The Future's Not Ours to See

Cassie is a first-year chemistry student who recently moved to Brighton to study with her best friend, Dohna. They are worlds apart in their ideologies – Dohna is spiritual and open-minded, while Cassie is scientific and cynical. However, one thing that Cassie can't easily explain is her frequent episodes of déjà vu. Following a phone call with her equally cynical and practical mother, she tries to explain these phenomena in a purely scientific direction to Dohna. It is a conversation that further confirms their differences and even leads to conflict. The following morning, Cassi takes a stroll to the seafront. She buys a bag of chips for her breakfast and, whilst eating them, bumps into a fortune-teller setting up her kiosk. The older woman invites her in for a reading. After some initial hesitation, Cassie agrees and they walk into the kiosk. They share some chips and some vodka, which Madame Savannah offers her. It immediately endears Madam Savannah to the cynical Cassie, especially as it is not even 9 AM yet. The fortune-teller wears a white, puffy-sleeved blouse and a long, multi-layered, colourful, full-length skirt. She appears to know Cassie very well and tells her things that she couldn't possibly know about her past and personality. She is also advised to change her approach to life, which gives Cassie much to think about. Clinging on to her cynicism but also impressed with Madam Savannah's insight, Cassie stays and listens to her advice. Her eyes are drawn to a cheap-looking ring on her finger before leaving Madam Savannah's booth. She notices a chip taken out of the stone. It captivates her, but she doesn't know why. Cassie leaves the fortune-teller's kiosk with her lifelong cynicism being questioned by Savannah's revelations. Cassie returns home and begins to regale the events of the morning to Dohna, who is busy making Sunday lunch. Initially confused by her housemate's story, Dohna is delighted that her previously argumentative, dismissive, yet stoic friend has magically become more open-minded and tolerant. The following day, Cassie decides to visit Madam Savannah again. However, what greets her on the seafront leaves her shocked and confused. The booth is rundown and hasn't been occupied in ages. An adjacent seafood seller confirms that the fortune teller hasn't operated there in years and reveals her real name was Cassandra – the same name as Cassie. A bewildered Cassie starts her journey home and remembers one particular piece of advice Madam Savannah gave her - 'Have a gamble.' She audibly repeats those words and takes the suggestion at face value, entering an amusement arcade she is about to pass. Not wishing to spend her student allowance on gambling, but intent on having a small wager, she begins dropping ten pence pieces into a coin drop machine. Down to her last coin, she finally wins some coins back and, along with them, a small jewellery box wrapped in a five-pound note. She departs the arcade and sits on a bench facing the sea. To her surprise, the item within is a ring – identical to the one on Madam Savannah's finger. She tries it on. It is tight, and when she takes it off, the effort it takes causes the ring to fall to the floor. She picks it up and notices a chip taken out of the stone, just like Madam Savannah's. Cassie looks around and, amongst a large crowd of holiday-makers walking along the promenade, notices a woman in a white, puffy-sleeved blouse and a long, multi-layered, colourful, full-length skirt walking away up the promenade. She calls out to her, but the figure blends into the crowd, then out of sight. Everything starts to make sense. Cassie realises that the mysterious medium is, in fact, her future self, warning Cassie to change her ways. It is advice she pledges to accept as she looks out to the shimmering sea. She places the ring back on her finger, vowing never to take it off again.