Opening – Can't SleepHale lies in the guest bed, staring at the ceiling. No sound. No wind. Even the clock on the wall seems respectful of his unrest.
He rolls over. Then again.
He finally sits up, annoyed. That's when he notices…
The BookshelfA row of old books. Dusty, yes but… familiar.
One of them has a corner torn the exact same way a book from his childhood had.
Another has his initials scribbled inside. Same handwriting. Same loop on the H.
He takes a book down. The spine cracks.
It opens to a page already folded over.
He reads the line out loud:
"You are exactly where you left yourself."
The ClockThen his eyes flick to the clock.
Old, brass-rimmed, sitting on the desk.
He freezes.
"That's… my clock."
(From Chapter 1)
Same scratch. Same crack in the glass face, right through the 3
He walks over to it, breath hitching.
"No. It can't be. Mine broke when I was nine."
He checks the back.
His name is etched in tiny letters.
Reality Begins to SlipHe turns and the bookshelf is different.
Different books.
But one still has the folded page.
He opens it again.
Now the page says:
"It's later than you think."
The clock now reads 3:12 A.M.
He blinks.
"No. No no
Now the lamp is flickering, even though it was steady seconds ago.
The window is open but he never opened it.
He hears breathing.
But no one's in the room.
The EscapeHale bolts.
He rushes out of the room heart pounding and finds himself in a hallway that wasn't there before.
It curves left then narrows then opens into…
The Hidden Room
A study. Dimly lit. Books and scrolls. An old record player spinning but not playing.
And sitting at a small table, calm as always
Gyroson.
"Took you longer this time," he says, not looking up.
Hale staggers back. "What what is this?"
"What it always is," Gyroson murmurs, finally looking at him.
"The place you forget until it remembers you."
The Nostalgia Hit
And then it happens.
That crushing, slow-motion wave of nostalgia.
He's been here. Not just once. Over and over. In dreams. In breaks between time. In other timelines.
It's not memory.
It's recognition.
And recognition is always more terrifying.
Gyroson sets a cup of tea down across from him.
"Go ahead," he says.
"You made it this far. Might as well finish the loop."