"I wish we could stay in this moment forever." she said, as he wrapped his arms around her. She had been collecting shells and put them down beside the towel. They laid on the beach staring out at the horizon, the expanse of the sea never ending. This was one of their traditions, on the anniversary of their first date. They would come to this beach and just lay for hours braving the cold biting winds, even though it was winter.

Ryan was a classically good looking man. Kate had a similarly classic good look. A couple for the ages as their friends had said to them on many occasions.

They laid embracing each other, listening to the waves crash onto the beach.

"I love you." Ryan said.

"I love you too." Kate replied as she turned her head towards him.

"There is something I have been wanting to ask you for a while now," he started to stand up, "I truly do love you. I can't imagine my life without you. Even for just one second." She looked up at him. Her head resting on her hand. He looked down at her and smiled from ear to ear, "You make me the happiest man in the world. Let me try to make you the happiest woman there has ever been." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a ring box. He got down on one knee, so he was face to face with Kate. "Will you..." He said as he opened the box to reveal a ruby pearl ring. He didn't get the chance to ask the rest of the question as she took the ring from the case and put it straight onto her finger.

Holding her hand out she admired the ring. She looked at Ryan who was still knelt admiring his new fiancee. She got to her knees and embraced him. First with a kiss and then a longing hug. All the time in the world, all of forever could have lived in that moment for Ryan. On a cold beach in winter with the wind cutting like a knife on their skin. But none of that mattered, in that moment it was just him and her.

That was the moment he saw her walking down the beach, the moment he saw Hannah.

"That's not possible." he said.

Kate pulled her head back to look at him, "What's not possible?" When he didn't answer she followed his gaze to the woman walking down the beach towards them. "Do you know her?" she asked.

"It wasn't here. It wasn't on this day. This isn't right!" he answered, talking more to himself then in answer to her question. He stood up, never taking his eyes from Hannah who was still slowly making her way towards them. Hannah wore just a plain white shirt and a black pencil skirt, not the ideal clothing for their environment with the wind still howling around them. Ryan continued to stare at her walking up the beach, while Kate looked between the two. "Ryan tell me who she is?" Kate demanded.

Hannah approached them walking past Kate and straight up to Ryan. She kissed him passionately, he stood there dumbstruck. When she had finished kissing him she turned to Kate, "Hi Kate, I'm Hannah. It's so good to finally meet you," the new woman said. It was Kates turn to stand there confounded.

"Who is this?" Kate asked turning to Ryan, ignoring the other woman's attempt to shake hands.

"Something has gone wrong. This didn't happen here, it was years later. This day was just the two of us. We sat on the beach for hours and then went back to the hotel room and made love. That is the memory I have, that is what it should be." Ryan said.

"Memory? This is real Ryan, this woman just appears out of nowhere and kisses you. What are you talking about?" Kate shouted at him.

"Hannah came much later, we had been married at least three years," he said, "I'm sorry. We started drifting apart, and it was just the one time."

"Well, one long night." Hannah interrupted.

"Not helping," Ryan said. He turned back to Kate, "That is not a defence, but we managed to work it out in the end. I don't understand how this is happening here and now though."

Ryan turned his back and looked up to the sky trying to think. Kate stood there, her eyes watching Ryan as he paced.

"What do you mean years after we got married, you've only just proposed." Kate said.

Ryan turned around and looked at her.

"I'm sorry, this was not how it was supposed to work," Ryan said, "It must be mixing up memories."

"I wish we could stay in this moment forever." she said as he wrapped his arms around her. He reached over her shoulder with his head to kiss her on the small of her neck but stopped short. The smell was wrong, that wasn't her perfume. The smell attacked his senses. He lent back and turned her around at the shoulders. He let go and jumped to his feet when he saw her face smiling back at him.

"Hannah? What is going on?" He said looking down at her laying on the beach towel, her head resting on her hand. "This memory is not yours, this is mine and Kate's. This was our day, you were not here."

"Are you sure about that?" Hannah responded. She picked up one of the shells from beside the beach towel. She inspected it and blew sand away, "The funny thing about memory, no one really remembers what happened. More remembering the highlights. And memories merge, how are you sure this isn't a memory and you didn't bring me here?"

"Because I know!" Ryan shouted back at her.

He turned his back to her and hit his head with the palm of his hand several times, progressively getting harder. "Remember dammit, remember what actually happened. I proposed, she said yes, we lay on the beach together for hours and then went back to the hotel and made love."

"Are you sure that's really what happened?" she whispered into his ear, standing right behind him now.

"I know that is what happened."

"Then why am I here, and not her?"

"I wish we could stay in this moment forever." She said as he wrapped his arms around her. Hannah turned her head and kissed him.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked.

"Lying here with you as we do on every anniversary." she replied.

Ryan stared at her, "No not with you, with Kate."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he said still staring at her, "Was it with you?"

"Our state of the art computers will access your memories and pick the ideal one out for you. Your happiest memory." The saleswoman looked at the couple sat in front of her desk.

"Is it safe?" The middle-aged man asked, "I wouldn't want to be trapped in my worst memory for eternity."

The saleswoman laughed a little, "I can assure you it is 100 per cent safe. We have the most rigorous screening money can buy. We make sure we only pick memories with the highest emotional resonance."

"What will it feel like? Will we know we have died and are just a memory in a computer?" the middle-aged woman asked.

"It will feel like a dream," the saleswoman stood up and opened a blind. As she opened it the middle-aged couple saw almost endless banks of computer servers, "We have thousands of lives out there, and they dream. Do they know they are dreaming? Maybe. But as I see it who cares if you can live in your happiest memory forever."

The middle-aged man looked out at the computer banks, "Yes but how long is forever?" he asked.