Cola Bugs

It is said that psychics have a fondness for sweet things.

And indeed, the one psychic I ever knew-he went by the name Cola Bugs-drank at least three bottles of cola a day. Not just any cola, mind you, but cola served strictly at room temperature. According to him, chilled carbonation "disturbs the clarity of precognition." I never quite grasped the logic, but he was dead serious about it.

"The world, you see, is made of bubbles."

That's what he said as he tilted a bottle of cola toward his lips. The fizz echoed softly through the quiet room, like a faint signal from the farthest edge of the universe.

"Oh, and by the way-your microwave's going to explode in three days. But don't worry. That explosion will save the world."

To be honest, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. But there was a certain conviction in his eyes, a kind of quiet rightness that was difficult to argue with.

According to Cola Bugs, the universe was, in essence, one vast paradox. Time didn't flow like a straight line-it bubbled up from the dark, countless and fleeting, like foam in a carbonated drink. And he could read those bubbles. That's what made him special.

Three days later, the microwave exploded right in front of me. The sound was small and strange, like a cat sneezing quietly at the edge of the cosmos.

"If you hadn't been watching the microwave," he told me, "the world wouldn't have been saved. Observation is the cornerstone of causality. If no one's looking, the future simply loses interest. The universe becomes kinder just by knowing it's being watched."

After that, he disappeared.

All he left behind was an empty cola bottle and a single note.

Everything is made of bubbles. But even bubbles have centers.
And that center happens to be the same shape as you.

Since then, I've started drinking cola myself. I listen carefully to the sound of the fizz.
Sometimes I think:

Maybe the true nature of the universe is nothing more than a lonely creature that just doesn't want to be alone.
And maybe, just maybe, that's not such a bad truth after all.