The Western Gate

Whilst the object of a diary is of course to note the events that have occurred, and perhaps to mark future event dates of note the character in this yarn followed the following method.
That the method I will describe seems implausible and absurd I have as already stated termed the story a yarn, yet, a tangled ball of wool, when all the knots and muddles are straightened out will in fact create something that can be worn and seen.

The Diary for tomorrow so our subject simply stated, ” I walked through the park to work instead of the usual and shortest walk. I watched the crows for a moment.“
Of course, following this prompt our savant of fate ambled across the park the very next day which necessitated a detour from his usual, as the crow flies, walk to work and added an extra 20 or so minutes to the progress. Inside the park, of course, he espied the chattering crows eyeing him suspiciously as he in turn watched their observations.
Now, to put this in context so that the story is not muddled, let us say that it was Monday, and as such , he wrote that the following day, Tuesday he would, on his usual walk to work ” I called in at the corner shop and treated myself to a huge bar of my favourite chocolate.” This wasn’t an incident that was worthy of note, nor would it change the course of his destiny, but sure as sure can be he wandered into that shop, that very next day on the Tuesday, and purchased that bar of chocolate.
Now, let us pause. we could say, this is daft, that there is no point to this as there is no real determinism, the cause and effect is caused by his will, and thereby his motion to effect that will. This would be true if the governing factors were exact. But, what if, on that Monday the crows had assembled elsewhere? what if, on that Tuesday, his favourite chocolate bar had sold out?
These factors meant that there was a chance his diary entries for the following day were follies, or at least a discernible if indeed a very fractional risk that they could, at least, be follies. Guesses. More promises to himself than statements of fact written before the event.
“Wednesday~ I went to the toilet at work and wrote some extraordinary claims about Belinda the secretary on the toilet door with a permanent pen”.
Of course, the next day, on that Wednesday, that happened. But the pen could’ve run dry, the toilets could have been locked under maintenance, in fact he could have awoke with such a severe night terror migraine that he was unable to shift his carcass from the bed, let alone tend to the necessity of the diary entry by slogging himself to work.
Thursday~ I binge watched a limited series. Luckily, his internet worked, his streaming service wasn’t down, there was an abundance of limited serials available, there was no knock at the door that halted any such plan by introducing a catastrophe that demanded his immediate attention and diversion, in fact, there were many possibles that could have made the diary entry erroneous. However, as we can see, that which he wrote of~ what would happen the morrow, did, in fact happen.
“Friday- I wore the pair of socks I bought depicting the creepy twins from The Shinning” ~ Indeed, those socks didn’t disappear that night and were worn as foretold.
“Saturday I bought the new album from Lana Del Rey and kept it in its shrink wrapped, Ill unwrap it and play it next week.”
This bold move assumed the new album would be available in his local record shop… which it wasn’t !!! however, our champion of fate had not specified which record shop, it caused no anguish for him that the record shop didn’t have it, and a bus ride away saw the record in his hands, in shrink-wrapped sleeve, just as the diary said, courtesy we could add of the major chain record shop, but 2 miles away.
It would be tedious and nonsensical of me to list all the dates that followed, suffice to say, every word that he wrote for the following day was enacted upon. He never wrote in words of possibility or that it was written the day before, it was exact, It was wrote as if the incident had already happened, whereas of course as we know it hadn’t yet happened at all.
On it went. ” I baked a cake today” “I went for a long walk around the bookshops and had a pint of real ale” “I wrote a song about Belinda today”
It doesn’t need me to tell you how all these events unfolded, nor to tell and explain the possible obstructions that could have occurred to prevent those events happening.
Let me summarise somewhat;- He had begun this diary on the new moon of the spring equinox, and each day he religiously would write what would happen the following day. The last entry that occurred nine months later by the Full Moon of Winter simply read;- ” Belinda asked me to dance at the work Christmas party, we kissed, and on the way home I was so elated and headspun I didn’t see the bus as I hurried across the road. I am in fact dead.”
Belinda, was distraught when the news came after the Christmas party, when she had danced with our gambler of the fates, when she had enjoyed that kiss.
Determined Fatalism and he still never saw his bus coming.

The above story was adapted from tale as received, lucid dream 27/11/23