Page 65 of Not You Again
“Maybe we will get out of the loop and go back to normal, or maybe not,” Dr. Song said through the megaphone.
“Maybe not?” someone asked.
“Maybe not,” Heather said with a tense smile.
“Some of us have already left the loop!” Rick chimed in.
A stone of dread lodged in Adam’s stomach. This wasn’t how he’d expected this scenario to go, and he sensed that this information dump wouldn’t be well received. Adam needed to get control if he had any shot of finding Shireen, so he grabbed the megaphone.
“We do not know what’s causing the eclipse to shorten,” he said. “We also know that Shireen Jamshidi, who some of you may know—and who I was married to—did not reset today. She appears to be missing.”
He had to pause after saying the words out loud. She was missing. He took a breath. But in his pause, panicked mumbling began from the crowd. “We want to understand what’s happening, but we need help. If you know of anyone else missing, please tell us. If you have any ideas as to why the eclipse is shortening, we want to hear those, too. We came to ask for help, because we want to bring Shireen back.”
“Are we going to die?” A panicked voice rose from the crowd.
Adam looked to Carly. He wasn’t ready to leave this world. He wouldn’t give up looking for Shireen, either. So he knew the answer. “We’re not going anywhere. Not if we work together to solve this.”
And he believed those words; he really did.
Heather, though, stole the megaphone and quickly added, “If we’re just talking probabilities here, anything is possible. Including death.”
Carly angrily yanked the megaphone from Heather and said, “I think what Dr. Song is trying to say is that yes, the eclipse is getting shorter, but it could mean anything! Live life to the fullest! Carpe diem!” She tried to smile, but Adam knew it was fake. She must’ve too, as she abruptly wiped it from her face. “You know what, fuck it. I’m going to be real with you for a minute. Some of you might have met my dad, Bruce Hart? He told me he was going to pursue a lifelong dream of opening his own movie theater just a few years ago. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, he was retirement age. He’d already worked on countless movies. He’d livedthedream so many people wanted. But he had more dreams left, and he wanted to try to complete them. He ran The Last Showing theater down the way. If you have a dream, go for it now. If you’ve been holding back, now’s the time to be bold. Let this information change the way you’re spending each loop.”
Rick took the megaphone from Carly’s hands to add, “It’s like C.C. Bloom says inBeaches, ‘You’re not dead yet, so stop living as if you are!’”
The murmurs from the crowd suggested they were all deeply concerned. But now that everyone knew the truth, Adam hoped someone or something would surface to shed light on Shireen.
“Right. Thank you, Rick,” Adam said. “Okay, cool, um... If you notice any other changes, feel free to let us know! Thank you, as always, Mayor Franco.”
Carly whispered to Adam, “We’ve gotta get the hell out of here.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Adam got off the box pile and held out his hands to help Carly do the same. As she came next to him, he easily pulled her in close.
Any calm he’d felt quickly left as the mayor smiled brightly and said, “Okay, so Shireen disappeared. That’s spooky! Raise your hand if someone you know has turned into a ghost.”
A few sharp jeers came from the crowd, not loving the tone of the mayor’s speech. Carly exhaled and then pointedly dragged Adam away.
“Nobody else? Wow! Isn’t this fun? Like being detectives in a mystery book or something!” Mayor Franco’s enthusiasm didn’t seem to be shared as Adam and Carly made their way back toward the hearse.
“Starting to think this was a mistake.” Carly cringed as the mayor started to play theGhostbustersmovie theme song via the megaphone.
“You think?” he said. “We can just pretend this part of the day didn’t happen. Carry on and—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a petite woman with thick hair and an oversize sweater stopped in front of them.
“My cat, Toonces, disappeared first day of the loop.” Megan Rae, a local aesthetician with glowing skin who Adam remembered from high school, tearfully clutched a tissue to her nose. “Does that mean she’s a ghost now?”
“I don’t really think Toonces is a ghost,” Adam gently said. “I think there’s been a blip in the reset. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”
“What if she never comes back?” Megan pulled another tissue from her pocket. “What if she’s lost forever and I’m stuck here without her?”
Adam swallowed. He’d had a similar thought about Shireen. What if she was just... gone? And never returned?
“Megan,” he softly said. “This is not easy. It’s awful, actually.”
“Yes, it is,” she sniffed. “But it’s like that famous saying goes, ‘the best way to predict the future is to create it.’ That’s why I leave out a bowl with fresh food every morning. Someday, Toonces will come back for dinner.”
The mention of the cat’s name sent Megan into hysterics, and Carly wrapped her in a hug. “Shhh,” Carly said into Megan’s hair. She looked to Adam with a worried expression.
