The square was nearly empty, though it was the middle of the day. Cracked, faded paint bore the name of a store that had gone out of business decades before. Wooden boards covering large display windows stood as a sad testament to a shopping district that had seen better days. An empty snack bag swept along the streets- the only hint of the modern world around a town center that time forgot.

Deidre stopped for a moment and looked around in awe. She looked down at her hands, still blessed with the smoothness of youth. She tentatively walked towards the courthouse in the center. It looked brand new and was much taller than she had remembered. There was a chiseled brocade on the side. As she approached, she was startled by a door that seemed to know to open for her.

She had never been in the courthouse before so she couldn’t tell if it had changed. A man in uniform stood next to a big machine and a plastic doorway.
“Excuse me,” Deidre asked, “but could you tell me today’s date?”
“October 10th, 2010,” he said.