GONE DAYS

Friday 0600 hours. Thomas was awake. A bit foggy in the head, but awake. He could not tell whether he was dreaming or it was real; the comfortable mattress, the soft pillows, the silky sheets, the warm arm draped over his bare torso, the lovely scent of the hair whose head was laying on his chest... The last memory he had before this moment was him jumping over jagged rock and finding nothing to land on but a very steep cliff. He was still falling when he woke up. This was definitely not the landing he was expecting, and if he really was dreaming, this did not feel like the worn out, hard and stale smelling bedding he was accustomed to. There was too much light, he didn't know where it was all coming from, it was blinding him and he couldn't open his eyes. All this while, someone was blowing a horn at a distance and it kept growing closer and closer until it felt like it was being blown right into his ears. Without even knowing what he was doing, he reached out to his side and somehow silenced the horn. He managed to open his eyes and tried to recollect his thoughts amidst the chaos in his brain. He scanned the room and it all felt familiar to him; the plush bed, the high ceilings, the liquor bar, the velvet couch, the smell, the naked girl on his side... s**t! The naked girl on his side. It all came flooding to him. He was in a hotel room with a very pretty girl, whose name he didn't care much to remember, he had met last night at some party. He got off the bed with a start and confused. He could swear he had been here before, same place, same girl and looked at the calendar on his phone to confirm if it was the same day and time and alas! It was. His phone had a couple more surprises for him, a dozen missed calls and voicemail messages from his wife. He knows, he is certain this happened before and it is at this very moment he makes the biggest mistake that will haunt him for the next six years. Or will he? Did he dream up the next six years or have they already happened? Thomas can feel his brain turning to mush as he tried to put things into perspective so he decides to not think about it anymore. All he knows is that he has to do the complete opposite of what he did or will do... aaaargh! Time. A complicated matter that is. He dresses up and decides to listen to his wife's messages as he sneaks out of the room, making sure not to wake the sleeping beauty.