There is a Tomorrow Redux

John's mood had been dramatically transformed by the incredible bliss he had just experienced. He felt really great. Light as a feather, relaxed and joyous. Yet he was very puzzled. What just happened to him? Never in his life had he experienced anything like it. He closed his eyes again, hoping to be transported back into the ecstasy. After a few moments he realized that it wasn't going to happen again, and he reopened his eyes.
"What was that? And where am I?"
John looked around, then stood up and turned around in a complete circle. In some ways he seemed to be in the same place. He could see the Bay and the bridge there, but now he saw that several of the ships had colorful sails. Some looked to be of cloth; some more rigid. There were myriad trees on the hill now, some sixty to eighty feet high. John walked up to one and, yes, it was a young redwood. Through the trees he had a view of what used to be the industrial section down by the bay, although he no longer saw any signs of industry. The whole area seemed to be a park filled with foliage.
He could see the downtown area through some of the trees and yes, there was the pyramid building, a San Francisco landmark. There didn't seem to be quite as many skyscrapers though. And what were the colorful flying things he saw above him in the sky? John looked up overhead, and one flew over the gap in the trees not more that a hundred feet above. It looked like a hang glider with a propeller up front. He could hear the sound of its propeller as it buzzed by. “Hey,” he yelled as he waved up at it, but got no response.
A little to his left there was a worn path leading down the hill. John walked over and looked down it. Flowers were growing in the sunny areas. He decided to head on down.
"I must still be hallucinating," he said out loud. He wondered if it were safe to be walking around, and his steps were cautious at first. The path came to a circular clearing. He looked up at the sky, now a beautiful blue and perfectly clear. Just then about seven different colored flyers passed overhead in a V formation. “What the hell is going on?” he wondered out loud.
In the center of the clearing was some kind of a statue, but he couldn't identify the large, obese, roly-poly woman depicted. Several bouquets of flowers lay at the statue's feet. As he rounded the figure, he saw a young woman sitting in a meditative posture with her eyes closed. John stood there for about a half a minute wondering what he should do. He wanted very much to talk to her, but he didn't know if he should disturb her meditation, or whether it was even a good idea to be seen by or communicate with anyone in this amazing new world. Then the young woman opened her eyes and looked right into his. There was a powerful energy between them that seemed to keep either from speaking for another ten or fifteen seconds.
"Hi."
"Uh, hello," John said rather tentatively. He took a few steps towards her. "Um, you're not going to believe this, but I just had the most incredible experience of my life."
"A good one, I hope, but why wouldn't I believe it?"
"Yes, it was way beyond good," said John, "but, incredibly confusing. When I came up this hill a little while ago, none of this stuff was here. There were no trees. The sky was gray and polluted. And there weren't any ships with sails on the Bay."
"Well, I've been here for almost an hour," she said looking at a bracelet on her wrist, "and nothing has changed."
"But everything has changed! What time is it?"
"About twelve-thirty. Are you sure you aren't polluted? Have you been drinking or getting high on something?"
"No, no, nothing like that. Unless someone slipped me some LSD or something. No, there's no way. What day is it?"
"You're really lost in space, aren't you. It is Friday, June nineteenth."
"June nineteenth. That's right, but this is a Saturday."
A chill ran down John’s spine.
"What year is this?"
"Twenty-ninety-five, of course."
John almost fell to a sitting position. His expression became even more bewildered than before.
"Uh, no! That is impossible!
"Well when do you think you came up here?
"Would you believe Nineteen-ninety-three?"
"Of course not. That's impossible. Though, I must admit your outfit is authentic, from old videos I've seen. You're period dressing, right? And you're out here playing games with people, or is this some new kind of line?
"No, I swear!" John exclaimed. "I'm as amazed as you. More so."
John got up and walked closer to her and said, "My name is John Berry and I came up here on a Saturday in nineteen-ninety-three. I was feeling terrible. Having a real crisis of faith. I was really upset. I prayed to God that I could have faith again. Then all of a sudden I had this incredible experience of bliss and light and color and sounds like I've never heard before. It was awesome, amazing, beyond anything I had ever experienced. It was as if my whole body was in ecstasy, and my mind was merged with a whole universe of light and sound. I don't know how long it lasted, but, I can't believe it lasted for a hundred years."
John sat down again across from the young woman. Though she wore no makeup, she was rather pretty. Her clothes seemed to be hand-made and not quite like anything he'd seen before. They were rather sweet and attractive though, and maybe the cloth was hand woven. She looked lovely in her little peach top, and she had long sandy blond hair that was braided into pigtails. Her eyes were either blue or green, John couldn't tell for sure. There was a knowing smile on her face that showed she seemed to be quite skeptical of the truth of his story. She looked down at his feet and said, "Where did you get those old leather shoes?"
"I sent off for them through a catalogue that carries wide sizes. Why? Don't people wear leather shoes anymore?"
"Not much."
"Would you pinch me or something? This is just crazy."
John reaching into his pocket. He took out a quarter and a nickel, looked at them, and handed them to the young woman. When he gave them to her, he pressed them into her hand just to verify that she was a real flesh and blood person.
"Maybe this will prove I am telling the truth. These coins are from 1987 and 1991. Back in 1993 coins over a hundred years old would have been very rare. What's your name?"
"I'm sorry. After your incredible story, I've forgotten my manners. My name is Crystal."
"Well, Crystal, I believe you. I can see that either I'm not in the same time, or I've gone totally crazy."
"I can believe that," Crystal said with a laugh. She looked at the coins, turned then over in her hand, and said to John, "This is a joke. I'll give you credit for a good job. The clothes look good, the shoes, and coins. But many people collect old coins. I guess you didn't know we haven't used coins for over sixty years. They were used on the black market for a while. That's why they're not around except for collectors. Most were rounded up and melted down. Listen to me. I don't really believe you."
"Well, I can't say that I blame you. I don't believe it either, but I'm living it. I guess I'm alive. You're so beautiful; I could believe I've died and gone to heaven."
John was smiling sweetly at Crystal, and she returned his smile as their eyes met and stayed in contact for a long moment.
"Now I know this is a line," said Crystal with a laugh, "but I think I'm going for it. I get it. You're acting in a play about the Twentieth Century, right?"