The Choice
Maya scrolled mindlessly through her phone, her thumb moving with muscle memory rather than intent. The news was bleak, the social media feeds curated yet chaotic. Somewhere between the latest viral outrage and an AI-generated influencer’s new post, she paused.
The notification was from "FutureYou," an app she had downloaded but never really explored. "Your 5-year prediction is ready. Tap to see your future."
She hesitated. It was just another AI tool, supposedly analyzing her habits, decisions, and the world's trajectory to generate a probable version of her future. Most people dismissed it as a gimmick. But curiosity won. She tapped.
A video loaded. It showed her—but older. The version of Maya on screen looked drained, eyes dull behind stylish glasses. She was at a desk cluttered with papers, screens, and half-finished coffee cups. A corporate job, endless meetings, an apartment filled with expensive yet meaningless things. The caption read: "Path chosen: Comfort & Stability."
She blinked. Then another version of her appeared. This Maya was in a sunlit studio, surrounded by art supplies and an open laptop. She was laughing, engaged in a conversation with someone off-screen. The caption read: "Path chosen: Passion & Uncertainty."
A final message appeared: "Every choice today shapes the version of you tomorrow. Choose wisely."
Maya put down her phone, her heart pounding. She had spent years letting the algorithm decide what she saw, what she bought, what she believed. But for the first time in a long while, she realized—she had the power to decide what came next.
She took a deep breath and reached for a blank notebook instead of her phone. Maybe it was time to start writing her own future.