Timeloop - 6:42 AM

I wake up at 6:42 AM every time I die.

Same ceiling. Same alarm. Same air stuck in my throat like I forgot how breathing works.

The first time, I think it’s just a bad day.

Then I step out of my house and a loose power line snaps in the wind. I don’t even see it hit me.

I wake up at 6:42.

The second time, I don’t go outside.

I stay in my room. Lock the door. Sit on the bed.

The ceiling fan falls.

I wake up at 6:42.

The third time, I don’t move at all. I barely even blink.

The house smells like gas I didn’t notice before.

Then there’s fire. Fast. Everywhere.

6:42 again.

After that, I start testing the pattern.

I don’t leave the house. I don’t use anything electrical. I don’t cook. I don’t sleep deeply.

I still die.

Sometimes it’s the window glass shattering for no reason.

Sometimes it’s something falling that shouldn’t fall.

Sometimes it’s just my body giving up mid-breath like it forgot what to do.

Every time, I wake up at 6:42.

At some point, I stop panicking.

Because panic doesn’t stop it. It only makes the dying louder.

So I start paying attention instead.

I notice something small after a few loops.

The causes aren’t random.

They’re closer each time.

The power line outside the first loop.

The ceiling fan in the second.

The gas inside the house in the third.

It’s moving inward.

Learning the safest place to kill me.

On one loop, I don’t move at all.

I sit on the floor and wait for it.

Nothing happens immediately.

That’s new.

For the first time, I make it past morning.

I make it outside.

The street looks normal. People walk. Cars move. Everything behaves like I’m the only thing that doesn’t belong.

Then I notice it.

A truck coming down the road.

Too fast.

Not swerving. Not slowing.

Straight for the sidewalk I’m standing on.

I step back.

It doesn’t change direction.

That’s when I understand.

It doesn’t matter where I go.

It doesn’t matter what I avoid.

The day isn’t choosing different ways to kill me.

It’s choosing the closest available one.

And I am always available.

The last thing I see before it hits isn’t fear.

It’s recognition.

Like the day finally figured out where I would be.

Then 6:42 AM starts again.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjapd9reUGk

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