Future Mails

It was just another Monday of just another week in just another month. At least that’s what it seemed like to me as I got out of bed. But today would be different. More so than I could have ever imagined.

You see throughout the pandemic I had ended up working in the same company – Grooty Kela Wafers. I spent these 3 years writing about the ‘crunchiness’, the ‘kela factor’, the ‘Grooty Kela Wafer recipe’ and other marketing buzz words. I had realized a long time back that this was all quite a lot of bullshit really. But with a bit of indifference, I was soldiering on.

After a quick breakfast I was at my work from home desk, in front of my work from laptop. So far there had been no mails to my id [e-mail].

I rubbed my eyes with disbelief. How could this possibly be? Usually even if there was no work, my seniors found some exhausting website content for me to review.

That’s when a mail came in. I grimaced, preparing myself for another exhausting rewrite of some product page for Grooty Wafers. With a double click, the mail filled my laptop screen.

Remember when I said today would be different? Well this is where things went nuts.

The mail read:

From: [e-mail] 15/02/2050

To: [e-mail] 15/02/2022

Dear Sohit,

I must really thank you for having stayed at Grooty Waers for so long. Now in my time we have finally invented time travel and synchronised it with our wafer production and marketing systems. 

As one of the senior most employees, I have been allowed to write to my past self. 

I know that you may think of this as a prank. So let me remind you of that time in junior college when I (that is you) approached Aparna with a rose. She shoved it in a certain place that we have never mentioned to anyone. I hope with this you will believe that this truly is your older self writing to you.

Now let me get down to business dear boy! Here is what I want you to do 

A – Keep working at Grooty Wafers

B – Forget all this nonsense about writing your own stories

C – Get married soon

Let me assure you that by doing these things, you will become Me - The successful head of marketing at Groot Wafers! 

Warm regards,

Sohit Bhalte.

Marketing Head – Grooty Wafers Inc.

PS: Our technology does not permit for you to write back to me. So please don’t reply to me. Also note that this mail will be erased from your inbox in a few minutes after you have opened it. 

As I read through the mail for the 53rd time, it slowly faded into bits and disappeared from my inbox.

Shit. What was this?

Feeling troubled, I paced around my tiny living room. I had always told myself that being at Grooty Wafers was a temporary thing. That eventually I’d do something else. Sure I knew that being some hot shot writer was not something I could necessarily achieve. But I had wanted to at least try different things!

I wondered what had gone wrong as I slowly sank to the floor.

The sun slowly peeped through the blinds and the morning traffic blared into existence. To be honest, deep down I knew what had gone wrong. This pandemic had made me so scared of losing things – my life, my sanity…my job. It made me cling to whatever I did have.

Sure I no longer had some perfect dream about how my future would be. But it was sad to hear how the future Me sounded just like my current boss!

I shook myself out of my reverie. This was a Monday morning. No time really to be philosophical about life.

Suddenly my silent laptop beeped for a second time with an email notification. Glad to be distracted, I made my way to it. As I sat in front of my laptop the mail popped up to fill my screen.

It was another mail from me. But you could say that it was a mail from another me.

From: [e-mail] 15/02/2050 

To: [e-mail] 15/02/2022

Dear Sohit,

You probably have already gotten a mail from the future. But don’t believe that one blindly! 

Okay before we get into anything. Yes this is me (I mean you). So here goes: junior college, rose, Aparna, aching butt. Convinced? Great.

So let’s get into this future business. See I am also from the future. From one of the many futures! When Beta Corp discovered time travel, they tried to use it to make people from the past believe that only one future was possible – one in which certain companies controlled all the profits and all our lives.

But that’s simply not true! You have many paths before you other than just working at Grooty Wafers. Here then is my list of advice:

A – Whatever you do will suck to some extent, see what works with your long-term goals

B – If you’re just seeking fame, stop writing. The process will break you.

C – If you want to write, because you want to write. Well then fucking write!

D – Don’t be by yourself, stuck in your own head. Let your life be filled with many friends and family. No promises here. But maybe somewhere along the way you’ll find love too.

Hope you got all that. And yeah, this mail will self-destruct, you can’t reply to me, etc. etc. Take care.

Love,

Sohit.



I lost count of the number of times I read this mail. At some point it disappeared in bits with the word ‘Love’ being the last to fade.

You know earlier when I said that there was never really any time to be philosophical about life on a Monday?

I was wrong.

THE END