Daily Writing Exercise: Science Fiction. Prompt response. 195 words. Written August 25, 2018.

She’s up to five future husbands now.

I’ve never been quite sure if I should ask which husband they are, or if telling them will fracture the future… the same way it does when they tell me how I’ll die.

I was upset after the first, who wouldn’t be? But now I watch for someone dressed slightly out of style and speaking with a hint of an accent to knock on my door and start with “You don’t know me yet, but…”

They all seem like good people, so different from each other, but all honestly endearing in their quest to honor tradition. It’s important to my daughter that they ask… so they come, hopping through time one by one, to talk to a dead man.

I keep giving my blessing and inviting them in for a beer and a chat.

Because this is the only chance I’ll get to see her grow up, even if it’s second-hand, and she’ll know from the stories her husbands take back just how much I still love her.

And someday maybe she’ll come back to see me too.