Liya sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the clock.
7:12 AM.
The same time.
The same rain tapping against the window.
Her chest tightened as the memory of last night rushed back.
The crash.
The headlights.
Ethan lying on the pavement.
His hand growing cold in hers.
"No… that was real," she whispered.
She grabbed her phone and checked the date.
Same as yesterday.
Her stomach twisted.
"That's impossible."
The radio in the kitchen clicked on automatically.
A cheerful voice filled the small apartment.
"Good morning! Looks like we're starting the day with light rain across the city—"
Liya froze.
Those exact words.
Every syllable.
Every pause.
It was the same broadcast she heard yesterday.
Her heart began pounding.
"Okay… okay," she said nervously. "Maybe they just repeat morning programs."
She quickly got dressed and left the apartment.
Rain fell softly as she stepped outside.
The street looked identical.
Same parked cars.
Same puddles.
Same smell of wet pavement.
A man jogging past her nearly bumped into her shoulder.
"Sorry!" he said quickly.
Liya blinked.
She recognized him.
He was the same jogger from yesterday morning.
Wearing the same blue jacket.
Running at the exact same moment.
Her breath caught.
"No way."
She walked faster.
At the corner café, a woman dropped her umbrella.
Exactly like yesterday.
Liya's heart started racing.
"Am I dreaming?"
She rushed toward the bookstore.
Her hands trembled as she unlocked the door.
Inside, everything was exactly as she remembered.
The same books stacked on the counter.
The same page folded in the novel she had been reading.
Even the clock on the wall ticked at the same slow rhythm.
"Okay," she whispered. "Think."
She remembered something.
Yesterday.
Around late morning.
Someone had come in to buy a poetry book.
If that happened again…
Then this wasn't a coincidence.
It was something worse.
She waited.
Minutes passed slowly.
Her eyes stayed locked on the door.
Then—
Ding.
The bell rang.
A middle-aged man walked in.