an explosion-”

“AN EXPLOSION. YOU  COULD’VE BEEN KILLED!” Mom was screeching now.

“Calm down, it was a small one. Anyway, the people in the car survived and they were talking and it had just started to fall by itself. The flying part had come out.”

“Oh,” mom said. “That’s not good.”

“No, it’s not,” I agreed. 

“Well,” she said, silent. “I guess we’re walking from now on.”

“Hmm,” I replied. 

She leaned over and gave me a kiss on my forehead. 

“Night.”

“Night.”

I fell asleep. 

I was running. Falling. Dreaming of the past. My dreams swirled in multi-color clouds. I reached for one, but stumbled. Something was calling me. I was on a green path. Trees littered the sidewalk. Actual trees, things we no longer had. And children were texting and playing a game that involved jumping over a rope. Adults sipped lemonade on their porches, some on the computer. 

There were sounds everywhere. A bird chirping, a dog barking, a car starting. The air was clear, and the sky was free of flying vehicles. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. 

And then it all quit. 

I opened my eyes. 

And I was on the path.