Episode 2: One Hour Back

Mira didn’t move.

She stood in the middle of her room, frozen, staring at the sunlight spilling across her floor like it had no right to be there.

“This… isn’t real.”

Her voice sounded small.

Wrong.

Just a few seconds ago, no, minutes? it had been night. A storm. Thunder. Midnight.

The clock.

Her hand tightened around it instinctively.

It was still there.

Still ticking.

Slow.

Steady.

Like nothing impossible had just happened.

“No. No, no… think.”

Mira rushed to her desk and grabbed her phone again, her fingers slightly shaking.

6:05 PM.

Same date.

Same everything.

Except,

She remembered the storm.

She remembered midnight.

Didn’t she?

Her breathing quickened.

“If this is a dream, it’s way too detailed…”

She walked to the window and pushed it open.

Warm air rushed in.

No rain.

No thunder.

Just the distant sound of people talking and a dog barking somewhere down the street.

Normal.

Everything was normal.

Except her.

Mira turned back slowly.

Her eyes landed on the clock again.

The cracked glass.

The faint golden glow inside.

And those words…

What will you trade for another chance?

“I didn’t say anything,” she whispered. “I didn’t agree to anything.”

Tick.

The clock answered anyway.

“Okay… okay,” she said, forcing herself to breathe. “Let’s test this.”

If she really went back in time…

Then something from before should still happen.

Something small.

Something she remembered.

Mira closed her eyes, thinking hard.

“Think… think…”

Then,

Her eyes snapped open.

“The glass.”

Downstairs.

At exactly 6:10 PM.

Her little cousin always dropped a glass in the kitchen when she visited.

It happened earlier today.

She remembered it.

Mira didn’t wait.

She ran.

Down the stairs, nearly slipping, her heart pounding louder with every step.

The house smelled like food. Voices echoed from the kitchen.

Her aunt. Her cousin.

Everything exactly as it had been.

Mira stopped at the doorway.

No one noticed her.

Not yet.

Her cousin stood near the counter, holding a glass of juice.

Mira’s pulse raced.

“Five seconds…” she whispered.

4…

3…

2…

“Wait !!”

The glass slipped.

It fell,

And shattered on the floor.

Mira’s breath caught.

The sound echoed in her ears.

Exactly the same.

Every detail.

Every second.

Unchanged.

“I… I knew that would happen,” she said softly.

Her hands began to tremble.

“This is real.”

“Careful!” her aunt scolded, rushing forward. “You always do this ”

Mira wasn’t listening anymore.

She backed away slowly, her thoughts spinning out of control.

I went back.

The clock did this.

I actually went back in time.

A strange mix of fear and excitement rose in her chest.

“If I can go back…” she whispered, “then I can change things.”

Her mind immediately jumped to one person.

Her grandfather.

The hospital.

The last day.

The things she didn’t say.

The things she wished she could fix.

Mira’s grip on the clock tightened.

“Maybe… I can save him.”

The ticking grew louder.

Faster.

Like it had heard her.

Like it was waiting.

Mira hesitated.

Something didn’t feel right.

There had to be a catch.

Things like this didn’t just happen for free.

Nothing did.

Then,

A thought hit her.

Sharp.

Uncomfortable.

She frowned.

“…Wait.”

Something was missing.

She stood still, trying to focus.

There was something she used to know.

Something small.

Something simple.

A melody.

She tried to hum it again.

Nothing.

Just silence.

Her stomach dropped.

“No…”

Mira pressed her fingers to her temple, trying harder.

“I know this. I KNOW this song; ”

But it was gone.

Completely gone.

Like it had never existed.

Her eyes slowly drifted back to the clock.

The glow inside it pulsed softly.

Warm.

Alive.

Hungry.

Mira’s voice barely came out.

“…You took it.”

Tick.

The clock didn’t deny it.

Mira stepped back.

Fear finally settled deep in her chest.

“Time travel… isn’t free.”

Her throat went dry.

“It takes something.”

The second hand stopped again.

Just for a moment.

And in that silence,

The same whisper returned.

Closer this time.

Clearer.

“Every second… has a price.”

Mira shut her eyes tightly.

But she didn’t drop the clock.

She couldn’t.

Because deep down

Even now

Even after everything

She still wanted another chance.

End of Episode 2

Thank you for reading !!

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