Wrong Place Wrong Time

by Gillian McAllister

They buy baked potatoes from a van which calls itself Mr. Potato Head. Rakesh collects the loyalty stamps – in the shape of potatoes – all year and, at Christmas, he gets them tons of free ones. He blocks it out in their calendars as CHRISTMAS SPUDDING.

How sinister it is to relive your life backward. To see things you hadn’t at the time. To realize the horrible significance of events you had no idea were playing out around you. To uncover lies told by your husband.

If those you’ve left behind don’t stack up, create new people, in front of you.

But knowing the future is worse than not knowing. Isn’t it?

Fooled, by his intellect, into thinking he’d never rebel. But all kids rebel, even the good ones: they just rebel differently.

“Don’t worry. I shall go immerse myself in H2O. Also known as a bath to mere mortals.”

Funny how those things felt so important then. Go and see the Christmas lights, bake and assemble the gingerbread house. And – poof. They disappear into history, causing only stress and leaving no imprint, like a footstep on sand that gets washed away too swiftly.

“Life’s too long for work.” Life’s too long. That’s so clever.

HYSTERICAL STRENGTH Hysterical strength is a display of extreme strength by humans, beyond what is believed to be normal, usually occurring in life-or-death situations, particularly involving mothers. Anecdotal reports are of women lifting cars to rescue newborn babies, sometimes creating a huge force field of energy. Indeed, more supernatural reports have also been noted, such as time loops, though none has been proven to date. Sufferers often report déjà vu alongside episodes of hysterical strength.