The past is unchangeable and the future uncertain. That is how time works or rather is supposed to. An entity bored with the helplessness of humans made a deal with one. The deal was simple. The human would gain the ability to see a maximum of 24 hours into the future but was not allowed to intervene with said future. The human took the deal and became an observer.

Ash Winters is a 15-year-old girl and never considered herself special. She only has one person who truly matters to her, that is her best friend, Ivy River. The two have always been inseparable, and to Ash, Ivy is everything. She is the sun and provides a constant warmth Ash never wants to lose. Out of fear of sounding crazy Ash has never told Ivy about the deal she made with the entity one year ago. Like most days, the two friends are walking to school together. It wasn’t far and they knew the way by heart.

“I really don’t want to go to school.” Ivy complains, dragging her feet behind her.

“You say this every morning.” Ash takes no pity on her friend and drags her forward. Fake crying can be heard from Ivy.

“You are so mean!” The whining from the shorter girl is ignored.

“If you keep this up, we are going to be late and then we will get in trouble. We have a test in the first period so we cannot afford to be late.” Suddenly Ivy stands still in shock forcing Ash to stop moving as well. Concerned, Ash turns to her friend waving a hand in front of Ivy’s face but gets no reaction.

“Are you okay?” Instead of answering her question Ivy grasps Ash’s hands.

“You are really worrying me.”

“WE HAVE A TEST TODAY!” Ivy finally bursts out. Horror showed clearly on her face. Without hesitation, Ash rips her hands out of Ivys hold and hits her friend on the head.

“You idiot! You worried me for nothing. Who cares if you forgot to study it’s not like this would be the first time.” Ash huffs out.

“Exactly that is the problem. I can’t keep failing my tests and exams. I’m not going to be able to pass this grade at this point. If I have to retake this grade you won’t be in my class anymore and I will be completely alone. I will fail school and become homeless!” During her rant Ivy started to pace.

“Now I think you are overreacting.”

“No, you are underreacting.”

Ash lets out a sigh. “Whatever you say. Now if you calm down, how about I help you study. The material isn’t hard. Besides, one more failed test won’t kill you. You just have to start remembering them.”

“THANK YOU!” Ivy engulfs Ash in a hug. “You are my life savior. I will forever be in your debt.”

“How about you start getting yourself indebted after you finish school.” Ash gently squirms out of Ivy’s hold. For such a small girl, she sure has a strong grip.

After a second of contemplating, Ash decides to check the future. While she can’t see far enough to know the result, she will at the very least be able to check how much her friend will struggle and with what.

“Come, let’s continue walking.” Ash walks a little in front of Ivy to somewhat hide her eyes. It took her a bit to figure out but apparently her eyes glow a faint purple when she uses her powers which would have been nice to know beforehand.

Ash closes her eyes for a second in concentration. The future events show themselves to her. She sees herself walking with Ivy teaching her the material needed for the test. Then without warning she sees blood. So much blood, it makes her stop in her tracks in the present losing her grip on the future.

“Why are you suddenly stopping.” Ash can see Ivy leaning forward out of the corner of her eyes. There is a loud pounding in her ears. Her heart is beating too fast and hard. She can’t seem to get oxygen in her lungs. She starts to feel dizzy.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Do you need something?” Ivy takes her arm to try and guide her somewhere. Probably to sit down but Ash can’t move. Not caring if her friend sees her eyes, she looks into the future again. Nothing has changed.

The future flashed before her, a car swerving off the road, its path directly aiming at Ivy. Ash sees the impact in brutal clarity. Ivy’s body lying on the ground. Her eyes are open, but they no longer hold the bright spark of life Ash adored, instead replaced with a deep emptiness. The vision was a nightmare Ash couldn’t unsee, one that would haunt her forever. Ash’s vision blurs.

“HEY!!” She is shaken out of her vision or the blurry mess it became by Ivy. Her grip on Ash’s shoulders is so tight that her knuckles have turned white.

“Please say something. You are scaring me.” Ivy sounds desperate. Desperate but alive. Ash can still save her. A sigh of relief leaves Ivy when Ash moves to grasp at Ivy’s hands on her shoulders.

“Are you back with me? Do you need something? You look really pale, so let’s sit down, okay. I can get you some tissues, too.” Ivy tries to coax her to the side where the bench is. On her face is a reassuring face telling Ash that everything will be okay. Only a second later registers the rest. Ash’s confusion doesn’t last when she feels the tears trickling down her face. Looking behind her she sees the car. A normal black one but it has already started to drive weirdly and in a second, it will completely deteriorate.

Her grip on Ivy’s hands tightens and she drags both of them to the side. They bumped into a shop window and only narrowly avoided the car, but Ash did it. Ivy looks over to the crash in shock. Distantly, Ash notes that the car hit the bank which Ivy wanted to sit down on.

Ivy doesn’t dwell long on her shock moving forward with shaking hands to probably check on the driver. However, she is stopped by Ash who grasps her arm. She can’t let her friend go. Who knows what else might happen. Ash doesn’t get the chance to dwell on her relief and fear because her thoughts are cut short by a sharp white-hot pain. She loses her balance and narrowly avoids the ground with her face thanks to Ivy’s help.

Ivy lets out a curse and starts to look over Ash for any injuries. Stopping at Ash’s hands, they freeze. For a moment, neither of them said anything.

“What is that, Ash?” Ivy doesn’t get an answer, not like Ash has one. On her hands are weird cracks. They resemble those of a broken porcelain doll. To the horror of both girls the cracks spread further up Ash’s arms. Ivy lets go of her hands in shock and fear of worsening the cracks.

“Don’t worry, we can fix this. I can ask for help. Someone must have called an ambulance for the crash. They can bring a second one and will help you.” Ivy’s voice cracks and they both know she is lying. Trying and failing to comfort them. Though, it seems that someone has truly called an ambulance in her narrowed vision, Ash didn’t notice people coming to the crash site and helping. A few people even gathered around her but stopped a distance away only looking on in horror and morbid fascination. Ivy catches her attention by reaching out to Ash but stopping mid-movement. Perplexed, Ash wants to ask what is wrong but is stopped by a voice.

“One year.” The voice has a weird echo to it. Ash would recognize this everywhere. It is the entity which gave Ash her ability. Its form is hidden by a black coat which has purple accents, the same color Ash’s eyes turn.

“You’ve taken exactly that long to break the one rule that binds you.” Ash inhales sharply. How could she forget she was nothing but an observer. Not allowed to change what she saw. Truly, over the years she figured out that this was more of a curse than a gift. However, she can’t bring herself to regret breaking the rule.

“What is going to happen to me now?” Ash’s voice trembles. “Will I die?” The entity’s reply is drowned out by Ash’s racing heart and ringing ears. She feels too hot and cold at the same time and her vision blacks out due to the pain.

“What?” She bites out once she regains her vision and sees the entity staring at her. Though, it is hard to tell since it doesn’t appear to have eyes.

“You are quite the pessimistic one. Will you not even try to fight your current fate. Not all is lost but it will be if you give up.” The entity looks at her in what feels like disappointment.

“I broke the one rule. Don’t I have to be punished for that.” Ash tries to move away not trusting the entity.

“You’ve violated the terms of our agreement by altering the future. To restore balance, the life you’ve saved must be taken. As punishment for interfering with the flow of time, your future sight will be stripped from you and will never return. The choice is yours, but once made, there will be no turning back.” The entity informs Ash as if it were talking about the weather.

“You want me to kill Ivy? Are you out of your mind?” Ash’s voice cracks, her disbelief turning to anger. “You—this is wrong.”

The entity hums. “Though, you can also choose to perish. Your life in exchange for hers.”

Ash blinks stumped. “Does it really have to end with one of us dead?”

“That is how death works. Your friend was supposed to die. Her survival has left a hole. If you wish you can live.”

“Why does it have to be Ivy or me? Why not someone else?”

“Do you wish to doom another human being for the survival of you and your friend? How curious. However, I must decline.” Ash blinks at the entity’s choice of words. She forgets her pain for a second, sitting upright and looking at the entity perplexed.

“Decline?”

“Indeed, what would be the fun in such a scenario where you both live?” It lazily waves a pure black arm with purple fingertips around.

“Did you plan this?” Ash’s question is almost a whisper, but it echoes so loudly it makes her ears ring. The entity nodded.

“Of course, I knew that sooner or later you would violate the terms of our agreement. That is how you humans are. Though, I would save the breath of whining about this. Death doesn’t like waiting and you still haven’t chosen. Is it not marvelous to have the choice of who lives or dies in your hands.” Ash doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she is breathing harshly. Life and death don’t matter to this entity. Nothing she could say would save both of them. 

A sob rips itself out of her chest. Everything happened so fast. Nothing feels real. She looks up at the entity, impatient for an answer. Though, it seems to stem from curiosity rather than annoyance.

“Kill me.” Ash got no answer instead, time resumed. Ivy’s hands finally made contact with her shoulders.

“You will be okay.” Ash says hugging Ivy tightly. She has a reassuring smile on her face which feels like a mockery of the one Ivy gave her earlier.

“I’m sorry.” That was the last thing she could say before Ash’s vision blacked out and she went limp. No matter how much Ivy begged and screamed, Ash was already gone. The cracks spread, completely consuming her.