Into the Future

My name is Marlon K. And the winds blew harshly. The trees leaned. The cars creaked. And all that happened when I walked down a dark, gloomy street. I held on to my cloak as it tried to escape. It was a Friday night and instead of enjoying the night watching movies with my parents I was walking down the street. The emptiness made me shudder. I was a teen who had just came back from school. Our school was one of the best in the whole county but we had to stay there till night. I want to look at my future. The best thing I like to do is shop and play with my friends. We were all in the state of technology and everyone was into video games and other V.R. games. It is entertaining though.

           Shopping is entertainment for me (Weird, I know!). My mom says video games are fun but I can only play thrice a week. Average time for a teen. My apartment was still a block away. The wind calmed a bit so I walked faster. I heard that in the future we don’t go shopping because robots will do all your stuff. And I think that technology makes you lazy. So everything will be done by robots. Except for homework. It was a rumor. I am not sure about it.

            I finally reached an alley with a sign that read, “Tele Dracon.” But it thought it read Teel Dragon. I couldn’t make it out from the wind. I thought it was my lane, so I stepped into the unknown. I went into the alley where there was no light. I knew I was lost now I tripped on a rock and my hand touched a huge boulder. I felt like I was spinning in circles. I vanished into the unknown.

When I stopped spinning, I found myself in a world I didn’t know. My head hurt. It was filled with flying drones and robots walking around the place. I saw kids with robots of their own. They were controlling them like they were their dogs. I watched in amazement as robots loomed the whole city. The view was astonishing! There were high skyscrapers of cool colors. It looked like one of those cities you see in cartoons.

It was awesome! I could see robots attempting to play soccer with one kid. And then, out of nowhere, I saw a version of myself. Just older and with a mustache. He told the kid to come home. His tone was deep. It felt like looking at myself. And then, some adult came by him and said, ‘Hi Marlon!’ I shuddered. I had a feeling I was in the future. I tried pulling my cheeks and hair, and it felt pretty real to me.

The scene changed and I was in front of an old man with weird clothes. He looked like a wizard. He had a long, blond beard. But he was a priest. He looked up at me. “So you have come from the past I see.” How did he know that, I had no idea? I had no idea that I had come to the future myself! I asked, “How do you know, sir?” He didn’t answer. But I had a feeling it was because of my clothes. His clothes looked more different than mine. And even when I saw my future self, he had different type of clothes than me.

He gave me a sign to follow. “I know you, young Marlon.” Again, I felt weird that he knew me. I followed. He showed me monuments. “So, um, do you know where I am, sir?” He answered, “You already know where you are young Marlon.” I did know where I was. But I didn’t like that he knew me. I had so many questions to ask. But I couldn’t muster the courage to do so.

The priest walked fast for his age, I had to fast walk to catch up to him. He showed me the places. “I am known for the passageway of the past.” He said. “It is very rare that someone gets the chance to look at their future. Destiny chose you to have a small peek at your future Young Marlon.” Great, of course I, who had never wanted to look at my future, had been picked to have a look at my future. This day was the best day! Hooray!

I followed the priest in disgust. I hated my life.

           The more buildings he showed me the more I felt like leaving this place. But the monuments were cool. I wanted my future to be a surprise, but now…

           I finally had the courage to ask him. “How do I get out of here?” I screamed. He turned towards me. His blue eyes shone in the sun. His expression looked fierce. “Follow Me!” He said. I did so.

           We walked another hour or so. I was hungry and sleepy. I was starving. I had a feeling I was going to faint. The birds cawed. And the chirp of insects started. We walked into the forest and I wavered. Soon we reached a place which looked like a five-star hotel. I walked further. One thing in my mind, this was a mirage. The priest didn’t look worn out. He looked like he had just had his warm-up. He was walking at the exact same speed he was walking an hour ago. I couldn’t take anymore. I fell on the ground. My throat hurt from the thirstiness. The priest turned towards me. There was a security guard at the main gate. The priest told that guard to pick me up. Seconds later, the guard brought a stretcher and two men. They lifted me up. I couldn’t see anything anymore. My vision blurred. And I went straight to the gates of the hotel.

           I was in a large hotel room. I was all alone. I got up. There was a gallon of water on my side. And food on the other side. It was nighttime here now. I plucked my cheeks to see if I was still dreaming or not. But, I wasn’t dreaming. Because the water taste real to me. I still felt sleepy. I drank the water and finished my food. The menu was Beef Stroganoff, with a side of chips and Chicken Nuggets. That was all the things I loved to eat. So it wasn’t a mirage at all. Nor was it a dream. After eating everything I fell into a deep sleep.

           In the morning when I woke up I saw the sunlight straight in my eyes. I got ready and headed out to search for the priest. Speaking of the priest, I hadn’t even asked his name. I was sure to ask him today.

           He was already downstairs with the guard that took me to the room. He was talking to someone, I went forward and stopped. My heart skipped a beat. It was Marlon K. A.K.A me! He looked up at me. But he didn’t recognize me. “Is this boy with you, priest?” The priest turned towards me. He could tell the shock on my face. “Yes,” he said with a grin, “this boy is with us. I’d like you to meet him.” I wavered once again. But this time I didn’t faint from yesterday’s stroganoff. “You look just like me.” He said. I had to reply quick. Only one thing came to my mind, “Uh huh and…” He sighed, “Never mind. Come have breakfast with us.”

           I came behind them. The future Marlon K. loved stroganoff. He said that he owned this hotel. (Again, another spoiler for me!) After breakfast, we left the hotel. I told the priest I want to go home now. “You have succeeded in meeting your future self. You are free to go home now young Marlon. I faced him.

           He closed his eyes and sighed. “I hope to see you again in the future, boy. Now goodbye.” He cast a magic spell and green smoke came out of his hands. I screamed.

           I felt my body splitting in two. When I opened my eyes, I saw myself near my bed. So I wasn’t dreaming at all. I felt so good to be at home. I could hear my mom shouting, “Come on Marlon, I made your favorite, Beef Stroganoff. A shock came over me. “I had forgot to ask the priest his name. Hopefully I would get to see him in the future again. Without further ado, I went downstairs… for my stroganoff…