Good evening.
" "Hey. I talked to my friend today. He said you were probably some kind of clairvoyant. He's neither a commander, nor could any woman have cheated on her fiancé with him. My Kwiatkowski and yours must be two different people," I explained to him what he'd suspected yesterday.
"Strange, but it's the only logical solution."
"Listen, I won't reply too often. I'm looking for some rock online," I warned, just in case. "
Do you listen to rock? I absolutely love it, especially the Evil Eaters."
"Seriously? They're my favorite band. I have all their albums," I said, clearly surprised.
"I have their entire collection too. Including their latest album." This new drummer is much better than the old one.
"New drummer? What are you talking about? They've had the same one for several years now." I didn't understand what he was talking about. "
What are you talking about? I know about that particular subject. "
"What new album are you talking about?" I asked, trying to clarify.
"'Pęcych Wiatr'." Great album." "
I don't know that one, you must have got the title wrong. The newest album is 'Czarny poemat'," I wrote. "
You've got to be kidding. That album came out about ten years ago." "
Listen, I'm tired of this nonsense. I've never heard such nonsense. Who are you anyway?" I was tired of the jokes. "
I'm Paweł Filipiak, and you are?"
"Okay, tell me, who asked you to play such a not-so-funny joke on me?" I asked, just to end this whole circus. "
Nobody asked me for anything. What's your name?"
"I'm Paweł Filipiak," I explained.
"That's impossible, you're joking with me."
"I'm not, I feel like I'm in some bad comedy." I couldn't understand a thing anymore. "
If your name is Paweł Filipiak, then tell me, dear Paweł, what color was your first bike?
" "A red Romet. A three-wheeler. They stole it when I left it in the park," I said.
"How did you know they stole my bike?"
"They stole it from me, I remember it, it was probably 1976," I tried to refresh my memory. "
In 1975, in the spring.
" "Yes, you're right, but how do you know all this?" I pondered.
"I'm saying I remember it because they stole my bike. I kept it in the stroller shed.
" "I also kept my bike in the stroller shed; I remember Adaś wanting us to go to the river together." I recalled the good old days.
"Yes, where we always threw pebbles and fed the ducks. It's a shame Adam went to the States last year."
"How on earth? I saw him with my wife last week. He didn't tell me he was going to the States—something else didn't add up.
"He always didn't say much. But wait, how do you know so much about me? Have you looked through my records or something?"
"I didn't look through anything; we must have had similar childhoods, maybe we grew up in the same backyard," I thought of the only logical solution. "
I don't remember any other Paweł Filipiak. Listen, I'm going to ask you something I've never told anyone. If you know that too, I don't know what to think anymore... What happened to Aunt Basia's missing piece of cake?" "
I ate it when everyone went to the garden—that seemed perfectly obvious to me.
"That's impossible, I never told anyone about that. Brother, this is the biggest secret since the Kowalski scandal in 2011." "
2011?" What, 2011 again? It's only 2006, after all—I felt like I was talking to a lunatic.
"Today is July 21, 2016. Saturday.
" "Today is Thursday," I wrote to him. The calendar was on his desk.
"What Thursday, Saturday, and above all, it's 2016."
"Sure, sure, you clever bastard, so who's the president in 2016?" I wanted to catch him in a lie. "
Tomasz Lis, last year, started his second term in the fall.
" "Lis is a journalist, so maybe Marcin Mroczek is the prime minister, and Kazimiera Szczuka is the first lady?" I shot him like a rifle. "
Mroczek, Szczuka—these are names from the past."
"Listen, I don't understand you. Tell the truth. Why are you trying to sneak up on me like this?" I wanted to finally explain. "
I've been telling the truth all along. I can send you today's newspaper as a file."
-So I'm waiting - I couldn't help but laugh.
A moment later, I received a text file on Gadu Gadu containing the front page of "Gazeta Wyborcza" from July 21, 2016. It was impossible. Someone must have done some good photomontage.
"Nice photomontage," I wrote in disbelief.
"It's not a photomontage. There's only one option left... It looks like we're talking to ourselves.
" "What?" My eyes nearly popped out of my head. An elephant has five legs and two trunks. Am I dreaming? I rubbed my eyes. "
We're talking to ourselves, I mean, I'm you, and you're me... how old are you?
"35, and you?" I still didn't understand. "
45. I'm talking to myself 10 years ago, and you're talking to yourself 10 years later. Incredible.
" "But how is that possible? It's like a good science fiction story..." I offered a good comparison. "
I have no idea." It seems something serious is happening with the network. I can't think of anything else.
"So everything you said is true?" I asked.
"Yes. I was telling the whole truth.
" "That means Piotrek will be the commander, and he'll also be sleeping with your fiancée... I mean, with mine... with Kasia... that's impossible. No, how on earth? She's faithful to me, we're happy together. We love each other and everything." That news didn't reach me. "
It took me a long time to get over it. I've never forgiven him.
" "That would be correct, I talked to his wife today. She came to me, asking for help. She suspected Piotrek was cheating on her," I wrote. "
Because it's true. Kasia didn't go to any friend, she was staying at a hotel, and that friend was... Piotrek.
" "I'll have to talk to her tomorrow. I wanted to visit my father, but I think I'll have to postpone it." That was the only thing that came to mind.
"My father is dead. They killed him.
" "My father is dead?" This news came as a shock to me. "I spoke to him on the phone today.
"He died. Tomorrow will be exactly 10 years. No, tomorrow. He'll die tomorrow. They'll attack him in his apartment at night. You have to prevent this, Paweł. It's the only chance...
" "But how? What should I do?" I demanded. "
Make sure my father doesn't die. Go get him as soon as possible, then come back and come here. We'll talk again on GG later. You'll tell me everything.
" "But what time did my father die?" I wanted to know everything. "
I don't remember, shortly after midnight."
"It's ten past twelve," I wrote, looking at my watch.
"I have an idea, wait a moment, I'll find the right article. It was in all the newspapers. I have it on my hard drive. I'll send it to you."
After a short while, I received another text file. "
Read it quickly so you know how to prevent my father's death."
"But what if I change the future? What if we don't talk on GG anymore?" a thought occurred to me. "
Too bad, you have to save him. We have no other choice. My father died because of me, I mean because of you, ugh... because of us. That criminal's brother wanted revenge, you can't let that happen." "
I'll call the police," I said.
"That won't do any good; you have no proof. Are you going to say you're talking to yourself, 10 years older?"
"Indeed, they won't believe me. I barely believe it myself. Okay, I'll get in touch, I have to read that article," I wrote, ending the conversation.
I opened the text file I'd received from myself.
A terrible murder - July 22, 2006
, Henryk Filipiak was murdered in his apartment between 1 and 2 a.m. The victim was most likely shot with a gun. An investigation is ongoing.
Known details of the murder - July 28, 2006,
Henryk Filipiak was killed in his home. The murderer remains unknown. There are no new leads. It is only known that Filipiak was shot. The murderer fired two shots, one hitting the victim's chest, the other hitting the armchair where Filipiak was sleeping at the time of the murder. Late that afternoon, his son found him and reported the murder to the police. The investigation is being conducted by the victim's son, Paweł Filipiak, and his partner, Piotr Kwiatkowski.
Murderer caught - June 11, 2007.
After nearly a year of investigation, the murderer who killed Henryk Filipiak was caught. The court sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The accused pleaded guilty. Previously, the investigating police had long suspected the convicted Marian "Parówa" Kiełbasiński, but there was insufficient evidence. Kiełbasiński also had a good alibi. Police determined that the murderer committed the crime as an act of revenge against Paweł Filipiak, the head of the investigation, who had secured the arrest of "Parówa's" brother, Ryszard Kiełbasiński, a few days before the murder. The killer broke in with a picklock, then approached the victim and killed him. Police also determined that the murderer could not have been at his brother's house, a fact he stated during questioning shortly after the crime.
Filipiak's Departure - July 10, 2007
"Catching the murderer won't bring my father back. I've decided to leave. I want to focus on animated films, which have always held a very important place in my life," said Paweł Filipiak shortly after the arrest of his father's murderer. A few days earlier, Chief Marek Beczka had resigned from the police station. He was replaced by Piotr Kwiatkowski.
After reading the last newspaper clipping from the future, without waiting for anything else, I turned off the computer, locked the apartment, and rushed to my car.
On the way, I pondered the articles I'd read. I glanced at my watch, which read half past twelve. I have to make it. I have some time. My father's house is about fifteen minutes away by car. I have to make it before the killer.
Soon, I found myself in front of my father's apartment building. I quickly got out of the car and reached the elevators. Both were on different floors; I ran up the stairs to the sixth floor.
My heart was pounding. I pondered today's conversation. How on earth could I be talking to my ten-year-older self? It was impossible. But everything was right. If I didn't save my father right now, my whole life would change.
If I prevented his death, I'd outrun the future, maybe when I returned I wouldn't be able to reconnect with my ten-year-older self? And I had so many questions. What would become of Kasia and me? What would become of my future?
I reached the door, took my keys from my pocket, but a moment later I noticed the door was open. No, I hadn't made it.
I quietly opened the door and headed into the room. I saw a guy reloading a pistol and standing opposite my father, who was dozing off in his armchair.
I fired a warning shot into the floor with my service pistol.
The would-be assassin turned and aimed his pistol at me. I also saw my father, who had suddenly woken up.
"Parówa" and I were both pointing our pistols at each other. His face was etched with nervousness, and the hatred he was filled with was palpable.
The man, with a swift movement, placed the pistol to my father's temple and grabbed him by the neck.
"Put the gun down or he'll die!" Kiełbasiński shouted.
I slowly put the gun down on the floor without lowering my head and raised my hands.
"Son, run!" my father shouted at me.
"What are you doing?" he said, "It's your son. Well, two birds with one stone," he said, an involuntary smile appearing on his face.
Meanwhile, at home, the computer was constantly on. My future self had Gadu-Gadu on all the time.
Suddenly, someone unlocked the door and walked in. Kasia, my fiancée, entered the apartment.
After a moment, realizing I was gone, she went to the computer to turn it off.
She saw that "strange guy," as I had it saved, was sending a message.
She wanted to avoid opening the message, but after a moment, she thought it might be something important.
"Get in touch as soon as you get back. I'm nervous," the message read.
"Paweł isn't here yet, I don't know where he is, I just got back," she slowly and laboriously pressed buttons on the keyboard.
"You just got back? Who are you?" "
I'm Kasia, and who are you? Paweł saved you as "strange guy," she explained.
"I'm Paweł too. It's hard to believe, but I'm writing from the future."
"You really are a strange guy," she wrote. "
Kasia, I haven't talked to you in ages. Ever since I found out you were cheating on me with Piotrek, I've never forgiven you. I've never found another woman.
" "What are you talking about?" She didn't know who she was talking to.
"About you and us in the future. Do you think I didn't suspect? He was the one who beat you, he was the one who told you to have an abortion.
" "I don't understand anything, I'm not pregnant. No one is beating me. Why are you writing this to me? Who are you?" Kasia touched the bruise under her eye. "
Paweł from 2016. I have no idea how we can even talk now. Paweł, I mean me, should be home now. You should come back and we should have a fight. I should find my father dead in his apartment the next day."
"I don't believe it, don't kid yourself," she wrote. "
Kasia, it's me, Paweł." How can I prove this to you? Remember our vacation? And how I bought the wrong sunscreen and got an allergy. I mixed up the names.
"It's you, Paweł," she finally believed.
"If it weren't for that boxer, if it weren't for him, we'd be a good old married couple. He beat you all the time. That's why you came back early. I remember. We had a fight then, and the next day I found my father dead.
" "Dead father? Paweł's father dead?" she said in disbelief. She was shocked.
"I don't know if he's dead. About an hour ago I was talking to me, Paweł. He went to save him because Kiełbasiński committed the murder between 1 and 2 a.m..
" "What if he doesn't save him?" she asked. "
Then your whole lives will change. You'll split up, Paweł's father will die, then he'll fall into depression, hit rock bottom..."
"Why are we breaking up? I know I made a mistake. But our relationship was practically nonexistent." For Paweł, I mean for you, all that mattered was work, your investigations. You don't even realize how much I loved you and how lonely I was. I suffered," she wrote. "
That's not true, work was always important to me, very important, but I always loved you. I neglected you, yes, but I never stopped loving you.
" "Me too, but I was fed up with this constant loneliness. Piotrek was so good, so sensitive, I believed everything would change. But he started beating me..." she broke off, not wanting to write about it anymore.
"Not just you, he also beat his wife, Marta. As soon as you broke up and she refused to return to him, and he took over as commander of our department, he beat her too. A few months later, they divorced.
" "It's terrible what I did, if only it could be changed..." my fiancée expressed a desire for hope.
