Be Your Future Self Now Novels & Stories

He smiles and I bite my lip, finishing the ice cream I drop the cone. —It isn’t just an inferiority complex what I suffer from, Alex. - I whisper. - I like you too. And I'm scared. I fear of what might happen next, I’m afraid of... —The future doesn't exist, magissa mou - he cuts me off- It's an illusion. The past is every minute that is gone, the present is here and now but future will never come. Can't you see it? You live in fear instead of seizing the moment, fearing what comes next, fearing tomorrow without knowing that there is no such tomorrow. We only have today. You expect changes that are supposed to come with the future, but you will always live in the present, the same boring, sa

I tried to rush over to see them one last time, but a truck hit me on the way over and killed me where I lay. Right before I died, the phone rang again. I heard the woman laugh through the speakers, sounding dark and ominous. This time around, I planned to take control of my own fate. I would not let my past life repeat itself. My thoughts snapped back to reality. I ignored every warning from my future self and sent a text instead. "Kieran, I just won a BMW. Since you love cars, do you want to take it for a spin these next few days?"

Have you ever wondered if you knew back then what you know now, what you would have done differently? I'm about to find out. “Alex, wake up, I’m your future-self and I've got to tell you about your future,” I tickle my past-self who is still fast asleep. He had apparently fallen asleep in front of the television because he is alone on the couch. I see peace in him that I no longer know. Slowly he opens his eyes, but jumps up in shock when he sees me. Understandably, I'd be shocked too if I saw my future-self, oh wait, that is exactly the case …

I decide to focus on that, focus on the now, and not on the hazy future that keeps rearing its ugly head through the mists. It can wait for another day.

There, in the hush of late afternoon, I rolled in a fresh page and started typing. Not a book. Not a proposal. Just a letter. A letter to the me I might be one day. Or to the girl I used to be. Dear Future Me, If you’re reading this, it means you’re still here. Still showing up. Still choosing breath over silence. I hope you remember the way your fingers trembled when you typed these words—not because you were afraid, but because you knew they mattered. I hope you haven’t forgotten the way River looks at you across a room full of strangers and makes you feel like the only one that matters.

She slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Stefan, and headed to her study. Her notebook lay open on the desk, filled with ideas for the center and beyond. But today, she was drawn to a blank page. With a deep breath, she began to write—not plans or strategies, but reflections. Dear Me, You’ve come so far. You’ve survived heartbreak, betrayal, and loss, yet here you are, not just standing but thriving. This is your reminder that you are capable of more than you think, and that the best is yet to come. The words flowed easily, a conversation with her past self and a promise to her future.

I couldn't allow my father's cryptic message to completely overshadow the evening. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to straighten my shoulders. "What will be, will be," I told myself, a mantra against the rising tide of panic. I couldn't control the future. I couldn't undo the past. All I could do was try to navigate the present with a shred of grace.

No more schemes. Just real effort. That's who I'll try to be, I told myself. Starting tomorrow. Starting with the next sunrise. Starting with one step at a time toward someone I might be proud of. It wasn’t much. But it was mine. And for now. That had to be enough.

It was like teaching a patient to recognize the prodromal phase of a seizure. ​“Don’t look for the future,” I told a group of young scouts, my voice echoing off the vaulted granite ceilings. “The future is a weapon they use to make you feel like a ghost. Look at the brother to your left. Look at the sister to your right. Feel the weight of the spear in your hand and the shared heartbeat of the pack. That is your reality. Everything else is a shadow cast by a machine that is afraid of your fire.”

"I know you misunderstood me. But what happened because of that misunderstanding—it was real." "What's done is done. You can't undo it. The scars in each person's memory don't fade." "That day in Switzerland was so cold that it finally let me let go of the past." "Zane was the one who helped me move on." "Let's just move forward. Nico, Arlo, Rhett." "We had a beautiful childhood. But from now on, I'm going the way I chose. The way I'm looking forward to." "And I hope—the Nico, Arlo, and Rhett from those childhood days—can wish me well."