"Hey, you look kinda familiar."

"Oh gods dammit. Why the fuck are you here?"

"Oh. You. Look, I'm over that shit from way back when. I'm just running this coffee shop & don't give a shit about our old beef. I'm not gonna be your friend, but I'm not looking for us to continue the fight. So ya want a drink or are you gonna get out?"

"I'll just have a chai latte. That's it."

"Sorry, we don't make those here. Anything else?"

"Nope. Too strong of a craving. I'll be back at some point to get something else."

"Alright. See ya round, cousin."

The teacher was less than enthused by seeing this. Half the crowd was having the biggest laugh ever, like they never heard a joke before. Another chunk was looking absolutely confused. Even my teacher beyond her annoyance was bewildered. "I know the world is half dead inside and out, but this was a bit too far for a prank."

This was an alternative school, essentially. As with most, we had a resident good kid. The "prep reject" as it were. That was me. The teacher gave me the letter but asked me to grab something else from the capsule because it was known I wouldn't remove anything for a prank. So I saw a fancy knife with a sheath in there & grabbed that. I let the teacher know I was gonna step away from the crowd to read the letter, because I was confused too. She let me, understanding this wasn't exactly something I knew about either. "We needed that today, sis! Thanks a ton!" one classmate chimed in. It was the first anniversary of The Tragedy, we needed the brevity.

Everyone else was enjoying the time capsule stuff. I was over against the school was still in sight, and I read the letter. "To my new self, I did so much in my life. This time capsule was part of what I did to ensure you did have what I did, and Hell, I did my best to fix your world before it was on the path to my world. So please hold some patience to read this. I had a letter from an alternate me as well at a much older age than yourself explaining some of these details."

I was weirded out my this. My girlfriend came over asking if she I wanted to see her new accessories. I left a mark where I stopped reading. They were amazing! "Oh my gods, sweetie! I'm jealous!" I cried out in pure gender envy, kissing her hands + along her arms.. She ran her fingers along my neck being flirty as usual. I had to turn her down because of the letter being that interesting and bizarre. She understood & settled for cuddles.

"So I'll explain predestined things first," this was honestly interesting. The word 'explaine' was spelled wrong, but I guess it was a weird thing related to the time it was written. "First and foremost, we are always born, we are always transfemme, and several websites will always exist as well regardless of name. A blog site, a site with an alien mascot filled with the weirdest mix of normies + strange folks that puts offline life to shame, and a blue coated F that's associated to old people mainly."

"Babe, this is a really elaborate letter. Who did this?" my gf asked. "They even mimicked your handwriting." I just kissed her forehead & pulled her closer for cuddles. The comfort we had in our relationship was regarded as 'goals' half the time by our classmates. We always giggled at it, but that's just how things were here. Everyone was able to joke about each other, but if any one of us was screwed with wrong, we all were ready for war. It was relatively familial in nature, though there was a clear earned status too.

"But my time travel matters were a bit different. I jumped through time to fix a few things but not by choice. If I could've, I would've stopped Constantine's bullshit. But I managed to do a few things. I managed to defend Native Americans from colonization by giving them appropriate prep time & medicine that I managed to bring with me. There were still some heavy numbers lost, but many more were saved." — Now I really was bewildered. The person who was shown in those photos had clothes that didn't look like anything I'd wear. A green and yellow shirt with a white G on it, black pants that had white stripes on the sides, and leather looking gloves. "There's also an artist you can look up, Adolf Hitler. In the bottom of the box that had this letter is a USB containing a semi-comprehensive list of the atrocities he would've done had I not convinced him to stick with art through everything. I pulled some strings with money I managed to get & sponsor him getting in. The data isn't for the faint of heart."

"I'm sorry? Does that say Adolf Hitler committing ateocities? Wasn't he a batshit dumbass with art skills from the 1950s?" my gf chimed in.

"Yep. That's the guy. Watch this say something about Disney World not having Oswald the Rabbit & Mortimer Mouse as bitter iconic rivals for D'isney,' I replied.

"Richard Nixon thankfully became a blip in history, as did a few TV stars like Ronald Reagan," the letter continued. "Though it does sadden me a little to see Kingdom Hearts became a series with Warner cartoons rather than Disney. Mickey Mouse was at his best when he was a king." — This is something that I had to re-read about 13 times. "I left another USB in there of the whole series for you though, the Disney one obviously." That one I read about 7 more times. The inconsistencies & such made this clearly truthful with what was said, but also had a surreal nature to it.

My girlfriend looked at the time & said we should get going to lunch. I asked her to just bring mine to me. We were in a safe zone after all, and supplies were brought in fairly often.

"Now I expect you grabbed the knife in the box. Use it well when the monsters start spawning. If all goes right this time, you will be able to keep this better world that zi helped you with. The third USB contains all of my writing, and a comprehensive list I can't fit here. Please, enjoy your world. Tell others what could have been."

I folded the letter again & put it back in the box. I went to the rooftop & looked over the landscape of the area. We at least were winning the war against the undead, but I have to wonder what that other me did to cause this. Was it truly a better alternative to her world? I could only know from the USB. This hellscape was saved by my fellow autistics & spoonies, they knew every in and out of surviving this world. I wonder where that other me is too, and if she saw this world preferable. It is 2013, so it couldn't be as bad as that other future. Right?