Leo stared at the price tag. It was exactly three times what he had in his checking account. Below the "Add to Cart" button, however, sat a small, violet logo that promised a different reality:

The notification pinged on Leo’s phone at 2:00 AM, a digital siren song: The Hyper-Swift V4 Sneakers. Limited Drop. One Minute Remaining.

Leo looked at his sneakers. They were beautiful, but as the countdown for the next installment ticked down, they started to feel very, very heavy.

With a thumb-press, the transaction was complete. The sneakers weren’t his, but the feeling of owning them was. He didn't think of it as debt; he thought of it as a gift from his future self.