I enter my bedroom after a busy day at high school.
I pull my laptop out of my backpack…
But it slips out of my clumsy hands…
And crashes to the floor.
After a moment of shock and horror…
I carefully pick it up and place it on my desk.
I open the lid, keeping one of my eyes shut.
The screen is completely black.
Sky
Please don’t be broken!
Sky
I can’t afford a new laptop!
I tap the side of it once, and nothing happens…
So I give it a heavy whack…
And the screen stutters to life.
But instead of showing my desktop…
The screen is filled with a strange static.
After a moment, the static fades…
And I see a boy staring back at me.
My laptop has started a video call…
I stare at him, wide-eyed.
He is around the same age as me…
And he is incredibly handsome.
Sky
I think I called you by accident.
Sky
Actually, I didn’t call you at all.
Sky
And when I opened it, there you were.
And something about his smile gives me butterflies in my stomach.
Boy
I’m Owen, by the way.
I frown, wondering if he knows me.
Owen
It’s written on the door behind you.
I had forgotten I still had that childhood plaque.
Sky
Well, it was nice to meet you Owen…
Sky
But I had better take this laptop to the computer store.
Owen
Don’t you think there’s more to this than a broken laptop?
Owen
I’ve always been interested in the unexplained.
Owen
Multiple universes, black holes, dark matter…
Owen
What if we were meant to meet like this?
Sky
I’m not sure I believe in that stuff myself.
Owen
I guess I just have a belief that things happen for a reason…
Owen
Especially after what happened to me five months ago.
Sky
What happened to you?
Owen takes a deep breath.
Owen
I was riding my motorcycle…
Owen
And a truck ran through a stoplight.
Owen
It plowed right into me.
Owen
I was in a coma for three days…
Owen
And the doctors told my mom I had a 50/50 chance of surviving.
Owen
My life was pretty much decided by the toss of a coin.
Owen
And I’m thankful every day that the coin landed the right way up.
Owen
I can’t help but believe that I was destined to live.
Sky
Wow, that’s incredible.
Sky
I guess something like that would change the way you think.
Owen
So, do you agree with me?
Owen
Do you think it’s destiny that we got connected like this?
Sky
I don’t know what I think about destiny…
Sky
But I think I had better get your last name and your email…
Sky
In case we suddenly get cut off.
Owen
Oh yeah, can you imagine?
Owen
We would NEVER find each other again.
Owen
My full name is Owen—
I wait for Owen to finish, but he just smiles at me.
When he doesn’t react, I realize he’s not taking his time to answer.
I quickly take a photo of my screen with my phone…
So at least I have a picture of him to go by.
A second later, the call cuts off…
And I see my desktop on my screen.
I open my video calling program…
And look at my search history…
But there is no record of the call at all.
I open the photo I took on my phone…
And I zoom into the image with my forefinger and thumb.
Searching for anything in the background that might give me his full name.
A trophy on his desk is engraved with:
“Junior Motorcycle Champion 2019, Owen Brooks.”
I type “Owen Brooks” into the search bar of my video call program…
And his contact immediately appears…
Alongside a photo of him.
I press the video call button…
But when the call is answered…
It’s not Owen on the other side of the camera…
It’s a middle-aged woman.
Woman
Hello, this is Helena Brooks.
Sky
Oh, um…I’m sorry to bother you.
Sky
I’m actually looking for Owen.
Helena tilts her head to one side.
Helena
Are you an old friend of Owen’s?
I look from side to side, wondering how to explain the situation.
Sky
Umm…something like that.
Helena clutches her hands to her collarbone.
Helena
Oh darling, you don’t know, do you?
Helena swallows, and I can see that she’s struggling to speak.
Helena
Owen was in a motorcycle accident five months ago.
Helena
He was given a 50/50 chance to live…
Helena
And I’m sorry to say that he did not survive.
I narrow my eyes, not quite believing what I’m hearing.
I’m about to say that it can’t be true…
Because I was just speaking to him…
When I remember the strange static before the call connected…
And the lack of any kind of call history.
Helena
I’m so sorry to give you this news, my dear.
Helena
Did you know my son well?
I shake myself out of my trance.
Sky
He made quite an impression on me.
Helena
As he did with everyone he met.
Helena
You probably know that my son was very much into the unexplained.
Helena
He believed in the theory that there are multiple universes.
Helena
It’s not something I find easy to believe…
Helena
Or something I truly understand, to be honest.
Helena
But sometimes I like to think that…
Helena
There might be at least one other universe out there somewhere…
Helena
In which the coin landed the other way up…
Helena
And my son survived.
I look at the screenshot on my phone…
In which Owen is smiling that handsome smile of his…
And I can’t help but smile a little myself.
I look at Owen’s mother, and our eyes connect.
Sky
I like to think so, too.
