"My God! You mean to say I have fallen in love with an alien?"Raven-haired Tanya had met Rinaldo at an early music festival in Mainz. He was tall with hair ropy and long; and he spoke German with an unplaceable accent. She listened in the small ornate and gilded hall, as he gave a presentation on Palestrina to a meagre audience, claiming that the composer was ahead of his time, literally so. Rinaldo himself seemed displaced in time. She could not decide whether he seemed like a man from the past or from times that are yet to come.
Being a trained singer and cellist, she came up to the podium to ask questions after the talk. He took her arm. "Let's walk along the Rhine," he suggested gently. It was dusk in midsummer, the sky already alight with stars, ripe for new beginnings. Tanya, "Sure, but I don't want to follow the path. I'm worried aboutsilent cyclists who traverse it at insane speeds."
"OK. Let's walk right next to the river."
They walked out into the greenery to the sound of crickets, her red polka dot dress like a beacon in the failing light.
After some time, they were obliged to veer away from the river due to a concrete barrier.
With a catch in her voice, Tanya said, "I think we are lost. But I guess we can try to retrace our steps."
Rinaldo, "No. This is what I was trying to explain when I spoke about Palestrina. We have stepped into a different world-line."
"What on earth do you mean?"
"Look up at the sky!"
"Nothing strange there, just the full moon."
"Look more closely."
She squinted. "I think I know what you mean. The moon seems different. Wait! I've got it!" She was excited.
Tanya, "The moon is upside-down."
"Yes."
"What on earth does that mean?"
"It means we can never return."
"Why ever not?"
"Because we are on a parallel track that briefly crossed ours, but is now diverging."
"How can you know this?"
"Where I come from, these things have been elucidated scientifically. It's what people in your world-line call the Many Worlds theory."
"Huh?"
"Only, it's not a theory."
They reached the outskirts of Mainz. It was entirely dark except for artificial lights.
Tanya, "So where are we now?"
"No idea."
"How do we find out?"
"By looking at the news, I guess."
"Will my mobile work here?"
"It might."
They walked back to the hall and got into her burgundy car, which was parked in the street nearby beneath an oak. Using her phone, they spent an hour looking at the news, checking wikicentral and FaceTome. Research allowed them to piece together an idea of how the world had morphed.
That bullet had terminated Trump. It almost caused an uprising of the militant hard right in the US, but the world was saved from a further attack of Trumpism. On the debit side, full-scale war had broken out between Iran and Israel. A special fungus had been released into the air, it's function being to remove CO2, and so mitigate the risk of a climate meltdown. It was hoped it did not pose health risks.
Sampling this new world sitting in the car brought them together. Rinaldo was reliably solicitous about her comfort and he booked an AirBB in Frankfurt with two bedrooms. They needed this because she could not find her flat. She was grateful for his help, and for how he tried to soften the shock of losing the only world she knew. He was a gentleman (or a patient wolf), respecting her private space.
They entered the flat, which was fully furnished in an old-fashioned style. How to start a new life, she wondered? She could turn up at her old workplace - if it even existed - and pick up the reins. Rinaldo had the same problem, but worse. He too was a displaced person, doubly so. Once from his world to hers, and then to this brave new world without Trump. He had been a freelance journalist, a precarious job in any world, even more so now.
They took a white Over to where her work had been, two blocks from the centre of modern Frankfurt. No sign of the AllStar marketing company on the board inside the glass edifice at #301. She scanned the listings for something sounding similar, in vain. They exited the glass doors and looked around. On the other side of the street was a sign that read "Many Stars". Could this be it?
She felt apprehensive as they took the lift to the 11th floor. Rinaldo sat down on the couch in the entrance hall, while she hesitantly approached the wooden counter.
"Oh, you're back," the vaguely familiar young woman with short, brown hair said casually. Relief pulsed through Tanya. But now, would she recognise her own desk? There it was, in its usual place, between two grey partitions, apparently as she had left it. However, she knew neither person in each adjoining cubicle. She went back to Rinaldo to tell him things were OK, and for him to come for her at 5 pm.
When she finished, he was outside the building, waiting for her. They sat on stools to eat at a nearby Neapolitan pizzeria called Inferno, where the chilli was scalding hot. The Chianti was not strong enough to neutralise the taste. Back at the 4th floor AirBB, with a picture window, they watched the pulsating lights of the semi-familiar city. She recognised a few distinctive buildings, others were like fill-ins to make the city look real. Was it as real as her world? Then an unsettling thought, was there a copy of her in this city?
Tanya wondered what it would be like to meet her namesake. Like meeting an almost identical twin. The prospect was vaguely scary, as though the other Tanya might tell her to clear out of her native environment, to let her live without a competing body double.
Rinaldo was interested in meeting his own doppelganger, assuming that the guy had not decamped to another world, as he had. Perhaps half the city was composed of world-wanderers.
"You know, Tanya, I think you and I may be unique. I suspect no-one else here knows about the reality of Many Worlds."
"You think so?"
"I can't be sure, but that is my feeling... Let's go for a walk, I feel claustrophobic here."
They strolled a few blocks towards the other end of the centre. Hardly any people were about and the roads were almost empty. After eight blocks, they noticed an absence of activity. Just the pulsing lights in red, yellow and blue.
A seagull, lit up in brilliant white against the dark sky, swooped down like an avenging angel. Tanya was not superstitious, but it felt ominous.
There was an electrical crackling, followed by the smell of burnt rubber. Tanya felt a tingling and her toes went numb as the lights began flashing angrily. Electrical discharges, like horizontal lightning, crossed from building to building, even traversing the road. Luckily, this only happened above their heads. Nevertheless, the air was laced with menace. Tanya and Rinaldo broke into a run, heading for a park three blocks away. They reached a large fig tree, some distance from the electrical display. It felt like it should rain, but not a drop.
Still panting, Tanya was shaking and her eyes were glazed. She buried her head in his chest. Rinaldo embraced her and comforted her, "It's OK. We're out of danger here. It seems to be the urban equivalent of a raging electrical storm. A lot more colourful though!" he added on an upbeat, to lift her spirit.
Tanya stifled a sob, then began to cry softly, unable to stop. She was grateful for his warm body and the embrace.
Tanya: "When will it stop? Can we go back to the unit?"
"Don't know. We'll wait here. There's a bench."
They sat down on the blue metal bench holding both of each others' hands. She forced a smile, "I always feared storms as a child. Got caught in a terrifying one far from our house. I was drenched and freezing when I reached home."
"Well, at least it's not raining. And it's not as loud as thunder."
As if this word were a cue, the discharges stopped. The lights returned to normal.
The same thing happened the next day at almost the same time, 8.14. They surmised it was normal here. The residents of the city emptied the streets a few minutes before the discharges began.
That evening, Rinaldo and Tanya turned up at the Stadium, for a special concert appearance of the Naked Mole-Rat Brothers. The music was odd but melodic, evoking nostalgia and bitter-sweet feelings. However, they were not there for that. They needed to find Nepo in the three quarters full stadium. If he had not changed his appearance, he had a moustache and wore silver coins as earrings. They wandered around during intermission, but he was not visible among the multitude. Tanya resorted to the location function on her mobile. Ping! He was at the other end of the oval Stadium. They relocated to the nearest pair of seats to him.
When Nepo got up to leave, they could see him, but there were some fifty people in between. They walked quickly, gaining ground. Nepo headed for the Subway and they followed. He passed through the turnstiles. Since they lacked tickets they were obliged to vault over. The train came promptly and they just managed to enter the same compartment.
"Nepo?" Tanya asked.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"We are strangers here. I am Tanya and this Rinaldo."
"So how come you know my name?"
Tanya showed him his name on her phone.
Rinaldo, "We need your help."
"What sort of help?"
"To exit through the warp."
"Exit?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's tricky, very tricky."
Tanya, "I'm desperate. I left a ten-year-old son back there."
Nepo, "I'll try, but it's super hard."
Rinaldo, "How so?"
Nepo, "It's like quantum tunnelling, though that's only an analogy, where something that is normally impossible happens due to the Uncertainty Principle. You have to set things up exactly right and then you still need luck."
Rinaldo, "Can we do it?"
Nepo, "We can try."
Tanya, "Do you charge a fee?"
Nepo, "Naturally, up front."
Rinaldo, "I have a few thousand dollars."
Nepo, "OK, so it's a matter of being at exactly the right place at the right time. Even that's usually not enough. You need this."
He produced what looked like a mobile phone.
Tanya, "What is it?"
Nepo, "It's a kind of transformer. It steps up the incoming ether energies till there is enough power to move a body between worlds."
Rinaldo, "Where did you get this?"
Nepo, "I hand built it. Took me years to get it right."
Tanya, "So when can we go?"
Nepo, "Not so fast! Firstly, I need to know what world you want to go to. There are trillions. You don't want to pick one at random, do you?"
Tanya, "Of course. But how do I find out where we came from?"
Nepo, "That's even harder than the transfer itself."
Rinaldo, "Really?"
Nepo, "Think about it. There are infinitely many worlds, some of which are nearly identical. You got here by accident, I assume?"
Tanya, "Yes."
Nepo, "There are tell-tale signs in your junk DNA, but it's not an exact science."
Rinaldo, "You mean we might go to the wrong world and be stranded there?"
Nepo, "Yes, a very real risk that might happen."
The Subway delivered the three of them to Nepo's flat, a hyper-modern penthouse on the 41st floor. Rinaldo and Tanya sat down stiffly on his narrow couch, while Nepo went to fetch his apparatus. He returned and measured their junk DNA.
Nepo, "Rinaldo, you are from world 105/40/200 relative to mine, and Tanya is from 105/39/200, ie right next door. That's why your two worlds are so similar."
Tanya, "So can you send us both back to my world?"
Nepo, "I think so, but I can't be sure."
Tanya, "Can you find out?"
Nepo, "There's no certainty in this business... Do you want to go now?"
Tanya and Rinaldo in unison, "Yes."
Nepo flicked a number of switches, turned three dials to her co-ordinates and hit the green button marked 'go'. Tanya and Rinaldo disappeared from his view.
Tanya, "Where are we?"
Rinaldo, "Let's use your phone to find out."
They checked various news sites and social media.
Tanya, "I can't see any differences from my world."
Rinaldo, "It could still differ in some details. We might be right next door, rather than hundreds of worlds away, as before."
Tanya, "Let's go to my place. I have the keys."
Her heart was thumping hard as she inserted the key into the heavy brass lock. It fitted.
"Tom!" she called out. No answer. They walked to the main bedroom. No-one was there. Then to the smaller bedroom. Someone was lying on the blue floral print cover of the single bed, asleep.
Tanya, in a whisper, "I don't want to wake him. Let's just wait."
She walked around the flat to see whether everything was as she had left it.
Tanya, "I can't see anything different."
Half an hour later, the boy woke.
Tanya, "How are you Tom?"
Tom, "Still sleepy. I slept badly last night, so I took a long nap. What time is it?"
Tanya, "4"
Rinaldo, aside to Tanya, "Is this your real son?"
Tanya, "Yes, must be. What a relief!"
Tom went back to his room.
Rinaldo, "Do you have a husband or partner in this world?"
"I wish I did. No, I'm a single mum."
"I guess you can settle back into your old life."
"Not that I was happy, I was going through a trough. Also, I feel uneasy."
"Why so?"
"Nothing specific I can point to. All this world skipping has dislocated my sense of reality."
"I feel that way too."
He gave her a hug, which she reciprocated.
Tanya looking into his eyes, "I'm really, really glad you are here."
"Thanks."
He caressed her cheek gently.
"It's so long since anyone touched me like that. Don't stop."
"Me too, a long while."
Tom walked back into the room. They moved apart like guilty lovers.
Tom, "When's lunch?"
Tanya, "I'll start it in half an hour, dear."
Tom, "I'll go play some more Warcraft. But can you get something out of my eye?"
Tanya examined his right eye carefully, gently extracted a hair that had lodged in the corner. Then she sprang back, as if from an electric shock.
Tom, "What's the matter, mum?"
Tanya was speechless, her heartbeat near its maximum. At last, she took a deep breath and said, "Go to your room and play." Puzzled, Tom obeyed.
Rinaldo, "Tell me what is wrong!"
"This is not my son!"
"How do you know?"
"My son has blue eyes, this boy has brown."
"Are you sure?"
"I don't think I'm sure of anything any more. But this is not my son. My God! What do I do?"
"Does it matter what colour his eyes are?"
"Of course not. But, but..."
"It means you are not in your world."
They sat on the plush brown couch in silence, holding hands.
Tanya, "I don't know what to do."
"Let's look at the options."
"I have no idea how to get back to my own world. Is it even possible?"
"It's possible, but without someone like Nepo, it seems extremely unlikely.
"I think we are stuck here."
"Yes."
They sat together, pondering.
Rinaldo, "Think about it. You can treat this boy like your very own son, which he very nearly is."
"Are we all interchangeable like this?"
"You're getting too philosophical."
"I don't know what to do. My real son is waiting for me to return."
She went to the kitchen and cooked a chicken dinner, with Rinaldo helping. The three of them ate together, each in their own thoughts.
Tom, "Mum! I got to level seven."
Tanya, "Well done! I'm proud of you."
Rinaldo, "I never got beyond level four." He winked at Tanya, who laughed, out of nervous energy and the release of tension.
Rinaldo, "Let's go for a walk."
Tom, "I'll see whether I can get to level eight. Wait till I tell my friends!"
Tanya and Rinaldo walked out into the balmy night, holding hands. They strolled for a long way along the River Main.
Rinaldo, "I just wanted to be alone with you."
"That's nice." She squeezed his hand.
"We can pretend everything is normal."
"Even though the three of us come from three different worlds?"
"It doesn't matter. What matters is connecting with each other."
He stole a kiss on her lips.
Tanya, "I needed that... Do you mind, do you mind that I have a kid?"
"Actually, no. I thought I would, but I changed my mind."
"He's an easy child, so far, at least. At any rate, he was easy in my world."
"We have to get used to this new universe. I suspect there will be some surprises."
"Meanwhile, you are the only person I trust. Everyone else is potentially alien."
"I too am an alien."
"Yes, but I feel I know you."
"Well, you don't, really. But I am authentic with you. Hopefully, there won't be any horrible surprises."
She kissed him on the lips with passion. The kiss lasted. After a minute, they separated.
Tanya, "Let's go back to my flat. Say, do you have a place here?"
"I did in my world. I'll find out when I go there."
"That can wait till tomorrow."
"Yes, let's live one day at a time."
They walked back to the flat. Tom had gone to bed. They did too.
The next morning, Rinaldo made breakfast for the three of them.
Rinaldo, "I like making breakfast because it is easy and does not require creativity."
Tom, "Are you staying with us?"
Rinaldo, "I hope to. Depends on whether Tanya puts up with me."
Tanya, "Not likely! Out you go!... Just kidding."
She smiled warmly, took his arm and drew him closer.
Tom, "I'm running late for school. See you later." He raced out to catch the 332 bus.
Rinaldo, "Don't you have to go to work?"
"Yes, don't feel like it, with so much on my mind."
"I'll go with you then front up at my place, to see whether it's still there."
Tanya, "Thanks!"
After leaving Tanya at her office, Rinaldo took a green Uber to his flat. To his relief, the key fitted the white door on the third floor. The one-bedroom flat, painted in bright yellow was just as he had left it. Even the oil pictures on the wall were the same. The only anomalous detail was the pretty redhead sleeping on his tan couch. She was dressed in black tights and black t-shirt, shoeless.
She woke when he closed the door.
"Hi, Talbot. You've been away a long time, without warning me. I was really worried something happened to you."
"I, I'm sorry. I, I think I have a memory problem."
"What?"
"I tripped over a cable walking in the street and struck my head on the pavement."
"Is your head OK?"
"Physically, yes, but my memory is shot. It may take me a few days to remember things. I don't even know your name."
"You're kidding! It's Jean, Jean Fringes."
"How long do we know each other?"
"Almost two months. I moved in here two days ago."
"Oh"
"I was just getting used to the place, then you disappeared."
"Sorry. I, I got lost, seriously lost. It's a wonder I am even here. More than you can know."
"How so?"
"Well, the memory loss was very severe at first. I only recalled this flat about an hour ago. Before that I was effectively homeless."
"Wow! That must have been awful. I'll have to remind you about things."
"Yes, please do, Jean."
She sat up on the couch so that he could sit next to her. Looking him straight in the eyes from centimetres away, she asked.
Jean, "Do you still love me?"
"You look very sweet, but I am confused. Have we been lovers for long? For that matter, are we lovers?"
"Rest assured we make love. We have been pretty much inseparable, as of two weeks ago. We started dating about a month before that. Gradually, we became close, really close."
"Please bear with me. There is so much for me to take in, to recall. Tell me about yourself."
"Oh God! This is like a first date all over again."
"Sorry."
"OK, I am a video editor and amateur film maker. We met at a cafe social meetup. You asked me out. I played hard to get, silly girl that I am!"
"So here I am, with a gorgeous girl on my hands, one I don't even know, except for what you just told me. I'm hoping my memory will return soon. In the meantime, please tell me more."
"Where do I start? Well, we share various interests - cinema, books, art, coffee, hiking."
"What made you decide to couple up with me?"
"I don't know. I think it was your gentleness, that and your honesty. I had not met a man like that before."
"Thanks. That's nice. I must have fallen for you straight away."
"You sure did! I think my looks had something to do with it. You men are so predictable."
"Yes, I guess... How have we been getting on?"
"Oh, we had one or two arguments, but overall I've had a sweet time with you. But then, we're still in the honeymoon period, aren't we?"
"I guess you are right."
"Are you going to surprise me with a nice dinner?" smiling sweetly and batting her eyelashes for humorous effect.
"Do you like to go to Lebanese?"
"Sure thing."
After dinner, he took Jean home and excused himself, saying he had an urgent errand.
"Are you coming back tonight?" sounding worried.
"Yes, I will, I think." hesitantly.
Back at Tanya's flat, he was greeted by a long and warm hug.
Tanya, "Did you find your place?"
"Yes, But I also found that my alter ego, called Talbot, has a girlfriend. She stays with him. Only, I don't know what happened to Talbot."
"What is she like?"
"Very pretty and seems nice."
"Do you prefer her to me?" said anxiously.
"I don't know her, whereas you and I have a connection. I would like to know what happened to Talbot. He's been absent without leave."
"How can you find out?"
"There is a find phone function. I'll try that."
Ping! Rinaldo located Talbot, or rather, his phone. At a police station.
Rinaldo, "I've found him!"
"Where is he?"
"Looks like he is being held at a police station."
"The plot thickens."
"I'll go to see him. I unthinkingly promised Jean to come back tonight. Let's hope I can spring him from the clink."
She raised her skirt to show the tops of her black stay-ups. "I'll be waiting for you..."
"Wow! I'll hyper-hurry back!"
Rinaldo waltzed into the police station with a feigned confidence he borrowed from a screen hero.
Policeman, "Who are you? Are you a relative of Talbot Song?"
"I know him really well."
"You sure look like him, but what is your connection?"
"Believe it or not, we're actually twins, but it's a complicated story."
"Really?"
"Why is he here?"
"He drove under the influence and caused a crash."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No, thankfully, but he is in trouble."
"I want to put up bail for him."
"Have you got 3000 euros to spare?"
"Ah yes, I guess so. Can I speak to him?"
"Come with me."
Rinaldo, "Hi Talbot."
"Who are you?"
"I'm your twin. My name is Rinaldo. I'll explain all later, but the priority is to get you out of here."
"I'll second that!"
Policeman, "Here are the forms. You have to transfer the funds immediately."
The two look-likes sat in the back of a silver and black Uber.
Talbot, "I don't believe the line about being my twin, though you sure look the part."
"You are right. The truth is stranger than any fiction I could make up."
"Try me."
"I am you. Well, not you, but your body double in a parallel universe."
"I've heard of the Many Worlds theory. Is that it?"
"That's it."
"It's not that I'm not appreciative, but why did you decide to help me?"
"You know yourself. You are a good person. But I also have an ulterior motive."
"Tell me."
"It's Jean."
"How so?"
"I have just met her for the first time and I promised to come back to her. Only it's you who should do that, not me."
"That's quite something! You are truly a man of your word."
Talbot shook hands with Rinaldo.
"Aren't you too?"
"I hope so."
"Also, I've got my own lady love. I don't want to two-time her, nor do I want to steal your girl, though she seems really nice, not to mention sexy."
"I don't know that I would be so generous in your place."
"Don't under-estimate yourself. We are twins."
Back in the flat, Rinaldo returned to Tanya, who greeted him with a loving smile.
Tanya, "How did you go?"
"I got him out on bail. He was in for drunk driving."
Smiling broadly, "I'm glad you came back. She's prettier than me, isn't she?"
"I won't lie to you, but she wears tights. I hate tights."
They went to the main bedroom and closed the door. She tongue kissed him and he reciprocated. They undressed gradually, though she kept the stockings on, knowing they turned him on. They made love gently and without hurry.
The next morning, Rinaldo made breakfast again. They had time because it was Saturday. Tom went to his room.
Rinaldo, "It just occurred to me. What happened to the Tanya of this world?"
"Looks like she's been away."
Rinaldo calling out to Tom, "How long has Tanya been away?"
Tom, "She was away for a week. Granny came every day to cook me dinner. I rang her to say Tanya is back."
Tanya, "Can I use your phone to ring her? My battery is flat."
Tom brought his phone and went back to his game. Tanya hit "Grandma" on the phone.
Tanya, "I'm really curious what happened to her."
"What's your mother's name?"
"Alinda."
"You better tell her you lost your memory."
Tanya to Alinda on the phone, "Hi mum, I'm back."
"Yes, Tom told me. I was relieved. You left so suddenly with no explanation."
"Oh"
"Can you tell me now what this was about? I was really worried. You sounded excited and even a little scared."
"I wish I could tell you. But I simply don't remember. What's the last thing I said to you?"
"You said to make Tom dinner for a day or two, but that was eight days ago. You didn't want to tell me why you needed to go away."
"Now I don't know either."
"Did you meet someone?"
"No, well actually yes. I met a really nice guy."
"Oh, I'm happy for you."
"But that wasn't why I left."
"You're not making any sense. You sound confused."
"I am, very confused. The last week is a total blank."
"But you met this guy. You remember that, obviously."
"Yes, but, oh it's too hard to explain. Let me hang up and try to get my head in order."
"Are you OK?"
"I'm fine except for the missing week."
Rinaldo, "We need to find out what happened to Tanya. If we get her phone number we should be able to locate her phone."
Tanya borrowed Tom's phone to obtain the number. Rinaldo used the search algorithm again. The screen indicated a ravine off a highway.
Rinaldo, "This looks ominous. Do you want to come with me?"
"Yes, we're in this together."
They Ubered to the spot indicated and asked the white-haired driver to wait. Nothing was visible from the asphalt, except for tyre skid marks. They clambered down the gully and presently made out the glint of metal. A blue Toyota Lexus rested upside down in the thicket. Tanya stopped, while Rinaldo pushed his way through the branches to the car. Tanya was slumped in a contorted position next to a bearded man. Rinaldo made sure there was no sign of life.
The Uber drove them back to the apartment in a sombre mood. Tanya informed the police of the crash.
Rinaldo, "I know it's awful, but the positive is that you are the only one to fill the Tanya identity in this world."
Tanya asked through her tears, "Do you think she had a fling with the guy driving?"
"It seems likely, but we'll never know. I better watch you around bearded men with tattooed arms."
"Please don't joke. This is tragic. I feel as though a part of me has died. After all, she was me in this world."
"Sorry. You are right... Come to think of it, we have a problem. The police will inform your mother of the death, then you will come back from the dead."
"I guess I'll tell Alinda that the police misidentified the body. Or that the woman stole my purse and id card."
"Yes, something like that. Come to think of it, let's ring your mother before the police do. We don't want her to go into shock unnecessarily."
"I'll ring her right away."
After five tense minutes Alinda answered.
Tanya to Alinda, "Mum, I want to come to see you."
"When?"
"Immediately. Is that OK?"
"Sure, come on over. You are always welcome. You can bring your new man too."
"Thanks, I will. He wants to meet you too. Bye"
Rinaldo, "About time I met your family."
"We will both meet my mother for the first time. That's weird, isn't it?"
Tad Boniecki
July 2025
July 2025