The End of a World
Sunday night.
Daniel sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the clock. 11:57 PM.
Three minutes left.
Sophia had fallen asleep hours ago, her breaths slow and peaceful beside him. In the next room, Lily was curled up beneath her blankets, safe and warm.
But not for long.
Daniel's hands curled into fists. He knew what was coming.
The first time, it had been fire, an apocalyptic inferno that consumed everything. This time? He had no idea.
But it would happen.
The cracks in reality had already started appearing. The glitching swing, the doorway to nowhere, the shifting coffee mug. The world was fraying at the edges, and soon, it would unravel completely.
Would they feel it? Sophia and Lily? Or would they just… disappear?
His chest tightened at the thought.
"Do-..Dont…Forget….."
The voice echoed in his mind again. A warning. A plea.
Daniel exhaled shakily.
11:59 PM.
One minute left.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Not yet. Not yet."
He wanted to hold onto them. To stretch these last moments forever. But time wasn't listening.
It never did.
And then—
Midnight.
A sound.
Low. Rumbling. Like thunder rolling in from the horizon.
Daniel's eyes snapped open.
The room was wrong.
The air felt heavier, the shadows deeper. The walls flickered, warping in and out of shape.
Beside him, Sophia stirred. "Mmm… Daniel?" Her voice was groggy, laced with confusion. "What's that—"
Then the lights went out.
Not just in the house.
In the entire world.
Everything plunged into darkness.
And then—
The sky cracked open.
Daniel ran.
He grabbed Lily from her bed, clutching her tightly as he stumbled through the shifting, collapsing house.
Outside, the world was disintegrating.
Buildings twisted and stretched into impossible angles. The ground trembled, splitting apart beneath his feet. The sky, a swirling void of light and darkness ripped open, revealing something vast and unrecognizable beyond it.
Sophia's scream cut through the chaos.
"Daniel! What's happening?!"
He turned, reaching for her—
But she was already fading.
Her form flickered, breaking apart like shattered glass.
"No—NO!"
He lunged forward, but his hands passed through her.
She was vanishing.
So was Lily.
So was everything.
The world was resetting.
Just like before.
Daniel clutched his daughter tighter, his vision blurring with desperation. "Lily, look at me!"
Her tiny fingers clung to his shirt. Her eyes wide, afraid—locked onto his.
"Daddy?" she whispered.
The wind roared.
The ground collapsed.
The sky devoured itself.
And then—
The voices.
A chorus of them, rising through the storm.
"Don't forget! DON'T FORGET!... REMEMBE-"
The world shattered.
Daniel woke up.
Gasping.
Sweating.
Back in his bedroom.
His clock read 7:42 AM. Monday morning.
The scent of coffee drifted from the kitchen. His mom was calling him for school.
Everything was normal.
But he knew the truth.
Another life was gone. Another family erased.
His hands were still shaking. His chest ached with a grief that had no place in this reality.
And the words, those damn words were still ringing in his ears.
"Remember what you have erased."