Somebody Out There is Thinking About Me.

CW: Contains themes of physical violence, abuse, suicide and self-harm.

Somebody Out There is Thinking About Me.

Prelude- Inspired by a story I heard a long time ago, I am pleased to present to you my new short story. This is dedicated to my dear friends, Christal and Jessica, for their birthdays.

Part One- Mother.

Mother always said to answer the phone like your life depended on it as somebody was thinking about you, and it could be important, so, of course, when my phone dinged- I answered the text right away.

Part Two- The Choice.

The text read-

REPLY ONE FOR THE POWER. REPLY TWO TO RESIST.

I thought about it for a moment. What would mother do? Then I replied,”One.”

Part Three- Ecuador.

The next thing I knew- I was in Ecuador speaking to a man I had never seen before. He was wearing a grey suit, and his breath smelled of sausages. His voice was raspy, and he struggled to talk.

“Do you want the power? The power to fast-forward time?” He asked.

Curious- my mind wandered. To fast-forward time… I thought. Sure. Why not? I said,

“Yes.”

“Then from now on- whenever you receive a text from me- you shall have the power to fast-forward time,” and he slammed both fists on the table as if to say, “It’s a deal.” Then- POOF! I was back home in bed.

Part Four- A History of Me.

I began developing Lipomas when I was four. My doctor told me that I was, “A Lipoma factory.” And we discovered one growing right at the base of my genitals.

Part Five- A Surgery.

I received a text right before they did my surgery.

“Do you wish to fast-forward time?” Is all it said.

“Yes, please.” I responded as they held the scalpel to my genitals- something I did not want to watch, and time flew forward in an instant. The surgery was a success, and I felt like I had power. Like I had the power to get through anything with a simple response to a text.

Part Six- The Man.

The man from Ecuador- who could barely speak- was on his way out. Out of this life- he would soon go into the next. He had fast-forwarded his own life in hopes to escape pain. The pain of his past had haunted him. Memories of abuse. Torture. Memories of being tied up in a basement being told with a gun held to his head,

“You move- you’re dead.”

He did not like having vivid flashbacks of past traumas, so he took his shotgun off of the wall, and he fired it into his throat.

Having passed on the texting curse- he moved on from the curse that had caused him to skip through his life in these tough situations listed. He had hoped he would be going onto a better place, but he was not.

Part Seven- Klara.

“DO YOU WISH TO FAST-FORWARD TIME?” Asked Klara- the man’s assistant. I could not sleep. Could I? Could I, please! Could I please fast-forward time. So I texted the number, “ONE,” and POOF! I snapped to at my office desk. Totally not in the mood to write another paper- I wondered- Could I ask this mysterious woman a question via text? The answer was yes! I texted, “I WANT TO BE AT HOME. CAN YOU FAST-FORWARD TIME FOR ME? URGENT!!!” She responded,

“How much time?”

“12 Hours?” I responded.

“Okay,” was all she texted, and I wound up on the toilet instantly sick to my stomach. What did I eat?! I thought. Scared- my phone dinged. It was Klara. “Are you satisfied?”

“No, not at all. Am I going to die tonight?! Did I get my paper finished?!” I was in sheer panic mode. For a brief moment, there was no answer. Then Klara said,

“DO YOU WISH TO FAST-FORWARD TIME?” And he did.

Part Nine- HELL.

The mysterious man from Ecuador did not do well in hell. The demons did crazy things. Things that would make him yell. They tortured him for hours, and laughed as they did him wrong. They whistled, too, and frolicked to their very favorite song.

Part Ten- The Grey Man.

Better than before, I found myself intoxicated at a local dive bar. Happy to have a drink in my hand, I raised the glass to my mouth, and my facial hair got caught in the way. My beard! I thought. Where did this come from? Then I saw a mirror over by the jukebox. I approached slowly, and there I was. I must have aged forty years! I should have specified the amount of time I wished to fast-forward.

Part Eleven- “LET ME GO BACK!”

“LET ME GO BACK!” I texted Klara, but she had moved on from this life years ago. Her time had run out, and I received a text.

“DO YOU WISH TO FAST-FORWARD TIME?”

“WHO ARE YOU?!” I responded.

“I am The One. The Only. Now, tell me, do you wish to fast-forward time?”

“I WISH TO GO BACK!”

“YOU CAN'T GO BACK! THE ONLY WAY IS FORWARDS!”

“How old am I now?” I was scared to ask.

“DO YOU WISH TO FAST-FORWARD TIME?!” Asked The One. The Only.

“DRAT!” I said aloud at this more interesting version of Klara. The One? The Only? I thought. I needed a shower, a shave, and a haircut, but I always hated grooming, so I responded, “Fine, but just till after I’ve cleaned up. I wish to see what my face looks like.” Just like that, I was staring at my face in the mirror. The puffy eyes, sunken cheeks, and the wrinkles gave me a horrible look. I used to be handsome. Now I was not. Riddled with cancer on the inside- I must have smoked, and drank a lot over those forty quick years that passed- I decided I would either meet with The One- The Only, or I would soon face my death. I went to my phone, and I texted The One. The Only.

“I wish to fast-forward time till I am at The London Library once again.” A place I went to as a child, but I did not know when that time would be, and the text I received gave me chills.

“Okay, but this may be your last time to fast-forward.”

“Fine.” I replied. I knew I was dying anyway.

Part Twelve- “We’re closing in ten minutes.”

“We’re closing in ten minutes.” Said the librarian, “What can I do for you?”

“Do you have a section on time travel? I can fast-forward time.” The librarian just stared at me in shock. Perhaps I should have left out the last part. She then led me to a small section that looked as if it had never been used.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll take this one.

Part Thirteen- The Final Chapter.

As I read through the book- I learned nothing of this curse. There was no history of it at all. So, I sent a text. I was going mad.

“Can I fast-forward time? URGENT!”

And the reply simply said, “No.”