He zoomed in. In the reflection of the desk’s polished surface, he could see a figure standing in the doorway. It was him, but younger. Much younger. He was wearing the graduation gown he’d discarded after the ceremony, a smile on his face that felt like a distant memory.
Leo stared at the file name: 58B2AFF4-9F53-4FF4-9B7A-CE0807B01B5D.jpeg . It was a raw UUID, a unique identifier generated by a server, devoid of any human context. It had arrived in an anonymous email with a subject line that simply read: Found this. Download 58B2AFF4 9F53 4FF4 9B7A CE0807B01B5D jpeg
He checked the file metadata. The "Date Created" field didn't show a time from the past. It showed a timestamp from exactly five minutes into the future. The Choice He zoomed in