take long to decide. She nodded her head again. They walked over to Edward’s vehicle. He went around to the passenger side, opened the door for Kathy, and instructed her to place the camera (very carefully) in the back seat to make room, which she did. When she got into the vehicle, he closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief before hopping around to the other side and getting into the vehicle himself. Once more, he was on the highway, this time going even slower, around 85 km/h.
“Do you mind if I ask you why you’re planning on going to Alaska? I mean, if it’s not just to visit your cousin,” Edward said.
She thought about it for a moment.
“The other day my cousin called, and I picked up the phone because my mom was sleeping in the other room. We were talking about how everybody was doing, because my cousin has lots of family where I live, and then he asked me what I was having for breakfast. I told him I wasn’t having breakfast because it was after noon and I’d just finished lunch. He said he was silly because he forgot about the time difference.”
“Okay,” Edward said, and this was followed by a long silence. Then Kathy said, as though Edward hadn’t understood her, “Well
that’s
why I want to go to Alaska, and then even farther. My cousin said the more west you got the earlier in the day it got. So I’m going to keep walking and walking until it’s yesterday, and then last week, and then a few weeks ago.”
“Ahh, I see. You think … I mean, you want to go back in time.”
“Yeah, I want to go back in time. Not too far, but far enough. I just got to figure out how far I have to go.”
Edward hesitated to explain time zones to Kathy because he had an awful feeling that by doing so he would essentially be telling her there was no Santa Claus. But, maybe that was the only way he could convince her not to go back onto the highway all by herself. Even if her mom and her uncle were home when they got there, Kathy might just leave another time, back on her journey to Alaska.
“Kathy, there are different places in the world that have different times. Some times are earlier than ours, and some times are later than ours.”
“So, you can go to the future too?”
“No, no. What I mean is whether or not it’s 12 o’clock here and nine o’clock over in Alaska, it’s the same
time
everywhere. Like, everything’s happening
now.
You can’t go back in time.”
“I don’t understand,” she said, but her face held the slightest hint of desperation, which meant, to Edward, she did understand, mostly, and simply didn’t
want
to understand. He wondered what could be so important that she’d want to go back in time, but decided it wasn’t his place to ask, especially now, as she looked sadder by the moment.
“What’s happened has happened and nobody can change it,” he ended up saying.
“Oh,” she said, and turned her head away to look out the window.
“You know, there are things I want to change. I think anybody would want to change something, if they could.”
“What do you want to change?” she said as she turned back toward Edward, where he could see a few wet lines down her cheeks from tears.
“I’m on my way to visit a friend of mine who died, and I wish he didn’t die. I wish I could go back and, I don’t know, help him.”
“That’s sad,” she said.
“Yeah, it is. But, I can’t go back. So, I’m going there to visit him and remember things about him I liked.”
“I want to help somebody, too,” she said.
“Hmmm. Are there things you can remember about that somebody? Things you liked?”
She nodded her head, and right there, Edward could tell she was thinking about those things because a tiny smile presented itself.
“It’s right up here, turn right,” she said.
Edward nodded, and when the time came, turned right. They drove through some more forested area before the trees cleared to reveal a large open space, where in the distance there were
“Do you mind if I ask you why you’re planning on going to Alaska? I mean, if it’s not just to visit your cousin,” Edward said.
She thought about it for a moment.
“The other day my cousin called, and I picked up the phone because my mom was sleeping in the other room. We were talking about how everybody was doing, because my cousin has lots of family where I live, and then he asked me what I was having for breakfast. I told him I wasn’t having breakfast because it was after noon and I’d just finished lunch. He said he was silly because he forgot about the time difference.”
“Okay,” Edward said, and this was followed by a long silence. Then Kathy said, as though Edward hadn’t understood her, “Well
that’s
why I want to go to Alaska, and then even farther. My cousin said the more west you got the earlier in the day it got. So I’m going to keep walking and walking until it’s yesterday, and then last week, and then a few weeks ago.”
“Ahh, I see. You think … I mean, you want to go back in time.”
“Yeah, I want to go back in time. Not too far, but far enough. I just got to figure out how far I have to go.”
Edward hesitated to explain time zones to Kathy because he had an awful feeling that by doing so he would essentially be telling her there was no Santa Claus. But, maybe that was the only way he could convince her not to go back onto the highway all by herself. Even if her mom and her uncle were home when they got there, Kathy might just leave another time, back on her journey to Alaska.
“Kathy, there are different places in the world that have different times. Some times are earlier than ours, and some times are later than ours.”
“So, you can go to the future too?”
“No, no. What I mean is whether or not it’s 12 o’clock here and nine o’clock over in Alaska, it’s the same
time
everywhere. Like, everything’s happening
now.
You can’t go back in time.”
“I don’t understand,” she said, but her face held the slightest hint of desperation, which meant, to Edward, she did understand, mostly, and simply didn’t
want
to understand. He wondered what could be so important that she’d want to go back in time, but decided it wasn’t his place to ask, especially now, as she looked sadder by the moment.
“What’s happened has happened and nobody can change it,” he ended up saying.
“Oh,” she said, and turned her head away to look out the window.
“You know, there are things I want to change. I think anybody would want to change something, if they could.”
“What do you want to change?” she said as she turned back toward Edward, where he could see a few wet lines down her cheeks from tears.
“I’m on my way to visit a friend of mine who died, and I wish he didn’t die. I wish I could go back and, I don’t know, help him.”
“That’s sad,” she said.
“Yeah, it is. But, I can’t go back. So, I’m going there to visit him and remember things about him I liked.”
“I want to help somebody, too,” she said.
“Hmmm. Are there things you can remember about that somebody? Things you liked?”
She nodded her head, and right there, Edward could tell she was thinking about those things because a tiny smile presented itself.
“It’s right up here, turn right,” she said.
Edward nodded, and when the time came, turned right. They drove through some more forested area before the trees cleared to reveal a large open space, where in the distance there were
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