The First Encounter
Claire had always been a practical woman, grounded in logic and reason. But everything changed on the night of her 30th birthday when she woke up to find a man standing in her bedroom. The dim glow of the streetlight outside illuminated his face—strong features, deep-set eyes filled with sadness. Fear gripped her chest as she scrambled for her phone, but something about him stopped her. He looked at her with such familiarity, such longing, that she hesitated.
“Claire, I don’t have much time. You have to listen to me. Something terrible is going to happen.”
Her breath hitched. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”
“I’m Lucas. Your husband. From thirty years in the future.”
Her pulse pounded. Before she could react, he stepped toward her—and vanished. She sat frozen, staring at the empty space where he had just been. Was it a dream? A hallucination? Or something far more impossible?
