The start of summer vacation felt just like any other. Sho-ta stared at the mountain of homework piled before him, unsure of where to begin. “What should I do for my free research project?” he muttered. Sitting next to him, his best friend Kenta grinned mischievously.
“Why not check out the school’s old storage shed? Bet we’ll find something interesting!”
The two headed to the dusty shed behind the schoolyard. Amid wooden crates covered in cobwebs and forgotten teaching materials, they unearthed an aged sheet of paper. The title read “The Future Timetable.” Intrigued, they immediately began to read. The timetable detailed events scheduled from August 1 to 31, listing occurrences like “August 3: Win third prize in the shopping district lottery,” and “August 10: Find a giant turtle in the river.”
“Does this mean it predicts the future?” Kenta exclaimed. Sho-ta couldn’t believe it either, but they decided to follow the timetable’s instructions as an experiment. To their amazement, on August 3, Sho-ta really did win third prize in the shopping district lottery, and on August 10, they discovered a giant turtle by the river.
Excitement turned their summer vacation into a series of thrilling adventures. However, one day, they noticed something ominous written at the bottom of the timetable: “August 31: Everything disappears.”
“What does that mean, ‘everything disappears’?” Sho-ta’s unease grew as the date drew closer.
On the final day of summer vacation, the pair returned to the shed to uncover the truth. As they examined the paper, it suddenly began to glow.
“Watch out!” Kenta shouted, but before they could react, they were pulled into the sheet, as though swallowed by its light.
When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in a familiar yet altered version of their school. The halls were eerily quiet, and the world felt frozen in time. As they wandered in confusion, an elderly man emerged from the back of the shed.
“This timetable holds the power to alter the future,” the man explained gravely. “But abusing that power unravels reality itself.”
Sho-ta hung his head in remorse. “We used it just for fun, but we didn’t realize how important it was to respect the future…”
Seeing their sincerity, the old man smiled warmly. He showed them the way back to their world, instructing them to cherish their experiences and let the future unfold naturally.
The next day, Sho-ta and Kenta resumed their summer vacation as though nothing had happened. Yet, the adventure left an indelible mark on them. Opening his notebook, Sho-ta wrote the title of his free research project:
“The Future Timetable: Our Big Summer Adventure.”
