“As I stood, staring at the portrait in front of me, I realized why Jarem warned me.

Jarem said he came from the future. Of course, I didn’t believe him at first. It wasn’t possible—or so I thought—until he showed me the transporter, a device made for time travel, which he used. I had never seen anything like it. I was fascinated. I looked around my world, and it wasn’t too exciting. I stared at the transporter in Jarem’s hand, and it struck me—that was the key to a better life.

I asked Jarem to hand over the transporter, and he refused. I wasn’t expecting him to hand it over just like that. I asked him again; this time, his hands were pinned to his back. He warned me. ‘You don’t understand. It’s all an illusion,’ he said.

I didn’t listen—I was consumed with the desire to get into this future I had heard about. I took the transporter, and in seconds, I found myself twirling in what looked like a sea of glass. Finally, the journey was over. I looked around, confused. Was this the future I was so excited about?

I saw a poster that confirmed that it was the future indeed. I tried to talk to everyone who passed by, but no one gave me any attention. Out of frustration, I yanked a little boy who was passing by, and as I did, his glasses fell off.

‘Thank you,’ he said to me as he walked away, leaving the glasses behind.

I took the glasses, wore them partially, and then took them off. Jarem’s words suddenly made sense. If the future was so great, why did he go back? Everyone was living in an illusion, leaving the world to crumble.

‘I told you.’

I looked behind me, and I saw Jarem standing right there.

‘Jarem!’ I screamed.

‘You thought I was going to let you go if that was the only transporter I had?’

Jarem stood by me, and we stared at the portrait together.

‘Is that really him?’

‘Yes, that is the legendary Tariku Negasi.’

I couldn’t believe it. I had seen him before I used the transporter. He was just a child with a bright spark in his eyes. As I stood before the portrait, I observed his eyes—the spark was gone. He wanted to change the world with his technology, but it was destroyed instead.

‘Why did you come back?’ I asked.

‘You and I both know we should never mess with time. I came back so I can stop my world from being destroyed any further. You should go back too,’ he said. ‘Technology is going to transform your world, but you should make sure it’s not destroyed in the process. People should enjoy technology together and not be divided by it.’

I gave Jarem a warm hug, and as I activated the transporter, he waved at me and said, ‘Let’s get it right this time.’”

Written by Faseun Shalom