The time traveller returned. And sneezed.

The basement was dusty, not the clean workspace expected. Somehow it had become someone else’s space.

“What happened?” The time traveller thought back to the events now far in the past.

On arrival, the time traveller felt well prepared. A gold coin to trade for currency. A book of race results for reasonable income and profit. Modern dress exchanged without fuss and attention.

Winnings grew, with an occasional strategic loss to avoid suspicion. Cash converted back to gold. A year spent quietly in the past, and none the wiser.

The time traveller returned to the present, and ventured upstairs. The rest of the house similarly empty and disused. A walk to nearby Main Street revealed the rest of the town abandoned, but orderly. Whatever happened, people had some time to prepare.

Eventually a discovered newspaper gave a salient clue: The publication date was the day of departure from the past. But the news wasn’t relevant. There was nothing to explain the present.