The Punishment for Time Travel

“Go get your brain checked.”

“Excuse me??”

“Ask mom or dad to take you to the doctor, and get your brain checked. Get an MRI”

“Do I know you?”

“I meant,  ask your mom or dad. To go to the doctor, and get a brain scan.”

“Are you crazy? Have you been following me this whole time?”

“You have a brain tumor. Or, if you don’t have one yet you are going to develop one very soon. If you can catch it when it has just started, the doctors can remove it, without harming your brain. It’s slow growing. But you need to get it removed as soon as it appears.”

“Okay you are crazy. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Is this some kind of weird prank?”

“LISTEN TO ME. Please.” 

“Are you crying?”

“I realize this might seem hard to believe. I get that. Hold on, wait! Hear me out. I’m from the future, please listen to what I say. If you do not catch this brain tumor in time and you do not have it removed, you will die when you are 36. You’re 16 now, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Your parents are Karen and Richey Smith, right? You have a baby sister named Sara?”

“You’re from the future?”

“Yes. Please believe me. Just go get an MRI. What could possibly be the downside? Worst case scenario, you get checked out, you’re perfectly fine, and it proves I’m a lying crazy person. Okay, so your dad is out some money and is pissed. But best case, you catch something before it kills you and you get to live a long life.”

“...sure.”

⚡

“Here we are, cellmate V9-2467-XR. You have 15 minutes to visit.” 

“Hey Jimmy. Our timelines converge at last.” 

“How could you do this?”

“I know you’re pissed. But I don’t care what you think. You’re alive. I don’t regret it.”

“The sentence for a chrono offense is life in a high security prison.”

“Obviously.”

“So you just threw your entire life away? Your whole life? Wasted? How can you not regret that? If I had know…I never in a million years would have wanted that for you.”

“I can tell you’re angry with me. I understand. But_”

“Angry with you? You’ve RUINED YOUR WHOLE LIFE.” 

“Please keep it down during your visit, you’re upsetting the other inmates.”

“I don’t care. You didn’t experience the other timeline, I did. You were diagnosed when I was 23 years old. You were - are - like a second dad to me. You taught me so much, you encouraged me. More than our actual parents did. You were a genius. You were the shining star of our family, the brightest light in the dysfunctional pit. You changed my whole life for the better. And then you died. When I was 27. Our whole family fell apart. Dad became an alcoholic after you were diagnosed. Our parents divorced. Our whole family fell apart. I was attacked after you died because I wasn’t watching out for myself, I wanted to die as well. I had chronic pain after the attack that I would have to live with my entire life. PTSD. Everything I had gained with your help I lost anyway after you died. Is that the life you think would be so worth me living?”

“I would rather you lived a full, happy life, than be trapped in a prison. For me.”

“I didn’t just do it for you, have you been listening? My life was awful in either timeline is what I am telling you. So at least in this timeline, even though my life is going to suck, you’re alive. I can sit here day after day and know that you exist in the world. Your death didn’t just affect you, in fact it maybe affected you the least of all. It affected all of us who had to live our lives without you here. You have no idea how lonely I felt in the world, and how painful it was. I will be very happy here, knowing you exist, and you can live your full life, and that everyone else gets to have you here too. Are you crying?”

“No. Hmph.”

“Ow!”

“No touching the prisoners!”

“That’s what you get.” 

“See, this is what I mean. I still get to be slapped in the face by my older brother when he thinks I’m being too sentimental. That’s worth being in prison for the rest of my life. It really is. Besides, they might let me out on parole one day.”

“I doubt it. Chrono offenses are the most serious offenses nowadays. Worse than murder, and I can see why. The authorities are still piecing together what repercussions may have come about because of what you did. Me being alive might mean that hundreds of other people have died due to indirect butterfly effects.”

“I don’t care.”

“Sara!”

“I don’t. Why shouldn’t other people die so that you can live? In the other timeline I thought that exact thought very often. Well, I thought it the other way around. Why did my brother have to die while all these terrible people get to live?”

“Five minutes remaining in your visit.” 

“You know mom and dad are still probably going to get divorced. Because of this. You going to prison for life. You didn’t stop that from happening.”

“Yeah well, they should have divorced when we were kids so who cares. I’m sure Claire is happy you’re alive and going to stay that way, considering the alternative.”

“What happened to Claire in the other timeline? After I died?”

“She missed you.”

“Okay, and?”

“You don’t need to know the details. It’s not my story to tell about.” 

“We don’t have much time left.”

“I love you, Jimmy. I love you so much, and I am so happy you’re here.”

“I’ll visit you. With Claire. With mom and dad. As much as they’ll let us.”

“No hugging!” 

“I love you too, Sara.” 

“Stop looking so sad. Seriously. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to be okay. There’s no way for me to get you to understand.”

“I do understand.”