Back From the Future Blogfest

For those who are looking, I'm also participating in The Bloghop of Joy (click HERE) and I took the time to Celebrate the Small Things (click HERE).

M. Pax, Suze from Subliminal Coffee, and Nicki from Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts are teaming up to bring us a blogfest!

You’re up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. You haven’t brewed your coffee so you wonder if you imagined the sound. Plonking the half-filled carafe in the sink, you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As you cast your eyes to the ground, you see a parcel addressed to you … from you.

You scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, you pry it open. Inside is a shoebox — sent from ten years in the future — and it’s filled with items you have sent yourself.

What’s in it?

I hold the box in my hands, wondering if it truly can be from the future.  After all, I write about this stuff all the time in my short stories.  Still, my writings could not prepare me for this bizarre reality.

"I may as well open it," I say as I pry the lid off the shoebox.  Maybe the label From the year 2023 is a joke, and a friend simply sent me a pair of shoes.  Or maybe a box full of chocolate.  (Hmmm, now I'm actually hoping for chocolate.  Please let it be chocolate!)

The lid clatters to the floor as the sight inside the box takes me aback.  Inside is a small stack of books with shiny, colorful front covers.  The name L.G. Keltner stands out at me, and it takes a moment for me to understand what this is.  My books.  In ten years time, I am a published author, and I've sent my younger/present day self copies of them.

When I lift the books from the box, a small scrap of paper falls free.  I place the books on the table and focus on the neat handwriting that greets me.  It's clearly mine, and written in a lovely blue ink that's reminiscent of the TARDIS.  (Undoubtedly the reason why future me chose this hue in the first place!)

Dear Temporally Previous Version of Me,

I hope this package finds you well.  Though I know what day you are set to receive it, and I remember the events of the day all too well.  I'd warn you to stay away from the gas station today at 3 PM, but that still won't make the rest of your day that much better.

Still, I do have something to offer you.  Having been you at one point, and still technically being you  in many ways, I know that you love time travel.  You particularly enjoy closed causal loops.  Especially in Doctor Who.  So here's your chance to participate in a closed causal loop.  These books are yours by right.  You wrote them.  You just haven't done it yet.  And now here they are for you to see.  All you need to do is copy them down and submit them.  This will make your life considerably easier.

Don't worry about any ethical concerns.  The story ideas already exist in your head.  You just haven't had that "Aha, I can do this!" moment yet.  Now here's your chance.  I did it when I was you, and trust me, it turned out just fine!

Oh, except for the fact that Jude is a teenager now, and Lyle is almost one himself.  That isn't okay, but there's nothing you can do about that.  And don't ask me if you've had any more children in the intervening years.  I have to leave something for you to worry and wonder about!

Yours Truly,

L.G.

I freeze as I wonder what I should do next.  What would The Doctor do?