Jon Slavin

Gardner
English 10
September 4, 2014

Always Remembered

I used to think that over time, I would come to be a different person. Perhaps
more mature, more thoughtful, more confident. In some ways, I was right, and in
others, I was very, very wrong. And it was under the strangest of circumstances that
I found out. However, what I came to realize after a while, was that walking away
from it, I felt almost nonchalant about it, as if it were an everyday occurrence. And
when I felt that way, it came also with a feeling of satisfaction. When I was 15 years
old, in the summer of 2014, I opened the door of my room, only to find myself
sitting at my desk.
It was an older me, however. In fact, it was a MUCH older me. 55 years older
than me, and to my surprise, remarkably recognizable. At least to me he was
recognizable, but he was most certainly me. That day had already been weird.
Everywhere I looked, I saw one or two people out of place. Not by the way they
walked, or talked, but by the way their eyes looked. I saw many people whose eyes
seemed to be grey in color. I took a slight note of it and moved on. When I arrived
home, I heard footsteps up the stairs, heavy steps. I thought, this is an adult,
possibly a man. But my dad was away for the weekend. So who else could it have
been? I followed the man, expecting a robber, despite the absence of any evidence

of forced entry. Just as I got up the stairs, I saw my door close. I quietly walked over
to the door, placed my palm on the handle, and swiftly swung the door open.
The man I followed was sitting at my desk. He was, as I expected, an adult
man. He was old though, over 50 for sure. But as soon as I looked at his face, I knew
exactly who he was. I looked him down for a moment. He was incredibly calm, with
a slightly hunched posture. His hair was a dark grey color, and he had some hair
loss near his scalp. He was sitting, so I couldnt accurately gauge his height, but
when he stood up later, he was taller than me by a couple inches, most likely 5 12
or taller. He didnt appear to be fat nor skinny. Sort of just in between. Apart from
his stature, he wore a black jacket with collars, and a green t-shirt underneath
(something I thought was strange, since Id almost never seen a 70 year old man
wearing a t-shirt). He wore dark blue jeans, and black shoes. His glasses were a bit
circular in shape, but with angular corners. His face was slightly wrinkled, and his
eyes were tired, like he stayed up a lot, and it wore him down. However, he
remained in relatively high spirits, with a slight grin across his face. He slowly
turned to me, and said, Yeah, I know. I wish I could tell you how it happened, but I
can tell you one thing. I remember all of this.
At first, I was speechless. I remember him asking me questions like, What
year is this for you, again? and Are you ok? But all I could do was think, think
about what this was, how this was happening, and why. After a while, he just
snatched my phone from my hand and whispered to himself, Hmm, lets see He
unlocked my phone straight away, and looked at the calendar. Jeez, this is way
back! I thought itd be this far in the past, but I never knew how much it would
surprise me. I looked at him in disbelief, with squinted eyes, as I was trying to find
the details in his face to confirm it was actually me.

How did you? How old? When?, I muttered, trying to make sense of
my questions. He looked at me with wide eyes and a smile, as if saying to me, Go
on! I tooked a deep breath, slowly, and formed a couple of legitimate sentences,
Ok, so youre me...and based off of what you said earlier, I suppose youre not
gonna be able to explain that. But I do have a couple of questions.
Go ahead, Ive got no place to be. Besides, you deserve some answers.
I smiled at him a bit, amazed at his image, How old are you?
Just turned 70 a couple of days ago. In a couple of weeks, itll be the year
2069, in case you were wondering., he leaned back in my chair.
So, where are you?, I asked with a bit of a chuckle.
Im sitting at my desk in my house. And as I remember, youre in YOUR
room, in YOUR house. Haha, so I guess there isnt much of a difference there.
Yeah. Well what can you tell me...
...about our future?, he completed my sentence, Sorry, but I think you
should stay focused on the present. I cant have you making any decisions because
of what I say.
Ok, I guess thats fair. What about the future of the world? I promise that I
wont tell anybody., I laughed a bit, and smiled at him.
Haha ok, I suppose one little fact wont hurt. As long as you dont tell
anybody, and you gotta promise you wont tell anybody.
I promise.
Ok, Ill take your word. Hmm lets see...well, they colonized Mars about 30
years ago. Well, 30 years for me, about 15 for you.

I looked at him with wide eyes, but also a look of happiness, Woah, thats
pretty great! I mean, people have been talking about it for years now, its pretty
cool that its actually happened.
He looks at me with his tongue in his cheek, and says, Want proof? Haha Ive
got pictures!
You got to go?! Wow, now I cant wait! He pulls a thin piece of glass out of
his pocket and taps a short rhythm on it lightly. He makes a few swipes across the
screen, and presses on it for a couple seconds. Suddenly, the screen switches to the
other side of the glass, and it displays a picture of 30 year old me inside a small
room of a house on Mars, with a view out of the window, showing parts of other
houses, and small buildings. I put my hands over my face and said, Oh my god,
this is too much! Its like Doctor Who or something! Ah, ok, thats all I wanna know!
Haha yeah, youve already seen too much. Well, I suppose this is it. Ive got
to go now.
Wait! What about the people with the grey eyes? He laughs a bit, and says,
Im not supposed to tell you about your future, remember? Haha, dont worry,
youll find out pretty soon. Oh! One more thing, Jon. Keep your English notes from
9th grade! Youll need them for a short story youll write next year. He grinned at
that, and then, with a few steps, he walked out of my room. I never quite
understood how any of this happened. But I was satisfied with this experience. I
gained a bit of insight to my future, without being told everything, which was good. I
never liked spoilers, anyway.