Crossroads of Destiny

Gerald Capaldi sat in his living room. He loved this sofa; he’s had it for three years now. He bought it a few weeks after he moved into this house, his first house. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice modern kitchen, and a fantastic backyard in case he ever got a dog. But this sofa was perfect. The back was just high enough for him to rest his head and get the perfect angle to watch TV.

He had his feet on the coffee table, shoes off, of course, and he had a drink in his hand. It was a special occasion, after all. He met a woman on the ride home tonight. He liked driving, but for the past week his car had been in the shop, so he had been taking the bus. For the week, he sat near a beautiful woman and finally mustered the nerve to ask her to coffee, maybe after that to dinner.

The TV froze, and he stared at it, wondering what was happening. He heard someone talking in his bedroom, and the door opened. Someone was walking out of the bedroom, talking, like it was normal for them to be in his house. A man and a woman.

That’s when he realized it was him and the woman from the bus, Savannah. They looked odd, solid in what he could see, but a little transparent. They walked into the kitchen, talking and laughing, and made a cup of tea.

They walked into the livingroom and sat on the loveseat. He could hear them clearly. They had just been married, and they returned from their honeymoon that morning.

Savannah said to him, “You know what the best part of the past two weeks was?”

Gerald nodded, “I think I have a good idea.”

Savannah stood and held out her hand. “Show me.”

Gerald stood, looking at his younger version. He winked. Could this apparition see him? Hand in hand, they returned to the bedroom.

He sat there a moment, wondering if he had too much of this very expensive scotch. He had the revelation that he had not taken a sip of it yet. Sitting it down on the coffee table, Gerald sat up on the sofa.

“What in the hell was that?” The TV started again, showing the rest of the commercial about a new drug to ask your doctor about. Maybe he needs some sort of drug after this. He shut the TV off.

He looked like he hoped someone would have answered him.

For the next few minutes, he wondered if he was hallucinating. Maybe he is under some stress he was not aware of.

He heard someone using a key to unlock the front door. It swung open, and he walked in. It was him on the very day, the very first time he walked into this house, literally an hour after he signed the papers to buy it.

Gerald sat there, staring at himself as his younger self closed the door. He turned around and watched himself do his ‘happy dance,’ as he called it.

He remembered that the house was empty, but there was a single chair near where he sat right now. His younger self sat on that chair and pulled out his phone. He opened social media and took a video selfie.

“Who wants to guess where I am?”

He saved the file and posted it online. Gerald remembered that post. Lots of congrats, and way to go. Gerald reached out and touched his younger self. It felt like static electricity. The face of his younger self looked like he felt it, but did not see anything.

“OK, the apparitions can feel me but not see or hear me. I can see and hear them, but not feel them. I think I just had a brain break!”

From the kitchen, an older version of himself walked into the living room and sat on the other end of the sofa. He was holding the same glass that Gerald sat on the coffee table. A four-ounce juice glass he used for scotch when relaxing in front of the TV. He looked at his glass on the coffee table. It was the same one, Knotts Berry Farm etched into the glass. He only had one he picked up while working in California last year. Both glasses were about half full. Both had about $100 worth of the best scotch on the planet.

The apparition said, “Gerald. Since I am in your distant future and I can see and hear you, we can interact. Today is Christmas morning. Our daughter was just born. Sophia Noel Capaldi. 100% georgeous, and my, our, little girl forever.”

Gerald looked shocked, “What the hell is happening?”

“Well, it took me years to understand it, and I vowed to find you and clear it all up.” He held up the scotch. Gerald picked up his and the touched glasses. As they did, there was a spark.

“At this moment, the most powerful solar flare in history is hitting directly above this house. Simultaneously, radiation from a nearby star that exploded 19 years ago is hitting the same location, the atmosphere above this house.” He paused a moment, and they each took a sip. “Those two forms of radiation, when merged, create a ripple or bubble in time. A nexus or a crossroad for your destiny. Call it whatever you want. You’ll discover it is happening in a lot of places, but all within 1,00 miles of this spot. I like to call it ground zero."

You are the central hub, the point of what, entropy maybe. Who knows. But since this is happening in your time, you have the best view of everything. I remember when this happened, the vision of me walking into the kitchen with my new wife to grab tea. I remember winking at you even though I could not see you. I knew you were there!" He paused a moment, thinking about Savannah, "There is one more version of us that you need to see.”

“Who is that? How long till they show up….”

“Right now.” The older version said.

A young woman walked into the house, followed by two paramedics and a gurney. They disappeared into the back room.

“Was that it?”

“No, wait and see.”

A few minutes later, the gurney rolled out and almost passed, “STOP!” The man on the gurney yelled.

The young woman was sobbing. Gerald realized this man was going to die.

The version of himself sitting on the other side of the sofa said, “That is our daughter, Sophie. She was born yesterday, at least to me. Five years from now, to you. She is the joy of our life. After I saw this, I made a realization, as you are about to make.”

“What realization?” Gerald asked.

The man on the gurney turned his head and looked directly at Gerald. It was a very old version of himself.

He pointed directly at Gerald, “Son, Gerald, for Christ's sake, ME! Listen to me carefully. There is nothing in all of time more important than family. Be present for them. I lost Savannah to cancer a decade ago, and our daughter, Sophie, has been my light.”

Sophie began to sob. She thought her father was beyond hope, beyond help, on his way to be with her mother.

“Your numbers come up on Sophie’s 6th birthday. Remember that. Our numbers, the set we always like, because it reminds us of family. Birthday month and date for all three of us. Because of that, we have a comfortable life, but we all love this house and never move. This house, this place, this is where we are. There is real love here. Nurture it."

The other Geralds nodded at his very old self, who passed out. The paramedics put his arm under the blanket and carted him out. Sophie stood there a moment, “Dad. I know you are on both sides of the sofa. You told me about this years ago. That’s why you never got rid of it: it is a meeting place where you can talk to yourself. You are the greatest father a girl could hope for, and I love you. I wish I could see you or touch you.”

Both Geralds stood and hugged her.

“Oh my god. I felt that. It really is true. You told me about this after Mom died, and I thought you were making it all up. Another story like we made up when I was little. But I felt it, both of you!”

She walked a few steps and stopped at the door. Waving, “I love you. Both of you.” Smiling, she left the house where she grew up, knowing her family would always remain in this house. She walked out following the ambulance to the hospital to say goodbye, one last time, to her father.

The two versions left in the house looked at each other. “Well, kid.” The older Gerald said, “Time for all of this to vanish. The solar flare is almost over. It lasted a whopping twenty minutes. When it ends, we all go away, never to meet up again. It is up to you, my young friend, to give us all a perfect life.”

The older version finished the scotch, winked, and vanished.

Gerald sat there contemplating what just happened. He opened his phone and recorded an audio file. Starting at the beginning and recording everything he experienced up to this exact moment, the moment the temporal rift dissipated.

Over the years, he found forums and people discussing sightings similar to his, but he lurked on those sites, not wanting to be known for this activity.

He did remember all the events. He and Savannah make tea, then reexperience their honeymoon activities. He even managed to tell his daughter about what he experienced at dinner a few weeks after he buried his wife of more than 50 years. Gave her the audio file and made her promise to listen to it, remember it.

He believed and took heed. Put his family first in everything.

And yes, for nearly a decade, he used the same six numbers on his lottery ticket. 10-1-5-30-12-24. He won enough money never to worry again; it improved his mental health and allowed him put his family first.

Holding his glass up and saluting the four versions of himself he saw, one at a time, he finished the scotch.

Now, he had the rest of his life to finish, but thanks to a very odd circumstance, he got a glimpse of things in his future.