What if . . . you could redo it all?
The novella. #3 TimeTravel.
If you could go back in time and redo one thing in your life, what would it be?
Anaya, a disillusioned, thirty-five-year-old doctor, has been looking after Gregory, a retired watchmak...
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2001, Seventeen Years Backwards
No one spoke to her. People rarely noticed her at all. JBU was a flowing river of multi-colored heads. Sure, some may have known each other, but even they conversed only when a smile or nod didn't suffice.
Her mom had offered to drop her off. When people remarked that they looked more like sisters than mother and daughter, Anaya waved it off. But this morning, her mother accented the similarity, in a long-sleeved blue dress that clung to her figure, flattering yet modest. Her weight perpetually ballooned and deflated with her sporadic appetite, but she always stayed in proportion.
When they reached the parking lot, Anaya's eyes widened. JBU maintained a cycle-friendly campus. Why didn't they just call it car-unfriendly to clarify? It appeared that not a single student had driven a car, but walked, cycled, or hopped the bus instead. She had no problem with public transportation, but she didn't want to be the moron getting off at the wrong stop, from a bus filled with her classmates, on her first day.
"Mom, could I hitch a ride home with you, too? Five, six or seven, I'm at your mercy."
"Sure, honey. I should be done at the store by five. I'll see you right here before five-thirty." Her mother's cognac-colored eyes crinkled at the corners. Anaya had inherited those from her as well, and had never been too thrilled with them. Although when she had learned that people with brown eyes had a lower risk of diseases such as type one diabetes and macular degeneration, she felt a little better about them.
Going in, she knew that El would be away scouting for more recruits. She rechecked the schedule she'd prepped for her. It was solid. If not for the self-explanatory course names, I might think I'd signed up for the army!
And the day began.
Class 1 – Childhood and Growing Up, teemed with over a hundred students. Dr. Vincent Garrison stood by the front wall, which featured no less than three projector screens and six whiteboards.
Class 2 – Teachable Subject: English, in the middle of the schedule split the masses, at least. Professor Angelica Daemon's first words warned that if students were to address her as anything but Angel, they'd best be prepared to be thrown into the pits of hell, to square dance with the demons. It seemed like everyone preferred to go by first names here. Rather than feeling that it belittled the professors, Anaya appreciated the familiarity of it. She relaxed and slid back in her seat.
Lunch. She skipped the communal affair, not cherishing the idea of being alone at a long table. Choosing the lawn instead, she propped her back against a red cedar, while biting into her hotdog. Abstract white cirrus clouds streaked across the sky. The cool breeze rustled the leaves in the trees and disturbed the ones settled on the ground. Anaya couldn't help but see a metaphor in that. Will all these changes impact my mental health like gusts of wind blowing this way and that? Will they plunge me into more depressive moods or threaten to elevate the manic ones? Ever present at the back of her mind, the ticking clock of her life suddenly appeared in the forefront. And as she did, every day, she heaved and shoved it to the back again.
When lunch was over, it was back to the building for Group Study/Field Experience. This was the most intimate session, with a maximum headcount of fifteen. Each student was required to introduce themselves, share what their hobbies were, and what they'd chosen to specialize in. One of the guys said pool, and she added to her running list of mental notes to ask him where he played, a sure-fire way to break the ice and talk to new people. When another girl with hair like champagne and honey bubbled on about her passion for fashion, Anaya's shoulders dropped as her thoughts drifted to her friends. She'd email the girls tonight.
Her classes may have been a little flat so far compared to the excitement she'd expected, but this was what she'd come back for. She squared her shoulders, determined not to be brought down, and renewed her pledge to live life to its fullest until her very last breath.
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Hi all! Thank you for reading! What did you think of this chapter? Anything you would like to see more of? Please do let me know what you think in a short comment below. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks so much, G.
