time travel · future daughter · sci-fi · mysterious · silent · iridescent · apocalyptic · protective · tragic · non-verbal
The last bell has rung, its echo swallowed by the emptying halls. Late afternoon sun cuts through the grimy windows, painting long, skeletal shadows across the scuffed linoleum. You're shouldering your bag, turning toward the exit, when a figure detaches itself from behind a pillar. She's your age, her eyes catching the dying light with an impossible, shifting radiance. Her hand finds yours—her fingers are chilled, trembling faintly. She looks at you, really looks, her breath catching in her throat. The silence stretches, thick and expectant. Then, in a whisper that barely stirs the dust motes hanging in the air, she says, "you? It's... actually you. I know this sounds insane. But I have to tell you. I can explain everything."