Through
the Bookstore Window
by
Helen Macie Osterman
How do we know who we really are? This all began
when I read that article about parallel
universes. The very thought that another universe, identical to
the one we live in, could
exist side by side with ours seemed pretty far out to me. That
is, until I met my double face
to face.
On an early
fall day I was too disturbed by world events to concentrate on
my work. I
left early, telling my boss that I had a doctor’s appointment.
I don’t know whether she
believed me or not, but she did give me the time off.
Heavy clouds
rolled across the sky accompanied by booming thunder and some
pretty impressive lightning. I ran into a neighboring bookstore
as the first raindrops
bounced across the sidewalk.
I looked
at the sale rack for a few minutes but found nothing that shouted
out to me.
When I looked out the window, sheets of rain completely obstructed
the street beyond. I
felt like I was in an isolated world.
I stared
outside watching Mother Nature wreaking havoc on my world. As I
looked
down at the sidewalk I suddenly saw a pair of shoes—a pair
exactly like the ones I was
wearing. I looked upwards at the short legs, the knee-length brown
skirt, identical to my
own, the blue tunic and into a face—my face staring back
at me.
At first
I thought it was a reflection in the glass, but the apparition
suddenly turned
and walked into a mirror-image of a door to the same bookstore
where I stood.
I squeezed
my eyes shut and shook my head. It’s some sort of mirage
from the
storm, I told myself. When I opened them again the rain was letting
up. There she stood, in
the window of the bookstore, staring at me.
Goose bumps
crawled up my arms; I became light-headed— reached for a
chair
and sat down. My double just stood there staring. Then she did
a strange thing. She lifted
her hand and waved at me. I couldn’t help myself; I waved
back.
By then
the rain had stopped and I noticed the storeowner watching me.
I smiled,
stood up and walked out the door.
My double
did the same thing. There we stood, looking at each other. She
reached
over, took my hand and pulled me into her world. I felt a slight
pop and that was all. Just as
easily she stepped over into mine.
For a minute
I stood still then I called, “Wait.” But it was too
late. She was gone. Now
what? Where? What was I to do? Everything looked exactly the same:
the bookstore, the
grocery store on the corner, and my apartment building. Was I imagining
all this? I
shrugged and decided to check it out. I walked into my building
and looked at the
mailboxes. There was my name, Marion Dolton, 3B. I climbed to the
third floor and put my
key in the lock. It opened, just like it always did. I walked inside
and looked around.
Everything was identical, to the last detail.
I was just
beginning to think I had dreamed the whole thing when I was startled
by a
sound, a low meow. My cat jumped down from a chair and twined herself
around my
ankles. “Fluff, where did you come from? You ran away last
week. When did you get
back?”
Just then
the phone rang. I stared at it long and hard, then slowly walked
over and
picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Hi
Marion.” My friend Lila’s voice. “Are we still
on for lunch tomorrow? Noon at
Carlsons?”
“Yes,
sure,” I answered.
“Okay,
see you there.” I shook my head as I listened to the dial
tone. We had that
identical conversation last week, but never made it because.…
I
felt a sudden fear. This couldn’t be happening. I hurried
into the kitchen and
looked at the calendar. I had a habit of crossing off the days
every night. The crosses
ended the previous week. The
realization hit me like a sledge. I was in a universe
one week behind my own. I looked closely at the date, September
10, 2001.
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