A short story
“Come on, Sara! You promised to download it! Don’t be a wuss!”
“I feel weird about it, Cole. It just seems unnatural.”
The salmon pink background of the app was alluring. A friendly little kitty danced across the screen, smiling. Italicized letters bounced about swirling; it was hypnotizing.
Sara tapped on the join button. As she clicked, a man’s face appeared. He was older, with peppery hair and a big grin.
“Thank you for joining,” he had a slight accent, but she couldn’t figure out what kind, “please read all the terms of service before moving forward. My company is not liable for anything you may see in the future that is traumatizing or displeasing. I created this app as a tool for self-improvement, as time is not a string; events are subject to change.”
“Cole, see. This is weird.”
With the best intentions, Sara’s best friend clicked accept.
“Cole! We were supposed to read the terms,” Sara was anxious and fearful of what she would see.
“It’s fine! All apps have terms and blah blah blah, stop worrying so much,” Cole was dismissive, but that was just Cole being Cole.
A feminine robotic voice began to speak through the phone. “Welcome to Discovering Destiny. I am your guide through your future. You can call me Lisa. At any point during your travels, if you feel uncomfortable, please let me know, and I will pause your screen. I am voice-activated. When you are ready to proceed, please say “Yes”
Sara’s palms were sweating, but she had come this far. “Yes.”
The screen went black.
“What? I said yes,” Sara tapped and swiped across the screen.
Cole was silent for a moment. Eyes wide in panic and disbelief.
“Cole, what do I do?” As soon as Sara made eye contact, she read the panic in his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I..I can’t…” Cole was speechless and slowly backing away from his best friend.
Sara moved towards him, the phone still in hand. “Cole, what is it!” She shouted, and the walls shook.
Cole removed his phone from his pocket. The device chimed, and Lisa began to speak: “Welcome to Discovering Destiny. You have completed your session, and no new sessions are available. To replay your future, say “Yes.”
“Yes.”
Sara was dumbfounded at his behavior. The replay started, and Cole held the phone in front of her so she could see his future.
Two children played on the playground happily until a large white van pulled up beside the park. The door flung open, and two men snatched one of the children off the swing. The other child stood and cried as the adults began to surround him.
Skipping forward, you see the same child at a birthday party next to an empty chair.
Time skips to middle school graduation, and you see the same child walking across the stage.
The now teenager looks toward the stage curtain with lips moving, but nothing is there.
A blonde-haired man turns and faces the camera. He looks like an older version of Cole. He speaks calmly. “Sara, you were never really here,” he holds a missing person flyer up to the camera.
“What? I don’t understand, Cole?”
With tears in his eyes, he dropped his phone to the floor. “Your phone is black because you don’t have a future to see Sara. I couldn’t let you go. I kept you here. Grew with you, but after seeing my future, I know that you aren’t real.”
Sara tried to speak but couldn’t. Her mouth had disappeared. Slowly, her limbs became translucent. She faded into nothingness.
The phone she helped dropped to the floor with a thud. Cole picked it up, and the screen turned on once more.
“Welcome to Discovering Destiny. Please say “Yes” to continue.”
Prompt by Bella Smith ⭐in Promptly Written: “Fiction Friday
Use any or all of the following concepts for a story: A new smartphone app allows users to see their future but with a surprising twist.”
Tas The Artist 
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