It was an abnormally chilly Spring day in Philadelphia. The weather tended to do that this time of year. Frost lined the corners of windows as trees fought vigilantly against the dregs of Winter. The lunch rush that bustled between the walls of tall buildings paid no heed to the trees struggling or the frost.
Anthony Sparks sat on a bus stop bench, wrapped in the warmest clothes he could find in his closet. His short hair was a mess from the nippy wind that blasted through the streets with no regard for the people it rushed past. He had his phone in his hand, scrolling through his Twitter feed. Nearby he could hear a muffled argument. Cautiously, he sneaked a peek over his shoulder where he heard the raised voices.
“I’m telling you, I don’t have the money.” Anthony could see two men huddled by the building, the taller man appeared to be frowning down at the other man.
“I don’t care where you get the money, you get it to me by tomorrow or your kid-” at this the taller man put his hand on the other’s shoulder and pulled him in, whispering something into his ear. The man paled. Anthony could see his world shattering. Acting on a whim, he pulled up the camera app and snapped a pic of the two men.
The taller man pulled apart, spit at his feet, and walked away. The other man stood there for a second before wiping and his cheeks, and walked back into the building.
Anthony figured whatever was going down wasn’t going to end well for that man or his kid, so he looked at his camera app and saw the usual options menu.
The app itself wasn’t a normal camera app, this app had been bartered into his possession. Of course, the being that he had gotten it from wanted a steep price: his soul. Anthony had been desperate to help his grandma, so he took the deal willingly and was given this app.
For it being an app bought with his soul, there was a distinct lack of dark reds and blacks. It looked completely normal. Of course, he had no idea what he was getting himself into, being that he was making a deal with the devil himself, but he got what he had wanted. For a price, of course.
He could feel his anxiety thrash in his stomach. A distinct ticking hung over his head. Tick, tock. He pushed the fact that he was living on borrowed time out of his head. Tick, tock. This wasn’t the time or place for that right now. Tick, tock. He closed his eyes, picture of the men still opened on his app, and took a deep breath.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, exhale, tock.
Okay, he felt better. The ticking was still audible, but he managed to hold back his anxiety attack for a bit. He looked at his phone and selected an option from the menu. Glass shattered. The ticking stopped. No more honking from the traffic, it had stopped completely. The people all around him stopped, many mid-step, many in mid-conversation. The wind running in the streets had stilled completely. Time was still.
He focused on faces. Many were blurry or blank. Except for the man entering the building, and the taller man walking down the street. He started with the man in the entrance.
He walked up to him. Tears prickled at the edges of his eyes, his eyes carried a haunted look to him. Anthony felt his heart twist for this man. His grandmother had been in the same situation, owing money she couldn’t pay back. It’s what made him sell his soul. To help her get out of that situation. Anthony turned to look at the man walking down the street.
As he got close, he could feel a distinct aura about this man. He reeked of something foul. He looked in his eyes and only saw greed. The man didn’t need the money, but he was collecting on people who didn’t have it. Anthony felt sick
He looked at his phone, the picture was still open. He tapped the shorter man in the picture, and a longer menu came up. Basic information, life events, future possibilities, connections, and so much more. He opened up future possibilities. It was blank. Whether that’s because he had no possibilities, or he had no future, Anthony wasn’t sure. He saw that he could edit it.
He thought for a minute, looking back at the man with the haunted look in his eyes. He needed money, he had a kid, he had no idea how he was going to get it. Anthony looked back down and edited his future.
Then he went back to the picture and tapped on the taller man. The same menu opened up. This time, he looked at the man’s life events. Graduated from high school and college. Opened his own business. He had been married, got divorced. Lost his business. Killed his ex-wife. Got away with it.
Anthony saw enough. He opened up the man’s future possibilities. He didn’t want the man to die, but he wanted him to atone and not bother the other man and his kid anymore. He edited his future.
Going back to the picture he looked at the two men. He wondered how they would react to his intervention. What would happen? He didn’t know. He went back to the bus stop bench and sat back down.
He tapped a few buttons on his phone screen and time resumed once more. Tick, like nothing had happened, tock. Tick, tock.
The bus rolled up in front of Anthony and stopped, and the doors opened. He entered, paid the fare, and sat in a seat.
Time marched on.
Anthony spooned some of the cereal into his mouth and read the newspaper. He read about a man who won the biggest jackpot in lottery history who said that he was going to use it to send his kid to whatever college she wanted.
He also read about a fraud who had scammed people out of millions that got implicated in his ex-wife’s murder. He had been arrested by police during the night and was sent to jail to await his trial.
Anthony smiled, opened the camera app, and deleted the picture.
Time marched on. Tick, tock.
The Liberal Lens: Finding Life in the Moment 
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