***
“Vanessa has been sleeping a long time,” Ben said, as he looked in the backseat. “Hey, wake up, sleepy head,” he said, reaching in the back and pulling the blanket off. Underneath were a couple of pillows arranged to look like a sleeping body.
“Where is she?” Ben yelled.
“Don’t worry, she’s fine. She’s back at the hotel. I left her a note from you. It’s a good thing we have the same handwriting.”
“Turn around, we have to go back for her,” Ben demanded.
“I understand you are upset, believe me, I went through the same thing.”
“Turn this car around, now!”
“We can’t do that, Ben. There isn’t enough time.”
“Time for what? What are you not telling me?”
“It’s going to get a little dangerous over the next few days, Ben, and time is of the essence.”
“If you’ve been through this before, then you know what I’m willing to do. If you don’t turn this car around, you’ll regret it.”
“Okay, don’t do anything foolish. There’s a rest area up ahead, we can turn around there.”
Young Ben sat in the passenger seat, fuming with rage. A part of him knew they would not turn around for Vanessa. If she was meant to be on the trip, then she would be with them already. Without the foresight of upcoming events, Ben just did what he would naturally do. The older Ben seemed to be keeping him in the dark about a lot of details, which frustrated him. Future Ben said it was to ensure younger Ben’s reactions to events were organic. Having too much knowledge of a situation may alter the course of history and have unforeseen consequences in the future.
Future Ben pulled the car over and turned off the engine. “Listen, Ben, I know what you’re thinking and you don’t want to do that.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking. I want you to get out of the car.”
The older Ben complied with young Ben’s request and got out of the car. Young Ben got out as well.
“You don’t want to fight me, Ben. I know every punch you will throw before you even decide to throw it.”
“Shut up.”
“Aww, you are so young and naïve, it’s almost embarrassing to watch you. You are being pushed around by your emotions; you have to learn a little self-control.”
“Put your hands up, old man,” young Ben said, as he circled his senior counterpart.
“Ben, you’re not a fighter. You sucker punched your old boss while he stumbled to work half asleep. That doesn’t make you a tough guy.”
“I’m done talking with you. Get out of my head.”
“You know, you should never admit to someone that they’ve gotten into your head, it makes it easier to manipulate you.”
“You’re not manipulating me. I’m not a puppet, okay? I have free will.”
Young Ben lunged forward with a right fist. The older Ben moved slightly to avoid the punch and slapped young Ben in the face. This enraged and humiliated young Ben, inciting him to attack again. Full of aggression, young Ben swung wildly. His future-self manoeuvered to avoid the entire combination with minimal effort. At the end of the flurry, the older Ben kicked younger Ben’s legs out from under him, knocking younger Ben to the ground.
“Trust me, this isn’t a fair fight,” the older Ben said.
Still on the ground, young Ben looked up at himself with anger and frustration.
“Ben, there’s no shame in losing a fight against yourself. In a sense, you never really lose. Let this be a lesson. Only when you stop fighting yourself are you capable of achieving greatness. Sometimes our issues and ego stand in our way and prevent us from being great.”
Ben got up, dusted himself off, and conceded to defeat.
“Are you calmed down now?” future Ben asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. I’ll go along with your plan. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do.”
“Glad to hear.”
“Give me the keys; I’m driving the rest of the way.”
The Secret Manuscript Page 47
