I was trying very hard not to panic.
There I was, five miles from home on the interstate and stuck in extremely heavy traffic that was backed up for miles. Normally that would’ve been all I’ve had to worry about but there was one more detail that made this unpleasant predicament all the more unbearable.
The orange fuel light on the dashboard was glowing and the trip odometer indicated I had 8 miles of gas left. To try conserving gas I turned off the air conditioner and had opened the windows to let in the hot summer air, leaving me soaked with sweat. Meanwhile traffic was barely crawling above a snail’s pace, drifting ever closer to the scene of the major accident responsible for so ensnaring the traffic. I was definitely trying hard not to panic.
Then my phone rang. I picked it up to see who was calling.
I saw my name and phone number displayed on the screen as the source of the incoming call. Either there’s a serious glitch with the network or I’m actually calling myself.
What the heck, I’ll answer this call. Anything to get my mind off my worsening situation.
I answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Hey,” a voice sounding very much like mine answered. “Listen, you’re going to make it.”
I was confused. “Who is this?”
“I’m you, ten minutes from now. Believe me, I’m just as confused as you are. But you will make it.”
“Make it where?” I asked.
“Out of that traffic jam you’re in. In exactly three minutes you will be back up to speed and in another five minutes you’ll be at the gas station close to home with 3 miles of gas to spare. See ya.”
Click. The call ended just as strangely as it began. My mind was left overwhelmed with questions I was struggling to answer. Was that really me? Is it really possible to call myself this way? Or is there a serious glitch with the network?
So preoccupied was my mind that I didn’t notice that traffic finally began to speed up after passing the overturned tractor trailer. A few minutes later I was back at normal driving speed, greatly relieved to have made it out of this nightmare. A few more minutes after that I was pulling into the gas station near home to fill up my nearly depleted tank. Before I turned the engine off, I took a glance at the odometer and gasped.
The trip meter indicated exactly three miles of gas left.
Now I was really confused. Is it really possible to call myself in the past? What if it’s not a glitch but a hidden perk of my phone service? An emerging technology that truly makes our lives more sane and less stressful? Why didn’t anyone tell us about this? Is it really possible to call myself in the past?
I’m going around in circles. Time to put this to the test.
I went to the received calls log in my phone and found my number. Strange, it appeared to be my phone number as if I really did call myself a few minutes ago. I selected the dial icon and the phone prepared itself to initiate the call. After dialing my number, I could hear ringing as the call commenced.
A few rings later, someone answered.
“Hello?”
That’s odd.
That’s me.
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