Chapter 6: The Echoes of Tomorrow

Penny's apartment suddenly felt too quiet.

The kind of silence that wasn't just the absence of sound, but something deeper, like the world itself was holding its breath.

The letter in her hands felt warmer now, or maybe that was just her pulse hammering against her fingertips. The words on the page—their impossible weight—pressed against her as if they were demanding to be heard, understood, believed.

She shouldn't believe them.

She wouldn't.

And yet…

Her eyes darted across her living room, her mind playing tricks on her. She half-expected something to change—the walls to flicker, the lights to shift, time itself to rearrange around her.

Nothing did.

But something had changed.

Her.

Penny took a deep breath, forcing herself to be logical. To think like the sane, rational person she was.

This was ridiculous.

A bunch of old letters? From some mystery man who claimed to know her? Who claimed to be in love with her before they had even met?

It wasn't possible. It wasn't real.

And yet…

Something inside her already knew that was a lie.

Her fingers curled tighter around the letter, reading the last words again.

"Something is going to happen."

Something.

When?

What?

Her stomach twisted at the thought.

Maybe she should stop. Maybe she should shove these letters back into the desk, tie them up with that faded blue ribbon, and pretend they never existed.

But the problem with a mystery was that once you cracked it open—you couldn't just walk away.

And Penny Carter had never been the kind of person to leave questions unanswered.

So, against the screaming logic in her mind, she picked up the next letter.

She unfolded it slowly, her breath catching as she recognized the handwriting.

Theo

"Penny, I need you to listen carefully."

"The letters are the only way I can reach you. The only way I can make you remember."

"I know you don't believe me yet, but you will. Soon."

"There will be a moment—small, insignificant. A spilled coffee. A wrong turn. A stranger saying something that feels… familiar."

"When it happens, you need to pay attention."

"Because that will be the first crack in time. The first ripple."

"And after that, nothing will ever be the same again."

Penny's breath hitched.

A spilled coffee? A wrong turn?

It sounded… harmless. Ordinary. Things that happened every day.

But the way Theo wrote it—the urgency behind his words—it felt like a warning.

She swallowed hard, her mind racing.

What did he mean by the first crack in time?

A ripple.

Like something was shifting. Like something was already in motion, something she couldn't see yet.

A shiver ghosted down her spine.

What if he was right?

What if—

A loud knock at the door made her jump.

The letter flew from her hands, landing on the floor in a soft flutter of paper.

She spun toward the door, heart hammering.

She wasn't expecting anyone.

Something is going to happen.

The words pounded in her skull.

The knock came again. Louder this time.

She took a step forward, every nerve in her body screaming that this was it.

The first ripple.

And the moment she opened that door, would everything change?.