All In Your Head

Past-1813

John woke up. He recognized the washbasin, the plate-glass windows, and the cotton curtains.

Althea had left a lantern on for him in his room. John got up out of bed, took it, and made his way down the hallway to the sitting room. Where his wife usually sat in her rocking chair reading or embroidering, the chair was empty and all the lanterns had been blown out. In the kitchen, he recovered a bowl of leftover soup from the icebox. Not wanting to go to the trouble of lighting the hearth, John sat at the table and ate his soup cold. Even chilled, it was delicious and replenished him. John took his lantern and went to their bedroom. He had been sleeping in the guest room until he was no longer ill.

Peering in, he could see the silhouette of his wife's shadow against the white walls of the room, her chest gently rising and falling with each serene breath. She was deeply and peacefully asleep. John longed to crawl in beside her and be close to her. But she believed him to be sick, and he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth, for fear she would think he was crazy.

It had been a long day. If John willed himself enough, he could sleep and not wake up in either time period. Just sleep. In his exhaustion, John would sometimes fantasize that he could stay asleep permanently, never waking up in either the past or the present. But that would mean never getting to see Althea or Ryan again, and he didn't want that. Through some greater power, John had survived the car accident and lived—and not only that—he had been given the ability to travel through time and space. John was one to believe that everything happened for a reason.

John lingered for a moment before returning to his room. He settled in between the covers and fell asleep. Only this time, he remained that way until the next morning.

Past—1813

The next morning

John awoke. He could hear his wife lightly snoring in the next room. He let himself drift back to sleep, willing himself to awake in the present. Ryan was an early riser and would be up soon, a while before Althea was.

Past—1813

1 hour later

John awoke again, to the smell of breakfast being made. He could hear the sound of his wife shuffling around in the kitchen in her nightgown and stockings. This wasn't right—he should have awoken in the present. John checked the time on his cell phone; the clock read 10:13. Ryan would have been awake at least two hours by now. Once more, John made himself fall back asleep, but not before thinking, "Please, let me see my son again. Let me awake in the year 2013."