In our quest to encourage creativity, we post a writing prompt every other Friday. Write a story with the prompt as the first line. Share your story below or on social media using the tag #FirstLineFriday. We can’t wait to see your stories!
“I was approached by someone who claimed to be me from the future.”
I was approached by someone who claimed to be me from the future. We were strangers in the marketplace, but her familiar green eyes sparked with the anger I knew so well.
“If you make one more dumb decision, you’ll doom us to the worst timeline.” She drummed her fingers over the hard rinds of fruit while I debated between papaya and mango.
“Everything is dependent on this one moment. Don’t think you can just ignore me.”
I didn’t like the feel of the papaya. I paid for the mango, my future self still spewing behind me. We walked away from the booth so I could continue my errands. At the end of the road, I almost turned left to go home, but I remembered Papa asking me to pick up his shoes from the cobbler. I turned right instead and—poof! My future self was gone.
I was approached by someone who claimed to be me from the future. She warned, “Whatever you do, make sure you wear brown pants next week,” and then she vanished into thin air. The warning drove me insane, so I drove to the nearest Target to buy a pair of brown pants. Nothing unusual happened the next few days. A week later I was giving an important sales pitch when suddenly a swarm of crows crashed into the window causing me to lose my Taco Bell. I rushed to the bathroom and was able to save my career.
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