Flash Fiction Contest Honorable Mention: "An Unbelievable Afternoon" by Jason Zimmerman

Kate's short hair, which typically framed her face like a tight black
helmet, was frizzy as though she spent the day in a sauna. Her black
plastic rimmed glasses no longer sat upright on the bridge of her
nose, but had slouched to the tip, and threatened to fall off. She
sat with her fists balled tightly in her lap against the fabric of her
sensible pencil skirt. Kate however, was oblivious to all of this
because the cogs in her mind were spinning at double-time as she tried
to make sense of her situation.

Next to their vehicle, Jacob danced a jig like a man who had never
been formally introduced to rhythm. His black and crimson diagonally
striped tie was generously loosened, and the top button of his pressed
white shirt was unbuttoned. A white rumpled lab coat was lying at his
feet.

Kate composed herself and cleared her throat.

"Jacob!" she called. "Jacob get over here."

Jacob stopped his celebration and sauntered over to Kate with a bounce
in his step, and his head bobbing along to imaginary music.

"Jacob, look at me." Kate's tone was firm. "For God's sake Jacob, stop
smirking and look me in the eyes. The project you said you were
working on, that I laughed at because I thought you were trying to
sound impressive just to get me into bed, you were really being
sincere?"

The left corner of Jacob's mouth curled up in a crooked smile. "Doll,"
he began. "I think I love you."

Kate was not amused. She grabbed Jacob's tie and pulled his face to
within an inch of hers.

"I'm begging you to be serious for one second."

"Look around you," Jacob's voice was low and soft. He jerked his tie
back out of her hand and stepped backwards. "Look at the cars in the
parking lot, my office building, did they look this futuristic a
minute ago?"

It was true, in a matter of seconds the entire world, while still
familiar, became nearly unrecognizable. Kate finally believed.

"If this is real, will you answer one question for me?"

Jacob spun back around to face her. "For you my dear, anything."

Kate surrendered her guard and felt playful once again. "Of all the
vehicles in the world that you could have used, why on earth did you
turn a rickshaw into a time machine?"
________

Jason Zimmerman lives among the cornfields in Northeast Ohio where he
dreams of being a published writer. Until recently he spent all his
creative energy designing websites for companies. These days he is
using his creativity to pursue his love of writing and storytelling.
To help him on his journey he has started a writing blog called Jason Writes Here.