112522e

A drabbun

Orphaned Future

I picked up a penny dropped by a mysterious stranger. The date was 2026. I’d have to wait four years to spend it, so I tossed it into a Salvation Army pot with my other coins. The stranger entered a bar. I followed. He sat on a stool; I took a vacant one next to him. “You overshot by four years,” I said, “Your money’s no good.” He blenched and whispered “The year?” When I told him, he explained that he’d arrived five years too early to prevent WWIII.

roommate’s tales
I sold as SF stories
time police don’t knock