by Ryan Hutzel
Coming to awareness, first person talking to a familiar friend in front of what appeared to be a general two-story office building with duplex single-story houses in the distance. We were standing on the sidewalk in front of entry double doors to the building. He was explaining to me that I had to have an appointment to help his grandparents out with their computer repair issues otherwise I would be trapped here.
Feeling puzzled, I asked him, “What do you mean by being trapped here?”
He replied, “You will never get out, it will just loop, and loop, they know how to keep you here.”
I responded, “I can clearly see their house from here, I can see the roads, how can I be trapped?”
At that time, before he could answer, his grandparents (which I cannot confirm if it is indeed his grandparents in reality) came out of the building. They stopped and began to speak to each other with a dialect in the likeness of Gomez and Morticia Addams from t.v. and movies.
While holding the female’s head gently with his two hands:
Male said, “Whatever you need my sweety, I will get you.”
Female responded, “Thank you love.”
My friend interrupted with sarcasm and laughter by saying, “Grandpa and Grandma, this is the guy that will be helping you next month.”
Male said to the female, “See darling, we will get that ancestry program working again soon.”
The grandma just smiled looking at the grandpa, nothing further was said from her. My friend then turned to me and asked what date would work best for me. I remember looking at the calendar on my phone, cannot remember why I picked August 11th, but that is what seemed right. We agreed, everyone said their goodbyes. I began walking to my car in the parking lot in front of this office building.
After getting in my car, starting it, I felt as though I had a question I still needed to ask. (Albeit, I do not recall what question I needed to ask, this was redacted from my conscience memory.) I remembered what my friend said in the beginning, but really didn’t think it would apply for a quick stop and quick question. So, I drove around the block to their house. Not sure how I knew which one was theirs, do not recall being given directions or house number. There were driveways that were available up to the garages attached to these single-story duplexes. I parked, maybe two car lengths away from the house. Got out of my car, walked to the door and knocked.
Grandpa answered, however he didn’t seem to act like he knew me, still invited me in. As I entered, he called for his wife, she greeted me with a hello, but both seemed confused.
Grandpa asked, “Did you have an invite?”
I replied, “I do, but it isn’t until August 11, I just need a little more information from you for that visit.”
Grandpa, said, “This isn’t good, you will not be able to leave.”
I replied, “My car is in the driveway, I can leave now.”
I turned to leave, but the door that I came in seemed different somehow. I exited back to the outside only to see my car was gone. I was so confused at this point. I then reached down for my cellular phone, it vanished. I then noticed that my shoes seemed different, more like tennis shoes versus work boots, my clothing was slacks and a tee shirt. Then my being felt different, like I wasn’t really me, I could not prove this being there were no mirrors near me. I do remember seeing other cars, they appeared old, maybe from the 1970’s in appearance. I looked down the street in both directions, nothing seemed familiar. The last thing I remember thinking was where and who am I? Dream Ended.