Timeline Cafe

By Mia Huerta

Apologies. You seem to have discovered the Timeline Cafe. This isn’t something that usually happens to civilians. In fact, you’d be the first. When was the first time you gave it your patronage? …A week ago? Oh nonononono. That’s too long. Well… I suppose I’m glad it wasn’t longer. And you didn’t come between now and then, right? You’re not a regular already? Phew, just the once. Okay, this is manageable. In fact, this may provide some interesting data. Please, step into this machine. Don’t worry, it’s harmless. See? I have a license to use it and everything.

You step into the machine, reclining on your back. After buying a macchiato from a cafe that you swore just opened for business, you were greeted on your second visit by this woman, who was very insistent that you drink an extremely particular concoction. You couldn’t keep track of all the alterations if you tried. She then dragged you into the basement, where a labyrinth of underground labs resides.

Thank you for your cooperation. Now, please, close your eyes and visualize some of the most notable things that occurred over the last week.

1. Well, mere hours after you left the cafe, you got into a fight with your girlfriend, Abby. She was livid at you for failing to pick up the cake for her mother’s birthday tomorrow. You told her the honest truth of the matter: she told you she’d bake the cake herself, you’d even bought all of the groceries she’d need the other night. The hell d’you mean? I submitted the order a week ago! And besides, if you bought groceries, where are they? She swung open the fridge and opened cabinet after cabinet, waving her arms at their distinctly frosting-less and cake-flourless contents. You gaped at it all. How…? She seemed to recognize your earnest bewilderment and the shouting turned to confusion and concern. Sweetie, do you have some sort of fever? You shouldn’t go to work if you’re sick. She checked your forehead. Well, you feel normal. Maybe it’s dehydration. Or lack of sleep. She made you drink a rather tall glass of water before sending you off to bed early.

2. The next morning, her mother and father came over for dinner. Abby made pineapple onion pork chops for dinner. You could’ve sworn that her mother absolutely loathes pineapples, but she was raving about the dish the whole time. You hold your tongue, fearful of commandeering the whole thing by sounding like a lunatic, but you get this nagging feeling like things aren’t quite right. Her mother’s nails are longer than she ever keeps them. Her father takes a refrigerated water bottle when you know he prefers room temperature. Are you feeling any better? You nod, but you don’t say a word. She squints at you and looks you up and down. You smile. …If you say so.

3. Someone new just got hired at your workplace. A solemn boy named Leo. He’s hardly said a word to anyone other than you, his trainer, but he works rather diligently and, in spite of hardly working here a week, has absolutely soared through training. The music he makes for trailers are explosively creative, though he seems to take criticism a little hard. You’ll have to figure out the best way to handle it. 

Interesting. It’s possible that a different person was employed in our home timeline. Make sure to follow-up and find out if Leo works with you. Wouldn’t want to mention a boy nobody else has met.

You grit your teeth. It’d be a bummer if someone else was your trainee now. You’d miss Leo’s work ethic. You shake your head and continue the exercise.

4. There was some sort of celebration in the park. You had no idea why, but there was a fireworks display going on. So you and Abby took the short walk over there, hand in hand, and you made sure to bring lawn chairs. Sitting across the street was always the best call, because the park always charges admission fees to their events, but you could see the fireworks just fine from here. Usually, people get the same idea, and you all wind up huddled together. But when you reached your typical spot, it was empty, and Abby marched right past. You followed along, feeling nauseous. How much of your knowledge was just… suddenly wrong? You got into the park with no issue and not a single bill. It was packed. The live band was blaring and the music pounded in your head. You pointed out how loud it was, and Abby, as if expecting it, whipped out some ear plugs. Eventually, the fireworks started. The radiant bursts were gorgeous, of course. But you just felt like your head was swimming.

5. Right after that, when you made it back home, you saw a stray cat in your backyard. You opened the door wide, prepared to chase it away, but found a bowl of cat food right outside the door?! Since when do either of you feed strays?! Hey, Buddy! Abby scooted past you and clicked her tongue, crouching down so that she could stroke the thing. She looked up at you expectantly. You followed suit, your mind racing and your heart pounding. You can’t let her know how many things you’ve misremembered. She’s going to think you’re going crazy. Are you going crazy? You went to bed early.

6. When you woke up, you took an early morning drive. Nothing should’ve been open, and you knew that, but you found yourself pulling into a random parking lot anyway. And there it was. The Twisted Time Cafe. It was somewhere else the last time you saw it, and you knew it, but at this point, you resolved to know nothing. Your memories would be inaccurate and that was just part of the rules of the world.

Oof. That’s rather grim. Well, you’ll need to work on expunging those thoughts. Being unable to trust your own memories and intuitions even in your proper timeline cannot possibly be healthy. I’m very relieved that we found you when we did. Thank you for the data.

She hands you a business card.

Best of luck, stranger.

You turn away and can no longer remember her face. Even if you did, could you be sure it was accurate?