Walking along the beach, we found a time capsule dated 1975, but the items inside were from 2025. George and I had always been passionate treasure hunters, but until now we had only found broken bottles and plastic bags washed up on the beach. We never imagined we would make such a big discovery. I thought we had entered in one of those backrooms we always joked about. But when I looked up, I realised that nothing around me had changed and that we had actually found the thing that would change the pace of our lives forever.

I was holding a brand-new iPhone and George was laughing at some Justin Bieber pictures. I thought this was some kind of joke to confuse future generations and give them the wrong idea of what history really was, but when I looked back into the box, I saw something else. It was a folded piece of paper that looked very old. I picked it up carefully and opened it. When I read it, I almost fainted. "Kill yourself, or I will come for you". George and I left everything where we found it and ran as fast as we could. Fear kept us on the move until we reached our beach house and closed the door behind us.

"Phillip, I don't think it was meant seriously, but I was kind of scared."

"I don't know, it seemed kind of serious. But nobody knows we were there, so it doesn't really matter, does it?" I replied, trying to ease the tension.

"I guess not. Let's just make dinner and forget about it. I think it was a joke because of the Justin Bieber photos—you know, just to create a sense of irony," George said, and laughed.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll cook some pesto pasta," I muttered.

George and I had been living alone since our mum died of endless whisky nights. We had always been outsiders, so no one came to look after us. We worked here to get through the day. It was a very quiet life. Until that day. I had no idea what the next week would bring.

I woke up in the middle of the night sweating. I had heard loud noises downstairs. For a moment I thought of mum, how she used to come home drunk and destroy everything around her. George was still asleep, so I decided not to wake him. I got up and went to the door to see what had disturbed my sleep. Everything was dead quiet, not even the summer breeze. I decided to go back to sleep. It must have been a nightmare, I thought.

The next day, the sun was shining, and I had already forgotten my bad dream. Suddenly I heard George screaming downstairs, so I hurried down. Our whole kitchen was destroyed. Plates and glasses were broken on the floor, the food was smashed, and all the cupboards were wide open. There was writing on the wall. "I told you," I read out loud. I looked into my brother's eyes and we both knew we had to run. But where could we go?

We took our little boat and sailed along the coast to the nearest town. It was a quiet place where only fishermen and their families lived. There were a few overpriced restaurants here and there for the lost tourists, but nothing else. The houses were painted in different colours so you could tell where each fisherman lived, and it looked very pretty. We had been there a couple of times before, but we didn't know anyone, so we thought we were safe. The time capsule had really turned everything upside down.

We looked for an abandoned building where we could stay. We found syringes, old dolls, blood and beer bottles, but nothing as creepy as the letters in my kitchen that morning. Although the place was sinister and the walls were crumbling, it looked unoccupied, so we lit a fire and stared at it for a while. George looked absent, but I knew him too well, so I decided to stay silent and respect his sorrow. Sleep soon overcame us, and we fell into a deep dream.

The next day I found myself alone. All of George’s things were gone. I looked in every corner of the abandoned building, but he had vanished. Suddenly I heard a noise behind me. I turned quickly to see a rat scurrying past. I took a deep breath and decided to go into town, as I was beginning to feel uncomfortable in this place. It was a Sunday morning, so the market was full of people trying to buy fish at the best price. I was not very tall, so I walked into the crowd, hid and took some food with me. I sat down on the beach and thought about what to do next. I was really scared. I started to think that George had been kidnapped. Was the note of the time capsule real? Was somebody messing with us? Then I had another thought. What if George had killed himself to protect me? He hadn't believed the note we found in that stupid box, had he?

I went to the cliffs because it was the first place I could think of. I jumped from rock to rock, looking for the body of my lost brother. After a few hours I gave up. As I walked back to the town, I saw something shimmering on the ground, as if the water had given me a gift. It was mum’s necklace. I felt my whole body go numb in the blink of an eye. I opened it to see that the photo of us had been torn in half. All I could see was my smiling face. How did it end up there? That meant George should be nearby, but it felt a bit strange. I figured George had found a clue on his own and got lost somewhere on the beach. I sat down again and waited for my brother to come back because I had no idea where to look. I held the necklace in my hands as I cried my last tears. Although the last few years with Mum had been hard, I had not stopped loving her, even though sometimes I could not look her in the eye.

The sun began to set, and I began to worry, until I saw a figure walking towards me. I immediately recognised George, and he was carrying something. As he got closer, I could see what it was: a gun.

"Well, brother, this is not what should have happened, but sometimes life is unfair," said George in a firm voice.

I saw a darkened expression on my brother's face. His eyes were sombre, and he had put on a wicked smile.

"I looked everywhere for you! What is it? Why are you talking to me like this?"

"You know why, Phillip. You killed her." There wasn’t a sign of hesitation in his tone.

"What the hell are you talking about, George?" I replied, confused.

"You let Mum die. You should have been there. But you decided it was better to be on a stupid treasure hunt alone. You just didn't care." He took a step forward.

"There was nothing I could have done, George! Mum was an alcoholic—she planned her own death." My voice cracked.

"Liar! I knew a treasure hunt was the only way you would listen. All you care about is adventure and adrenaline. We were never your priority."

"Do you really think that? Is that why you took me there?"

"Did you really think you would find a time capsule a few miles from home? Are you really that naive? What a foolish elder brother. It is time to end this."

He pointed the gun at me.

"George, don't! Please, forgive me! I know I live too much in my own world, but I have always cared about Mum—and about you! None of this is my fault!" I shouted.

"Yes, it is."

The next thing I knew, there was an excruciating pain in my chest and a devastating image of my own hand, covered in blood and holding the gun. George was nowhere to be seen. Then everything went black, and I could only hear my mum's voice, soft and distant, telling me to stop looking after her. I felt my body falling to the ground and sinking in the sand. At least now, I could hug mum again.