Future Tense Novels & Stories

The specific, careful process of someone finding the words for something that does not have obvious words, that exists in a register where language is not entirely adequate but must be used anyway because it is the available medium. "Before you," he said. "Before you came to this packhouse — I had stopped believing in this." He looked at Seren. "Not in children specifically. In — the future. In the forward direction of things. In the sense that what comes next is worth the cost of arriving there." I was very still.

This is going to be a long night and an unpleasant one. As if on cue my phone rang. "We've got them" I was informed. "I will be there in a moment" I ended the call feeling how bloody tonight is going to be.

"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."

My telecel smartphone buzzed with every other message. Unknown: “You suppose you’re in advance ? You're no longer even close.” I exhaled sharply. “Then it’s time we get in advance.” Cipher idea they might erase their past. We had been approximately to rewrite their future.

Odette says, gently holding his hand as they walk. “Whatever it is, my love for you won’t change. We’ll still marry,” Fernando says, holding her hand. “Why don’t we rest for a few minutes while Fernando listens? He might need to sit down for this,” Alice suggests. They sit on the trunk of a fallen tree, and Odette starts explaining how they ended up in this time and place. Johnson stands nearby, watching Fernando’s expression. “So, it’s true! You’re from the future!” Fernando exclaims, almost fainting in shock. The thought that, if he lived until 2023, these people would be his descendants shakes him.

It's so cold! "What are you guys doing? What's your assignment, son?" I asked while changing clothes. "Mama, my Filipino teacher said we have to make sample sentences in past, future, and present tense. Two sentences each category. Look, I already have five. I'm just missing one for future tense," my son explained, showing me his notebook. I approached him and looked at it. I read his sentences one by one. Wow, my son is really smart! As I was reading, I was surprised by one of the future tense sentences she wrote.

Lucien said gently, "not 'is'. You need to get the hang of using the past tense, because from now on, you'll be using it all the time." For a moment, I thought Lysander was going to lose it - maybe grab my arm or yell at me, and before we knew it, the whole thing would be all over the news. But then his shoulders just sort of slumped, and I could see the fight going out of him. He looked at me, really looked at me, like he was searching for something in my face. But I wasn't giving it to him, not anymore.

Said anything else was unnecessary complexity. Day 2, 11:43 PM - Adrien: And you got something different every time. Said life was too short to be predictable. I loved that about you. Still do. Present tense. Not past. Not a memory. Still do. Day 2, 11:52 PM - Me: When this is over, we're going back there. First thing. Terrible coffee and all. Day 2, 11:54 PM - Adrien: Promise? Day 2, 11:56 PM - Me: Promise.

“D’you know what that future has in store for us?” A frown drew Kleint’s face. “Come on, Z! You’ve already asked me twice already.” She merely chuckled. “But you never gave me an answer.” “The future, Z, can be made. It is the series to which the consequences of our decisions aggregate. It doesn’t do well to think about it and forget to live in the present.” “Why so grumpy?” “I’m not.” Kleint pouted. “It’s just that I know half of what you’re thinking all the time.”

She was quiet for a moment. "I did not think I would have this," she said. Not sadly. Simply. The way she said factual things that had a large feeling inside them. "Have what specifically?" I said. "The conversation about eventually," she said. "The kind of conversation that assumes a future and populates it with things." She paused. "I have spent a long time living inside whatever was immediately in front of me because the further ahead I looked the worse it was. The future was always just more of the immediate present." She looked at the fire. "It is very new, populating the future with things."