If I had control over time and space and could weave fiction into reality, then Doctor Who would show up in his Tardis, grab me by the hand, and take me to see Elvis in the Sun Studio in 1953. Shortly after, we'd arrive in Casablanca just in time to see the light of recognition in Rick's eyes when Ilsa walked into the bar. And everything would be in black and white, because that's how it was and how it should be.
If I could manipulate the universe, I would spend at least three non-consecutive summer nights skipping around a bonfire, drinking rum with Captain Jack Sparrow. I would burst into song walking along a city street and local shopkeepers would join in, using their push brooms as dance partners. Also, my nose would be dainty and I would never have to shave.
I would join a trampoline act in the circus and it would be like flying, only in finite bursts. I wouldn't want to fly like Superman, even if I were all-powerful, because eventually flying would become as ordinary as walking and that wouldn't be as good as having those fleeting seconds of perfection and holding on to them forever. When I was done with the circus, Queen Elizabeth and I would go to a Shakespeare play at the Globe. She would disguise herself so we could watch from the penny seats and her eyes would twinkle at the freedom from pomp and corsets.
If I were Supreme Ruler of Everything, I would be six again, just for a little while, so I could play in the sandbox with my son for hours. Being six, I would understand everything I've forgotten and when I grew up again and broke into the Italian embassy to steal their ciphers, I would still remember what it was like to live in a world where anything was possible, but I'd be old enough to drink a bottle of champagne at the Admiral's desk. I'd leave the glass with my lipstick markings there for him to find in the morning. It's okay. They didn't have DNA testing in 1942 and besides, I'd already be home again, having a party with Elvis, Queen Elizabeth, The Doctor, and Captain Jack... and maybe Dorothy Parker, just to spice things up.
Jennifer Tatroe lives in northern Colorado with her programmer-husband and ninja-pirate-son. She fuels her writing with coffee and dark chocolate.