What happens when you lose all hope in yourself and in the world? Well, you become vulnerable, and that's what happened to Eddie, only he does not really know what is wrong with him until a meeting that will literally change his world and, in a very real way, his life.

One day, as is his habit, Eddie has stepped in a virtual-travel cabin looking for a distraction from his bleak life, and on an impulse, he has made the journey to the era of the 1950s. It is an era that is so very different from his universe, somewhere in a not so distant, cold, and unfriendly future, that Eddie is immediately fascinated with what he sees, with this much simpler and warmer life. He feels himself becoming alive again.

There he also meets Marylyn, a pretty waitress working in a snack bar. She is so different from the women he has been keeping company with that Eddie feels himself attracted to her, attracted to how real and transparent she is.

However, his engineer's mind immediately sees the problem: Marylyn is not real and is the product of sophisticated computer coding. He tries to rationalize his attraction for her, but nothing can convince his heart.

Short Story Press publishes short stories by everyday writers.

Valerie Lizotte