IMPORTANT!

      …so I have to write this, to warn you if you see this place, because now I’m trapped here, telling this story over and over…

      It happened yesterday when I walked out of the library and noticed an older gentleman getting on a bus when something fell out of his pocket. I tried to alert him, but he apparently didn’t hear me and the bus drove off.

      I walked back and picked up the man’s lost item. It was a black and white photo of an old little cottage. On the back was printed one word:

Important!

      I had no idea why it would be ‘important’, and I was sure I’d never see him again, but I still put the photo in my wallet, just in case.

      Later that afternoon while jogging, I happened to take a different route, when lo and behold, there was the cottage, partially hidden behind a grove of oak trees. I knocked on the door, and the same gentleman answered.

      I explained to him what had happened and showed him the picture.

      “Oh, thank you so much,” he said. “Won’t you come in?”

      I told him I just wanted to return his picture and get going, but he insisted I join him for a soda.

      After our introductions, I asked him why the picture was ‘important’.

      “Because I was lonely,” he said. “But now I won’t be lonely anymore.”

      He could see my bewilderment, so he continued.

      “You see, this picture is a moment frozen in time, just like this cottage is frozen in time.” His smile grew broader. “And now, my new friend, you are frozen in time...”

      …so I have to write this, to warn you if you see this place, because now I’m trapped here, telling this story over and over…



(300 Words)