When the future calls

When the Future Called

She answered a phone call from her own number.

At first, she thought it was a glitch or the answering machine acting strange. But the voice on the other end — her voice — shattered every assumption she'd ever had about reality.

"Listen. It’s me. I’m you, the voice said”, urgent and familiar. "Don’t dump him tonight. And don’t forget to water the plants!"

"What?" Stella blinked, half-laughing. “Who is this?” She stepped away from the stream of people hurrying along the sidewalk and went into an open gate to hear better.

“It’s you. I’m you. You are about to go on a date with a guy named Jasper. He’ll seem off, like... a little strange, distant. Don’t dump him.”

Stella felt goosebumps climb her arms. “Why would I listen to a prank call from myself?”

“Because I know it’s real so you do too. And because if you dump him tonight, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

Then the call went dead. The goosebumps spread all the way down to her feet.

She stared at the screen. “No service.”. The world seemed silent and distant for what felt like an hour but was probably just two seconds. Everyone was moving in slow motion in front of her. Then slowly the noises of traffic and people returned and she felt like she was waking up from a dream.

She let out a giggle, feeling foolish for having fallen for the prank. Her friends really wanted her to start dating so she assumed it was their way of encouraging her. “Well done, guys” she thought and shook her head. She almost succeeded in convincing herself it was just a prank.

She was glad to come home to her small, cozy apartment. The walls were filled with art, books were stacked in every corner, and everything was bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. She threw herself on the couch, sighed deeply and wrote in the group chat: “Nice prank, guys. Don’t worry, I’ll go on the date.”

Louise replied quickly: “What ’sha been smoking, girl? Or did I miss out on a great prank? Darn.”

“Wait what? I seem to have missed it too” wrote Alex. And got 3 thumbs up. Double prank Stella thought. She looked around her room, her eyes stopped at the plants that were screaming for water.

The date with Jasper could have gotten off to a better start. When Stella arrived at the harbor, he was standing there looking out over the water, she thought. She wasn’t entirely sure it was him — she’d only seen photos on the app and didn’t know what he looked like in real life. But he did wear a green shirt as he had said he would and the hair color matched. She felt it was strange that he wasn't looking for his date scanning the crowd like most first-daters did. "Jasper?" she asked.

He spun around and lit up, extended his hand, and when their hands met, they both got a jolt. “Ouch! Oops! Sorry!”, they said under their breath. Nervousness spread through her body and hugged her heart, making it hard for her to breathe. Well, that was a good start she thought. He felt nervous too but stared at her. He was sweating and stammering something about how beautiful she was.

They went to The ship – a nice boat turned into a restaurant with delicious Asian food. He knocked over the water glass at dinner, drank his ale very fast and didn’t seem to relax in Stellas company. He looked troubled in a way but also excited. It was hard to read him, that’s for sure.

She discreetly ran her fingers around her face to feel if she had any dirt stuck to it. But no, that wasn't why he was looking at her strangely.

None of them ate much of the colorful spicy food. It was delicious but every bit was hard to swallow and her mind was everywhere. Oh, she hated trying to figure out what to talk about as her mind went black and she felt stupid.

Stella wanted to leave, she felt sad the date didn’t work out because she was wildly attracted to Jasper. His green eyes, high cheekbones, piano hands – he was beautiful. A really handsome man who acted strangely. Her mind was throwing a red flag party, but she wasn’t ready to leave just yet. She decided to stay and invited Jasper for a walk. The sun set, the water was still and mirrored the lanterns giving the harbor a magic glow.

The summer market stalls stayed open late and they wandered slowly among the market stalls, taking in local crafts, cheap toys, and gourmet cheeses. They bought roasted almonds, and despite their nervous energy, the evening turned out surprisingly nice.

There was a fortune teller that looked familiar but Stella couldn’t tell from where. Her eyes were catlike and she had a smile that made the Mona Lisa look plain.

The stall was tucked between a candlemaker and a woman selling crystals. A hand-painted sign read:

Let the tarot cards tell you the future. You draw – I read.

Stella decided to give it a go so she took a seat in front of the fortune teller. “Welcome Stella.”

She knew it! She had met her before. But when? “Thanks, I recognize you - when did we meet?”

“We haven't met, but we will," she replied, smiling.

“I will not read your cards tonight. There must be at least six months between readings. "Take care now,” she said.

“But I haven’t”, said Stella but got interrupted when the woman put a finger to her lips. “Shhh, Bye now. And Jasper you take care too.”

“What…the…actual…Yeah, you…too” was the only thing he could come up with to say.

As the evening wore on, Stella and Jasper decided to call it a night. Things still felt awkward but also as if a new adventure had started. They hugged and yes he had been acting weird but he smelled so good and she didn’t want to let go. Finally, she took a deep breath as she let her shoulders down. Something resonated deep within with his arms around her. They went home to their apartments and had a hard time falling asleep that night, to say the least.

After a marathon of intense dreams, she woke up. Yawned and stretched out like a cat in her bed. At first, Stella couldn’t figure if the day before was part of that marathon. Maybe Louise was right. Maybe she had smoked something.

She grabbed her phone and opened the group chat. Everyone wanted to know how the date had gone and they asked if she was ok. Also yelled at her for not giving any details last night but “I’m alive I think and got home well kinda Goodnight, guys."

She had no appetite for breakfast. Too many butterflies circling in her belly as if they were on speed. He had been odd. But now the social hangover hit her, she had been acting really odd too. Stella thought of every word she had spoken the night before and deeply regretted every single one of them. “Shit. I think I like him” she said out loud. “Shit. Shiiiit. Shit”. She felt like she was about to lose something deeply important — and had no idea why. He was just a guy - and yet she could feel this was something else. Something felt familiar. The way he smelled and made her relax in that hug, as if there was something beyond that evening of awkwardness.

Her phone lit up and she saw a text from an unknown number. “Hi it’s me. Jasper. Sorry I acted strangely yesterday. I understand if you don't want to see me again. But could we meet just briefly anyway? Grab a coffee?”

The butterflies in Stellas tummy turned into flying reptiles and her fingers went numb as she tried to write something sensible in response. “Yes pls! I would love too. I think. Later today?”. Send.

“"I THINK!? And 'Yes pls'?” she asked herself in panic. She felt like crawling into a hole and never coming out, screaming into her pillow. She was shaking, sweating, and suddenly remembered why she hadn't dated in a while. There was nothing to do but to head back to the docks. She just had to find out what’s going on.

She waited for 45 minutes but the fortune teller didn’t show up. There was just a sign that said “Back soon”. She walked down to the sea and sat on a staircase that led down to the water. The sun shone warmly behind wispy clouds. The nervousness slowly released its grip as the waves lapped against the pier and she didn't know how long she had been sitting there when she realized she had company. Someone had sat down next to her without her noticing.

“Maybe you need an explanation. This time you need to make it. This time nothing will stand in your way.”

“Are you...” Stella hesitated. “Are you the reason I got that call?”

“No,” the woman replied. “You are. Now, give me your hands”

The fortune teller held her hands in front of Stella who hesitantly placed her hands against her palms. A thousand images flew through her mind in a rapid pace. She saw herself — but it wasn't her. Yet it was. And she saw Jasper. They were separated in different ways. Through death, violence, war, injustice. Time and Time again. And suddenly the images from previous times stopped and she saw herself as she looks now. Making a call to her own number.

“This isn’t just your story, Stella. You will be carrying something more. Someone deeply important”.

She met him in the park later that day. The trees were green and the well-tended flower beds were full of colorful flowers that filled the park with fragrance. Stella and Jasper grabbed a cup of tea, as no one actually drank coffee, and took a stroll. Firstly, they did the small talk thing until he stopped and turned to her and looked her in the eyes. Stella felt like his gaze was the safest place in the world.

“I want to tell you something”.

He rubbed his face. “Okay, this is going to sound insane. Look, you’re going to think I’m mad, but…I got a phone call...from myself...in the future. I told me I’d meet you, and mess it up. Told me I’d freak out, be weird because of how strongly I would be affected by your energy and beauty. But told me not to give up. Because if I did—if you did—we’d never figure out the truth.”

“The truth?” she echoed and smiled.

“Yeah.” He looked apologetic, as if he understood that she would think he was crazy.

“You are not crazy, Jasper,” she said. “You are remembering.”

“You know,” he said, “I think we’ve done this before.”

“I know we have. Now kiss me, weirdo”

Maybe it wasn’t about understanding how it all worked. Maybe it was about trusting the part of herself that had made the call. All the versions of herself that had lost him in the past. Over and over again. All the versions that made her who she is today. It wasn’t just Jasper and her; the whole world was ready.