The Time Travelers’ Support Group
The Time Travelers’ Support Group
A short piece told entirely through meeting transcripts of people who time-travel and have lost someone or special moments, in a past/future they can’t return to.
FILE: TTGS-017-MEETING-TEXT
Subject: Time Travelers’ Grief Support – Session #17
Moderator: Dr. Kira Elman
Date: Unknown and filed outside the main time loop (Temporally fluid)
Location: Intertemporal support node 322
Status: Confidential
[Transcript begins]
Dr. Elman:
Hi, everyone. Welcome back. For those arriving from earlier centuries or divergent timelines, I’m Dr. Kira Elman. This is a safe space. Time here is non-linear, but your grief is valid in every direction.
Let’s begin with introductions. If it’s your first time, just share your name, where - or when - you’re from, and what brings you here.
ALEX (they/them):
I’m Alex. Originally from 2134. I worked on a secret project with the FBI. I’m… grieving my daughter.
She was born during one of my unauthorized returns to 2091. I stayed three months, came back to the present... and the whole thread collapsed. She never existed. Except I still remember her laugh, and the way she ran to the door to hug me every time I got home.
FIONA (she/her):
I’m Fiona. 1982. London. I fell in love with a woman in 2047. She could talk to computers. It was magical.
I proposed. She said yes. But I never got back there. My tether broke. I keep her ring in my coat pocket. It shows up in every timeline I land in. Even ones where I never met her.
Dr. Elman:
Thank you, Malik. That feeling, of remembering love without context, is one many of us carry.
Would anyone like to speak about non-personal loss? Careers, moments, life paths?
MAULIK (he/him):
Maulik. From 2070 but born in 1999. I lived three careers: kindergarten teacher, architect, street cook.
I’m here because I lost the version of me who made it. The me who got famous for the world's first gravity-defying high-rise. And then that loop collapsed. I don’t remember the city or the building's name. I just know I designed it. It feels like a personal loss.
CASSIE (she/her):
Cassie. Born 2099.
I was supposed to perform at the InterMars Opening Ceremony. I trained my whole youth for the astro-moves.
Then the Mars colony got delayed by two decades, and my transfer window closed. I watched the ceremony once, on a pirated loop.
I saw a dancer move exactly like me. But it wasn’t me. That version of me never happened.
GABRIEL (he/him):
My wife died in 2020. I tried to go back. Over and over. Tried every route. Every warning. I either arrived too late, or… too early to matter.
Eventually, the system barred me. “Timeline too dangerous to come back from.”
Now I live in 2086. I drink coffee in silence. I know the exact smell of her hair.
But not her why she died anymore.
Dr. Elman:
You’re doing beautifully. Remember, time grief is layered. You're not broken.
You’re just remembering things others never had to forget.
Let’s close with one word - something you want to keep with you, something real.
Alex:
Laughter.
Fiona:
Ring.
Maulik:
Name.
Cassie:
Rhythm.
Gabriel:
Warmth.
Dr. Elman:
And I’ll choose now.
Because it’s all we ever truly get.
Thank you, travelers. Rest where you can.
🕐 [Transcript ends]
Note: This document is stored outside the standard timeline. Please consult temporal ethics guidelines before re-entry.
#GriefSupport #TimeTravel #EmotionalWellbeing #Fiction #NonLinearTime #TimeLoop #Sci-Fi
