Wednesday, June 12, 2019

The Visitor


I’ve only got a few minutes,
so you need to pay close attention.
I’ve traveled from the future,
specifically, I’m YOU, in the future.
How old are you right now?
Sixteen?
Perfect.
Time travel is brief,
and it’s impossible to change
major world events,
but I can influence one choice
that you will soon make
and change your life forever,
change it for the better.
This is very important—
stop staring at Ryan Vaughn!
In fact, this whole thing is about
that boy.
You must NOT ask Ryan Vaughn
to junior prom.
Do not ask him after English class,
Do not ask him via a note.
For God’s sake, do not ask him
in front of his friends.
Forget him altogether.
In my time,
he has a receding hairline and five kids.
Is that what you want?
Don’t look at me like you’re considering it.
Do NOT ask him to prom.
I need you to not ask him to prom
like the world depends on it.
In fact, don’t ask any of these losers.
You’re not going to go to junior prom,
and that’s okay.
I feel myself fading.
My time is almost up.
Oh wait…
if I were you,
I’d major in Library Science…

The visitor vanished,
and Jennifer blinked at where
the specter from the future had just been standing.
She considered this advice,
shook her head with determination.
“But I’m in love!” she thought,
“And I’m meant to be a writer!
Future me just doesn’t understand me.”
She spent the rest of the night
composing her prom invitation
in short story form,
which she would read to him
in front of his friends at lunch
the next day.

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