Story: Don't Go on Holiday

“Don’t go on holiday.”

Fredericka reads the message on her phone.

“Who is this?” she writes.

“I can’t tell you.”

Fredericka laughs. “Good joke,” she writes.

Fredericka puts down her phone. She thinks. Her assistant at work is always very funny. It must be her assistant.

There’s another message. “Don’t eat the sandwich.”

Fredericka looks at her sandwich. It’s a ham sandwich, with lettuce and tomatoes. It’s on a plate, on the table.

‘It must be my assistant,’ Fredericka thinks. ‘She knows I always eat a sandwich for lunch.’

Fredericka is hungry. She eats the sandwich.

The next day, Fredericka is ill. Fredericka doesn’t go to work. She stays at home.

Her phone makes a sound. There’s a new message. “Now do you believe me?”

“Stop this game,” Fredericka writes.

“Don’t go on holiday.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Fredericka wants to go on holiday. There is a project at work that is very difficult. She needs to relax.

Fredericka buys her ticket. Then she packs her suitcase. She packs her sunglasses, her swimming costume and her favourite book.

At the weekend, Fredericka goes to the train station. She travels to the airport. At the airport, she receives a new message.

“Please be careful at the swimming pool.”

Fredericka turns off her phone.

Fredericka arrives at the resort. It’s a warm, sunny day. There is a luxurious swimming pool outside her hotel. She is excited. She puts on her sunglasses and her swimming costume.

She goes to the pool. The side of the pool is very wet. Suddenly, she falls. She is hurt. Many people come to help. They take her to the hospital.

She wakes up in bed. She can’t move. The doctor says she must rest.

One year later, Fredericka goes to work. She is in a wheelchair.

“Welcome back,” says her assistant. “I’m sorry about your accident. But there is some good news: the secret project is now complete.”

“How?” asks Fredericka.

“It’s impossible to send humans through time, right?” says the assistant.

“That’s my theory, yes.”

“Your theory is correct. But we can send messages through time!”

“Show me the calculations,” says Fredericka.

Her assistant gives her the papers.

“I see,” says Fredericka. “The message mustn’t reveal that it’s from the future.”

“Exactly,” says the assistant. “That’s important for safety.”

“Excellent work. Prepare the first test immediately.” Fredericka gives her phone to the assistant. “Here is the list of messages.”