It is Monday the fourth of April 1988, eight twenty-five in the morning and I am sitting in the school oratory just before morning mass is to begin.

'It's way too early' I think to myself before my thoughts continue 'why would I think it is way too early? Classes starts at nine and I am always either early or on time as I am again on this particular morning.'

My mind is wandering very strangely today, there are thoughts that feel natural and normal but are not making much sense to me at the same time. My left hand is clenched in a fist; I open it to discover a small black object just sitting there, if sitting is a word a can use in this moment. This device or whatever it is, fits right into my palm. It has a screen. There are buttons below the screen, I press one of the buttons and music begins to play.

The music which begins to play is the U2 song 'Where the streets have no name'. Everyone turns and looks at me. I don't know how to turn this device off, nor do I know how it got into my hand in the first place, so as I fumble around trying to turn it off. Eventually I wrap my hand around it, the music stops, I open my hand once more and to my surprise the device is gone.

I am so confused I don't know how to react. 'Where the streets have no name' is just one of the songs that I am just unable to get out of my head lately, it is from an album called 'The Joshua Tree', and this album has been my favourite album for twenty-two years now, twenty-two years? I am about five weeks or so away from my fourteenth birthday so how could it have been my favourite album for twenty-two years? Besides it was only released last year.

Half past eight and Father Carr arrives into the oratory to begin mass, Father Carr? It's been so long since I have seen him, long? I have only seen him a few days ago, last Friday to be exact. Why am I thinking such strange thoughts today? I am so disorientated, and I don't know why.

After mass I decide to go home instead of attending class, sure I can always explain to my mum, that I don't feel too well, and I can bring a note back into school with me tomorrow. As I make my way up the road in the direction of home, I pass by a public house thinking that it has been a long time since the last time I have been in there and I also think that it is kinda strange that it is no longer open, no longer open? Why would it be open, it's only a little after nine in the morning, of course it wouldn't be open. There is something more to it than that ... I think.

That place where I am passing had been so much more than a pub, it's a leisure center too, with golfing open to the public, pitch and put and a driving range, it also had or has go-carts. I have no idea why I am thinking of this place in the past tense; besides I am just thirteen as I have already mentioned, what would I be doing going into pubs unless there is some sort of family function going on?

My grandfather would often pick me up from school in his little white Subaru car and bring me home, it is a fairly long walk, but I knew he wouldn't be doing so today, not because I decided to go home so early rather than going to class but for some other reason that I can't quite place.

I continue on my way home and my mind continues to wander. Things are to become a lot weirder for me, for as I walk I think of how good I feel today physically, as I am at a point in my life where I am only beginning to put on weight and my left knee feels so free, sure it's not for another five years of so until I have my accident. Accident? What accident? I don't ever remember being in an accident, and why would I think I am going to be in an accident in five years' time.

'Remember to go to the right house' I think to myself as I do not now live in the house that I grew up in. What?

My thoughts really aren't making any sense to me at all. The town has changed so much in the last twenty years. There I go with the years thing again; I am not even fourteen yet as I've mentioned twice already so how could I know of how much anything changes over twenty years.

I begin to sing 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for' in my head. 'The Joshua Tree' is just such a great album, and what a great version of this U2 played when I went to see them in concert two months ago. Two months ago? I have seen them in concert before but that was ten months ago, in June of 1987.

My mum understands when I get home; she knows I wouldn't just come home for just any reason though all I told her is that I don't feel too good. The weirdness continues as for when I see my youngest sister, it is somewhat of shock to see that she is just over one year old. I don't know why this should shock me so, as she was just over one year old yesterday so why shouldn't she still be just over one year old today?

I get such a strange feeling of de ja vu, like it's been years since I have been in this house, but I hadn't been gone for much more than ninety minutes or so. I become extremely dizzy. My mum suggests I go lay down for a while. I do go to bed, and it doesn't take long before I would fall asleep.

When I awoke it was no longer Monday the fourth of April 1988, it is Monday the twenty-eight of September 2009. Some things begin to make sense. I am not five weeks away from becoming fourteen; I've been thirty-five for over four and a half months.

Did I go back in time and have an experience of being myself at a young age with some memories that I just couldn't process as at that time in my life as they hadn't happened yet? Or did I just have a very vivid dream, for when I awoke, I was clutching onto my mp3 player, mp3 players didn't exist in 1988, and 'The Joshua Tree' was the last album I had played on my mp3 player before I had my ... odd moment.

What happened was far too real to be only a dream ... it felt real, everything about it seemed to be real as if I were caught between two moments in time. But there is no other way to explain any of. I must have been dreaming ... how odd?