Paradox Man

The year is 2020. Mark Trembley sets out on another long day in New York, as his front door swings shut behind him. He takes a deep breath, whispering to himself, "Here we go again..." and begins his long trek to the bus stop. At first, Mark had found the walk to be pleasant and peaceful, the sound of the local children running out to their parents cars to go to school, the leaves that fall in Autumn in various shades of their stunning change, the chatter of others starting their days, coffee in hand. Mark moved here just 2 years ago, but already his feelings had changed. The shrill, piercing noise of children's whines, the leaves that blew in his face and the arrogant voices of other New Yorkers brushing past him now made Mark miserable. Mark wished for nothing more than a day of peace. Just one, quiet day of nothing but...peace.

Mark sat the bus stop, waiting for his bus that was now 15 minutes late. He was growing more and more impatient. Eventually, Mark grew fed up with waiting and stood up to check the times for the next bus before heading back home. As he walked to the timetable, an old man rushes him from behind the bus stop, pulling him into an alley behind. Mark, obviously startled, swings for the old man who tries frantically to calm him.

"Who are you?! Get your hands off of me you bum!" Mark yells, now red with anger.
"I've...finally found you..." the old man stammers, "I've been waiting for so long Mark..."
Mark is shaken, "How do you know my name?" he asks.
The Old man backs up, before explaining, "This isn't going to make sense Mark...But you need to believe me..."
Mark calms himself, before replying, "OK, what is it you so urgently need to tell me?"
"Well...I'm...you...from the distant future", the old man explains.
Mark looks the old man up and down with disbelief, before snickering and replying, "For God's sake, what is this? A prank? A scam? What the hell are you trying to pull on me? Who put you up to this?" Mark demands to know, visibly getting pissed off.
"Mark you have got to believe me, our very existence depends on it! In the year 2049, Time Travel is finally achieved after testing on small animals with numerous failures. I was...the first human trial. And it was a success! But I've messed up Mark. I've really messed up. The timeline is royally fucked and I can feel it. I'm not even supposed to contact you as I've now condemned the future to inevitable change. But it all starts today Mark. This bus is cancelled, so you get the next one. The bus you get is in a violent accident. You're in a coma for a long time. You wake up in a large hospital room 10 years later, where you are offered a place in the Timeline Project, to fix your life so that the accident never happened and I could live out my full life without missing the years I was out." The Old man is near tears as he finally tells his story to his now fully attentive younger self, as he continues, "The year 2049 lands and they finally think they can perfect Time Travel, and attempt to send me back to this day. Though I did travel back in time, it was not accurate. I woke up in the year 1953 first, in this very alley, before a flash of blue light where I then traveled to the year 2011, in the exact same spot. The last 9 years I've been jumping back and forth through time at this exact spot. I beg of you Mark, don't get this bus. Turn around, go home. Maybe move house, find a nice girl, settle down. Just don't get this bus. I'll never exist, and your future will not be filled with this...torment. The blinding, burning pain of each jump through time is agony. Please..." The old man breaks down, "Please...don't get this bus."

The Younger Mark, with tears welling up in his eyes, puts his hand on the Old Mark's shoulder, before saying, "I...believe you. I..don't know what to say. But...I won't get this bus, I'll move. I'll find a girl. I'll live my life. I'll be...happy."
The Old man clutches his chest, and to both Mark's surprise, the old Mark begins to fade. He cups the face of his younger self with his hands, and whispers through his tears, "Thank you."

The Older Mark then fades into nothingness, completely erased from existence. The younger Mark, both amazed and terrified at what just transpired, turns to the bus stop. Without hesitation, he walks straight past it and begins his journey home, his experience making him appreciate the things he was taking for granted on his walk to the stop. He softly whistles to himself, enjoying the cool autumn breeze, the leaves fluttering in the wind, the children laughing and giggling...the same sounds he heard before. The EXACT same...

Mark suddenly stops as he feels a piercing pain in his chest. He drops to his knees, looking up for someone to help. He clutches his chest in pain, screaming, "HELP! I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK! HELP!"
He turns his head to look up the sidewalk, seeing a young man walking towards him. He yells for the mans attention, before falling into a stunned silence. The grumpy young man approaching him was...him. The other him walked straight past Mark, as did the other few pedestrians on the sidewalk. Mark stood up, still clutching his chest, and frantically tried to get someones attention, as the other him sits at the bus stop. The pain leaves Mark's chest, but upon inspection he sees that he himself is fading, just like the older him did! He tries to get his other self's attention before it finally hits him...

If Mark never got into his accident, then he would never have been in a coma. Therefore, he would never be offered his place in the Timeline Project. He would never travel back and warm himself of the accident, meaning he would get on the bus. It was an unbreakable loop. And Mark had now found himself to be a paradox. Mark's eyes fill with tears as he collapses to the ground, realizing that his future is unchangeable. He drops his gaze to the ground, as he fades from time.

The timeline has fixed itself. The contradiction has been corrected. Mark steps onto the doomed bus, and so the future is set on course once again...


The End.