We found a time capsule dated 1975, but all the items were from 2025. It was the weirdest thing, the three of us were taking a walk through Heartland woods and had stopped to catch our breath in the late afternoon sun. I had sat on what was left of a small wall when it suddenly collapsed under me, much to the amusement of my friends, who eventually came over to help me back to my feet. As I dusted myself off, a glint of metal caught my eye, and I bent over to take a closer look. My friends gathered round, filled with childish curiosity to see what my misfortune had found. My interest grew as I removed more dirt from the top, eventually revealing a good-sized bit of metal with 1975 struck into it. I tried as hard as I could to pry it from its resting place but to no avail, choosing instead to stay put in the dirt. One of my friends handed me a sturdy stick and, with a wry smile, suggested that I get digging. With a dogged determination, I began to stab my way around the metal, shifting the dirt to the side with my free hand. My friends soon became impatient with my slow progress and began to help me in my laborious task. I don't remember even considering the danger we might be in; after all, none of us knew what it was, only that it was hidden deep in the earth. We sought answers to questions we hadn't even conceived yet. It took the better part of an hour before we revealed the true extent of our accidental find to be a medium-sized footlocker. We dragged it out of its mucky resting place, looking at it with confusion. It was secured tightly with a heavy rusted padlock; there was no way we were going to get into it easily, but Mikey said he had a metal grinder at home that would take care of it easily. We nodded in agreement, anxious to see what we had found and between the three of us, dragged it to Mikey's place a couple of miles back down the path we had just walked.


With a dull thud we managed to get the footlocker onto Mikey's sturdy work bench while he found his grinder and plugged it in. We stood back as the metal sparks flew in every direction, watching the grinder slice through the degraded metal with ease until the broken and defeated lock clanked onto the bench below. We moved in quickly, now in a daze of excitement as we lifted the lid, hearing its hinges creak into life once more as it prepared to reveal its secrets to us. As the old air escaped its tomb, the scent of dampness filled the nearby air, soon revealing a faded piece of paper atop the as yet undefinable treasure that we had found. I picked it up carefully and read it aloud to my friends.


Hello from 1975. We hope our capsule finds the world well. We wanted to share

our unique experiences with the people in the future. Our lives were filled with

adventures and none were more exciting that the one in this box. If you have

If you find this, then you will be one of the few people who will learn the secrets

that no one dared to believe in 1975. Happy learning, whoever you are,

R. Ross


We stood for a few moments trying to take it in, amused over the weird phrasing in the letter and generally thinking it to be nothing more than a prank. However, we decided that we had come this far and were definitely curious enough to want to investigate the rest of the box. We took our time, sifting through the plastic-covered letters with some unbelievable tales of adventures that we were sure couldn't be real. As we approached the bottom of the box, we noticed another tightly shut box, which we removed and opened. There was a collective gasp as we realised what we had found. Hidden in the box were mobile phones, a mini camera, a 4K Blu-ray disk, a small pile of SD cards and a stack of money; it came to nearly a grand when we counted it out. When we looked more closely, they were all marked with the date of 2025. I remember us laughing, clearly someone was having a joke at our expense. It was getting late as I gathered up our little haul and put it in my backpack, my friends professed no interest in keeping any of it. I walked home slowly, tired, and just a little elated over our very strange find.


That night I fell into a restless sleep, the unexplored SD cards and the money playing over and over in my head. Eventually, at around 3am I gave up on any chance of a peaceful sleep and fired my laptop up. As my tech jumped into life, I retrieved my backpack from where I had abandoned it earlier and methodically set out all the items we had found in the footlocker. I took the Blu-ray first, thinking that I would be able to discount its authenticity quickly. After a quick web search, I found out how wrong I was. It turned out that the movie wasn't due to be released until the end of the year and the more that I checked the disk and its cover, I was convinced that it wasn't a bootleg. Next, I checked the SD cards; all of them were timestamped in 2025, but there was something off about them, almost like the people and situations didn't quite belong. I sat back, looking at all the things that surrounded me, none of it adding up and I became increasingly sure that I was missing something important that would make the puzzle complete. Wearily, I hit a button on my laptop and began to doze a little as the slideshow of incomprehensible pictures began to travel slowly across my screen. As my world dissolved into a dreamy blur, something caught my eye, waking me with a jolting shock. Sitting up, I paused the slideshow and moved it back to what had caught my attention. And there it was, another piece of the puzzle, a name and address, and finally, something I could follow up. A swell of pride and excitement bloomed from me, finally, I could rest, and tomorrow I would see who this joker was.


The next day, I drove three towns over and pulled up outside a modest house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. My heart raced as I got out the car with my backpack and nervously approached the white front door, knocking on it firmly. After a few minutes, a woman in her seventies opened it with a smile. As I hesitantly explained why I was there, I could see her smile broaden, and to my surprise, I was invited inside. Carefully, I wiped my feet on the mat and followed her inside, shutting the door behind me. The lady introduced herself as Rose Ross and asked if I had found her note in the footlocker. Quickly, I fished in my bag and handed it to her, my hand shaking with nerves. Rose smiled and said that she had almost given up hope of someone finding her capsule and that it had saddened her that she might not be able to pass on her secret. I asked what she meant, now confused as this was clearly not the hoax I thought it to be. Quietly, she went to a high glass cabinet and brought back a small metal box covered in strange flowing markings. Rose handed the box to me and went on to explain that in 1975, she had found a capsule and followed the clues in it that led her to a man who had passed the strange box onto her. The box, she said, would allow for one trip to the future and back to your own time with one other person. Rose told me that after I had returned, I must make my own capsule and fill it with enough clues so as someone in the future could trace you, and the cycle could start again. She said that she took the man who would become her husband a few years later but that he had passed away last year. I could barely form any words; I was stunned by the gift that I seemed to be getting. Finally, I asked her if there was anything from her capsule that she would like back. When she answered, her smile was sad, she said that there was a photo of her and her husband when they had come to 2025. Rose said that they had such fun when they came here fifty years ago, going to the town fair and exploring the local shops. Quickly, I dug into my bag again and handed Rose the pile of photos that had been buried away, inviting her to take what she wanted. I fiddled with the box she had given me, wondering whom I would take and where it would take me, my mind pouring over the endless possibilities. Quietly, Rose thanked me, breaking into my thoughts, saying that she had found the one she wanted and that I could keep the rest. I put the bundle back into my bag, the box still hot in my hand, Rose noticed and told me to put it away. Slowly, I slipped it into my bag without further question and stood up. I jumped in fright as Rose grabbed hold of my hand, looking at me kindly before saying,


"Choose your companion carefully, they will be the only living person who will ever believe what happened. And that, my dear, has to last you the rest of your life"


I said thank you and wished her well before I left. On my drive home her parting words rung clearly in my ears, leaving me with only one question...Who would I choose to share this life-changing experience with?