Jenny was the best surgeon in town—successful, independent, and with a well-paying job.
Anybody would have thought her having top-tier beauty and brains meant her life was perfect. But no… her life was far from perfect.
She lived in a century where they didn’t burn intelligent women on stakes as they chanted “witch,” but the fear, hate, and envy burned deeper.
She lived far away from her family because her father had disowned her when she made it clear she was going after her career and nothing else. She had put on a tough shell and cut ties with her family, but deep within, she was hurting.
She had bought a comfortable house in her new neighborhood. But she was still treated the same and remained insecure. Men were always insecure around her, and women envied her, and still, she had promised herself never to dim her light; she would rather remain alone.
Time went by so fast. It was a cold evening, and Jenny shut all the windows and put on her favorite show. She sat down in front of the TV on her soft cushion, eating the cupcake she had bought herself to celebrate her 92nd birthday… alone. She felt the gentle breeze in her silk nightgown, almost halfway through the cupcake when she began dozing off. The cupcake slowly slipped out of her hands as her sight blurred. Her eyes closed, and she let go… taking her last breath….
2020….
The TV static woke Jenny up, and she was still in the chair. The cupcake and fork were still on the floor.
“I guess I slept off," she said, took the glasses she had hung around her neck, and put them on. But something strange happened—her vision was foggy with the glasses. She removed them, cleaned them against her clothes, and put them back on—still the same.
“Wait a minute," she removed the glasses, and her vision was clear. She stood up and bent down to pick up the cupcake. Then she froze as she bent. “That's strange," she wasn’t feeling the chronic waist pain that came with old age. In fact, she felt different… healthy… young.
She went to her mirror, and she almost fainted from the sight. She was in her mid-twenties again. Her white hair had returned to its curled and shiny blonde color, her once dry, pale, wrinkled lips were red and plump, with pearly teeth within, and her old body and wrinkled skin were now in their prime again—smooth, fair skin, with a perfect slender shape.
Then she heard odd humming outside. She went over and peeked through her window and was almost startled by the strange cars she saw.
She quickly put on one of her huge fur coats and went out to check what was going on.
The moment she stepped out of her house, it felt like she had stepped into a different world. She saw unfamiliar buildings, strange cars that hardly made sounds but just hummed, and everyone dressed in different funny, weird clothes and shoes.
Two children walked past her.
“She looks like a vintage filter," one whispered to the other.
She looked around, and everyone had flashy devices in their hands, which they stared at. She subtly pinched herself to see if she would wake up, but it was real.
She started wandering the streets, stunned by the wonders of the new world—electric scooters, flying drones, and then a giant advertisement billboard with a huge lady, and the current date, which read 13-08-2020.
“2020? It's not possible," she thought. She felt scared, misplaced, outdated, and alone again.
Just then, she noticed tension in a nearby restaurant. She calmly walked over to see what was going on. People had their flashy devices out as they panicked, "He can't breathe, he is going to die.” In the middle of the crowd was a man lying on the floor, gasping for air, almost turning purple.
Jenny saw it and immediately understood the situation—it was an allergic reaction.
She calmly stepped forward, removed her coat, and knelt beside the man. “Get me a sharp knife, a lighter, straw, and some good booze—now!"
The owner of the place quickly rushed and got her what she requested.
She sterilized the knife with fire and wine.
Made a precise incision below the Adam’s apple. Inserted the straw.
The man gasped. Air returned. Silence followed by applause from the crowd. She then left quietly in deep thought—for the first time ever, applause, and deep inside, she felt good.
The owner of the restaurant, a handsome man in his early 30s, ran after her.
“Hi, you were wonderful back there. Where did you learn that?"
"I was a surgeon.”
"Wow. Please let me treat you to a special meal. You saved a life back there. It's the least I can do,” he said with a warm smile.
“Ummm, okay," she agreed. This new world felt totally different.
He prepared his most special meal from his heart and sat with her as she ate.
The meal was meant to just thank her, but the more time he spent with her, the more he fell in love with her personality. She gave gentle and awkward laughs when he made jokes about how vintage she was.
They didn’t even realize they had spent over an hour. He was so interested in this mysterious vintage gem. And for the first time in her life, she felt special in a good way—she felt valued.
In this new world, she wasn't late to the game; rather, she was early, and somehow time had been able to finally catch up with her.
