Adam awoke on the cold floor of his apartment. His hands still bled. He sat up, breath shallow, and hurried to wrap the wounds tightly. anything to stop the flow.
He raised his wrist.
12:41 PM.
Less than twenty minutes remained.
But Adam no longer cared.
There was nothing left to return to. No reason to fight. Only one person lingered in his heart; his only friend, the only soul he had trusted in this crumbling world: Waleed.
Driven by a fading ember of hope, Adam left the apartment and walked through the hushed city streets. When he arrived at the building, he climbed the nine flights of stairs, each one heavier than the last, until he stood outside the office door.
Smoke.
It drifted under the door, thick and bitter. Adam pushed inside, coughing, only to find Waleed hunched over a metal bin. burning something.
Photographs.
Their photographs.
Their memories.
One photo, half-charred, fluttered near the flames. Adam snatched it from the bin. His hands trembled as he turned it over.
On the back, scrawled in faded ink, was a single line that had survived the fire:
"He's not better than me."
Adam's heart went still.
He looked up at Waleed. his best friend, his brother in everything but blood, and saw in his eyes no warmth, no regret. Only cold, silent hatred.
It had all been a lie.
Frozen in disbelief, Adam's eyes grew dry. There were no more tears. He searched the office, desperate for answers, and found a small book tucked away in the drawer. a booklet about the very watch Waleed had given him for his birthday.
Everything became clear.
The watch.
The plan.
The betrayal.
Waleed had been part of it all from the beginning. Another thread in the tapestry his family had woven to break him.
Now, the hour was near. The final piece in place.
The watch had to be broken to restore time.
"This is it," Adam whispered, almost laughing at the cruel simplicity of it all.
Every mask had fallen. Every face revealed. And in the end, Adam stood alone.
He climbed to the rooftop of the building. The wind bit into his skin, but he felt nothing.
He looked at his watch, there was one minute left.
He stepped to the edge, looking out over a world that had never truly held him.
"These... these were the people I wept to return to?" he said aloud, his voice breaking. "They don't deserve it. None of them. Liars.. every one."
Only one name lingered with light.
Sara.
"You were the only one," he said softly. "The only soul who never betrayed me. You gave up everything to protect me… from my own family."
He closed his eyes.
"My family…"
His voice trembled, then turned bitter. "They weren't family. It was all a lie. A cruel, elaborate lie. And I… I believed it."
His legs weakened. His breath caught. Tears returned. too late, too much.
He whispered, almost inaudibly:
"I really am a fool… a failure."
Then, leaning forward, he let go.
"This time, Sara… you won't go alone. I'm coming with you."
As his body fell, memories rushed back like a tide: laughter, warmth, birthdays, embraces; his parents, his siblings, Waleed... all the moments he once held dear.
But in the end, it was all dust.
All lies.
The ground met him with a terrible finality.
The watch shattered on impact.
And then, the world disappeared.