May's Workshop Stories

The Preview

It was the first time he had received a package in a long while. Little did he know that it would change his life forever.

As he slowly unwrapped the mysterious package without a return address, he saw, to his utter delight, that it was a kaleidoscope. It was a perfect gift for him as he always had an odd fascination with it.

How the images changed and shifted to represent utterly different things, each unique in its own beauty, fascinated him. It made him think that every perceived beauty or ugliness was connected to our perception. We made our own beauty or blight.

"Jessica, thank you so much. I always wanted one," he said, beaming at his wife with joy and enthusiasm that he rarely felt.

"What are you talking about?" Jessica asked, squinting her eyes, attempting to read his mind.

"Weren't you the one who sent me this amazing gift for my birthday?" he asked, thinking it could have only been her.

"Jeremiah, I have no idea what you are talking about. I already gave you your birthday present," she said, confused. "What is it?"

"It's a kaleidoscope. But I have no idea who else knows me well enough to remember I always wanted one," Jeremiah said pensively.

He proceeded to look through it, hoping there would be some clues as to who was behind such a thoughtful gift.

When he started spinning the kaleidoscope, the familiar images of his childhood and adult life started unfolding, painting a smile on his face. However, after his wedding photos came pictures that hadn't been taken, pictures that could not have been taken. Images of his future life flashed before his eyes with such a speed that he could barely keep up.

"What is it?" Jessica asked as the smile slipped off his face to be replaced with something else, something rather opposite of happy.

Jeremiah lowered the tube-shaped apparatus, which he now saw as an instrument of dread instead of fun. Eyes wide open, he looked at his wife, horror spelled out in them.

"My future," Jeremiah said breathlessly. "I have to stop it from happening."

"Jeremiah, you are making no sense. What did you see? Why do you look so...terrified?" Jessica asked, swallowing hard.

She was worried about her husband's mental health but even more troubled that something would cause him such anguish.

"This thing," he said, pointing at the kaleidoscope now lying at his feet. "It showed me my life in pictures. But it also showed me the future, our future."

"And?" Jessica asked.

Even though she didn't believe it, she was curious to know what could upset him that much.

"There were pictures of you and me smiling happily, at first," Jeremiah said, running his fingers through his unruly black hair. "Then they got darker, sadder. It was still us. Yet, it seemed as if we didn't sleep well, like we were worried about something."

"That's not too bad. We probably had some typical life issues," Jessica said soothingly. "That's not what caused your reaction. What else did you see?"

"The birth of our baby, joy returning to our eyes as we beheld that perfect new life that blossomed into existence," Jeremiah said, brushing away a joyful tear. "Then everything changed again. I saw...I saw... Blood on my hands... Me behind bars... Seeing my child grow up through the bars...Never being able to hold her..."

"Okay, but you do realize that sounds more like a nightmare you had than a premonition about the future," Jessica said calmly, hoping that her rational thinking might bring some logic back to his. "Besides, aren't crystal balls used for divining the future?"