My Future Self Is Dead Chapter 1

I suddenly found myself in a world ten years in the future, adrift and disoriented on the streets. Instinctively, I headed for the villa belonging to Garrison Bale, my childhood friend.

The door opened, revealing a cold-faced child who stood there and told me, “Go away. Don’t even think about pretending to be my mother.”

I froze, still trying to grasp what was happening, when I noticed scrolling comments—the kind you see on online videos—floating in my vision.

One comment read: “This ‘Player’ is too dumb. The kid’s already been successfully ‘captured’ by someone else, and she just shows up?”

Another mentioned: “The other Player perfectly replicated the deceased wife, Natalie Reed, even down to all her memories. She’s probably sipping coffee in the villa right now.”

And a warning: “The male lead, Garrison Bale, is on a plane heading back. This Player should run; the last person who tried to impersonate his wife? The grass on her grave is already two feet high.”

I stared at these comments, slowly piecing things together until I finally understood a few things.

First, Garrison and Natalie had married and had a child.

Second, Natalie had died at the age of thirty.

Third, there were these so-called “Players” attempting to “capture” Garrison.

But they all had it wrong.

I wasn’t some Player.

I was twenty-one-year-old Natalie Reed.

* * *

Of all these revelations, the hardest to accept was this: Why did I die so young, at thirty?

Even if I somehow went back to my own time, I would only have nine years left to live. Definitely not good news.

So I bent down, earnestly addressing the child in front of me: "Um, how did your mother die?"

When he didn't respond, I pressed on: "Accident? Illness? Or… murder?"

His brow twitched a few times, his face growing even fouler.

Then, with a CRACK, the door slammed shut.

I paused, a dawning confusion washing over me. Maybe that was a bit too blunt.

A sharp pain suddenly shot through the sole of my foot. I slowly walked to the villa’s front steps and sat down, examining my foot. There was a cut, bleeding slightly, from a piece of gravel. Having walked three miles barefoot, it was probably unavoidable.

I must have been sleeping in my dorm room when I transitioned. I woke up to find myself on a park bench, dressed in my pajamas, with no money, no phone, not even shoes.

Fortunately, the park was close to the Bale’ villa. And for many years in the past, I had lived in the Bale’ villa and visited this park. That’s why I came directly to knock on the door. I just hadn’t expected… this scenario.

The comments continued to scroll:

[I can't with this Player, she's so funny.]

[Son: Constantly provoking.]

[She showed up in pajamas, looking so disheveled. Sister, put some effort into your job.]

[Out of all the Players, the son only opened the door for the one who perfectly replicated his mother, the one currently inside.]

[Pajama Lady, give up. You can’t even get through the Bale’ door. When the male lead returns, your life will be at stake.]

Actually, I didn’t desperately want to go inside. I just wanted to see Garrison. I wanted to know what had happened to us over these ten years.

But the next second, the door behind me opened again. The child still had a cold expression.

"You, come in."