Wonderful
This just illustrates so well how important it is to live in the here and now rather than waste your time worried about the future. I love how the story progressed as his obsession with the future decimated his life in the present and ultimately what he cared for the most. Most people wonder did he succeed or did he die? The most logical one for most of us sci-fi people would likely be he went back and stopped himself from even making the machine and living life happily with his girl after wards, but who knows.
There was just so much about this flash that does inspire thought, so kudos on using ambiguity well.