I fell through a puddle and ended up in a world that was the same as my own but different because everything was backwards.
I walked the streets and saw the names of shop signs were written backwards. People, cars and animals moved backwards, never seeming to look where they were going but still reaching their destination without accident. I listened to conversation and realised that all the words spoken were backwards too.
‘Why is this?’ I cried.
‘Dlrow noitcelfer a si sith esuacbe,’ a man explained.
I didn’t understand him and laughed.
‘!Edur,’ the man said and walked away.
Going to a playground, I saw children playing and tried to join in but they were all going backwards and I kept going the wrong way! The children shouted at me and pushed me out of the playground.
I fell into a puddle and the world tipped the right way again.
‘Are you all right, love?’ an old lady asked me.
I sat up, looked around and saw everything was right again.
‘Yes, thank you. I’ve just come back from that other world down there,’ I explained and pointed at the puddle.
The old lady winked and said, ‘the reflective world is a fun place to be.’
(Inspired by; https://flashfictionforthepracticalpractitioner.wordpress.com/2020/05/13/flash-fiction-for-the-purposeful-practitioner-2020-week-20/ with thanks).
The Story Files 