There’s a gas station on the edge of town and I gravitate to it like a bug to a light. It has a tall orange sign with the gas prices lit up, but the pumps seem old and rundown. It lookslike it’s been here for decades, but I’m not about to walk to another gas station.
There’s a large bus parked in front of it, and the gas station seems fairly busy at such an early time of day.
I wander inside, find one of those red one-gallon gas cans, and pay for it. Then I walk to the pump and fill it up. The breeze blows through my hair, but also the gasoline smell into my face. I turn away, trying to breathe in air that isn’t tainted.
The can fills up quickly and I finish paying as I notice the people boarding the bus again. Then someone with dark hair and unmistakable eyes walks out of the gas station.
Emma.
Emma is walking out of the gas station. Her eyes are on her feet and she doesn’t see me.
My heart stills, dropping like an anchor.
The room slows down and it’s like I’m watching a movie as I watch her walk toward the bus.
It’s not possible for her to be here. She couldn’t have walked fast enough. She would’ve had to pass me. Maybe she convinced someone to drive her here, but . . .
Her clothes are different.
My hands start to shake as I notice she’s in her uniform. She wasn’t wearing that in my car, and she didn’t bring any other clothes with her.
I’m stunned. Too stunned to talk. Too stunned to move.
Slowly, I grab my phone and dial Emma’s number.
“What’s taking you so long?” she asks.
But the Emma in front of me isn’t on her phone. She’s getting on the bus and showing her ticket to the bus driver.
I drop my phone, completely numb. The door to the bus closes and Emma walks to the back and sits.
She can’t be here. It’s impossible, but she is. I’d know her face anywhere. No matter how hard I tried to forget her, she’s etched on my being.
It’s her.
The bus starts driving away and I panic.
What if Emma is really from the future? But she can’t be because that would mean—
I grab my phone and stuff it into my pocket. Then I make sure the lid on the gas can is tight before I take off running.
I run faster than I ever have before. What took me over an hour to walk takes me less than twenty minutes to run. I run with sweat dripping down my face and my feet burning. I can’t breathe, but I don’t stop.
I don’t stop until I’m back at my car, standing in front of it, panting like a dog.
Emma.
She’s sitting in the passenger side of the car, where I left her. She’s in the clothes I remember.
When she sees me, she gets out of the car. “What happened to you? Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
My hands shake as I step forward.
It can’t be true.
How is she in two places at once?
“Are you okay?”
