From Point “A”. Book script for a movie about time travel. Anna Knyazhikh

      “Wait,” Alexey said, “we need to choose the letter ‘A.’ After all, it will be the same timeline. You saw yourself in the past with the letter ‘A,’ so now we have to choose the letter ‘A’ as well.”

      “But how will I know what the letter ‘B’ means?” Kira asked. “Let’s take a look at the letter ‘B’ instead. I’m curious to see the options.”

      “Okay,” Alexey agreed, “but later. First, let’s find out what awaits us on our timeline. I understand that ‘A’ represents your dimension. It’s a shame that I haven’t read much science fiction. I don’t understand any of this. But I still understand some details. If we have multiple possibilities of fate, then we choose our own version. What if each person chooses their own dimension? Each choice has its own path that it follows. You can go in one direction or another. And like that, every time, every day, we choose our path and destiny.”

      “Interesting train of thought,” Kira said thoughtfully, “so you mean to say that every day we make our own choice, and our future depends on that choice?”

      “I don’t know, Kira, but we can check if I’m guessing right,” Alexey replied.

      “Alright, so I choose the letter ‘A’?”

      Alexey nodded in agreement, and Kira pressed the letter “A”. Buttons appeared – “Find Yourself,” “Your World,” “Enter.”

      “Press ‘Find Yourself’, ” Alexey said.

      Kira pressed the “Find yourself” button. The screen started spinning and swirling, numbers and letters flickering. Exactly one minute later, everything settled down, and an image began to appear. They saw Kira on the screen, sitting by the window, just like in a movie. She was in her room, but the decor was slightly different: there was a new sofa against the wall, and a new computer on the table. Kira had a sad expression on her face. But the most surprising thing was that outside the window, where there used to be bustling life, it was now quiet. Not a single car or trolleybus passed by, only the sound of an ambulance siren could be heard.

      The door opened, and Kira’s mother entered the room, saying, “Someone else fell ill again.” Her mother approached the window and closed the curtain. She gently stroked Kira’s head and invited her to the kitchen for dinner.

      – I’ll be there in a moment,” Kira promised her, but then the phone rang.

      – Hey, Leshka, hi,” she happily answered the phone. “How are you? Alive and well? Everything is fine? I’m glad, Lesh. Take care of yourself. And maybe we can meet today? I have something for you! How about meeting at my studio?”

      – Kira, there’s a police presence around. I wanted to come to you today, but I was stopped. Thank God they didn’t give me a ticket. They showed some mercy. But I’ll try to get to you in the evening, when it gets dark. I’ll take the backyards. First, I’ll come for you, and then together we’ll try to get to the studio.

      – Agreed. Don’t forget your mask.

      The music stopped, the screen disappeared, the light vanished. Kira and Alexei looked at each other with surprise and fear in their eyes.

      – What was that? – Alexei was the first to gather his thoughts. “What mask?”

      – What a nightmare,’ Kira regained her composure. ‘What awaits us in two years? Just two years, and our lives will change so much. It can’t be true. It’s nonsense. Were they trying to fine you for wanting to come to me? What does this mean, Lesh? Did I do something illegal and get arrested? “Oh my goodness!” Kira screamed. “Did I kill someone?”

      Kira shuddered. “We need to do something, we need to do something,” she rambled like a parrot.

      – But why did Mom say that someone else got sick again? – Kira said, slightly calming down as she took a big sip of warm tea. – And why the mask?

      – I don’t understand either, Kira,” Alexei sat down on a chair, took a notebook and pen from Kira’s table, and started scribbling something. Then he wrote: “2020A” – you can’t go outside. “2020B” – he put a question mark.

      – But I have a suggestion,’ he continued, ‘play your song again. Because we chose the wrong letter. What if you choose the letter “B”?

      – Well, I think we should choose the letter “A” again and see the world. Remember, there was a choice! Find ourselves or explore the world. Let’s see what the world was like in 2020. Let’s take a look, and then we can choose the next letter.

      – Makes sense,” Alexei replied. And they started playing another song by Kira. The melody played, then the song itself began. When it came to the chorus, the familiar golden pillar appeared before their eyes once again. Kira and Alexei stepped inside. Dialing the numbers 2020 and the letter “A,” Kira pressed a button on the screen labeled “Your World.” After a while, the world opened up. Their city appeared on the screen, Kira and Alexei together. Empty streets, empty sky, only police cars and occasional ambulances on the roads. There were hardly any people. And the few individuals who hurriedly went somewhere were wearing medical masks. Then the image changed, and the friends saw different cities that first approached, showing empty streets, then moved away, and approached again. They swiftly passed Paris, Milan, Moscow, New York, the images succeeding one another. After the stream of images with empty streets, other pictures started to appear: riots, shootings, chaos, and confusion.