A connection with the future

Desperate situation called for desperate measures… However, it was hard to call Mai's situation desperate at the moment. Nevertheless, it was the only way she could explain the irrational things she was currently doing.

The stars were out in the night sky, and on the desk that would be placed next to her window sill, was a little container that would be used for food colouring. As the tears flowed from her face due to her stupid act of rubbing chilli sauce under her eyes, she realised that just putting them in a bowl would be ineffective.

Although her mother didn't know why she was doing what she was doing, she and Cindy followed Mai's instructions and helped her through her craziness by emptying one of the small food colouring containers they had in the cupboard.

Cindy grabbed one randomly and was about to peel off the plastic, when her mother suddenly stopped her.

"Wait, don't use the green one! We might still be able to use it for some decorations for Halloween! Her mom argued. "Use the red!"

Putting the green food colouring container back, Cindy grabbed the red one instead.

"But Mom, what if we plan to make some red velvet cake in the future?" Her younger daughter questioned.

"That's a good point." Her mother agreed, thinking about what colours would be obsolete.

"For Christ's sake, will you guys just hand one over? All of them have been rotting in the cupboard for years! And Moooom, Halloween is another six months away!" Mai complained as she was literally crying due to her earlier actions.

Eventually she ended up with a somewhat filled bottle of food colouring with her own tears. She didn't know if it would work, especially since even after emptying the contents, some leftover had turned many of her tears slightly red, but as a girl that didn't usually cry that much, what else could she do?

Before resorting to these extreme measures, Mai had already attempted to make herself cry by watching those sad Poutube videos that challenged one from refraining to cry given the sad scenes, like malnourished puppies.

'Well, here goes nothing, I guess.' Mai thought, as she squeezed the head of the little pipet over the crystal necklace she was wearing. For the first time she saw how the crystal would glow before working its magic.

A few seconds later, her mind started to go blank, and then she felt herself lose consciousness as if a strong desire for sleep had gotten the better of her.

When she opened her eyes again the room she was in had completely changed.

"It worked... It worked! I'm back in the city apartment of Future Me!" Mai cheered and jumped around in her older body.

According to the phone today was April 20th, only that it was the year 2032 instead of 2022. Since it was early morning, it meant that Mai had plenty of time to spend in this other world. She appreciated that fact greatly, since she had plans she wanted to test out.

Mai believed that as long as no tears fell on the green gem around her neck, she should be able to remain here without getting sent back to the present.

However, she would have to find out what her presence meant to her body in the 'real world'? If she stayed here for days, what would happen to the body she had left behind.

It was a bit of a risk, but Mai believed that was something that needed to be tested out. After leaving her room, she entered the kitchen/living area, and it looked as empty as it did before.

'What should I do first? Should I give Future Simon a call and ask him if he remembers what happened after he confessed to me in the past? Could that be the big event he was about to warn me about?' Mai wondered, scratching her head. It was a shame that despite inhabiting the body of Future Mai, she did not really benefit from any of her memories.

'The biggest issue remains that I have no idea whether my actions can somehow affect this timeline. For all I know his future could be set in stone… Ah, this future time travelling stuff is really confusing when you don't know the rules. Why couldn't this necklace come with an instruction manual?!'

When Mai's finger was over Future Simon's name on the phone, she was having trouble pressing down. After what had just happened in the past/present, she just couldn't speak to him, even if it would be his older self.

'Calm down Mai, that thing would have happened ten years ago. Let's just send him a text. Asking him to come meet me.'

Forcing herself to send the push button, it didn't take long for Simon to reply.

[Sorry Mai, I can't meet up again so soon. I just got back to the village and need to start working in my family business, but whenever you need to talk, you can always call me, or you should come down to the village some time.]

'Damn, I was hoping that I would get some information on what happened with my clothes and who was behind the whole thing, but I guess that would have made things too simple.'

Thinking about what to do, she eventually came up with a new idea.

'What if I started to write a diary in my present? I was never the person to write in a diary, but if I were to turn it into a habit, then wouldn't that mean that Future Mai would continue to do so? Not only would that prove that my actions can influence this other world, but it would also allow me to learn about all the important events that were supposed to happen and influence them.'

Since Mai was already on the phone, she decided to also send out a text to another person, and it didn't take long for them to reply either.

[Oh Mai, I haven't heard from you since the funeral. Given the circumstances, I hope you are doing well. I'll be happy to pop over after work for a visit. I'm looking forward to seeing how you're doing.] From (Future) Shirley.

According to Future Simon, Future Mai and Future Shirley had grown to be quite close friends in the future, and although they weren't yet in the present, they had gotten a little closer to one another after bonding over Simon.

With nothing else to do, Mai had two choices, search around the apartment and go through the boxes to find more out about herself and Chris, or go out and start exploring the city to see what had actually changed in ten years.

While walking around, she noticed a note being attached to the fridge.

[To Past Mai: I have read the note you have left me. Thank you for reconnecting me with Simon. Over the years, losing touch with him had been one of the biggest things I was deeply regretting in my life. I myself was unable to summon the will to do anything about it, but it appears that in the past I was far more impulsive than in the present, well I guess your future.]

'Wait a second, this message is something Future Mai left for me?! Did she read my note and remember everything, or did she just remember what she did in the past?!' It was a shocking revelation either way, to say the least.

[I'm not sure if this entire situation is as crazy to you as it is to me. Were it not for the consequences of your actions I would have believed I would have just gone crazy from grief over Chris. In the past days I had episodes where I did not feel as if I was myself. For example, I was able to remember that I had talked with Simon after so long, but for some reason my memories felt foreign, as if it had not been exactly me who had talked with him. After your note, I believe I can attribute this to your interference.]

[I am unsure whether it is because ten years is just too long a time to remember things clearly or whether I am unable to remember the events since you currently appear to be trying to change them. From some newly emerged memories I understand that the green crystal I/you/we received on my/your/our sixteenth birthday should be the reason you are able to visit me sometimes. However, there is one thing I am 100% certain of. At least in my timeline the crystal should have shattered during the first night, as such I never got to experience what you are going through, so I won't be able to give you any advice on what to do.]

[As you change things that I was supposed to have done in the past, my memories are being altered, and I am forgetting about the old days, however no matter what you do, I hope you can do me one giant favour. Right now should be the time where you should have just confessed to Chris. Going by the time you claim to be from, you should have recently confessed, and I can vaguely remember how much it has pained me that he turned down my confession. Still, please don't give up on him. If you are like me, you will eventually fall even more in love with him and eventually marry him. Whatever you have to do, I want you to use the power of the crystal, to make sure he will live. Whatever it takes, whatever it costs make sure Chis stays alive!]