He was looking forward to the sale. Now, with a dull discomfort tightening his chest, he heads home.
He walks in silence. It's evening now. The wind rushes past him.
On his way back, Abc stops at the small grocery store he visited just yesterday.
He grabs a drink, more out of habit than thirst.
Then a thought strikes him.
He sets the bottle down and rushes toward the turn where the car had crashed.
The spot is clean.
No broken glass.
No skid marks.
No dented wall.
Nothing.
As if the accident never happened.
Abc stands there, stunned. His eyes widen as the realisation sinks in.
"Was all that yesterday just a dream?"
The question echoes through him, louder than he expects.
He heads home in silence, wearing the blandest mix of expressions imaginable.
He lies on his bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of the day.
"Is all this just a dream?"
"Was the crash yesterday fake?"
"I should check the bus blast spot tomorrow."
***
Abc wakes up and checks his phone.
Six in the morning. Too early for someone like him.
He reaches for a notebook. Any notebook.
He does not even check if it is empty.
As he steps out of his room, his mother catches sight of him and nearly drops her cup.
"Abc? Is that you?"
"Yeah, mother. I'm heading outside for some fresh air."
"H-huh?"
She stands there, blinking, still half asleep.
Abc does not wait for the confusion to settle.
He goes straight to the turn where yesterday's car crash should have been.
The road is clean.
Untouched.
Everything exactly as it was yesterday.
He notes down every detail he remembers.
Then he breaks into a run, heading to the bus blast site.
Once again, nothing.
No burnt road.
No debris.
No sign that anything ever happened there.
Abc stands still for a moment.
Confused, yet calm.
A faint smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth.
He writes down everything.
***
Back home, Abc lies on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
His thoughts move in circles, refusing to settle.
For someone his age, none of this should make sense.
Yet the strange rush inside him refuses to fade.
[I've never felt anything like this before.
It's not a loop. The dates change. So why does everything seem so surreal?]
He presses a hand against his forehead, trying to steady his thoughts.
But the more he tries to make sense of it, the more scattered it becomes.
Then one thought cuts through everything.
"Jasper."
Abc sits up sharply.
He finally knows where to look next.