The Case Of Ali

Chapter 7. A Gift From The Future

Ali was still in shock at what Jake sent her the night before. She did not get any sleep just thinking about it and looking at it. When she opened the envelope she was just blown away.  She was looking at herself  in the future.  It was  the only portrait that  125 year old Ali kept of her and her family. It must have meant a lot to her.  Ali felt weird thinking of herself in that way as "Old Ali"  She was looking at herself  at some point in the future with a little boy and a man she did not recognize. This was the man with green eyes that Jake mentioned in his letter....the man  that he did not recognize.  Well that made two of them because she did not  recognize this man either.  The man was carrying the boy on his shoulders. And they all looked so happy.

Ali could not tell if the man had green eyes and she could not say with certainty that he was not Jake. He looked older, that's for sure and he had facial hair as if he had not shaved in a few days. Could he be Jake only older? Her hair was cut shorter but it was clear that it was Ali.  This was a snap shot of a time in her life that did not happen yet. It  felt creepy seeing herself at twenty six....with a child when she was only twenty two and not even sure if she was pregnant. But Ali did notice something else. Both her and the man were wearing  what appears to be wedding rings. Was he her husband? 

Ali could not wait to show the picture to Alex. Any doubt he had that Jake was stuck in the future, this would prove it, she thought. She also could not wait to hear what the professor found out about the paper Jake's letters were written on.

She wanted to give him time but by 10AM next day she just had to call. She could not wait any longer. He answered on the second ring.

"Hi Ali how are you this morning?" He said.

"I wont be good until I know what all this means professor." Ali told him

"I checked the paper out and its a mystery; it's made from a material that is not identifiable but it is biodegradable which is good; I would hate to think that they are still polluting the planet 100 years from now," he said.

"I hope you did not present  the entire letter with that future date on it," Ali said.

"No, I cut a piece from the bottom blank portion," he said.

"And what does that mean that it is not identifiable? " Ali asked.

"Lets not talk over the phone; I will stop by later; what time is good for you? I am free after 1:00PM ; I am in the city so I am not far from you," Alex said.

"I am at work but I could take a late lunch; how about 1:30PM," Ali said. She gave him her work address.

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By lunch time Ali walked downstairs to meet Alex. He came bringing lunch for the two of them.

"It's so nice outside I thought that we could walk across to the park and have lunch," Alex said.

"Sounds good, what did you bring me?" Ali asked.

Alex passed her the bag with their Lunch. He brought them both grill chicken sandwiches, her favorite, how did he know?" she wondered

"So the paper those letters were written on, like I said it was unidentifiable and they could not tell me how old it was. They couldn't tell me what kind of material it was, so it could be something from the future; I had them send the paper off to a lab in North Carolina to see if they can come up with a better answer and you are right about  Jake's mother.  She has not heard from him; she is taking this thing with Jake very hard," Alex told Ali.