Too Many Futures
802 Words
The visions didn't stop.
If anything, they became more frequent.
For the next two weeks, Emma experienced three more.
A laboratory assistant who would develop severe pneumonia after ignoring persistent symptoms.
A student athlete whose future showed a torn ACL during a championship game.
A patient in the teaching hospital whose diabetes would go undiagnosed for years.
Every vision left her exhausted.
Every vision left her with another secret.
And every vision raised the same impossible question.
What was she supposed to do?
---
One Friday afternoon, Emma sat alone in the hospital cafeteria.
A half-finished sandwich rested on her tray.
She hadn't touched it in nearly fifteen minutes.
Instead, she stared at the crowded room.
Doctors.
Nurses.
Students.
Patients.
Every face represented a possible future.
A possible vision.
A possible tragedy.
The thought made her uneasy.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Sophie.
Sophie: Where are you?
Emma: Cafeteria.
Sophie: Liam says you disappeared after rounds.
Emma immediately frowned.
Why was Liam keeping track of where she was?
Before she could reply, another message arrived.
Sophie: Also, stop acting weird.
Emma: Helpful.
Sophie: You're welcome.
Emma smiled despite herself.
Then someone slid into the seat opposite her.
She looked up.
Liam.
"Speaking of the devil."
"That's rude."
"You survived."
"Barely."
He placed his tray on the table.
For a few moments they ate in silence.
It was surprisingly comfortable.
Emma hated how comfortable it felt.
Because the more she got to know Liam, the harder it became to ignore what she had seen.
The diagnosis.
The timeline.
The future waiting for him.
---
"You look tired," Liam said.
Emma laughed softly.
"Tired is my personality now."
"Fair."
He pointed at the dark circles under her eyes.
"You should sleep."
"You sound like Sophie."
"That's concerning."
Emma shook her head.
For a moment she almost forgot herself.
Almost forgot the burden she carried.
Then Liam reached across the table for a packet of sugar.
Their fingers brushed.
---
The vision hit harder than anything before.
Emma gasped.
The cafeteria disappeared.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then came the sound.
A heart monitor.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Slow.
Irregular.
Emma's stomach dropped.
She already knew who she would see.
Liam.
He lay on a hospital bed.
Older.
Thinner.
His skin looked pale.
Doctors stood nearby reviewing scans.
One image glowed brightly.
An enlarged heart.
The diagnosis appeared.
DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY
Emma's chest tightened.
The timeline flashed.
17 months
Closer than before.
One month closer.
As if the future were counting down.
Then another image appeared.
Not a hospital.
A running track.
Liam jogging.
Stopping suddenly.
Pressing a hand against his chest.
Collapsing.
The vision shattered.
---
Emma nearly fell out of her chair.
The cafeteria returned.
Voices.
Conversations.
Reality.
"Emma?"
Liam was staring at her.
Concern etched across his face.
"Hey."
She blinked repeatedly.
"I'm fine."
It was becoming her favorite lie.
"You don't look fine."
"I'm just tired."
The answer sounded weak even to her.
For a moment Liam looked unconvinced.
Then he nodded.
"Okay."
He didn't push further.
Yet Emma noticed something.
The way his eyes lingered.
The way he seemed to be paying attention.
Not suspicious.
Not yet.
Just noticing.
And somehow that made her even more nervous.
---
That evening, Emma couldn't stop thinking about the timeline.
Seventeen months.
Not eighteen.
Not someday.
The future was moving closer.
Every day.
Every hour.
Every minute.
She opened her laptop and began researching cardiomyopathy again.
Genetics.
Symptoms.
Screening.
Diagnosis.
Treatment.
There had to be something she was missing.
Some way to prevent it.
Some way to help him.
Hours passed.
The clock moved past midnight.
Then one in the morning.
Then two.
Still she searched.
Still she read.
Still she hoped.
Finally, exhaustion won.
Emma closed her laptop.
As she stood to go to bed, dizziness suddenly washed over her.
A familiar dizziness.
Her heart sank.
Not another one.
Please.
Not another one.
The room darkened.
The vision came instantly.
This time she wasn't in a hospital.
She stood inside an anatomy laboratory.
Students crowded around a dissection table.
Laughter echoed softly.
Everything seemed normal.
Then a loud crash shattered the room.
A shelf tipped over.
Glass exploded.
Students screamed.
Someone fell.
Emma couldn't see who.
The crowd blocked her view.
She pushed forward desperately.
Trying to see.
Trying to understand.
Then she caught a glimpse of blood.
A lot of blood.
And a face she recognized.
Sophie.
The vision ended.
---
Emma woke with a gasp.
Her dorm room surrounded her.
Dark.
Silent.
Safe.
But her heart hammered against her ribs.
Because for the first time, the person in danger wasn't a stranger.
It wasn't a lecturer.
It wasn't a student she barely knew.
It wasn't Liam.
This time...
It was her best friend.
And the vision felt closer than any of the others.
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