The Last Unwarned

Everyone gets one message from their future self. It arrives exactly one year before

you die. Most people spend their lives pretending not to wait for it.

They fail. The day the message comes, careers end, marriages shatter,

faith either hardens or breaks. Governments deny it publicly and track it privately.

Mine arrived when I was seventeen. “You are not going to die next year,” it said.

“Please do not tell anyone.” The message was short, sent from a number

that couldn’t be traced. No timestamp. No explanation. At first,

I laughed. Then I panicked. Then I noticed something worse. Everyone else I