56 Greener Grass

I walked, lost in fog, deep in a forest. Moments earlier there was no fog, no forest. Something had sought me out. Something was coming.

I shined my flashlight ahead, its cone of illumination a solid cylinder, a sword into darkness' vulnerable gut.

It was like looking into a mirror. His own light joined mine in a beam of continuity, from his handheld to mine. I didn't know whether he was drawn to me or I was drawn to him. We approached each other, each beam of light intussuscepting the other.

Finally, from 5 feet, he spoke.

"You know what I do."

"I'm sorry, I don't. Who are you?" The fog suddenly thinned and I stood there talking with myself, that is, someone who looked just like me. "What is this trickery?"

"No trick," he explained. "I've come pass into your world, sending you into mine."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I must leave this world I hate. It's a terrible place."

"Is it not the same as mine?"

"Yes and no. It is, but much worse. So I will effect the transfer."

"If I lend you any credibility, it's because you are exactly like me. Anyway, why should I trade worlds with you if yours is worse?"

"Because! You have no choice! I've done this a hundred times, and each time the world has been terrible. But yours offers hope, it appears."

"I have no complaints, myself. But I do not consent."

Ignoring me, he approached. I stood stolid, inert, but it didn't matter. He passed through me like a ghost. Suddenly, I was reversed around with my light in the opposite direction. How?

Unless I was now in his world.

I was.

It didn't take long for me to realize how right he was. This was a world where atomic weaponry had been dropped on Japan. Twice, in fact! Where there was something called terrorism, along with its horrors. Where genocide still seemed a viable option for some. The more I learned, the more I grieved.

I must find the forest again! Shine my light on someone as clueless as I was. And walk right into his world to get the hell away from here.