I Miss You at the End of Time

In the third year of our marriage, my husband lost his job and I got pregnant. Our life gets even harder each day.

It was so hard, we finally understood what the saying: “When a couple is poor, everything becomes sad,” meant.

Every morning, we would argue over something as small as fifty cents for water bill.

After one argument, I cried and said I wanted to go back to my parents’ home. But when I pushed open the door, I suddenly found myself ten years in the future.

The familiar small town I lived in had turned into a huge modern city. Relatives and friends had all moved away. My mother, who used to love me so much, had adopted another daughter.

Meanwhile my husband, Alexei, who once had nothing, had become the richest man in the city.

——

On the morning of October 1st, 2016, Alexei and I had a huge fight.

It wasn’t about anything big, really. We were just too poor. So poor that even peace felt like a luxury.

Unemployed for a long time, Alexei became bitter and full of resentment. He complained that the breakfast I made tasted awful. Meanwhile, I was newly pregnant and full of frustration. I got angry that he couldn’t provide for us.

He had once promised me that we would live in a big house and drive a fancy car. But now, we were squeezed into a tiny rented room. The kitchen roof had been leaking for months, and Alexei still hadn’t fixed it.

A heavy rain the night before had ruined all our food, so this morning we could only eat plain bread. When he frowned at the meal, I couldn’t hold back anymore.

“If you don’t like it, don’t eat! I wake up early to cook and you still complain!”

“I’d love to eat abalone and rich cream soup too, but do we have any?”

“This bread was brought by my parents the last time they were here.”

“You made all those promises when we got married, but have I had a single good day since?”

“If it weren’t for my parents secretly helping us, we’d have starved even earlier!”

With a loud bang, Alexei threw his fork on the table. He looked at me darkly and said coldly, “So you regret marrying me, is that what you're saying?”

My anger flared up. We started shouting terrible words at each other—words that we couldn’t take back. In the end, I packed my bags. Out of rage, I decided to go back to my parents’.

When I opened the door, I wasn’t in the past anymore. I had somehow arrived in the year 2025.

Everything looked beautiful but strange. The small attic we used to rent was gone. Now a tall, shining office building stood there.

Wearing an apron, I stood awkwardly among a crowd of well-dressed office workers.

The receptionist looked at me, confused. “Excuse me, ma’am, do you have an appointment? This area is for employees only.”

I didn’t know what to say. I fiddled my fingers helplessly with a talking robot at the desk but couldn’t make sense of it.

When I tried to borrow a phone, I realized I didn’t even know how to use the ones people had now.

People were staring at me strangely. Panic started to rose.

Then, suddenly, I saw a very familiar face on a large digital screen.

Excited, I pointed at the photo and shouted, “Alexei! That’s my husband! Please, can you help me contact him?”

The receptionist gave me an awkward smile. “Ma’am, I know many women admire Mr. Durand, but our CEO is already married.”

My heart dropped. I turned around in confusion and there he was. Alexei was walking down the stairs.

Like a drowning person seeing a lifeline, I rushed toward him. But before I could reach him, two tall security guards stepped in and blocked my way.