coup de foudre
[kooduh foo-druh]
- a thunderbolt.
- love at first sight.
*********************************
It was a
lovely, clear day without a cloud in the sky.
Which is why Julius was so shocked—both literally and figuratively—when a
bolt of lightning crashed down less than twenty feet in front of him. He covered his eyes against the light from
the literal bolt from the blue and shook out his limbs. The electricity did not seem to have done him
any harm him, so that was good.
When he
finally opened his eyes, he froze. There
was a woman there. Standing right where the
lightning had struck. And she was
exquisite. It was like the best features
of every Hollywood actress were combined into one perfect woman. And when he looked at her, a large, goofy
grin spread across his face. He was not
sure if it was because of the electricity or something deeper, but he swore he
heard a chorus of angels singing Barry White songs.
The woman
wore a shimmering grey jumpsuit that hugged her flawless figure. Her glistening black hair was cut short,
ending at the top of her neck. Julius
had never been a fan of short hair, but on her, he could not picture her any
other way. His heart beat like a
jackhammer when he saw her lustrous, hazel eyes. Everything about her was amazing.
The woman was looking at the area
where she stood. She had a curious
expression on her face. She looked at a
silver armband on her right wrist. She tapped
at it a few times, like it was a tiny keyboard.
She muttered something and resumed looking around. She saw him and made her way towards him.
Julius tried to calm his breathing,
but was unable to. The goddess-like
woman was clearly going to talk to him! The
very idea was the greatest thing ever.
“Excuse me.” She said. The sound sent butterflies loose in his
stomach. “I seem to have gotten lost,
and my band doesn’t seem to be connecting to anything. Perhaps you can help?”
Julius was too lost in her eyes to
say anything. She frowned.
“Is there something wrong?” She
asked. “Do you require medical
attention?”
Julius finally managed to shake
himself out of his stupor. “Uh, no,
no. I’m, uh, I’m fine, really.”
“Are you sure? Perhaps you should seek a medical
professional. I will go seek aid from
someone else while you do so.”
“No!” Her leaving would be
terrible. He needed to stay near
her. His very soul cried out for her
presence. “No, I’m fine, really. I was just, uh, surprised by your arrival is
all.” There was so much else he could
have said, but not without coming off as desperate or creepy.
“I…see.” She said slowly. She raised an eyebrow and continued. “Well, regardless, I would like to request
aid.”
“Okay. I can do that. Probably.
Maybe.”
“Good. I have become lost, you see, and since my
band seems to lack a connection, I am unable to determine my current location.”
“Oh, sure. I can do that. We’re in Bear Mountain State Park. I can even help you get back to the road. And then maybe I can show you around a bit
more. I live around here, so I know all
the best places to do, uh, stuff.”
“Geographic location is
appreciated, I suppose, but I require more detail.”
Julius was getting a bit
confused. What kind of specifics did she
want? The county? Surely not the state or country. But best to give as much as he could. It might help get on her good side, which is
something he definitely wanted.
“Uh, well, it’s in Rockland county
in—”
“As I said, geographic data, while
appreciated, is not needed.” She said calmly.
“Oh. Okay, what do you need then?”
“I require chronological
coordinates.”
It took him a moment to realize
what she was talking about. Most of that
was spent gazing at her perfect beauty, but he finally managed to say
something.
“You mean the date? Uh, it’s August, 11th.” When she simply looked at him, he kept
going. “It’s 2:30 pm if that helps.”
“Any data is appreciated.”
“Okay.” He was starting to get a
little worried. What did she want. She still looked at him like she wanted more
details. “Uh, the year is 2018?”
That got her attention. She looked worried and suddenly nervous.
“2018 of which calendar?”
Julius struggled to remember what
it was called. “I think it’s the
Gregorian calendar, but I could be wrong.”
The woman’s eyes opened wide and
she opened and closed her exquisite, bright red lips. Her entire body seemed to shake.
“No. No, that…that’s impossible. I…I can’t be…no. How…how could this happen? This shouldn’t have happened. There must be some mistake. You.”
She said the last word quickly and with a hard edge. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”
She held up her wrist, presenting
the band to him. He looked at it
closely. It seemed like a normal silver
armband to him, which he told her. She let
out a pained wail and collapsed. It
pained Julius to see her like that. But
he was also unsure of what to do to comfort her. Should he rub her shoulder? Should he say something?
“Is…is something wrong?” He ended
up asking.
“I’m trapped.” She said. “I’m stuck here in an early digital era. No way home.” She said quietly. She kept saying the same general thing over
and over in different ways. Once Julius recovered
from the heartache he got from seeing her like that, he managed to piece
together what he was saying.
“Wait, are…are you a, a time
traveler?” He asked. She nodded. “And that lightning was, like, the method you
use or something?”
“Lightning? Did…did you see a bolt of lightning?” He nodded.
“Oh dear. That would do it,
yes. No, the lightning has nothing to do
with my method of temporal traversal. It
must have interrupted my travel and caused to me exit the time stream too soon.”
“I have no idea what any of that
means, or why a normal bolt of lightning would do anything to you, but if you
need help, I’ll do what I can.”
A sad smile crossed her lips,
sending the butterflies swirling again.
“You have my thanks. And I believe I will accept your offer. I will, after all, need a guide to this time
period. I have only read about this time
in historical data, and have no information on daily activities.”
“Okay, great. Let’s get started. I’m Julius.
What about you? Oh, uh, are there
still names in the future, or do you, like, use numbers or something?”
A slight chuckle escaped her. “We use names. Although, there was a period where serial
numbers were used in the 25th century, that period was short
lived. My name is Keela. It is a pleasure to meet you, Julius.”
************************
Some Barry White songs for you. Because everyone needs more Barry White in their lives.
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