I paid the fee and opened the door to my fantasy. There you were, alive again. I soaked in the 15 minutes I could afford from selling our house.

Chapter 7:

Other Worlds

They celebrated Earth Day each year, remembering the planet their parents spoke of, from a time before the evacuations to space.

Dear Roommate, You hurt my feelings. I don’t judge what you eat. Please don’t judge what I eat. Life is already hard being a zombie.

I clawed my way through Friday, determined to get to the weekend. At 5 o’clock, I ran out of work and straight into the bus Death was driving.

Angus stood outside his locked front door yelling, “I’m sorry I said you weren’t real!” Through the window his clone flipped him off.

Craig reached for his pen but it wasn’t there. He ran home holding his head, trying to keep the idea from seeping out.

I saw a shooting star and wished you’d come home to me. Then I realized your sun just burned out right before my eyes and you were gone.

Today is unlike any other. It’s been declared the first time-travel-free day by the council. Today’s events are happening as they should.

Your face looked familiar. I searched my mind for your name but had to settle for saying “Good morning” when you awoke next to me in the bed.

It happened again. Now, I know it’s me. My brother cut in line. I had a vicious thought. Suddenly he kind of sizzled and fell over.

I’d been living as Peter for years when I bumped into him. He was a mess, having no idea how to care for the female body I’d swapped him.

Her enormous ass called to him like flame to a moth. He reached out to touch it. In an instant he was gone, and her ass was a little bigger.

“I want you to love me,” said Edith, looking into his eyes. The Devil hesitated, calculating how to come out ahead on this deal.

I planted the pretty flowers in memory of you, but they were ruined when your hand clawed up through the dirt.

Phil woke up on the floor next to the bed. Since the séance, his ex-wife’s spirit had taken over the bed, mad he was dating her sister.

Could tell by the clouds I was back on Earth. Don’t know what they did to me, feel different.

Perfect for each other, they lived a block apart, but would never meet. They lived in different worlds. His was Facebook, hers was Twitter.

I climbed from raindrop to raindrop, then entered the Cloud King’s castle. “Enough,” I said, ready to fight for control of the weather.

Mark’s foot had swollen to twice its normal size. His health insurance company was sympathetic, they sent him larger shoes.