Infinity's Juice Box

My name is Dr. Tricia Harper and I’m a professor of theoretical physics at Princeton University. I have written many scholarly papers and several text books. I like to think of myself as a serious scientist, but to the world I am often called the Time Travel Lady.

I had a childhood fascination with time travel. My interest remained even after I had my doctorate. I decided to write a book on the subject, just for fun. The book covered almost every aspect of time travel from the mechanisms that might make it possible, to the issues of paradoxes and multiple timelines. I was surprised when the book was a bestseller and I became a minor celebrity. Since the book’s publication four years ago, I even have done some consulting for time travel movies.

I receive many emails and letters from readers. Most are simple fan letters, but some are inquiries as to how they could travel back in time. I write back politely that it’s not possible. Occasionally the requests are heartbreaking. Someone will ask how they could go back and change a tragic event. I try to let them down as gently as possible.

The email I received from John Avenir was different. According to Mr. Avenir, he and his 72-year-old twin sister, Jane, were waiting for two small children. Mr. Avenir explained, "We're waiting for the seven-year-old versions of ourselves." Apparently, John and Jane Avenir believed that when they were 7 years old, they travelled to the future and met themselves as elderly adults. So now the brother and sister were planning to go to the beach in Bay Head, New Jersey and wait for the arrival of two children who would step out of the past. His message included an invitation to witness this event with them.

I was intrigued by this story. Other people who contacted me had claimed they were time travelers, but none ever offered proof. Here was an invitation to witness a time travelling event. Of course, I didn’t believe Mr. Avenir’s story, but I was curious enough that I called him. His sister Jane joined us on a conference call and together they filled-me in on what they thought was going to happen.

In September of 1956, the parents of the Avenir twins brought them to the beach to take some pictures. John and Jane were nicely dressed and the weather was still warm. After their parents got the pictures they wanted, the siblings were allowed to go for a walk along the beach. As they walked, a strange fog came up from the sea and the twins walked through it. When they cleared the mist, they were still on the beach, but somehow things seemed a little different.

"I remember feeling a little strange, but I wasn't scared," said Jane. "Things didn't look quite the same, but it still felt like our usual beach. People were dressed a bit differently than usual and it was the first time I ever saw a girl with blue hair. I would never forget that!"

The children walked a short distance and saw two elderly people sitting nearby. They waved to the children and smiled. They even called them by name. To the children, there was something familiar about these people, as if they might be relatives. The siblings walked over and politely said hello to the man and woman.

"They looked like they could have been our grandparents," said John. "They seemed genuinely happy and excited to see us. They told us that their names were also John and Jane. We sat down to talk to them and the woman asked if we were thirsty. We said yes and she took two juice boxes out of her bag. We didn't know they were juice boxes, though. We had never seen anything like that before."

The adult siblings then told their younger selves who they were and that when the children went through the fog, they had travelled to the year 2021. Young John was excited and said it was just like the H.G. Welles story. Jane was more fearful and asked, "but how will we get home?" Older Jane then embraced her younger self and said, "Don't worry, dear. In a few minutes the fog will return and you can run right back through it to get to your parents. The fact that I'm here to tell you this is proof that it will be ok."

Young John was anxious to know about the future. His older self would only say that there would be wondrous technological advances including space travel. He said that he couldn't tell him more or risk affecting the timeline, and the boy, as a science fiction fan, seemed to understand. Young Jane was more anxious to know about their personal futures, but again, the adults wouldn't divulge much. Older Jane said, "I wouldn't want to deprive you of the exciting journey that will be your lives."

Before long, the strange fog started to come up again. They all shared hugs and then the children started running hand-in-hand into the fog. Just before they disappeared, older John shouted, "Invest in Apple!"

"It's funny," said John, "but when we got back to 1956, we tried to figure what 'invest in apple' could mean. Eventually we decided that it meant we should actually invest in apples, like in an orchard." John and Jane both laughed. "I know now that's not what he meant, but it worked out for us anyway. We started the J & J Orchards in upstate New York and we've loved it."

"I met my husband when we hired him to manage one of the orchards," added Jane. "So, I guess it was a good thing we misunderstood."

I thought John and Jane were charming. I found it interesting that both had the same faith that they had experienced time travel. It was the first time I didn’t have the heart to tell someone it was impossible. I thought it might be better if I accepted their invitation and sat with them on the beach. I could then try to soften their disappointment when nothing actually happened.

“So, we’ll meet you at the Bridge Avenue Beach in Bay head at around 3pm on September 9th,” Jane said. I thought it funny that she was sure that I would come, but I told them that I would. It had been a long time since I had been to the beach anyway.

When I arrived on the 9th, I spotted two elderly people sitting in beach chairs with big hats on and a blanket spread on the sand in front of them. They were very excited to meet me and Jane even gave me a hug. She said, “It’s nice to meet you after all these years.”

John said that he and Jane had thought a lot about their upcoming encounter. "Sometimes we wondered if we should warn our younger selves about some of the things that would happen as they grew up, and not just personal things. We debated if we should try to warn people so tragedies could be avoided. We finally decided to discuss it with our parents when we were about 12. They didn't fully believe us, although the juice boxes did make an impression when we showed them. Ultimately it was our mom who convinced us it wasn't our place to change things. She said that if people tried to change the future, they could easily make it worse. Mom said that our time travel experience was just for us, and it was best that it stayed that way. Mom was such a smart and kind lady. Even if she didn't really believe us, she knew that we believed it and made us feel better. So, we took her advice. That's why we're not going to change anything from when we were kids. We think it's best."

At this point Jane took a juice box out of her bag. “I have these for the kids, of course. Can you do me a favor?” she asked. I nodded and she asked me to sign the box. It was an odd request, but at this point I thought I would just go along with whatever they wanted. Then they asked if I could move away. I couldn't be with them when the children showed up. I walked about twenty yards away and sat down in the sand. I didn't really expect anything to happen. I assumed that John and Jane were just two very nice crazy people.

A few minutes later, I was stunned to see a patch of fog appear and two small children emerge. They looked around a little confused. The little girl pointed at someone on the beach with blue hair. The boy noticed that an old couple was waving at them. The children walked over and started chatting with the adults. They sat down on the blanket. The woman gave them juice boxes and showed them how to use the straw. At one point the children seemed genuinely surprised by something the adults said.

After about ten minutes, the fog reappeared on the beach. Everyone hugged and then John and Jane said something to the children and pointed in my direction. The children waved at me and I waved back. They ran to the fog. After they entered the mist, it cleared away and the children were nowhere to be seen.

I walked back over to John and Jane in a daze. I wasn’t sure what I had just witnessed. They both had tears in their eyes. "We waited so many years for this moment. I can't believe it's over," said John.

"We were cute kids, " Jane said with a laugh. "It feels strange now that it's done. But it's kind of good, too, like everything is just as it should be."

John and Jane packed up their things and started walking off the beach. I thanked them for letting me come, but then just stood there, not knowing what to say. Jane noticed the bewildered look on my face. She smiled at me and said, "Don't worry, it doesn't make sense to us either. After all these years, I was still surprised when I saw the children. But now I know for certain it was all real, and so do you. And you don't have to thank us. We couldn’t tell you before, but you were here because you were meant to be. That's all that matters." Jane reached into her bag and handed me a small package wrapped in brown paper. “Something I saved for you,” she said, then gave me a hug.

The two departed, but I walked on the sand where the children had entered the mist. Two sets of small footprints were still there. They disappeared right where the fog had been. I sat in the sand and unwrapped the box. Inside was a clear plastic bag with a very old juice box in it. I looked more closely and could make out my own faded signature on the box. I smiled and wept, too. Until then, I never really believed in time travel. Now, I held in my hand evidence that I was part of an infinite time loop.

I had always thought of time travel in grandiose, history changing terms, not as a little adventure for children. And fog as a time portal? It made no sense, but I also realized that there is a fine line between physics and magic. To the universe, a tiny time anomaly on an insignificant planet didn’t really matter.

As I sat there, I really wanted to travel through time, but not to meet any great figures of history. I wanted to see my mom once more and tell her how much I miss her. I stayed on the beach until dark, hoping for the fog to return.