35.

Surely Terrence is not meant to live out his days or possibly live out one extraordinarily long eternal day in the confines of a forest like town park of a town he had only intended to go to so he could temporarily get always from he left behind. He can't have this; he can't let it happen regardless as to if his older self has apparently come to terms with it.

No, this is not right. Can Terrence even accept this moment he has come to as a moment of truth? He has accepted everything up to now as such. There is something within him. There always has been from even the moment he first arrived down to this town, something that says this is real... it all is. This is happening whether he believes it or not or whether he wants it to be real or not.

In this moment, Terrence deeply wants to leave this cabin, he wants to go back across that bridge, back along the canal, back up to the entrance by the car park, back out of the town village, abandon the new home he had acquired, get into his Ford Mustang and head right back to where it is he came from. This however and unfortunate as it may be, is not going to happen.

Another 'so what now?' moment hits. Is he to simply accept what has been presented to him or does he go try and change it? Is it at all possible to go change it? Is this why he is here in this moment, so he can make a proper attempt at changing it all?

'You may as well get used to it' older Terrence tells his younger self. 'We are here to stay.'

'If so' younger Terrence replies 'then why are we here together at the same time? Why am I seeing this and not getting to the point where you are, on my own?'

'Think about it. There is no time here. It is not today, it is not yesterday, and it is not tomorrow, it simply just is right now.'

'Alright then so, we can technically run into many alternate versions of our self. There can be infinites going on. Nah. I can accept some things, but I am not accepting that.'

'Suit yourself. You will get here one way or another.'

'What is wrong with you?' Terrence asks his older self. 'You have given up, haven't you? What about mum? You can't be content to stay here knowing what we do?'

'We don't know anything for sure and at that we cannot do anything from in here.'

'Then try to get out.'

'There is no ... out. There is just here. Trust me.'

'No, I am not accepting this. I am leaving this place, with or without anyone else. I am going back to where I should have never left. You know, we had it good, yet we still wanted to leave.'

'Can't change that now.'

'Watch me.'

How odd it is to speak of himself in the plural, everything is odd and twenty-six-year-old Terrence is ready for the oddness to come to an end. Extending an invite to this Jason Ryan fellow to come with him, Terrence is sure he will find a way out one way or another.

36.

On the life path Terrence is on, it would appear that the very place he has come to will claim him, if it hasn't already. He is currently unwillingly to give his life to the park he is in but as it is it appears that he will ultimately end up doing such a thing. Now, he has not foreseen the end of his own life or anything quite like that, rather he has met with an older version of himself and this older version of himself appears to be more than content to stay right where he is.

In fact, this older version of Terrence seems to have abandoned his near-by estate home to find or build himself a home of his own within this town park and it looks like he is not going anywhere any time soon.

Terrence with all of his twenty-six years is not ready to become the person he has met. He is going to make his way out of the park, and he plans to do this as soon as possible, and at that he plans to leave right now.

In meeting his older self, Terrence also met someone else. The chainsaw wielding guy, Jason Ryan has apparently befriended older Terrence. Before entering the park, Terrence could not have known anything about Jason Ryan for this Jason Ryan would not enter the park for a further two years after the point when Terrence does, their meeting made possible by guess what? ... a lack of time or the presence of all time at once.

The task he set himself prior to entering the park was to find those lost to it, if such a thing was possible, and to get as many of them as he could out safely and soundly, so since this Jason fellow is one such lost soul ... Terrence has invited Jason to join him. Despite the friendship Jason Ryan has built with older wood chopper Terrence, he decides to indeed join with younger Terrence.

Questions could be asked here in this moment and thoughts could be thought but Terrence has had enough. He is not going to question anything, he is not going to doubt anything, he is simply, or perhaps not so simply, going to leave the park with the hopes that he is done with it.

Jason nods to older Terrence before they share an embrace, older Terrence is not going to prevent his friend leaving with younger Terrence. He knows the place well and doubts that one can simply just leave at will though if a change can come then he is all for it. At that too maybe there is something else that he knows. It could be thought too that future Terrence should know all of what present Terrence does, but then again ... nothing can be taken as is.

'We know time does not exist here in the linear sense,' Terrence says to his acquaintance as they make their way towards the bridge, 'but if you were to put a length of time on how long you have been within this place, then how long do you think that would be?'

'Oh ... years, it would be years, five or six perhaps, maybe more. Your alternate has been here a lot longer.'

'Yeah, I kinda got that. I can't see myself becoming him and if I can help it, I won't turn into him.'

'I can't even guess as to what your chances on that are, but I am with you one way or another, we either get out or I go back to that cabin.'

'I've just had a thought. It may be nothing, but I think something may be about to happen and if it does would you mind playing along.'

'Sure, what are you expecting?'

'May be nothing but could be something.'

What it is that has Terrence thinking is of that wooden bridge or more precisely what may occur by that bridge. There will be a need to cross it and someone in particular may be seen. Terrence is counting on this. Approaching the bridge from what he knew to be the wrong side Terrence quickened and Jason followed suit keeping pace and sure enough there appeared to activity on the far side. A dog would be seen first, a German Shepard and a young lady jogger soon follows.

'Young Miss ...' Terrence calls out in fear that she may get away, he didn't want to call her by name just in case.

Yeah, Terrence has talked to this lady before of course but based on what he knows and has been told he assumes that she is either in a loop whereby Karen O'Neil is forever running the one run and that she may never realize that she is here or has been here for more than a few minutes, and the possibility then arises that the conversation he has had with her has not happened for her yet, if from her point of view it ever happens at all.

Karen O'Neil had passed the bridge before Terrence could cross it but thankfully, she heard his call and decided to stop.

'Can I help you?' she asks.

There is that question again, why is it recurring so often? Is it possible that in some way some kind of aid is being offered to him? Whether or not such a thing is possible or can be possible it is something that doesn't really matter right now, what does matter is that this young lady has stopped. Now Terrence must try and convince her to leave with himself and Jason.

'Young Miss, we have gotten reports that a rough storm is about to hit the town and we are clearing the park to prevent any possible harm from occurring.'

'Seriously?'' she asks, 'I did not hear of anything prior to coming out.'

'It is a freak storm only detected moments ago. We ask you to accompany us please if you will.'

As Terrence speaks, he attempts to remain as serious as he could be, hoping his words would have its intended effect and there was something about him that Karen could not help but trust so she agreed, she and her dog would join the two men before her, better to be safe than sorry. If this man had been alone, she definitely would be less likely to join him.