Warm Feet

Warm Feet

"Thanks for coming over and celebrating with me." John closed the door after his last guest left. Turning twenty felt somewhat pointless. In the USA, that age doesn't mean anything. He could drive since he was sixteen. He voted the year he turned eighteen. At twenty, he had to wait another year to be allowed to drink. Really, what was the point?

"Hey, at least there are some presents to open." In years past, John had always made opening his presents part of his party and thanked people in person. Today, time had run away with them. Party games, chatting, eating cake and just hanging out made all of them realize how late it had gotten. At their age, many of this friends had either work or studies the next day.

John carried the stack of cards and a box and bags to the dining table. He emptied the bags first. T-shirts with his favorite characters, a beach towel, and a movie DVD came to light. The box was big, but light. John's mind was blown when he found a pair of UGGs in the correct shoe size. The card that came with it made no sense.

John, this is you from 2042.

Take my advice and:

Keep your feet warm tonight.

It was signed John.

That hardly made any sense. It had to be a prank. Maybe the other cards would shed light on this cryptic message.

Minutes later, John sat at the table, more confused than before. All other cards were normal stuff. Movie passes, a gift card to download music for his MP3 player, a fast food gift card, and one of those funny promissory notes that said the person giving it would wash John's windows.

John took a pen and wrote "Always keep your feet warm" under the same words in the card that he had found in the UGGs box. The handwriting was too similar for his taste. He tried again, writing faster. The letters had the same slant, the same size, the SAME!

It was too mysterious to be solved this evening. To bring normalcy back to the night, John took a stack of blank "Thank you" cards and wrote a heartfelt appreciation to the friends who brought him presents. He wrote the addresses on the envelopes, affixed stamps, and went to the mailbox right then and there. Since they were the correct size, John put on his new UGGs. May as well keep the feet warm since that is what future John recommended.

The way to the mailbox was just a couple of blocks away. It was late in the evening, but his boring suburban neighborhood wasn't anything to be worried about. Warm from an evening of fun, John left with just a t-shirt, jeans, and UGGs.

On the way to the mailbox, he could feel the night's freshness nip at his bare arms. He walked faster to stay warm. Only one large road to cross and he would be at his destination.

A fiery car crash lit up the night behind him right as he dropped the letters into the box.

He ran back to the intersection. Somehow, two cars had achieved to crash into each other in the middle of the night with no-one else around. John immediately ran closer to see if he could help. The next hours were a blur to him.

"You must be cold," a firefighter said to him as he draped an emergency blanket around John's shoulders after the injured people had been driven off. The police had asked John to stay behind to answer some questions.

John pointed to his UGGs. "I've got warm feet."

612 words

The Writer's Cramp is 20!! ▼

"The Writer's Cramp"  January 29, 2022 prompt:
You are celebrating your 20th Birthday. Mixed in with your birthday cards is a letter from someone claiming to be you, from the future, with some advice about an important decision coming up that will change the course of your life. What does the letter say? What do you do? First or third person.
You must choose "How-To/Advice" as one of your genres.