"How about 7 pm?"
"Sure. Bring your guitar then"
"Ok"
Alan put his phone down on the table, closing the conversation he was having with Edwin, on whatsapp. It was 3 pm, afternoon.
Man I should sleep now, haven't had that since yesterday, should've slept earlier.
Alan stood up and headed towards the bathroom. On his way, his keen eyes caught something outside the windows. He peeked through the window a little bit and saw a guy coming from a small distance. His face wasn't visible much, and that wasn't the trait that caught Alan's attention.
He was wearing a hoodie, and the hoodie was designed by Alan himself. It was his merchandise. Alan was a singer who uploaded his covers on the internet, and as he got a little popular, he made his merchandise. Though none of them were sold, until just now, as it seemed so.
Woah! That is the hoodie I designed! I can't believe I found a fan finally!
Alan was getting pretty excited, and his sleepy eyes opened wide, as he ran out of his house to talk with his newly known 'fan'.
Alan got out of his house and by then that 'fan' was a little further away from him.
Why does it seem like he is hiding his face?
Alan sped up and tried to see that guy. As soon as Alan's running steps were hearable, the guy started running away from him, but without ever looking back, making it harder for Alan to see his face.
Both of them were running, but the path came to a corner and they had to turn left. The guy in front of Alan turned first, and after Alan reached that corner, he couldn't see that guy anymore.
Alan ran fast, and got tired fast as well.
How could he run that fast?
He looked around him, and was almost convinced none of that ever happened, his sleepy brain amplified that feeling.
I-I..I should go to sleep instead of this..
Who would buy my merchandise anyways..
Alan returned home and fell onto the bed.
His eyes closed, it didn't take much time for him to fall deep in sleep.
The next time he found himself conscious, it was 6:40 pm. He woke up and went to the wardrobe, changed his clothes and headed towards a nearby field.
Where's Edwin? It's 7:05 pm, he should be here.
Alan sat on the grass, waiting for Edwin to come. Though the waiting only lasted a few seconds, as Edwin appeared there with his guitar.
"There you are!", Edwin shouted from a little distance.
Oh! There he is!
"Hey! Here! I was thinking of going back, thought you wouldn't come.", Alan said as Edwin got closer.
"That quick? It's just 7:05 pm. Whatever, I'm here now.", Edwin said while sitting in front of Alan, on the grass. It was a cool evening with a slight breeze.
Alan said, "Wait here, I'm going to buy some chips for us. You set up your guitar till then.", Alan stood up as Edwin was preparing to tune his guitar.
As soon as Alan stood up, he noticed something weird. He looked at Edwin and saw glitches around Edwin's face, not just around, but on his face. The glitches were colorful, hiding Edwin's face.
What's happening with my vision today?
He rubbed his eyes, and tried to see Edwin again, and this time, it was totally normal.
Nothing Alan thought made sense, none of them answered why he was seeing things today. So he just left the spot with curiosity dancing inside his mind.
As he was going, he was taking a look at his surroundings, to check if the 'glitches' were still there. There wasn't.
Suddenly he heard some sounds coming from behind him. By then, he was pretty far away from Edwin. He looked back and saw something that freezed him for a moment.
That guy…..that guy with his merchandise, just hit Edwin on his head, with a brick, knocking him out.
Alan's heartbeat rose, his body ran towards Edwin, while his mind was still confused and afraid at the same time. He couldn't catch the faceless guy, as he ran before Alan could reach the spot.
"Hey, wake up, wake up!", Alan started panicking, with a distressed expression on his face.
Edwin's lifeless body was laying on the ground, with his face being opposite to Alan's view.
Alan turned Edwin towards himself, and saw his face….and that was the last thing he saw before he woke up on his bed again.
He was sitting on the bed, with his mobile on the side, the whatsapp messages were there.
His eyes were wide open, though he felt a sudden tiredness in his body and brain. Shock, anxiety, confusion, tiredness and fear - all of these hit him at once, making him unable to react anymore. He slowly turned his head towards the clock, and saw something that left him more speechless than ever, it was 3 pm, again.
A-All of this was…a dream? Bu-but I'm awake..sitting right here..
He slowly stood up, and felt deja vu. Following what he saw in his 'dream', he went towards the window, hoping he could have a grasp of his own reality.
He peeked out of his window and saw that same man coming from a distance, the clock was ticking towards 3:01 pm. He instinctively ran out of his house this time, faster than he did in his 'dream'.
This time, he reached the perfect spot in time, just in front of that man.
He collected all of his strength and landed a hit on his neck, making him almost unconscious and fall on the ground.
Alan quickly pulled off his hoodie's cap in order to see his face. He quickly turned his head towards himself and saw his face.
But he couldn't, all he could see was a dark void, not a literal one. He couldn't solve the equation he was observing, and before he could figure out anything, he found himself sitting on his bed…..again.
He immediately looked towards the clock and, it was 3 pm….again.
He didn't stand up this time, instead, he put both of his hands on his head, held his own hair, and looked down on the floor, trying to calm himself.
Why…why me?
Wait….Edwin…
He quickly took his phone and called Edwin.
"Hello? Edwin? Where are you right now?"
"I..I'm right here? In my room? What happened dude?", Edwin was a bit confused by the urgency Alan expressed through his voice.
Alan was silent for a moment, but then he replied, "Nothing. I…I was just confirming if 7 pm is…okay for you."
"Yeah it is? But, didn't I already say this?", Edwin's confusion ascended.
"Yeah", Alan cut the call right there, and threw the phone a little bit further on the bed.
Edwin was staring at his phone screen, trying to understand Alan's behaviour.
I..I don't know…
Alan mumbled to himself before going to sleep. This time he avoided looking out the window.
He woke up and looked at the clock, it was 6:40 pm. He quickly changed his shirt and reached the nearby field, but before reaching the exact spot, he bought some snacks.
It's only 7:00 pm now…it seems like I got here faster than the last time.
"Hey! Found you! So here?", Edwin was coming towards Alan with a moderate speed.
"Hey!", a sudden smile appeared on Alan's face. It seemed as if he felt relief after a long time.
"Oh, you brought chips with you! Nice. Let's play something first then", Edwin said as he sat in front of Alan. He brought out his guitar and started tuning it.
Alan was anxiously looking around, with extra attention.
"Something happened?", Edwin asked, looking at Alan, after tuning his guitar.
"Huh?", Alan looked at Edwin with confusion.
"You seem a little worried today…well, nevermind. Let's think of some song to play then.", Edwin started looking on his phone.
"Yeah, sure.", Alan said, still looking around, then looked at his watch.
Okay so it is 7:06 pm now. And-And what happened should happen….I would not let it..
Alan's eyes landed on Edwin's face and he could hear his heartbeats, the intensity rising. The same glitches, on Edwin's face.
Alan quickly stood up and went near Edwin, held his shoulders and started shaking him, "Hey, hey! What is happening to you?!", Alan avoided being a passive viewer this time, doing anything in his power to not let anything stop him.
Suddenly he felt a hard-hit on his neck from behind, making him unconscious at that very moment. He fell on Edwin, as Edwin put his guitar aside.
"Who are you?! What the hell did you just do?!", Alan could still hear bits of Edwin's voice, he was talking to someone, possibly the one who just knocked Alan down.
The last thing Alan heard at that moment was the sound of a brick hitting someone's head, it was not the first time he heard it.
What time is it?
Alan woke up, finding himself laying on the ground of the field. It was 7:30 pm. Beside he saw Edwin's body, lifeless, yet again. He touched Edwin as soon as he saw him and then stared at him, without seeing his face.
I..I still couldn't do it…
Alan just let himself clear his mind for a moment by resting his head on Edwin's body, then looked at the sky.
Do I have a choice? I think so…but I really don't..
Alan slowly turned Edwin towards himself and saw his face, well, almost.
It was 3 pm again….
He was sitting on his bed, this time, he beat his tiredness that was coming to him every time and put some into thinking. He looked at his phone and opened whatsapp, and quickly messaged Edwin, "I forgot I'm actually busy this evening, so how about tomorrow?"
Alan didn't notice it, but he was sweating slightly. The message was seen in 5 minutes, and the reply came - "Sure, no problem."
After seeing the reply Alan focused on finding the mysterious guy, and before that he wore a black-tinted glass and went to his kitchen. He picked up a knife.
I-I'll just have to..
He-He isn't thinking before unaliving someone, s-so why should I?
No, should I do it? Isn't there any other way?
That's the point, there isn't. Edwin…I ain't letting you die…
The road was pretty much empty as it was sleeping time for most, so Alan tried his best to be sneaky and silent. This time the mysterious guy was ahead of Alan by a pretty good distance, but Alan could still see him.
His steps were almost unhearable, and as soon as he got close enough he ramped towards that guy with the knife pointing towards him. But the guy dodged him, without looking back, and tried to run away, but fell on the road.
Alan didn't waste a second before jumping on him and holding the knife with both his hands, he closed his eyes and pushed himself to the edge by stabbing the guy multiple times, but he didn't see the death of the guy, he only saw a wardrobe, a wall and a clock, he was inside his room again.And….it was 3 pm.
No way! I can't kill him either?! Then what the hell am I supposed to do?! No way, no way, no way!
Alan was sweating intensively.
Alan couldn't face the crime he committed, but was it a crime?
There was only another potential piece he could've used to save Edwin, and he tested that as well, as his last hope.
He told Edwin to come tomorrow instead of today, and slept, without interfering with the mysterious guy anymore.
He woke up at 6:50 pm, and immediately got a call from Mark, one of his friends.
"Dude",Mark's voice was trembling.
"What happened?", Alan became intensely anxious.
"Dude…..Edwin died! He was killed!", the phone was cut before Alan could question further.
The phone dropped from his hands and his face became numb, suddenly the resultant of all the things he was feeling became zero. He couldn't react anymore, he didn't even want to.
He just sat there zoned out until another call broke his trance like state, "Bro come here quickly, we-we are here.", Mark's voice was calm and cold.
"Yeah.", Alan's voice was colder.
I want to see him again..for the last time at least..
Alan took his phone and scrolled through his gallery, and opened a photo of Edwin, he stared at his glitched face and the time changed.
It was 3 pm..for the last time, so it seemed.
Alan let the sleepiness conquer him this time, and after waking up he reached the spot at 7:00 pm.
"Hey! Right here?", Edwin said while coming towards Alan.
Alan didn't reply but just smiled, and went towards Edwin. He put both of his hands on his shoulder and said, "You've been a great friend, Edwin. I just wanted to say, that's all."
"Huh? Where's this coming from?", Edwin said while sitting on the ground.
"Nothing, I kinda had a dream last night where I was having memories of our childhood, you were always there..", Alan's smile was fading.
"Oh..that's great..I guess I was. But what happened all of a sudden? Whatever, brought chips?", Edwin brought out his guitar and Alan sat in front of him, slowly.
Alan checked his watch and said, "Yeah, I'll be going to get them.", and then relaxed on the ground, putting both hands behind him and looking at the evening sky. The sounds of the strings from Edwin's guitar were reaching Alan's ears but not his heart or brain, as it seemed like he set up an armor around himself.
He looked at Edwin for the last time, stood up and went towards the shop.
After getting to a certain distance he looked back with his cold eyes, seeing what he was supposed to, these were the times when he wasn't getting surprised. The man, the brick, Edwin's lifeless body, all of them were there. But Alan's last instinct kicked in as he went near the spot and spoke up with his cold voice, "Who are you? Can you at least tell me that?"
And to his surprise, the guy didn't run away this time, he wasn't facing Alan, but agreed speaking to him by saying, "I can't tell you that, but I'm sure you'll find out."
"How?", Alan's eyes were tired.
"Do what I say, and you'll be able to progress in your life, escape from this loop.", his words suddenly pierced through Alan's ears and reached his brain.
"How do you know about that?", Alan became curious, expressed through his serious face.
The guy was silent for a second before saying, "Just do what I say. We can't coexist, either you have to stay here, or I. Go and see your friend's face and get back in time. You'll find yourself in a different position this time….
Alan heard everything he had to say..and did what he was told as the first step. As soon as he glanced at Edwin's face, he found himself standing on a road.
He checked his clock and it wasn't 3 pm anymore, it was 2:55 pm.
He started walking towards the place he was told to, on his way someone started following him from behind, he could sense it, after everything he went through, his survival instincts definitely improved a lot.
Fortunately, he was able to outrun the follower, and went to a nearby place, beside a field. He sat there for hours, waiting for something. Evening sky conquered the environment and he stood up.
He waited a few seconds, then ramped towards a guy sitting on the ground and hit his head hard enough to kill him, with the brick he was holding.
Alan stood there, even after hitting him with the brick, he didn't look anywhere around him, but could sense someone walking slowly towards him.
That someone asked from behind, "Who are you? Can I ask you that at least?", his voice was cold.
"Just do what I say. We can't coexist, you know why already, I'm sure you do. See his face and do what I did. That's the only way you can progress in your life, or do you want to get stuck in this loop forever? Free yourself and…me.", Alan said all of this, without turning back.
He sensed the guy walking towards Edwin and trying to see his face, Alan finally turned a little, and he saw that guy vanishing in thin air, slowly disappearing.
But he stood there, as he opened the cap of the Alan's merchandise he was wearing. He could finally feel the breeze on his ears, his head.
But all he could see in front of him was Edwin's memories. But deep down, something in him said..
I am….finally free…