“That’s ridiculous,” Bea said. The mid-40s woman sat in her living room opposite two men in dark suits. She narrowed her green eyes at them. “You’re actors. This has to be someone’s prank; who is it?”
“Ms. Acosta, I assure you this is not a joke,” the shorter man said. Over the years Bea learned to trust her instincts and they were always accurate. Something inside her told Bea these men weren’t a danger; it was the only reason she let them in her house without getting their names. They flashed an official-looking I.D. that Bea didn’t recognize; but, her instincts still let them in.
“Let’s pretend I believe you; now what? Should I expect more agents crashing through my windows?” she asked with a chuckle. “Because it’s going to take more than you two to bring me in.” Both agents shook their heads; but, only the shorter one spoke. Bea realized the taller one hadn’t said a word since she answered the door. Both were lean, fair-skinned, nondescript agents. Bea was glad they at least removed their sunglasses once inside.
“Now, nothing. You wanted to know about your ancestry; the only thing we can tell you is you won’t find it here,” the shorter one stood from the sofa with an eye on the door.
“So, you’re just messengers?” Bea asked in surprise. “This whole act seems a bit much for something an e-mail could have done.” The shorter one grinned at that.
“As it stands now, you don’t believe us; would you believe an e-mail?” Bea nodded.
“Yeah, good point. So, how’re you going to prove it to me?” she gave them a confident, ‘gotcha’ smile.
“We can’t, exactly…,” the short agent admitted. “You were raised here, all your memories are from here.”
“I knew it,” Bea said. Though, even as she claimed victory over the jokers, an instinctual doubt formed in the back of her mind.
“What we can do though, is this,” the short one said. A pitch black hole suddenly appeared above Bea’s coffee table. It was almost as wide as the table and tall enough for a person, like the one that walked out of it.
“Bea looked up at a younger version of herself with vibrant blue hair instead of the salt and pepper brunette of her current color.
“Unfortunately, we can’t prove to you that you’re from an alternate Earth, but we can prove they exist. Say hi to one of yourselves,” the short agent said. The tabletop version of Bea smiled, then turned around to look at the agents.
“Hey, handsome, I’m glad I get to see you again,” she stepped off the table on their side. The taller agent stood and Bea couldn’t help but notice a slight blush on his cheeks.
“Hi, Cee,” he said, then nodded at Bea behind her. “Work stuff now, I’ll call you later,” he said. Cee shook her head with a smile.
“Please don’t, just send me a text when you want to meet,” she reached out and playfully patted his head. “You’re fun, but god, you never shut up,” she giggled.
