short fiction
Love, Time, and Messages
A messaging glitch connects a man with someone who knows far too much about his future.
It finally happened. It was only funny when I was theorycrafting about it, but now that it really happened, I don’t know how to handle this.
Have you ever thought about or even dreamt of time travel? Or something similar? Well, not exactly traveling, but some kind of phenomenon related to time manipulation.
It happened to me—well, in a way. It happened to her as well. The issue is that only one of us knows. Well, technically two, because she counts as two. For fuck’s sake, time travel is complicated.
Let me start simply and keep it short.
I was messaging this girl I met a few days ago. She was funny and interesting—right up my alley, you know. Out of nowhere, I started receiving messages via two different chats in my chat app. At first, I didn’t think much of it because it seemed like a quirky glitch. But after a few days, it hit me—slowly, though.
In one chat, the most recent one, she was far more flirty and familiar. It felt like we’d known each other for years. I brushed it off as her usual funny self, but it was more than that. I got curious, and being the idiot I am, I asked her directly. Our conversation went somewhat like this:
Me : Hey, so I was gonna ask you something.
Her : Yes, what is it now?
Me : Um, this might sound weird, though.
Her : Okay, I guess. It’s not like we’re strangers or anything. And I know you, so nothing can weird me out about you.
Me : See, that’s the thing. That… ugh. Okay, who are you?
Her : What do you mean? Is this one of your pranks? I’m [redacted].
Me : Okay, but why are you being so flirty? We’ve known each other for, like, 10 or 15 days now.
Her : 10 or 15 days? What the actual fuck, man. Is this a joke?
Me : No, not really.
Her : Oh… oh. You’re serious. Oh no, that only means one thing.
Me : What?
Her : No, this can’t be happening.
Me : What can’t be happening?
Her : Okay, you’re a smart guy, right?
Me : Umm… I think so? Maybe?
Her : Listen to me very carefully. There’s been a little issue with our time manipulator. Don’t think too hard about it. It’s from the future and nothing you need to worry about. What I want you to do now is don’t tell the other me anything. Can you promise me that?
Me : Okay.
Her : That’s it? Just okay? No questions like “What’s a time manipulator?” or “When are you from?” Nothing?
Me : I mean, if it’s something related to time, I’ll eventually know about it, right? The less I know, the better?
Her : Smart boy. That’s why I married you.
Me : Sorry, what?
Her : Oops. Spoilers. I’ll fix this so you won’t be able to message this chat anymore. It’ll remove itself from your device for… reasons. But hey, it was nice peeking into the past. Save yourself for me, okay?
Me : Wait, married? What?
Although I sent the message, it didn’t deliver, and I couldn’t find the chat afterward. It was the most surreal few minutes of my life up to that point. I almost chalked it up to a prank, but a chat suddenly disappearing like that kind of made it convincing.
So, married. Who would’ve thought?
Come to think of it, I guess I will in the future.
But now, I can’t stop thinking about what she said. Time manipulator? A future me she’s already married to? I’m torn between excitement and dread. If this is real, what does it mean for the choices I make from now on?
I’ve always been curious about the future, but now I’m a little scared to meet it. Still, if she’s right, maybe… just maybe, the future’s looking pretty good after all.