This was a sweet sentimental tale that even though it has a sad touch to it at the end it leaves the reader feeling bittersweet rather than just completely bitter. As I was reading it, it at first glance felt like a mystery. Gordon Sills was going to find out who this Anna was who was writing about the love shared between her and his client Mercer if it was the last thing he was going to do. As the story progresses however he discovers that the mystery isn't a mystery at all. At least the one he was trying to solve. Instead the mystery of how in the world he slipped in time comes to a head. And that is a mystery he cannot solve.
The idea of learning the future before it occurs is one that a lot of us want to experience for ourselves. This story shows both the positive and negative sides of this situation, and really hammers it home. Knowing who will fall in love with who is not necessarily the greatest thing. It leaves your life with no sense of intrigue or suspense. Plus if you slipped in time once, isn't there a chance you could do so again? And if you do what will happen that time around? And in Gordon's case, he knows the tragic future of this poor Anna's future which involves the untimely death of the man she loves. And even though he knows this now he can't tell her 20 year old self who knows nothing of this Mercer fellow if he tried. She'd think he was a lunatic. So just like the story says he'll just be there to comfort her when that sad day does come. It's another example of a paradox of sorts but yet another tale that doesn't end in world or universal destruction just a slow chipping away of one poor man's soul with the realization that he has a concrete vision of the future and it is one that isn't the end of the world but equally as devastating.
Speaking of slipping in time here is an awesome episode of one of my favorite TV shows, Tales From The Darkside called Slippage starring David Patrick Kelly, Sully from Commando in a chilling tale of a man losing his grip on time and reality.
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