He came back into the room with, I sh*t you not, the dark blue bowling ball on a little pillow. Red, of course, and a little handkerchief of sorts to cover it. Uncovering it was like presenting us his best cooked meal.

I reached out for the ball.

I’m not a 100% against formalities and a little decorum. But something about the little man and the way she was talking gave me the idea I needed to act. Establish the ball as our property and him as the caretaker.

How was I supposed to know the ball had been his property before we picked it up in the bowling alley.

He put his fingers inside the little holes and the ball started to glow. Bits and pieces of it moved, revealing a hole at the front, from which a bright, blue light came shining brightly. Like one of those Avenger type Marvel space guns, incredible.

He put, I shit you not, a hole in time and space, and showed us a bunch of other dimensions. Including our own. I mean aliens, butt-world, dying stars, Starbucks, Paris, London, Tokyo.

And I hadn’t even finished my coffee.

He let me have a try but it wouldn’t open.

‘It’s genetically coded.’ The man said, snarkingly. He was clearly very proud of his device. Invention?

‘Did you make it?’ I asked him.

‘No. Hahaha!’ The guy laughed, a little creepily. ‘I found it, ‘twas in a field at morning a few weeks ago.’

‘How did you code it then?’

‘When I picked it up it was glowing red. I guess the previous owner had disconnected. As soon as my hand went in it started to process something, it felt. After a while it went green and then it started working. It took me a while to figure out what I was holding.’

‘Where have you gone?’ I asked him, springing up. Now you have my attention gentle man.