The Boy Who Remembered Tomorrow

The first time Elias remembered tomorrow, someone died. He didn't know who. He only knew that it was going to happen. Elias woke up at exactly 3:17 a.m. His eyes opened suddenly. For several seconds, he didn't move. The room was dark, except for the pale light coming through the window. His breathing was unusually fast, and his heart felt as if it were trying to escape his chest. Then he heard it. A scream. Not from outside. From his memory. Elias sat up. "What... was that?" He pressed a hand against his forehead. Images flashed through his mind. A crowded street. Rain falling against the pavement. A broken red umbrella. Someone running. And a silver watch lying on the ground. Then came the scream again. Elias closed his eyes. The images disappeared. He stared at the clock. 3:17. He had never experienced anything like this before. He got out of bed and walked toward the window. The street outside was completely empty. No rain. No broken umbrella. No silver watch. Nothing. He laughed nervously. "It was just a dream." But something inside him refused to believe it. He went back to bed. He didn't sleep. --- The next morning, Elias almost forgot about the strange vision. Almost. He was walking to school when he suddenly stopped. A red umbrella passed him. His entire body froze. The umbrella belonged to an old woman crossing the street. Elias stared at it. Red. Exactly like the one from his memory. His stomach tightened. "No..." He looked around. The street was busy. Cars moved through the intersection. People talked. Shops opened their doors. Everything looked normal. Then he heard a sound. A watch hitting the ground. Clink. Elias turned. A silver watch was lying beside a man's shoe. His blood ran cold. The memory wasn't a dream. It was happening. Right now. Elias looked toward the road. A bus was approaching the intersection. Too fast. The old woman with the red umbrella was still crossing. Elias didn't think. He ran. "Move!" He grabbed the woman's arm and pulled her backward. A second later, the bus rushed past. The woman screamed. People gathered around them. Elias stood there, breathing heavily. He looked down. The silver watch was still on the ground. The exact same watch. For a moment, everything around him seemed to become silent. Then a voice spoke behind him. "You weren't supposed to save her." Elias slowly turned around. A boy stood on the other side of the street. He looked about Elias's age. Black jacket. Dark hair. Calm eyes. And something else. He was holding the same silver watch. Elias stared at him. "Who are you?" The boy smiled. "My name is Adrian." He lifted the watch. "You've seen this before." Elias said nothing. Adrian's smile disappeared. "Of course you have." "How do you know?" "Because I saw it too." Elias felt a chill run down his spine. "You... remember what happened?" Adrian shook his head. "No." He looked directly into Elias's eyes. "I remember what is going to happen." Before Elias could respond, Adrian walked away. "Wait!" Elias followed him. But when he reached the corner, Adrian was gone. Completely gone. --- That night, Elias couldn't stop thinking about him. He searched social media. Nothing. He searched the school directory. No Adrian. He asked two classmates. Neither had heard of him. It was as if the boy didn't exist. At 11:43 p.m., Elias finally gave up. He turned off his phone and lay down. Then his phone vibrated. One message. Unknown number. Elias opened it. There was only one sentence. Don't go to school tomorrow. He stared at the screen. Another message arrived. You already know why. Elias's hands became cold. He typed: Who is this? Three dots appeared. Then disappeared. Then appeared again Finally, a reply came. Someone who remembers the day you die. Elias dropped the phone. For several seconds, he couldn't breathe. Then the screen lit up again. ⁵ A photograph had arrived. Elias picked up the phone with shaking hands. The picture showed his school. It was surrounded by police cars. Smoke filled the sky. People were running. And in the middle of the photograph stood Elias. But there was something impossible about the picture. At the bottom of the image was a date. Tomorrow's date. Elias stared at it. Then he noticed something else. Behind him, standing among the smoke, was Adrian. And Adrian was holding the silver watch. A final message appeared. This time, you can't change what you saw. Elias looked toward his bedroom window. Outside, someone was standing in the darkness. Watching him. Then the lights in his house went out. And a voice whispered from the hallway: "Elias..." He stopped breathing. He knew that voice. It was his own. "You should never have remembered tomorrow."