How I imagine interdimensional travel

I start by saying that I am not a “time traveller”, although I wish I were for several (personal) reasons.

When we speak about “time travel” here, we don’t really mean moving from the past into the future and then back into the past. By “time travel” I mean travelling from point A to point B, crossing dimensions or “alternate realities”. These people – if they exist – go from one parallel world to another (similar) one which could be into a past time or a future time. It’s simply “moving across”.

Although I wish I could experience something of this sort, I can only guess what landing in a different dimension looks like or feels like. 

I am Italian but have been living in London for many years. It feels like I have been here a lot longer than my 5 years and I can barely recall my past life in Rome. Well, when I go back to Rome I feel like a stranger in my own place. Everything looks familiar and yet, it doesn’t feel like that at all. Even though I recognize every single place and am able to bring up the memories from those places, it does not feel like they belong to me anymore. I got rid of my own house because I was no longer able to sleep in that bed because of these mixed sensations. I barely even go back and visit because I cannot bear the thought of being a stranger in a familiar place. 

That’s how I imagine travelling into a parallel world must fell like: if you went back to a time you clearly remember, you’d probably recognize everything but you’d feel like it no longer belongs to you. 

It must be difficult to come to terms with these feelings; I, for instance, avoid going back to Rome in order to avoid those feelings. If these drivers exist, then they must struggle to keep their mind sane. I – of all people – know how hard that is. 

View of a street in Rome, Italy