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You see, there was this friend of mine that used to come over and game with me. Her
name was Tomoko, a Japanese lass, and a big fan of Sega and all things Sonic.
One day we were playing a heated game of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. We were
playing City Escape and I was kicking her butt with Shadow as usual. Suddenly, we
became aware of a polyphonic noise competing with the refrain of "Gotta Follow My
Rainbow".
I muted the TV.
It was a hauntingly familiar song. Lyrics began to form in my head, spun from long
forgotten memory. "Take me Back in Time, to another..." It was the theme from Sonic
R's Lost Ruins stage.
It was coming from Tomoko's cellphone.
I told her that was a cool ring-tone, but she shook her head and told me it wasn't hers.
The music ended. The message light blinked to life. When Tomoko checked her
voicemail, all she heard was a garbled noise that sounded something like "Shurlpy", or
"Shumpy". Something like that. The odd bit, however, was that the number on the
caller ID was her own.
Stranger still, the Time/Date stamp was set three hours in the future.
Thinking that there was something wrong with her phone, Tomoko bid me farewell and
said she was going to go home and call the phone company.
Two Hours and Fifty Five Minutes passed. My phone rang. I saw that it was Tomoko's
number and answered sweetly "Playtime is over! Wanna rematch Tomo-Chan?"
Silence.
Well, not silence, really. It may have been my imagination, but I could have sworn
there was a barely audible whimper. I asked if she was alright.
She screamed.
I ran out of my apartment, and tore down the hall of our apartment complex. Six
minutes later I arrived at Tomoko door.
I pounded frantically, but there was no reply. I tried the knob, which yielded to my
touch.
The door swung open.
Tomoko was nowhere to be seen. There were no signs of a struggle. In fact, it
appeared as if she had been playing her Saturn moments before, as a certain racing
game was still paused on screen.
The only sound to be heard was the level theme, "Back in Time".
I found it so eerie, that I immediately shut off the TV. That's when it hit me--
The song was coming from my back pocket, where I kept my cell phone!
name was Tomoko, a Japanese lass, and a big fan of Sega and all things Sonic.
One day we were playing a heated game of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. We were
playing City Escape and I was kicking her butt with Shadow as usual. Suddenly, we
became aware of a polyphonic noise competing with the refrain of "Gotta Follow My
Rainbow".
I muted the TV.
It was a hauntingly familiar song. Lyrics began to form in my head, spun from long
forgotten memory. "Take me Back in Time, to another..." It was the theme from Sonic
R's Lost Ruins stage.
It was coming from Tomoko's cellphone.
I told her that was a cool ring-tone, but she shook her head and told me it wasn't hers.
The music ended. The message light blinked to life. When Tomoko checked her
voicemail, all she heard was a garbled noise that sounded something like "Shurlpy", or
"Shumpy". Something like that. The odd bit, however, was that the number on the
caller ID was her own.
Stranger still, the Time/Date stamp was set three hours in the future.
Thinking that there was something wrong with her phone, Tomoko bid me farewell and
said she was going to go home and call the phone company.
Two Hours and Fifty Five Minutes passed. My phone rang. I saw that it was Tomoko's
number and answered sweetly "Playtime is over! Wanna rematch Tomo-Chan?"
Silence.
Well, not silence, really. It may have been my imagination, but I could have sworn
there was a barely audible whimper. I asked if she was alright.
She screamed.
I ran out of my apartment, and tore down the hall of our apartment complex. Six
minutes later I arrived at Tomoko door.
I pounded frantically, but there was no reply. I tried the knob, which yielded to my
touch.
The door swung open.
Tomoko was nowhere to be seen. There were no signs of a struggle. In fact, it
appeared as if she had been playing her Saturn moments before, as a certain racing
game was still paused on screen.
The only sound to be heard was the level theme, "Back in Time".
I found it so eerie, that I immediately shut off the TV. That's when it hit me--
The song was coming from my back pocket, where I kept my cell phone!