The moment I finished building my time machine, I couldn’t wait to try it out. Sitting at the control panel, I punched in a date two hundred years in the past. It would be interesting to see how my neighborhood looked in 1820.
When I arrived, I exited the machine. Suddenly overcome by how different everything looked, I took in my surroundings. All the signs of civilization had disappeared, replaced by an ancient forest with lush vegetation. The air smelled fresh and clean. The lively chatter of birds the only sound I could hear.
While marveling at the strangeness of it all, I heard a familiar sound of salsa music and, without thinking, I reached for my cell phone. Suddenly I paused as a thought struck me; now who the heck could that be?
BIO: Warren R. Langlois has one previously published story “To Plant a Tree” in The Absent Willow Review. Married with three children, one cat, and one dog.