The warm ocean breeze blows across my face as we are loading onto the cruise ship. It is the summer of 2016, and my very first cruise. I brought my friend, Mariah, along with me for my first experience. We are on our way to Puerto Rico from Florida, which means we will be going through the Bermuda Triangle. There have been a lot of rumors about people disappearing or being transported into the future when they go through the Bermuda Triangle. I did not believe the rumors, but as we board the ship they are constantly running through my head. Mariah gives me a drink of water and assures me that nothing is going to happen. We are finally on the ship and getting cozy in our room. As we set off for Puerto Rico, I decide to take a nap to try and get my mind off of things.
While I was sleeping, I had a crazy dream that I was transported through a time portal. As I woke up and got out of bed, I realized the bed looked different than it did when I first went to sleep. The room was also completely different than before. I grabbed my cell phone and called Mariah. When she answered, I asked her where she was. She told me she was at work and was not able to talk right now. As I walk out of my room, I smell freshly cooked, smoky bacon. I walk down the hall of this house that I have never seen before. There is a guy in the kitchen cooking breakfast. He turns around and tells me “Good morning!” I grab a piece of crispy bacon to eat, as I ask him what day it is. I am in complete shock when he tells me, “It is May 20, 2022”.
I called my mom in a panic. I tell her that the last thing I remember is getting on the cruise ship. She tells me that the last cruise I was on was in 2016 with my friend, Mariah. I ask her if anything strange happened when we went on the cruise. She reassures me that we made it home safely and everything is okay. As we hang up the phone, a girl with a skinny body and long black hair appears beside me. She says, “My name is Lin. I am an international student from China.” I explain to Lin my story about how I was on the cruise ship and woke up in the future. She believes me and tells me that I was probably transported into the future when the cruise ship sailed through the Bermuda Triangle. After she told me that, the strange guy from the kitchen came into the room. The strong, tall, broad shouldered man tells me that he is my husband and his name is Greg. He gives me more bacon and says, “You better get to work or you will be late.” I ask Greg, “Where do I work at?” He tells me “You work as an x-ray technician at the hospital downtown.” I grab my bag and head to work. As I walk out the door Greg yells, “I will pick up the kids from school!”
I arrive at the hospital downtown, 5 minutes before 8 a.m. When I walk in the door I am greeted with a “Good morning!” from the lady behind the front desk. I walk into my office to start what feels like my first day of work to me, but everyone seems to already know me. I assume I have been working here for a while, so I decide to find my office and stay in there as long as possible. When it is time for me to be off work, I gather my things and rush out the door. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
When I finally get home, Greg is nowhere to be found. I look around the house to try to find clues of what my future life is like. I find pictures of my family. I have 2 kids, a boy and girl. “And then as the evening changed the hour, at house after house on the twilight streets, under the immense oaks and elms, on shady porches, people would begin to appear, like those figures who tell good or bad weather in rain-or-shine clocks” (K. Flachmann and M. Flachmann 63). Suddenly, Lin beams up beside me. Lin asks, “Are you happy? Is your life the way you always wanted?” “Yes!” I answered. “I will have to get used to some of the changes, but I love my life in the future.” All of a sudden, I lift into the air like a ghost. I start flying out of the house, into the sky, above the clouds, and then I am back in my room on the cruise ship. “and the voices moved on into the coming years….” (K. Flachmann and M. Flachmann 65).
