A resident of Newark, DE has made a name for herself with an unusual affinity for a bygone era. 31-year-old Edna Cole claims that she was meant to live in the 1940s, while others assert she’s “just kind of awkward.”

Edna, formerly known as Meghan, believes her spirit was born in the 1910s, and feels most at home in the pre-World War II era. However, those who know Cole believe this is a superficial attempt to make her seem less boring.

“She’s just using that as an excuse to not engage with people,” says one friend. “It’s sad. Like, take off the weird hat and talk to someone.”

Cole’s mother, Charlene, says that this peculiar affectation began when her daughter first learned about World War II in school. “She latched onto that time period. At first, I encouraged it. Sure, it was weird, but she’d never shown in interest in anything else before. This was at least something.”

She continues, “Saying she wasn’t meant for this time period is just her way of saying, ‘I refuse to interact with anything real.’”

“Meghan picked basically the only time period that’s sadder than she is,” says Cole’s sister, Rhiannon. “She just likes to wear old hats, wrap dresses and a bold lip while watching The Wizard of Oz. As if that is just what life was back then.’”

Ex-boyfriend Tyler Reed agrees that Edna is less of a “historical reenactor” and more of a “boring human being.” He believes there’s little of substance to Cole’s affinity for the 1940s, and little substance to her in general. “Her spirit was mostly interested in bikinis that had high waists and old women’s estate sales. And whenever I suggested we do anything that involved leaving the house, she’d shut it down. So yeah, we’re not dating anymore.”

“In my defense,” said Cole, in a 1940s Mid-Atlantic movie star accent, “people who are content being contemporary don’t understand. They can’t. They won’t! Now leave me be, I tell you! Leave me be!” Cole then dramatically fell onto a fainting couch. She then took to her laptop to search Amazon for smelling salts.

For Cole’s birthday, her friends and family got her tickets to a WWII-era aficionado convention, in a last-ditch effort to please her. “We figured she’d finally be social, since it was so close to being the era she said she belonged in,” said Cole’s mother. “But she just sat in the corner the whole time, looking uncomfortable.”