“It’s not ready yet! Don’t go!” Danielle yelled as the door slammed shut. It was too late. The machine had already started buzzing. I saw a bright white light and followed by a flash of orange. The machine was on fire! I screamed and tried to escape, but it was too late. The control panel was beeping, and the date was changing rapidly. It was getting hotter and hotter, and just when I thought I would faint, the box activated its sprinklers and slowly put out the fire. I checked the date and saw that the Machine of Tempus’ first attempt was successful. I had been transported 15 years into the past, from 2045 to 2030. 

 

Luckily, the fire hadn’t caused heavy damage to the time machine. I slowly pried open the door and expected to see the city of Silksville, fifteen years in the past. I had pictures of what it looked like, so I knew exactly what to expect. When I looked outside, I saw that nothing was the way it was supposed to be. Instead of the large monument, there was a graveyard. I looked around and realized that I didn’t see any people, which was strange since Silksville was one of the busiest cities in my district and it was the middle of the day. 

 

I started to walk around, completely bewildered but at the same time amazed that the machine actually worked. Other than the graveyard, everything else was where I expected it to be. I heard a sound and followed it. I opened the door to the bakery, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was me! Or at least it was someone who looked exactly like me. I had a doppelgänger? 

 

I approached the person and tried to tap her on their shoulder, but my hand went right through her! The person shifted as if she knew something had tried to touch her but did not show any other sign of that. All of a sudden, a cake floated over to my lookalike, and she took it! She said thank you and put money in the air. What kind of magic was this? I tried to grab the money to get her attention, but my hand went right through it too! When I attempted to grab the money, everything went blurry, and all of a sudden, I was on the floor. The girl was kneeling over me, trying to check my pulse. “You can see me?” I whispered. She nodded and said, “It's really strange, I didn’t see you, and then out of nowhere, I saw you lying on the floor. And what's even more strange is that no one else in the room can see you.” Her eyes widened she said, “My name is Anabelle. I think I know what's happening and who you are, follow me.” 

 

Anabelle helped me to my feet, and I followed her all the way to the place where I lived in the future. Why was she taking me here? Is it a coincidence that we looked exactly the same and shared a name? She opened the door to the house and motioned me inside. I looked around and saw that the house looked exactly the same. She shut the door and started locking it. This was a long process since there were 10 locks on the door. I asked her, “ Why are there so many locks? Why are we in my house? How do you know who I am? Why do we look alike?” “Calm down, I’ll explain. The locks are there so that I can keep the picture safe. I don't just look like you, I am you,” Anabelle explained. She is me? That made no sense, what is going on? 

“The time machine you and your friend built took you back in time. My name is not really Anabelle, but I am letting you call me that so we don’t get confused. I am from the year 2053. Like you, I also came back in time and couldn't see anyone. I was really confused and the time machine stopped working, so I couldn't go back to 2030. It took me 5 years to fix the time machine and go back. During those 5 years, I had no one to talk to and I couldn’t see or hear anyone. It drove me insane. I came back to the past because I had a strange feeling that this was going to happen again. I came in a functioning time machine so I can take you back as soon as possible,” said Anabelle. I told her that I was ready to go back, I just wanted to take some pictures to prove that I really did travel into the past. 

 

We were walking around town taking pictures, and I realized that there was still one thing I didn't understand. “Why is there a graveyard instead of the monument in the middle of Silksville?” I asked. Anabelle looked confused and told me that there was no graveyard, and that the monument was always there. I took a picture of the graveyard to show her, but in the picture I saw a monument! Was I hallucinating? 

 

We went into Annabelle's time machine and it looked very different from the one I came in. This one was blue with a very organized panel. It looked small on the outside, but it was very spacious. She pressed a button, and the machine started spinning. Once again, everything went blurry. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t recognize my surroundings. My future self was gone, but the pictures I took were still with me. I realized that I was holding a note in my hand. It said…

 

Good luck finding your way home. 

From, 

Not Really Your Future Self