you think I should turn on the recording?” Kira whispered again, her big blue eyes widening in surprise.
“Definitely!” Alexey responded eagerly. “Turn on the recording!”
Kira cautiously approached the control panel and pressed the Play button on the computer. The music started playing. Alexey had never heard this song before. He knew all of Kira’s songs and adored them. Now he was listening to a novelty. Whenever Kira wrote a new song, the first person she would let listen to it was Alexey. He always eagerly listened and praised Kira. She knew that he loved all of her songs. They especially loved gathering in Kira’s studio with friends, having evening sessions with a guitar, tea, and candies. Kira would sing, and her friends would listen. It was Leshka’s happiest time. All their friends eagerly awaited the invitation from Kira to her next concert at her studio. Only the chosen ones were invited. Only those who were true fans of her work. And Alexey brought them along. He wanted Kira to be able to somehow express her talent. Knowing Kira’s character, he understood that she didn’t need a producer simply because she wouldn’t listen to them. Kira couldn’t stand it when someone wanted to change the harmony or make the song different or alter the lyrics; she would immediately stop communicating with such a person. If they didn’t understand her, it meant they were not on the same page. That’s how Kira was. Therefore, Alexey no longer approached her with conversations about big concerts and performances in stadiums. They didn’t carry their CDs with Kira’s songs anywhere. Not to the radio, not to producers. Only the internet. There, Kira periodically released her songs. The two of them decided that their small studio was enough to record songs and perform them for a small circle of friends. But those were true appreciators of Kira’s songs.
And now Kira and Alexey played the recording of their new song. The music started playing. Kira’s voice could be heard. The first verse sounded, at first as if nothing was happening, and then suddenly a golden light began to appear from the ceiling, transforming into a bright column of light.
Kira and Alexey exchanged glances and, silently, holding each other’s hands, entered the golden circle. The warm golden light seemed to envelop them with its incredible radiance. Right in front of them hung the very screen that Kira had told them about. The same one. Alexey gasped.
“So it’s all true…” he said.
“And you didn’t believe me,” Kira replied, sounding a little offended. She approached the screen, squinting at the numbers and letters. The same buttons, the same inscriptions were there.
“Listen, Kira! Last time you entered four digits – it was your birth year. How about we try to peek into the future?”
“What year do you have in mind?” Kira asked.
“I suggest 2020,” Alexey confidently answered. “Because it will be two years from now. And by then, in 2020, we won’t forget what we saw now. But if we look far into the future, who knows what will happen to us? Will we remember what happened today?” Alexey scratched his head. “Just take your time.”
Kira entered 4 digits, as requested on the screen. She typed 2020. Nothing happened at first, because a message appeared asking her to choose a letter. Last time, Kira chose the letter “A”.
“Wait,” Alexey said, “we need to choose the letter ‘A.’ After all, it will be the same timeline. You saw yourself in the past with the letter ‘A,’ so now we have to choose the letter ‘A’ as well.”
“But how will I know what the letter ‘B’ means?” Kira asked. “Let’s take a look at the letter ‘B’ instead. I’m curious to see the options.”
“Okay,” Alexey agreed, “but later. First, let’s find out what awaits us on our timeline. I understand that ‘A’ represents your dimension. It’s a shame that I haven’t read much science fiction. I don’t understand any of this. But I still understand some details. If we have multiple possibilities of fate, then we choose our own version. What if each person chooses their own dimension? Each choice has its own path that it follows. You can go in one direction or another. And like that, every time, every day, we choose our path and destiny.”
“Interesting train of thought,” Kira said thoughtfully, “so you mean to say that every day we make our own choice, and our future depends on that choice?”
“I don’t know, Kira, but we can check if I’m guessing right,” Alexey replied.
“Alright, so I choose the letter ‘A’?”
Alexey nodded in agreement, and Kira pressed the letter “A”. Buttons appeared – “Find Yourself,” “Your World,” “Enter.”
“Press ‘Find Yourself’, ” Alexey said.
Kira pressed the “Find yourself” button. The screen started spinning and swirling, numbers and letters flickering. Exactly one minute later, everything settled down, and an image began to appear. They saw Kira on the screen, sitting by the window, just like in a movie. She was in her room, but the decor was slightly different: there was a new sofa against the wall, and a new computer on the table. Kira had a sad expression on her face. But the most surprising thing was that outside the window, where there used to be bustling life, it was now quiet. Not a single car or trolleybus passed by, only the sound of an ambulance siren could be heard.
The door opened, and Kira’s mother entered the room, saying, “Someone else fell ill again.” Her mother approached the window and closed the curtain. She gently stroked Kira’s head and invited her to the kitchen for dinner.
– I’ll be there in a moment,” Kira promised her, but then the phone rang.
– Hey, Leshka, hi,” she happily answered the phone. “How are you? Alive and well? Everything is fine? I’m glad, Lesh. Take care of yourself. And maybe we can meet today? I have something for you! How about meeting at my studio?”
– Kira, there’s a police presence around. I wanted to come to you today, but I was stopped. Thank God they didn’t give me a ticket. They showed some mercy. But I’ll try to get to you in the evening, when it gets dark. I’ll take the backyards. First, I’ll come for you, and then together we’ll try to get to the studio.
– Agreed. Don’t forget your mask.
The music stopped, the screen disappeared, the light vanished. Kira and Alexei looked at each other with surprise and fear in their eyes.
– What was that? – Alexei was the first to gather his thoughts. “What mask?”
– What a nightmare,’ Kira regained her composure. ‘What awaits us in two years? Just two years, and our lives will change so much. It can’t be true. It’s nonsense. Were they trying to fine you for wanting to come to me? What does this mean, Lesh? Did I do something illegal and get arrested? “Oh my goodness!” Kira screamed. “Did I kill someone?”
Kira shuddered. “We need to do something, we need to do something,” she rambled like a parrot.
– But why did Mom say that someone else got sick again? – Kira said, slightly calming down as she took a big sip of warm tea. – And why the mask?
– I don’t understand either, Kira,” Alexei sat down on a chair, took a notebook and pen from Kira’s table, and started scribbling something. Then he wrote: “2020A” –
