“That’s it for today everyone. Remember not to be late after the weekend.”
The surrounding erupted into cheers as people busily moved about packing their belongings.
“Hey Zeph, want to grab a drink?”
Zeph looked back at the middle aged man, confused. What happened? He was sure that he was talking to a dying girl…
“Ey Zeph, still asleep?”
Despite his confusion, Zeph decided to put it in the back of his mind. His prior memories were a bit blurry, perhaps he was just daydreaming.
“Uh no thanks. I’ll go back home early.”
“Sure, see ya soon.”
Yet, the unsettling feeling only grew stronger on his way home. Zeph was unsure what this feeling was but he didn’t think of it as anything more than a common cold. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to worry the granny over such trivial matters, so he decided to visit the clinic first.
“Ah Zeph, welcome. Is something wrong with Lela?” An old voice sounded from the desk.
“Hello mister Wil. Granny is… healthy enough. Actually, I want to have a checkup.”
“Didn’t I tell you to just call me Wil? Mister sounds too young for someone full of wrinkles like me. Come in, come in.” The old man said with a light tone.
Truth to be told, it was hard to imagine someone like him being able to visit a clinic, especially one as reputable as this. His family situation was lacking, barely hanging on as a middle class family.
‘It’s all thanks to granny Lela’s connection.’
Zeph was never told much about Lela's past. He never questioned it too much as she always looked sad mentioning it. Mister Wil was one of the few people from her past that he has met, a 56 years old doctor.
He has a good reputation among the middle class and a decent stargazer. If he wanted to, he could easily advance his career and become a noble.
“Here, lay down so I can check.”
Pulled out of his thoughts, Zeph quickly followed his instructions. Soon the room was filled with darkness and stars, each positioned in a different spot creating a complex network. Another small star formation appeared on Zeph head, one that was dimly lit.
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“Nothing unusual so far…” Before he could finish his words, a giant star reveals itself at the middle of the formation, sucking in all the stars. “W-what?”
The giant star then collapsed on itself before exploding, dying Zeph vision dark once again.
~•~•~•~
“That’s it for today everyone. Remember not to be late after the weekend.”
The surrounding erupted into cheers as people busily moved about packing their belongings.
“Hey Zeph, want to grab a drink?” Seeing no response, Po turned to face the teenager. “Zeph?”
Zeph was facing the air blankly, his eyes were lacking any sign of life. Worried, Po shook the boy's shoulder, asking urgently.
“Zeph? Zeph!”
As if hit by an electric shock, Zeph came back to his senses in surprise.
“What happened? I really thought you were dead for a second.” Po spoke with a small voice. Their earlier commotion has already attracted some attention from nearby.
“Oh, uh. I, I have to go.”
“Huh? Hey, Zeph!”
Zeph rushes out the excavation site, wandering aimlessly with a painful headache. He had died. The pain was still vivid in his mind. He had surely died so why…
‘I’m back. It’s Friday’s morning. Have I repeated this day to again?’
The situation was evidently very confusing for Zeph to make sense of. Though he wasn’t illiterate, he barely had any knowledge of the stars and the supernatural, only learning enough to survive.
‘Let’s start at the beginning. Yesterday, no, last loop. I died. It wasn’t the first time I returned to this point either.’
As he gradually calmed down, the situation revealed itself in his mind.
‘If it’s not a coincidence and that I’m not going insane then I have been repeating this day. But why?’
There were no odd occurrences that he could recall. Nothing odd. Was there really nothing?
‘Strange, I could only remember up to the moment I decided to take a walk. Was there something strange that night?’
‘Never mind… let’s sleep through this night to see how things go.’
It was understandable, the whole thing reeks of trouble, something he could not afford. Just next week, he would be fine if things could wait after next week.
If only life was that simple.
After going through the day as usual, Zeph went to sleep as the darkness embraced his vision.
~•~•~•~
“That’s it for today everyone. Remember not to be late after the weekend.”
The surrounding erupted into cheers as people busily moved about packing their belongings.
It was official. He was stuck in a loop. A one day time loop.