as time Went On.. a collaborative story, ENTRY SEVEN

Tim took a moment to orient himself. They were currently walking away from San Jose.

They were currently so far from San Jose, that they couldn't realistically walk there. The sun was already starting to set, it would soon be dark.

He calculated how much he would need for them to catch a bus, realized he didn't have much money on him, and had no idea what the bus schedule was.

Damn! He should have brought his car! He still couldn't say what had compelled him to walk!

"Okay," he said, "I think we're going to have to chance going back for my car."

"You have a car? Why didn't you say so? Why are we walking then?"

Tim turned them back towards Sunnyvale before replying. He then told her about his bizarre morning. "I don't even know where the time went. I left my place at about nine o'clock, and now it's almost dark. But we can walk back to Sunnyvale, it's not actually that far. Then, once we have my car, we should go somewhere crowded, maybe the mall? We could get something to eat, and discuss our options."

The walk back took about an hour and a half. Tim questioned Mary about everything he could think of on the way. She couldn't remember her last name. She couldn't remember where she lived. She couldn't remember how she came to be in the bookstore. Tim's questions were making her more and more agitated.

"I can't remember!" she finally yelled at him. "I am so confused, so lost!"

They finally arrived at Tim's neighborhood. He cautiously led her towards his apartment complex. He didn't know why, but something felt seriously wrong here. He just wanted to get his car and go. It wasn't to be.

As they neared the steps of his apartment, where his car was parked, they noted someone sitting on the steps.

Tim already had his keys in his hands, but he wasn't fast enough. Before he could push the button on his keys to unlock the doors, the person on the steps practically flew down and grabbed them!

Tim pushed Mary away. "Run!"

Mary turned to run, but was grabbed by another set of hands.

Tim was also caught.

"What is going on!" He struggled against the hold on him.

as time Went On.. a collaborative story, ENTRY SIX

They walked through downtown Mountain View, holding hands, lost in thought.

Tim did not even consider going back to his apartment. Now, there was an issue with where they would both stay.

How to discover what was going on?

They walked slowly, and eventually he noticed that he felt like they were being watched.

They continued down Castro St., and the feeling persisted.

If they were being followed, why?

The would quickly reach El Camino, and he would have to decide in which direction to go. If they were really being followed, dare he even go in the direction of his apartment? To go in the other direction meant quite a bit of walking, or public transit.

Before making a decision, he decided to ask Mary if she was getting the same feeling. When she merely nodded at his question, it was decided. They would head away from Sunnyvale.

They made the right turn at El Camino. This must be the beginning of the walk he had been compelled to take.

They continued to walk in silence. What did one talk about in a situation like this?

They continued to walk until the sun started to fade. Suddenly there was a young girl standing directly in their path. She couldn't have been more than 14. Tim pulled Mary to the left, to walk around her, and the girl blocked them.

"You should go back." Her quiet spoken statement was almost drowned out in the noise from the passing traffic.

"What did you say?" Tim eyed the girl warily.

"You should go back." She repeated, with slightly more force.

"Go back where?" Mary asked. Tim shook his head. He didn't think they should be speaking to this strange girl.

"Just go back."

The girl turned and walked into the parking lot of the apartment complex they had been passing. They walked quickly after her, but she was gone.

"What was that?" asked Mary.

"I don't know, " replied Tim, "But let's get out of here."

"She said we should go back."

"Mary, we don't know who that was, and back to where? The coffee shop? The bookstore? Where?"

Mary gazed at his face, noticing for the first time, just how handsome he was. Why had she gone with him? She hadn't even really looked at him before now. But something in his clear, focused gaze gave her confidence in his intentions.

"Tim, we are wrapped up in something together. I don't know what it is, I don't know really know who I am, and don't think I know who you are. Yet here we are together. Something about you makes me trust you. So I think we need to stay together, and figure this out. This girl shows up out of nowhere, telling us to go back. I think she means that we need to go to that place we were supposedly at last night."

Tim's look of astonishment was almost comical. "Damn, Mary, that was the most I have ever heard you speak!"

And she couldn't help but laugh.

as time went on..... (a collaborative story) entry five

John sat there looking puzzled as Tim was holding him there to his seat. Not knowing what to do, he just sat there and did what anyone in shock would, stare.

Tim then bulit up a voice again, " You said you saw us at the pub, what were we doing? How long were we there? Did we actually look like we were together?"

While tim and mary were still hand in hand, their grips were getting firmer and firmer as John began to speak.

"I told you what it looked like. I dont know what else you want me to say. You got upset when that guy tried coming on to her and from there you guys left,"explained John.

At this Tim had no other choice but to let the poor waiter get back to work. By this time, mary and Tim were still holding hands and realized that their grip was so strong the let eachother go and saw they had an imprint of eachothers hands on their own. This brought more questions to mind and at this they realized it was just about mid afternoon, with the sun low in the sky.

Tim spoke, " Do you have anywhere to go, stay or live?"

Mary said, " I dont know?"

This was the first time she had spoken the whole afternoon. Then she said, "If we were together last night, and we left together, how did i get this bruise on my neck? And Im sure I stayed some where last night, but where? Why am I so confused? what is going? What happened last night?"

Stunned by this short, yet very well thought response, Tim wanted to know the same answers.

This is when Mary noticed something mysteriously odd about Tims wrist. He had a bruise there. But what could it be?

"Tim did you know you had a bruise on your wrist?" Mary asked.

Tim looked down and saw the bruise. it was just about the same size as the bruise on Mary's neck. Looking very sick in the face, he said," Umm, no I didn't!? What...."

They left the coffee shop, and walked down the street thinking about the same things. Where were they last night? How did they get the bruises? Why couldn't they remember? And where did Mary live and where was she going to stay?

as Time Went On.. a collaborative story, ENTRY FOUR

It was a different waiter that brought their order. As he approached, he eyed them both curiously. "Don't I know you?" he asked.

Tim glanced at Mary, Mary glanced at the waiter. "Do you?" asked Tim.

The waiter, whose name tag said John, simply sat down. "Weren't you both at that new pub in San Jose last night?"

"You saw us both there?" Tim wasn't sure where this was going, but it was starting to bother him. What was going on?

Mary reached over and took Tim's hand. Together they faced John. "You remember that we were both there?"

"Sure," replied John. "I saw you sitting together, and then you left together, I think."

Mary and Tim stared at each. Each was positive that this was the first time they had seen each other, yet felt like they knew each other. And this guy was saying they had been together last night! Why couldn't they remember that???

"John, that's your name, right? John?" John nodded.

Tim continued, "Are you sure it was us?"

"What, you guys don't remember if you were there or not?"

"John, I remember being there alone, and Mary doesn't remember being there at all."

John was astonished. "Well, you looked like you were together last night. Like a couple, you know? Especially since I saw this guy come by, he looked like he was coming on to your girl, and you got upset."

Tim's free hand clenched into a fist. This he remembered! "I do remember getting upset with some guy last night! I just don't remember what about! And I don't remember being with Mary! What could be happening to us!"

John stood and started to back away. "Look, I don't know, I just thought I had seen you before."

"Wait, John, I think we need your help. We need you to help us remember!" Tim jumped to his feet before John could walk away completely.

As Time Went On.. a collaborative story, ENTRY THREE

The coffee shop had outdoor seating, and Tim led her to an empty table.

Upon sitting down, a waiter came to take their order. Without asking, and not knowing how he knew, he ordered her a regular cup of coffee, black.

The bewildered look she shot him almost amused him. "How did you know what to order me?"

Tim smiled. "I don't know, but for some reason, I feel like I should know you."

"How can you know me, when I am only vaguely sure of who I am?"

Tim contemplated her features, the beautiful face, the ragged clothes, and the bruise on her neck. "I don't know why, but I feel like I have seen you before, yet I don't know you."

Mary replied, "I have the same feeling, but I also feel lost."

"Do you know that you have a bruise on your neck?"

Mary lifted her hand to her neck. "No, but now that you mention it, my neck is sore. It's weird isn't it, that I am so disoriented?"

Tim remained silent. His own thoughts were confused and, as she said, almost disoriented. It was almost as if something was leading him, prompting him to go places and do things that he hadn't intended.

He focused on trying to remember why he left his home this morning. When that failed to produce any reasonable answers, he thought back to the previous night.

He had gone out last night, to a new pub, in Downtown San Jose. He remembered sitting alone, having a beer. Did he meet someone there? He couldn't remember!

What did he do after that?

Mary was sitting, wrapped in her own silence. Tim broke the silence to ask, "What did you do last night?"

Mary seemed to drift away as she struggled to recall the events of the previous night. "I can't remember today, never mind last night!", she cried.

Tim began to believe that something had occurred last night that involved them both.

As Time Went On.. a collaborative story, ENTRY TWO

She hesitated briefly, "My name...is Mary, I think." She turned to face him fully, and it was then he noticed the slight bruising on her neck.

Tim wasn't sure why he was persisting in this conversation. He only knew that it was strange that she was browsing here in this store without being sure of even her name.

"Do you need help?" he asked, not sure of what help he was offering. Her eyes, a beautiful shade of green, framed by long, thick lashes, lowered before she nodded.

He took her by the hand, surprised when she went willingly with him, a total stranger.

He led her out of the store, noting absently that no one had seen them enter or leave.

He walked slowly, still holding her hand. He had no real destination in mind, maybe just somewhere to sit and talk.

He remembered the coffee shop across the street, and headed in that direction. Mary did not speak, nor even pay attention to where he was taking her. His curiosity was growing in leaps and bounds, and the strange feeling that had begun as he left his home was still in place.

He felt that somehow this was where he was supposed to be, right now, with this girl.

As Time Went On.. a collaborative story, ENTRY ONE

As Time Went On

Tim didn't know why he was compelled to take that walk, but that's just what he did.

He left his comfortable one room apartment, locked the door and never looked back.

His walk began in Downtown Sunnyvale, CA. He walked down Historic Murphy Road, looking at the same old stores, restaurants and cafes that he had seen everyday for the last five years, ever since he had moved into his apartment. He saw them, but they didn't really register with him. He passed them by. It was 9 am.

By 10 am he reached Downtown Mountain View. He decided to stop at a local bookstore and take a look around. In the General Fiction section, he noticed a young girl browsing with a frown on her face. He wondered if she was having a problem finding something, or was maybe in a bad mood. She was dressed in a slightly shabby fashion, torn jean shorts, and a tank top, with old scuffed shoes.

He suddenly found himself possessed of a curiosity that was not his norm. The compulsion to speak to her was as strong as the need to walk away from his home. Throwing his normal reticence to the wind, he approached the young girl.

"Can I ask you what's wrong?", he asked.

Startled the young girl looked up quickly. She seemed agitated and distraught. She glanced quickly up and down the aisle, noting that there was no one else about.

"I can't seem to find the book I want."

Tim looked down at the shelf she was looking at. "Is this the author you are looking for?"

She looked at the shelf then back at Tim. Her confusion was beginning to confuse Tim.

"I don't seem to remember what I was looking for." she finally remarked. "I actually don't seem to remember why I came in here."

"What is your name?", asked Tim.

As Time Went On.. a collaborative story

Following is a story about a young man named Tim.

I am starting this story online, and hope that many readers will contribute to the story.

Feel free to read the story, and add on. I will read each addition and continue writing from the last entry. I am anxious to see what direction multiple writers will take young Tim in.

Happy Reading/Writing!!