A Conversation through Time
(Francesca’s uni accommodation. After doing some uni work, Francesca has gone to the kitchen for a late-night snack. Where someone walks through the doors, and it’s Younger Francesca.)
Younger Francesca: (confused) Why are you up so late? It’s like 3 in the morning!
Present Francesca: (tired) We no longer have a curfew, and uni work is time-consuming.
Younger Francesca: (Ignoring present Francesca, looking out the window) This is where you live. Don’t you get suffocated? There’s no sunny weather or a view of palm trees.
Present Francesca: (smirking at younger Francesca) Hahah, don’t mock this. It’s university life, and London has its attractions. While it’s not the weather, it’s still beautiful.
Younger Francesca: (staring back at her) Um, you don’t have to be so mean, but I can’t believe we live alone now. I also can’t think I grow up to be you. It’s wild!
Present Francesca: (nods calmly) It feels like I was riding my bike around the compound weeks ago in the rain. How time flies!
Present Francesca: (fidgeting with her nails) Talking to you has brought back many memories! I can believe it was almost a decade ago.
Younger Francesca: (shyly smiling) Remember when Adrian taught us to ride a bike? We were five, but it’s still one of our core memories, right?
Present Francesca: (softly smiling) It’s one of his fond memories. He took time out of his afternoon to teach me to ride a bike, and I’ll never forget it. It was the sweetest thing in the world, and I was successful because I could ride a bike.
Younger Francesca: (smiling hugely at Present Francesca) Don’t you also remember the light show in the Twin Towers, Auntie Annie’s cinnamon sugar bites, and iced lemonade?
Present Francesca: (gasps audibly, looking up at younger Francesca) I don’t think a better snack exists. It was my favorite memory of the Twin Towers and the mall itself.
Present Francesca: (smiling hugely) No, ya. Also, when we used to go to our favorite pizzeria after school? Portoromano was the best. I loved going there after practice with Mom, Jorge, and M.
Younger Francesca: (Beaming) Ya, it was so lovely and delicious every time we went.
Present Francesca: (smiling) Thinking back, all the fun memories with the family are core memories, like Lego Land, the beaches, Club Med, and more!
Younger Francesca: (Excitedly) It was so much fun going to that hotel, all ‘made’ of Lego. It was so cool! I also remember visiting beaches outside of Kuala Lumpur; the view was so pretty, and the weather was super special.
Present Francesca: (Nodding happily) Yes!
Younger Francesca: (questioning) Then why move to London? It’s so different from Malaysia.
Present Francesca: (with a slightly serious expression) We grew up; we lived in Singapore and Peru afterward and made many fun memories there, too. Moving to London had to happen; there’s so much opportunity here.
Younger Francesca: (excitedly) We have lived everywhere, haven’t we? It’s so cool how different our lives are now. But are you still close to Jorgito and Mari?
Present Francesca: (smiling nostalgically) Yes! We see them every week without fail. We eat, watch movies in M’s flat, go for walks, and play tennis with Jorge. Living in London with them is enjoyable!
Younger Francesca: (shyly smiling) Well, I guess some things never change!?
Present Francesca: (laughing softly) I guess not!
Present Francesca: (calling younger francesca to sit and ruffling her hair) Please promise me you will treasure every memory; they’re golden
Younger Francesca: (smirking eagerly) Fine, but only if you promise me something, too?
Present Francesca: (tilting head curiously) And what is that?
Younger Francesca: (softly giggling) Don’t forget to have fun like I do, even though we’re older. Take time to laugh like a kid; the rain is just water. It won’t kill you.
Present Francesca: (softly laughing) Deal, now go to bed!
Younger Francesca: (sadly smiling) Fine.
(Younger and Present, Francesca go back to her room and go to bed)
Annotations
When finishing my E1 creative writing assignment, I had a clear idea that from that story, I wanted to dive into the concept of time travel. I love that characters can talk to their older or younger selves. A moment that came to mind was from the film Back to the Future, in which both characters directly or indirectly communicate with themselves from another time. When we were growing up, my brother and I were obsessed with the trilogy; that is why this concept made sense to bring inspiration from, as my first creative writing piece was written about my childhood. While my writing style is a simple script structure, I wanted to focus mainly on the concept of younger and older selves and portray them as mundane and ordinary as possible to make such an impossible occurrence real.
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