I walked a little further than usual. A block further. There were different things a block further than usual. Some different shops. Different people. Different trees. Different dogs on leashes.

And they all spoke a different language.

I could still see the usual places, just a block away, but I'd crossed a line somewhere. Everyone was speaking to each other in a language I'd never heard. They all seemed to understand each other, and I wondered what happened. What had I done this morning--other than walk an extra block or so--to find myself a stranger in a strange land?

I walked back to the usual places. Everything was the same. We all smiled and spoke the same. We were all the same.

Maybe it was a different sun shining on this block away place. Maybe the air was somehow different. Something in the water, perhaps?

I went back to a block further, determined to figure out what was going on.

I went into a book store and asked the clerk if he had the new bestseller.

The clerk looked at me like he didn't know what I was saying. He pointed to a sign I couldn't read. I waved him off and went into the stacks. Books, I'd find the answer in books.

I couldn't read any of the books. I didn't recognize any of the authors. The pictures on the covers showed a world much like mine, but the words made no sense. I tried to listen to the murmurs of the other customers. Maybe I could clue into what was happening. But everything said was about as intelligible as adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

I picked out a couple of books at random and took them to the clerk. He rang them up, although he looked at me like something big and nasty was growing on my face.

I pulled out a few dollars. He saw my money and waved it off. He pointed again to a sign I didn't understand. I tried again to give him my cash--adding a few more dollars just in case I hadn't offered enough.

Now he was angry. He took the books away from me, pushed the cash back at me and pointed angrily toward the door. He shouted something that sounded mean, but I really couldn't tell.

Silently and quickly, I gathered my money and walked out of the book store.

Maybe if I walk farther, I thought. If I just get really far away from usual, it will turn back to normal. So I did. I walked two more blocks away from usual.

Now I was in a residential area. The markings on the houses were a mystery to me. The street signs were unintelligible. Music from inside houses and bird sounds and even barks from dogs were different. I walked up to one of the houses. It had a sign on the door, but I couldn't read it.

A woman answered, but was sour immediately. When I tried to ask something, she pointed at the sign and then slammed the door again.

I walked a little farther down the street and tried another house.

A young girl answered. She was probably around seven or eight. She smiled at me when she opened the door. I asked where I was. She answered, but I didn't understand. I threw up my hands in frustration.

The little girl laughed. "Oh, you're one of the old people," she said. "You haven't changed with the world. Don't you know the world doesn't stop for anyone? Don't you know you have to change or you will be left behind?"

I said no one had told me anything about the world changing.

"The world doesn't tell you about the changing. It just does." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "When you can read this, everything will be ok."

I looked at the paper and couldn't understand what was written on it.

I walked out of the strange area. I went back to the usual places. Looking around, I noticed everything in the usual places had changed as well. Confused and a little distraught, I walked home. My roommate was listening to music, but it was something I hadn't heard before.

I asked him if he'd noticed anything weird when he was out. He turned to me and said something I didn't understand. I shrugged. He hit me hard, and I fell to the ground. The piece of paper fell out of my shirt pocket.

I looked at the paper and could finally read it: "The past is dead."

Matt Worley 3i8fke al eim70 @4*nm 9d#)mslK_++2 neM2||