When Aria opened her eyes, she was lying in a field of tall grass.
The sky above her wasn't the one she knew. It glowed with strange colors—shades of pink and silver that shifted like ripples on water. The air hummed softly, as though the world itself was breathing.
She sat up slowly, her heart pounding. "Where… where am I?"
The field stretched endlessly. No school. No houses. No clock tower. Just grass swaying in a gentle breeze.
And then—she heard laughter.
Her head snapped around. At the edge of the field, a group of children were playing. Their voices were bright, their faces familiar in a way that made her chest ache. She stepped closer, and her breath caught.
One of the boys…
it was Asher.
But he looked younger—maybe ten years old. His hair was a little messier, his smile wider. He was chasing after a kite, laughing so freely Aria almost forgot to breathe.
She whispered his name. "Asher…"
But when she ran to him, the children suddenly froze. The kite hung still in the air, the laughter cut off mid-sound.
"Asher?" Aria called again, her voice trembling.
This time, he turned his head. His eyes met hers. But they weren't the calm, kind eyes she knew. They were distant, almost… hollow.
"You shouldn't be here," he said softly.
Aria's stomach dropped. "Asher, it's me! It's Aria!"
He tilted his head, studying her as if she were a stranger. "I don't know you."
Her knees went weak. "No… no, that's not true. We're friends. We—"
He shook his head, his expression unreadable. "The cracks have taken me. I'm not the Asher you knew."
Tears filled her eyes. "Then where is he? Where's my Asher?"
The boy's face softened for a moment. "He's caught between times. And if you don't find him soon… he'll disappear forever."
Aria's heart raced. "Tell me how! Please—tell me what to do!"
But before he could answer, the ground trembled beneath them. The sky above split open with a sharp crack, flooding the field with white light.
The boy's form began to blur.
"Asher!" she cried, reaching for him.
This time, his hand almost touched hers—just a brush of warmth before he faded like smoke.
And then, just before the light swallowed him, his voice echoed faintly:
"Aria… don't trust the clock."
The field vanished.
Aria gasped, finding herself back under the oak tree, her heart thundering in her chest. The world around her looked normal again—students walking home, cars passing by, everything just as it had been.
But her hands were still trembling.
And her heart knew the truth.
Nothing was normal anymore.
Asher was out there—
lost between times.
And she was the only one who could bring him back.