As Mark was about to throw away the old bottle, he saw that there was a piece of paper inside it. Curiosity got the best of him, so he decided to remove the mysterious paper from the bottle. Alas, he realized that there wasn't even an opening! As he was scrutinizing the possibility for something to be inserted into a completely sealed chamber, the bottle slipped from his sweaty palm, landed on a rough rock and then shattered into pieces. He bent down and fetched the paper carefully. It was a map with an 'X' drawn in the middle of the parchment.
The sun had already set when he reached home. It was merely a tiny hut with simple single-sized bed placed at the corner of the room. A kitchenette was set at another corner of the room; a study table which acted as a dining table when necessary, was strategically positioned in the middle of the room. Mark didn't even bother to lock the door. Nobody in their right mind would break into his house. He did not even own a television nor refrigerator. There was nothing to steal. That was what he thought until he brought the map home.
He studied the map late into the night and fell into a fitful sleep. In his dream, he was shouting desperately at the map for being confusing and illogical. The map unleashed a grim aura which enveloped him eventually. He jolted awake. The map was no longer on the table where he left it. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a petite figure dashed madly towards the door and into the dark. As quick as lightning, he stalked and managed to catch the sight of the thief. The chase lasted for a quarter of an hour. By then, he was panting heavily from the run. The figure stopped abruptly at the cliff and then jumped. He cried out in horror. Upon reaching the edge, he encountered a bright flash. It temporarily blinded him. He missed his footing and plunged into the blinding white light.
When he finally gained consciousness, the first thing that he laid his eyes on was a gorgeous lady. She smiled at him as he sat up. He inspected his surrounding and an eerie feeling washed over him. It was strangely familiar yet he couldn't place what was wrong. There was a flat-screen television, but it seemed to be mounted to the wall. The screen was wide and of high definition. The language sounded weird and unfamiliar. There were even words written across the bottom of the screen! What were those? He turned to look at the lady again and saw her holding something which looked similar to a rectangular case, but flatter and slimmer. She was doing some bizarre gestures, sweeping across the case and even tapping on it. After that, she put the item to her ear and started speaking into it. Was that a communication tool yet to be discovered by his country, or perhaps, was she just a loony?
A piece of news was broadcasted on the television. He was watching it half-heartedly until an information at the corner of the screen showed the current time and date. It was 19:44 on 18th of April 2024. He jumped to his feet and rushed towards the screen to verify the information. Impossible! He turned around, eyes unfocused, proceeded to grip the poor unsuspecting lady's shoulders and asked her the question he had already knew the answer to: What is the date today?
Mark, a newly-recruited English soldier in 1944, had escaped the war due to his cowardice. He was afraid of death, having lost his entire family to the Pearl Harbor incident. Thinking he had escaped the Grim Reaper, little did he know that he was brought to 2024 by the Goddess of Death herself.
