Another Life, Another World, Another Ending

Daniel didn't tell Sophia about the glitches.

What would he even say? Hey, honey, I think our reality is breaking apart and soon, everything, including you and Lily, will disappear forever.

No. He couldn't do that.

Because deep down, he already knew the truth.

This world wasn't meant to last.

*****

Sunday morning was eerily perfect.

Too perfect.

Sophia hummed while making coffee. Lily sat on the floor, coloring, occasionally showing off her drawings with a big, gap-toothed smile. The morning sun streamed through the kitchen window, golden and warm.

But it felt… fake.

Like the world was trying too hard to convince him it was real.

Daniel clenched his fists under the table. He couldn't just sit here and wait for everything to fall apart.

"What happens if I fight it?"

If this world was going to break anyway, maybe he could find a way to stop it—or at least understand it.

He had to test something.

The first experiment was simple.

He took a deep breath and focused.

Change something.

A small detail. Something that didn't matter.

He stared at his coffee mug. White ceramic, a tiny crack near the handle.

"Turn it blue."

Nothing happened.

He pushed harder, concentrating, willing it to shift.

A sharp pain stabbed through his skull.

Daniel gasped, grabbing his head. It felt like something inside his brain twisted, like a rubber band snapping.

The pain was gone in an instant.

And so was the mug.

Daniel's breath hitched. His hand was still curled around where it should have been, but the space was empty.

He blinked.

Then, just as suddenly—it reappeared.

The same mug. Same crack. But now… the handle was on the wrong side.

His stomach flipped.

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked.

Daniel forced a smile. "Nothing. Just zoned out."

But his mind was racing.

He had changed something. It wasn't much, but it was proof.

This world wasn't stable.

And maybe, just maybe, he could control it.

The second experiment was riskier.

Daniel waited until the afternoon, when Sophia and Lily were outside, playing in the garden.

He stood in the hallway, staring at the front door.

"Where does it lead?"

Normally, stepping outside would take him to their quiet suburban street. The mailbox by the curb, the neighbor's dog barking in the distance.

But if this world was unraveling, if it wasn't truly real…then what if the door didn't open to the same place anymore?

He reached for the handle.

Turned it.

Pulled.

The air left his lungs.

Beyond the doorway, there was nothing.

Not darkness. Not light. Just an endless, empty void.

Wind roared past him, though he couldn't feel it. The edges of the world flickered and warped, glitching like a corrupted file.

Then—

A voice.

Not Sophia's. Not Lily's.

A whisper from the void itself.

"It's not time yet."

Daniel slammed the door shut, heart hammering.

His hands were shaking.

The world had spoken to him.

What did that mean?

Who or what was controlling all of this?

And more importantly…

When would it be time?

*****

That night, Daniel barely slept.

He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of Sophia's soft breathing beside him.

Morning would come soon.

And with it, the end.

Because today was Sunday.

And he had never, never dreamed beyond Sunday night.

Which meant…

When he closed his eyes, when sleep finally took him—

This world would be gone.

Forever.