At 3:16 Am city was normal.
Streetlights buzzed softly. A tea stall near the street is shuttered as it's already late night. The lane is mostly empty. People are asleep.
The street dogs are sleeping near the crubs. There ribs rising up and falling down slowly, in a patient rhythm.
The traffic signal turned into red, but there is no vechile to stop, still traffic signals are doing its job, even when no one is watching.
Ariana stood at the bus stop, bagpack slung over the one shoulder. Carring phone on one hand. Her late night shift ended 10 minutes ago, now she is waiting for her bus.
But the last bus was late.
Still she is not frustrated, she is used to it .
She sit on the bench in the bus stop. Waiting for the bus.
She opened her phone and checked the time - 3:16 Am
The air felt wrong.
There is a noticeable changes started occuring in the street.
At first she thought her eyes were tired.
Suddenly the flow of air stopped, all the minor background sounds faded like someone had turned down the volume button.
The sky changes into red colour. The street lights changed from dull to brighter and cleaner.
Then the new street appeared and the old Street disappeared . Road streched longer than it's possible.
Empty space in the surrounding filled with the buildings. Buildings look too perfect like no crack and no dust.
Neon light glow inside the buildings and on the road. Shadow falls on wrong direction.
One more thing she noticed people appeared from now where ,they were wearing out dated cloth.
Then Ariana saw a girl.
She seems like same as her age.
She stood near the edge of the glowing street.
Her eyes widened with the relief as soon as she saw Ariana.
She tried to start conversation with Ariana.
She raised her hand and waved toward the ariana.
Ariana didn't responded as she is trying to understand what's going on...
She is totally scared.
The girl again wave her hands and shouted something..
As she is far from Ariana,
Ariana is not able to listen whatever she is saying.
Finally Ariana responded..
"What?",she shouted back.
The girl pointed toward the sky. Sky feels like a invisible clock that only Ariana can feel. The sound of clock tickling down can be clearly heared through the sky.
The girl shouted again ,"don't wait!!."
Before Ariana react again!!
Her phone vibrated violently in her hand.
She looked down and opened the screen.
Time- 3:18 Am
And when she looked back up again. Everything seems like completely disappeared.
The sky again turned black . Street is normal now. Dogs are back , all the people disappeared. Even the girl who is trying to contact her she is also disappeared.
"No, wait." Ariana shouted.As she is not able to belive whatever she saw just now
Ariana stood in the middle of the crossing, rubbing her eyes ,chest heaving, staring at an empty street that looked exactly like it always had.
Then finally bus arrived. But she is still deeply indulged in thoughts.
Bus driver honk the bus!!
Conductor came out of it .
"Hello mam! Are you coming or not." Bus driver shouted .
Ariana turned slowly toward the bus and said,"the streets."
While pointing toward the street.
Conductor replied, "what street?"
She again looked back but there is nothing .
No neon! No people! No long road!
Just an ordinary city at 3:20 Am
Aria swallowed.
And decided to sit in the bus without saying any other single word.
Because she knew there is something definately wrong going on there.
Because this is not the first time she is experiencing this.
Deep down she knew that ,
Tommorow night at 3:17, that city would come back.
She took her seat and press her forehead against the cool glass.
The bus rolled on, and nothing else is changed.
On they way,
She is only thinking about the girl who begged for with her eyes not patience, but the opposite. Don't wait. The memory hit Aira suddenly, sharp and vivid: the way the girl's relief had turned into terror as the city began to fold in on itself, the way her mouth had opened, soundless, desperate.
When she reached her stop, dawn was already threatening the horizon, a thin grey line behind concrete and wires. She walked the familiar route home, keys ready between her fingers, every shadow suddenly too deep, too watchful.
Her apartment building greeted her with the usual groan of old pipes and peeling paint. Inside, the corridor smelled of damp cement and yesterday's cooking oil. Normal. Comfortingly, painfully normal.
She locked the door behind her and leaned against it, heart still hammering.
Sleep didn't come.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw neon lines threading through brick, streets stretching where they shouldn't, faces staring without blinking. She checked the time compulsively 4:02, 4:19, 5:07 until exhaustion finally dragged her under.
___
She woke to sunlight and the sound of the city alive again.
Vendors shouting. Motorbikes coughing to life. A neighbour arguing on the phone. The world had reset itself with brutal efficiency.
At work that evening, Aira tried to bring it up casually, carefully.
"Did you notice anything… weird last night?" she asked a coworker while counting inventory.
The woman laughed. "Weird? Only you asking questions before tea."
Aira smiled weakly and said nothing more.
By the time her shift ended, the sky had darkened again. Night settled in layers, familiar and heavy. She stood outside the building, staring at the street, telling herself she was being ridiculous.
It was just exhaustion. Hallucinations or may be stress.