Here’s something I’ve been meaning to write for a while, but haven’t been able to find the right wording. I think I’ve managed to do it a little justice, though. I’ve become rather fond of this format of short story from my studies. I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks, guys.
M.C.
Length: 499 words.
—
I am wrapped in a cocoon of darkness – warm, thick and safe. Suddenly, I am a child again, only 7 years old. I have all of the memories of my life to come, yet I am trapped in the body of my young self.
I know what I must do with this opportunity. I roam the streets of my hometown and arrive at your old house. I know you live here; you took me by this house years after you had moved. I knock on the door and you answer.
You are 14 in this time. A blossoming teenager plagued by the troubles of the old. I am here to warn you; to save you from loneliness in your future. You’re confused about who I am. You don’t know me yet, I tell you, but you will. You will meet me and we will share the deepest love. Wait for me, I say.
Then I am gone. A flash of darkness and then I wake again. I am a young teenager in this time. I have changed the past; therefore I have changed the future. I am no longer out of reach to that boy. He touches me, though I scream in protest. He steals my innocence from me, just as he had in my future. This time, the hurt is physical. The pain is more deep. The fallout is more intense. I am no longer the person I was supposed to be. Just wait, I tell myself. The future is coming.
More darkness. Finally, I wake and I see you. I am tied to another, someone you have known for a long time, but only temporarily. You listened to me, even though you were confused. I send you glances, unable to contain myself. I am so close to being yours, truly. He catches me looking at you. Enraged, he hits me in front of you and our friends. He was supposed to be so gentle, but I have changed the past. Just wait, I tell myself. Soon you will have what you have been waiting for.
We speak and I am so excited. But I am not the same person, nor are you. Where is our love? The special feelings we have because we fit so well together? There is no love this time, for I have changed the past. What have you done, I ask myself. Was this what you were waiting for?
Darkness. Warmth. Comfort. I wake for the last time. I roll over in my bed and find you lying beside me. You look into my eyes and smile. You ask what I was dreaming about. I curl into your embrace and sigh. I tell you I was dreaming of changing the past. Though I am glad I have no power to do so. With the odds against us, in this time, we still have our love. We were able to make it through our obstacles to find the future.
At last, we are together.
—
Many people I’ve met, including myself, have talked about how they wish they could go back in time and change their past. “It would make things so much better,” we said. After thinking about it many times, I’ve decided that I don’t want my past to change. There are things I wish I could change, but I wouldn’t be able to accomplish that by changing what has happened to me. Something else bad would happen and it may end up being even worse. The only thing I can do now is learn from my past, cope with my present, and hope for my future.
Inspire 