Aria woke up the next morning feeling unsettled. She had dreamed of the clock tower again. In her dream, it hadn't just been frozen—the hands had slowly begun to move backward.
Shaking off the thought, she got ready for school, pulling on her uniform and grabbing a slice of yesterday's bread. It was still strangely warm.
"Not again," she whispered, staring at it. The warmth wasn't comforting anymore—it was unnerving.
Outside, the air felt thick, as though the world had been waiting all night just for her to step out the door.
On the way to school, she spotted Asher leaning against the fence near the carpenter's shop, adjusting the strap of his backpack.
"You're early," she said, trying to sound casual.
He gave a small smile. "Couldn't sleep."
For a moment, she wanted to ask if he'd had strange dreams too. But instead, she fell into step beside him.
As they walked, Aria noticed something strange: the streets were full of people, but everything seemed… off. The traffic lights blinked, but no cars moved until the light changed, as though the drivers were waiting for some unseen signal. A dog barked, then immediately went silent, its tail frozen mid-wag.
"Asher," she whispered, tugging his sleeve. "Look at that."
He followed her gaze. His brow furrowed, but his voice stayed calm.
"You're not imagining it."
Her heart skipped. "So you see it too?"
"Yeah," he said quietly. "It's not just the clock."
They walked the rest of the way in silence, the weight of unspoken questions pressing between them.
At school, the unease didn't fade. Their classmates laughed and chatted, but the sound felt hollow, as if the joy wasn't entirely real. In history class, the teacher froze mid-sentence for a heartbeat too long before continuing as if nothing had happened.
Aria's pencil trembled in her hand. She leaned toward Asher, whispering, "Did you see that?"
He nodded, eyes sharp now. "Yeah. Something's wrong."
At lunch, they sat beneath a tree in the courtyard. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, but instead of warming her, it felt strangely cold.
Aria hugged her knees. "I don't get it. Why us? Why do we notice when no one else seems to?"
Asher looked thoughtful, his expression serious for once. "Maybe we're not supposed to notice. But we do."
She gave a nervous laugh. "That doesn't make me feel better."
He tilted his head slightly, watching her. "You're scared."
"Of course I'm scared!" she admitted. "Everything feels wrong. The bread, the streets, the clock tower… it's like the world's—"
"Holding its breath," Asher finished softly.
Aria blinked. That was exactly how it felt.
They sat in silence, the weight of his words settling over them. Then Asher glanced at her, the corner of his mouth lifting just slightly.
"Whatever this is… we'll figure it out. Together."
Her chest tightened, but this time not from fear.
For the first time that day, she smiled. "Yeah. Together."
Still, as the bell rang and they stood to go back inside, Aria couldn't shake the feeling that the world around them was watching. Waiting.
And when she glanced at the distant clock tower through the window of her classroom, its hands were still frozen at 6 or 6:03 .