If I could Change the Past I would…

Let me find my list... There are those of us who could sit down and fill out an entire file folder, those of us that would like to change one event that could save a life or change an event that could save an empire.

We were planning a trip out of town around the holidays and as usual we were on the 11th hour trying to get ready. I was given the chore of going to the store for some necessary supplies. Kate took the time to write down a list for me while I was assuring her that I could remember everything without one.

I got to the store amongst a crowd and checked my pockets to make sure I had my keys and headed inside. I got halfway through my mental list and half of a buggy of supplies, I thought it better to check Kate’s list… I patted every pocket and in the jacket and checked the buggy but there I was, stranded without a clue and without a list.

I rambled around the store almost sure that I had completed my task. But after I checked out, I paused next to the snack bar, sure that I had forgotten something. I decided to get a Coke and a Kit-Kat Bar and relax for a moment to see if I could come up with the forgotten item.

The place was full except one seat in a small booth across from an elderly woman. Well, I know no strangers, so I asked the woman if I could sit down across from her. She politely opened her hand toward the open seat.

I sat there with two handfuls of bags and sipped my Coke. What did I forget?… What did I forget?… it wouldn’t come to me. I looked down and picked up the Kit-Kat bar and opened it up. I broke off one of the bars and sat the rest of it on table in front of me. To my astonishment, the nice lady looked at me and then reached over to pick up the candy bar and took one of the sticks and started eating it.

We sat there both looking at each other and eating our chocolate, never saying a word. I couldn’t get over it. How dare her! Well, to say the least I wasn’t making any progress toward remembering what was on my list. I took the Kit-Kat bar and pulled off one of the last two sticks while staring that woman in the eye. I laid it down and she picked it up and took the last stick out and stuck it in her mouth. She then folded up the wrapper and stuck it in her pocket book.

My concentration was shot. I couldn’t believe this little old lady. I got up without saying goodbye and headed outside and through the crowded parking lot toward my truck. As I approached the driver’s door, I started patting my pockets down in search of my keys. I slipped my hand into my jacket pocket and after having searched everywhere, guess what I found?…the list?...

No! Not the list… I found my Kit-Kat bar. The whole time I sat there mentally accosting that old woman for eating my candy bar, I was eating hers. I rushed back into the store to apologize, but the lady was already gone. She had been so patient and kind and quiet on the outside. I only wonder what she must have been thinking.


Shannon R Killman