Birthday Email

Worst.‭ ‬Birthday.‭ ‬Ever.‭ ‬Julie thought,‭ ‬kicking off her heels.‭ ‬Over her‭ ‬30th birthday dinner,‭ ‬her new boyfriend had berated her about everything from her sexual history‭ (‬too extensive‭) ‬to her email‭ (‬which he’d secretly read and declared‭ “‬flirtatious‭”)‬.‭

Bastard,‭ ‬she thought,‭ ‬heading to her computer.‭

“1‭ ‬new message.‭” ‬Click.

The screen filled with a photo of Julie’s haggard face,‭ ‬eyes blackened,‭ ‬blood crusting her nose.‭ ‬It read,‭ “‬End it now,‭ ‬or‭ ‬40‭ ‬will look like this.‭”

It was sent from her own address,‭ ‬dated December‭ ‬11,‭ ‬2021‭ ‬-‭ ‬ten years from today.‭

Julie quickly composed an email.‭

“Subject:‭ ‬It’s over‭”