straightened my back, standing tall and fierce against whoever was behind those tinted windows. The driver’ s door opened, a slim figure emerging from the car. Every assumption that I had made about the driver was wrong. The driver was not who I thought it was, a girl around the age of nineteen. Still with a black biker helmet over her head, I noticed the many freckles that covered her arms, her wavy hair that flowed in the wind, and especially the faded clothes she was wearing. They were certainly old, but still stylish enough for me to tell that she was young. I remember taking many steps back into my neighbors lawn, afraid of what I was going to find under the mask. She, suddenly, reached up with both hands, the moment that I had spent years waiting for. With a gentle tug upward, the black helmet was pulled off from around her head, revealing a gentle freckled face with a birthmark on the corner of her lip. I had a birthmark on the corner of my lip! I blinked bewilderely, hesitant about how to respond to this woman’ s presence. Even as she had chased me before, I had been so clueless to understand that she was me, but from the future!
I stared into the green eyes of the future Zoey. I was still stunned that she was actually me fom the future. She must have been only a few years older than me though, but the tough expression across her face led me to question whether she was friendly or not. I remember the horrible feeling inside my stomach that day, unsure if I should talk to her or run inside my house. Both options were valid.“ It is alright” future Zoey told me.“ I’ m only here to help you.” Her eyes squinted from the hot sun, thousands of miles away, a place where I would most likely be a lot safer than where I was then.“ I’ m Zoey from your future” she said.“ And I am hear to warn you that you are in grave danger.” I was so confused, trying to connect the dots, only they weren’ t there. Not much use to have a smart brain if you can’ t even use it. Then came the explanation. I remember it word for word.“ You see, the entire time that you have been repeating this day, you were really stuck in time. Paused. Not aging or growing up. There was no time to stop and tell you earlier. If my car hadn’ t stopped you, or we were never talking now, you might as well be considered dead. When this day fully ends, you will die.” I can just picture the exact face that my younger self made. Shocked, confused, concerned. All of them.
I was going to die once this day fully ended. The driver had been trying to warn me this entire time. My knees gave out and I fell onto the grass.“ It’ s okay” future Zoey said, trying her best to reassure me.“ There are actions that can be done to fix it.” I remember nodding my head eagerly. I was sick of wearing the same clothes everyday. I was sick of not being able to tell anyone my real problems because then the day would eventually reset and I would have to start all over.“ In order to break the cycle, all you have to do is take the keys to my blue car and unlock the front door to your house. Although the locks are different, the key will fit. Trust me. If you do exactly what I said without hesitation, then you will successfully escape this simulated and isolated reality.” I thanked the future Zoey, grabbing the keys from her hand and turning to leave. As I darted back to my house, an action that I knew would eventually happen, I recognized the hidden markings that were engraved within the keys handle. The head of the key was shaped like a skull, emerald green eyes glowing and teeth shimmered white. The faint cracks of paint were splattered across the skulls face, spreading like the veins of an ancient statue that we would learn about in history. The memory reemerged from the forgotten thoughts, triggering emotions that I had experienced while stuck there. I wasn’ t sure what made me remember so clearly, but it was strong. Maybe a specific scent in the air. The touch of the skull key as it lay in my hand. Whatever it was, I could tell it was time, the wind almost whispering to me that I was ready.