The Loop

I saw him standing in front of my building. He was larger than some—muscular. He wore a pair of long khaki shorts and a green collared shirt—I waved. He seemed friendly, familiar—maybe I’d seen him coming and going—Holy Shit!! He disappeared…he completely just vanished. Should I call the cops? Almost, in slow motion a little black notebook fell to the ground. The noise of the busy street faded—I heard the little black notebook thump onto the grassy square.

I froze. I glanced from side to side. The door to my building swung open—noise suddenly flooded my ears. A loud female walked out. She was on the phone. Her voice was nasally. She pushed a pair of black sunglasses up onto her forehead. She squinted and poked at her screen. The notebook was within her eyesight. She must have seen it. Wasn’t she curious? She walked away.

I sharply inhaled. Was there really a man standing in front of my building? I crumpled the paper in my hand—lottery numbers. I guessed right; my luck had changed. I had won twenty thousand dollars. I’d just come from the bodega—it was confirmed—it was official. What did the attendant say to me? “Now just pray nothing freaky happens before you can mail the ticket into the State.” This was definitely freaky!!

I crossed the street and stood on the grassy square. I saw the notebook—lying motionless on the ground—in the same spot where I saw it drop. It was really there—on the ground. I poked it with my foot. It’s definitely real. Should I pick it up? I crouched—knocking my ass against my heels. I looked closer at the notebook—it didn’t seem dangerous. I picked it up.

It was a Moleskin—a type of diary. It was older than I originally thought. There were passages—paragraphs really—it seemed to go on forever—each in a different hand—yet oddly the notebook wasn’t full. I stopped at the last entry and read—“I saw him standing in front of my building. He was larger than some—muscular. He wore a pair of long khaki shorts and a green collared shirt…” I flipped to the previous entry. It read—“I saw him standing in front of my building. He was larger than some—muscular. He wore a pair of long khaki shorts and a green collared shirt…” I flipped further back and further still—each entry was exactly the same. I looked at my clothes. I had forgotten what I had thrown on that morning—I gasped. I was wearing a pair of long khaki shorts and a green collared shirt.

I tried to drop the notebook. It wouldn’t budge. I shook it profusely—until my arm hurt. It wouldn’t leave my hand. A pen fell from within the folds of the little black book. This can’t be happening!! I’m not going to disappear—I can’t. I just won so much money. I need this money. I took a step to the right—nothing happened. I took a step to the left—nothing. I was stuck to this spot—with this notebook—this was it. I looked all around me—a bright, sunny day in the middle of the City and no one was around. I sighed—I screamed—I punched the air—nothing. A sliver of light bombarded my eye. I looked down—the pen was glittering. I picked up the pen.

I turned to the next empty page. I wrote—“I saw him standing in front of my building. He was larger than some—muscular. He wore a pair of long khaki shorts and a green collared shirt…” I finished the passage. I looked up. Across the street was a man—I couldn’t see his face clearly. He waved. I smiled.