Friday, July 6, 2018 7:01 AM

On a night off, I wander downtown to get something to eat. The owner of my favorite local hummus joint sees me coming, waves, and shakes his head. They have already closed. I get a good falafel and some ice cream nearby, then talk to my mother on the phone as I sit outside. On the way home, I get lost twice. I'm used to walking these streets in the dark toward downtown but not back. Streets that I normally walk on autopilot are unfamiliar when taken in reverse. I have walked them so often that I have forgotten their names, so the few signs don't help. I walk straight through turns that I should take, and have to wander back. It's rather like discovering a whole new town, just like mine, but everything's in the wrong order. At least, in this mirror universe, my key still works in the lock when I get home and the water I drink is still cold. And when I see my reflection, the goat-beard that I shaved off months ago is still no longer there.