The alarm buzzed weakly on the bedside table, yet Sameer didn't move. For a moment, he just lay there, staring blankly at the cracks in the ceiling, listening to the faint hum of the city through the thin apartment walls.
This was how mornings usually began for him—slow, dragging, as though even time refused to get out of bed.
Sameer, a nineteen-year-old student from Zen City, now lived in Alpha City. His life was simple: a small one-room apartment, the smell of instant noodles lingering in the air, and stacks of unopened textbooks on his desk, silently mocking him. Technology studies, second year. That was his world.
His bedroom contained only what was necessary—a bed that creaked, a study table buried under books he hadn't touched, and his old backpack slouched against the chair. The hall wasn't much different: a worn-out sofa facing a small television, a window that opened to the fourth wall of another building, and a kitchen corner cluttered but functional.
"Ugh… another day…" he mumbled, forcing himself to sit up.
By the time he finally dressed in his university uniform—a navy-blue shirt and dark trousers—the morning sun had already painted the sky in gold. He toasted some bread, poured a glass of milk, and ate in silence. It wasn't exciting, but it was routine, and routine was safe.
After locking his apartment door, Sameer put in his earbuds, music flowing into his ears as he began the three-kilometer walk to Alpha City University.
The city around him should have been alive by now. Children rushing to school, shopkeepers raising shutters, birds filling the air with their noisy chatter. Normally, the streets buzzed with life.
But today… was different.
As he walked, Sameer noticed the silence first. The kind of silence that presses down on you, making even your own footsteps sound too loud.
No people.
No cars.
No dogs barking.
Not even the rustle of wings overhead.
The streets were empty. Houses stood with doors closed tight. Market stalls waited with fruit baskets untouched. The parks were still, swings unmoving, as if time itself had stopped.
Sameer slowed his pace, pulling out one earbud.
"…Where is everyone?"
For the first time in his life, the city that never slept had become a hollow shell.
And in that silence, a strange chill crept down his spine.