Ann Marie Tajuddin
(a.tajuddin@att.worldnet.net)
Sam stumbled over his own feet as he appeared in mid-stride, catching himself on a newspaper dispenser to his left, bolted down to cold concrete near the edge of the sidewalk. He stopped and the considerable flow of pedestrian traffic hiccuped for an instant, and then moved to branch around him, trickling off into the distance. He noticed several peculiar looks as people moved around him and wondered the cause of them. A few people even looked continuously back as they advanced onward, their expressions as curious as if he'd just dropped out of a spaceship. *Oh, what now?* he wondered, glancing himself over. He seemed normal - dressed in a gray turtleneck with a brown leather jacket over it, a pair of brown slacks, and dress shoes. A watch and a wedding ring weighed down his left hand and he fingered the ring briefly. Nothing abnormal, as far as he could tell. Eventually, the few people who'd paid him any notice were gone and it was back to how Sam remembered a big city being - a lot of individuals for whom no-one else was even visible. He ducked around to the other side and looked at one of the newspapers: New York City, Friday, February 18, 2000. His eyes widened and he put a hand on the biting cold metal in front of him to steady himself. He'd never leaped this far forward, had he? It sounded awfully close to what Al's time would be. Even if it wasn't, the project would still be going on and he wished he'd leaped in closer to New Mexico. Hoping he didn't have to be anywhere soon, he pulled out the wallet in his back pocket as it seemed to be the only thing on him he could use to gather any information until Al showed up, and opened it up, then dropped it as if he'd been stung. It fell in slow motion, hitting the edge of a puddle, splashing greasy liquids and slush onto Sam's shoe. His own face smiled back up at him on a New Mexico license, just like it had when... He scooped it up before anyone else could and held it in his hand, straining to remember.
Point of View