The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Is time actually an illusion?
Kenneth Miln is not immune to raising questions about the nature of our existence, and today he recounts an experience that reads like an event from a thoughtprovoking science fiction novel.
The Monifieth reader writes: “Some years past during an assignment in Kenya, while
staying at the Muthaiga Club, Nairobi, I experienced a rare glimpse into that most enigmatic phenomenon – time!
“While having lunch by the poolside my attention was drawn to an attractive young woman who was making her way to the swimming pool, and as she passed my table she looked in my direction and smiled.
“Finishing my meal and relaxing in that salubrious environment I must have dozed for a while. Awakening with a start, I saw an
elegant middle-aged woman walking in my direction and obviously on her way to the swimming pool, and as she passed my table she looked directly at me and smiled.
“Somewhat surprised I looked around to see if the young woman was still in the pool but she must have left during my reverie. By the time I had collected my thoughts the middle-aged woman was swimming in the pool’s clear bright water.
“Meanwhile, having finished my meal, I was about to move away when the woman swimmer climbed out of the pool and walked back in my direction. As she passed by I could not help but notice the very close resemblance between the two swimmers.
“For how long had I dozed – had I, however improbable, been witness to some arcane event in time and observed the same woman ‘twice upon a time’?
“Later that day, while enjoying a drink with some friends, I was introduced to the very same elegant middle-aged woman swimmer who said to me, ‘My reason for smiling to you by the poolside today was because of your close resemblance to a young man I saw at the club and smiled at many years ago!’”