Timebug

A short science fiction story by Silvi Simberg //ishirubi + study on story structure; themes: inner drive, time simulator

Dec 14, 2023

OPENING

Life in a time-trapped world - some of the rules, the monotony - the protagonist demonstrates the dullness of it by suicide - only to wake up again the next day - even though sometimes when people do die or kill themselves, it takes a few days to respawn. So, no one can be sure how long it has been this way. There have been legends of people having disappeared forever, though - but he never knew anyone like this personally - unless they also disappeared from their memory.

ACT 1

Travel to other cities is impossible - cars have worn out over the years - and metal seems to repair overnight, neither weekly, nor monthly, or yearly - not like the food that re-appears every three days, nor the cows and the hen - all the animals loop the same as all the humans do - and we suspect the cows might have a memory as we do - they remember getting killed hundreds of times over - sometimes they protest to getting killed now - they understand what’s coming - so you can now tell the peaceful cows from the nervous ones - for some reason at least half the cows don’t mind getting eaten over and over again, at all.

He’d been in love and confessed it as such, and also said he wouldn’t bother chasing the girl, either imposing himself on her - but she went for someone who did - and he hasn’t met anyone he liked as much ever since - he does sometimes try to spy on how the girl is doing, are they breaking up yet, is she becoming more broken, does she seem happy.

But he is not happy; he is stuck in the wrong town - he was visiting this girl when the shift happened - in a city where he knew no one but her, having had connected over the internet - a sort of communication medium which no longer exists - the cables, towers, satellites that had enabled all that - it’s rusted and rotted and fallen away - and when people have attempted to rebuild - by the following day the metal is back in the earth where they dug it from - in parts that they had metal in the land - that was the last when information moved about when the internet still existed.

He’d attempted to return to his home town at the beginning; every morning, he would wake up, get on the bus, ride back home, and cook a meal. But things in the capital city seemed to deteriorate quicker than in that small town - even though the food would re-spawn every three days - people started getting anxious about it - they began trashing buildings and cars - and for a while, they would reset for every following day - until one day they didn’t anymore. Every structure that had once been built and is now broken - remained broken.

He had stopped going back there before the buses stopped going. Every morning, he still wakes in a stranger’s apartment; he wakes up next to a girl who runs away to another guy.

And one day, he thought he might try walking south - towards the country's border - to see what was there because he had never been. He didn’t bother packing anything because he knew he would have just 16 hours until everything went blank, and he woke up next to that girl again.

And when he had walked for 8 hours, he reached another man. And old man, grumpy, on a bike. “Hello”

“Hi,” the old man says.

“What are you doing here?”

“This is as far as I can go today,” the man says. “And this is the first time I walked into anyone in the last three years.”

“You’ve been all alone for three years?”

“Well, yes…”

How many more like him could be out there - unimaginably sad. Joe now sees that things aren’t all bad for him - at least he could walk up to any stranger of the 40 thousand in town and start talking.

“Hey boy, say, is there any news?”

“News on what?”

“Did anyone on your side happen to get any idea how to get out yet?”

“I have not heard of anyone… Unless whatever is happening also makes us forget.”

“It doesn’t…”

“Do you know someone who has gone?”

“All my five friends… And I can’t figure out why them, what they did, and how they did it– But one by one, they all disappeared. No warning ahead; they never spoke if they had gotten any new ideas on what to try, what to think, what to pray, what to chant, what to burn– It almost seems random– But all of my five friends, so close in time– And not me, this can’t be a coincidence– They all came this way - so there must be something here that inspired them all - maybe the nature of the forest, how the trees stand, or the state of all things during a particular kind of weather– Or maybe they met someone, a muse, who would tell them the same thing that inspired them, enlightened them, liberated them…”

“I have heard there are groups in town devoted to figuring this out, too, but I always thought they were a little wacky… I don’t know any of them, personally…”

“But you should ask them if they know anyone who has disappeared!”

“But since we’re here… Why don’t we have a picnic.”

And after they had sat for a few hours, drank some wine, and ate some sour bread– The old man gets up, “have you noticed that some things remain where we put them, and others reset?”

“Yes…”

“I have in my possession a small chest, a container… Someone brought it to our house a few years ago, before the boys were gone - I had not seen him, but the boys said he had been the most peculiar man, handed them the chest, and said, this is just a sample, try it out. He wanted them to test the chest - put something into it and see if it would still be in it the next day, the next month and so on - indeed, it was so… Even after you’d take it out of the chest - the thing wouldn’t get reset again. As if it was broken free from the curse– the man was supposed to return to check on the results, but I’ve not seen him - maybe because he did need a car to move about, too far away from home– But I feel there is something to that chest - like it’s a piece of a puzzle, we could turn things around with it - if we could keep some things out of place…”

“Like, move something to Räval that we couldn’t otherwise…”

“No, Mathias, what I am trying to say - if there was a big enough chest to fit a man in it - you wouldn’t wake up to the spot you do every day - and you could roam the earth free again - or maybe you could even get out from here… But if not the latter, and you could get unbound from your cursed mornings - you could be free to go around the world and see if someone else has figured it out.”

If I find a bike, a car, a horse - I could move faster - I will look for that peculiar man and see if he has a chest the size of a man - and maybe, indeed, I could become free.

ACT 2 - A

After 30 days of going around on a bike that would be at the right spot every day, but bit by bit was breaking down - he indeed finds a small house of a woodworker in a marshland spot - the house looks brand new, but there is no longer any warmth in it - he knocks on the door and no one answers. Hence, he opens it and walks in.

And in the middle of the small wood workshop, suited like a salesman of expensive things - he hangs by a rope, partly rotting. And it smells awful.

He’s dead, he is really dead! Or did he hang himself before all this started? No, he’d be– Well, would he really be more rotten if all the microbes, flies, and worms that nibble on him get reset every morning, too? It takes time to find these things–

He holds his hand to his mouth, looks at the room’s tables, floors, and walls, and sees boxes of any size. He opens each of them and finds things inside - in some of them something of vegetable-kind - at least they used to be, now just a dark mass covered in moss.

And lastly - he does notice the big one - he had missed it as the lid was open - big enough to fit a man inside. Excited, he walks close, trying to imagine what would happen if he stepped inside and shut it - he would wake up here and not back at the apartment - and a new life could begin - even though his bike is nearly broken, and travel would be slow - it wouldn’t matter anymore - he can sleep in nature, go back to Räval, or go further south - so far until the sea stops him at the Midterra–

And when he stands up, his head touches the butt of the salesman - reminding him of another thing stepping into that box would cause - he would become mortal again. About to step into the coffin, no, one foot inside it, already - it all turns dark.

“Oh no, the 8 hours of darkness! I was too slow in my movement; I ran out of time–!” As he wakes up again, he shouts, “But I shall hurry back to the house tomorrow and not wander about. I will get there, rush into the coffin, and wait the 8 hours and then come out and be a free man!”

“Matthias,” the girl calls to him, “Matthias,” she pushes his arm and tries to shake him awake. And he awakens and looks at the girl, “Elisa, what is the matter?” He asks without even thinking about it - because she cries and is terrified and shaking - even though she looks as fresh and healthy as she does every morning - there is something wrong with her.

“He beat me, he beat me up all over, and shouted at me, and raped me–”

“Hey hey hey–”

None of it shows on the skin, but events like that stain people’s memories and souls for a long time, if not forever. And she is lucky to have woken up at her own home, away from a monster - unlike many other broken couples - who are bound to wake up next to each other for life - no escape from the terror - while their bodies heal and renew every time it goes dark - their mind doesn’t - insanity, the absorbing barrier.

***

In smaller towns, you’d know exactly which areas to avoid going to - most people, when they go crazy, never turn back to normal - they are stuck in their situation. But for people like Elisa - to get to wake up in a safe home every morning - albeit in her case next to a stranger whom she had snubbed, making every morning as awkward as it gets - a glimpse of violence and insanity is something that strengthens the mind. You will have the opportunity to avoid certain situations in the future. You know how to safeguard yourself.

“Hey, let me make you some tea, we’ll calm down–You’ll be alright here–”

“What if he comes here? He knows I live here–He’ll come looking for sure when I don’t show up today.”

“I will stay here with you– And use this if necessary.”

Matthias has a gun. Even though, of the nine rounds he used to have, only six still work - the three he had used on himself - well, they are in the magazine, but they are broken–and have to be taken out before he wants to use the gun. He does that now, as the water is heating and Elisa is waiting for her tea, sitting like a sad sack of potatoes behind the kitchen table–

“You have no business protecting me,” she snivels. “Aren’t you a ridiculous guy? What are you trying to achieve like that? Chasing after I turned you down…”

Matthias is done cleaning up the gun, “This isn’t about you, I just can’t stand assholes like that.” When she had told him of her experience, his chest tightened, and he started feeling a rage, an urge to violence - something he had not felt for a long time - and now his knuckles got itchy and trigger finger happy.

And sure enough, the bloke shows up, throws a brick at her window, comes at her door to pound it, and Mathias just goes ahead and shoots him dead.

“He’ll be back for you tomorrow,” Elisa cries, “He won’t let this go!”

“That’s alright… I won’t be here tomorrow.”
“Do you imagine you can keep up this forever? He won’t stop coming for you! Every morning! He’ll beat you dead every morning! And me, too!” Elisa can’t get her eyes off the dead body.

“No, I won’t be here - not tomorrow, not ever. I’m leaving.” Mathias seems determined.

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Elisa forgets about the dead body now, swayed his words.

“You’ll see when you wake up tomorrow… You try to hide in some other apartment; maybe your neighbours will help if you ask nicely. Until he gets bored trying to find you and me, move on to something else, and you move on with your life, too. You are lucky to have bound yourself to this home - apart from bricks flying through the windows - you’re pretty safe here. And you won’t ever have to see me again.”

“You know, suicide doesn’t work…”

“I know…”

She looks startled.

“I know, we’ve all tried it. Anyway, it’s been interesting, Elisa, goodbye, for now!”

He steps over the corpse he shot in the middle of the hallway and, walks down to the street, goes behind the house where an old bicycle–Should be.

It’s gone! Someone else took it! Mathias, desperate, attempts to walk the way back to the house but fails to do so, and wakes up next to Elisa, and the morning starts again. She doesn’t make much of him waking up next to her; she gets busy fortifying her windows and doors so the bloke can’t throw another brick in.

But the bloke indeed comes and is furious and, for this day, beats Mathias to death.

The following day, Elisa and Mathias wake up; there is smoke all around - and the bloke has set their building on fire.

And when they wake up the following day, parts of the building remain broken, and there’s still the smell of smoke - and they expect to get roasted again - but the bloke doesn’t come.

Mathias rushes down to get the bike - and now the bike is wholly broken - possibly damaged in the fire. It was the last bike he knew about - he had thought, a well-kept secret - and now that is gone - gone with his chance for freedom and mortality.

He walks back up to the apartment and sees Elisa is dressing up.

“Where are you going?” Mathias asks.

“I want to know what happened… Why did he stop coming.” Elisa sounds worried.

“Are you a little sick in your head?” Mathias gives an angry slap to the door. “Enjoy the day. He got bored of this. Take your chance!”

“Maybe he regrets! Maybe he’s in pain! Maybe he’ll say sorry!”

“You are insane!”

“So what?” Elisa is angry at Mathias.

He now shuts his mouth and sits behind the table - the table smells burnt, but it looks fine. “You won’t be crying on my shoulder when he hurts you again.”

“What, you’re going to leave again?” She asks mockingly. “I’m not going to forgive him; I just want to see if he is hurt.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Let’s go? Where do you think YOU’RE coming?”

“I’ve got nothing better to do for the day, anyway…”

And when they reach the bloke’s house, they see that his neighbours have shut him in his apartment - he has turned mad. And now, for the rest of their lives, every morning, the neighbours have to get up early to shut him in again and again, or he will go on a rampage, destroying buildings - so destructive, as many buildings won’t revert–

“See, you weren’t the crazy one,” Mathias laughs, holding his flat belly, “he was!”

“Nothing to see here, then…”

“What do you want to do?”

“Nothing, I’ll just walk back home… I need to think some shit over.”

“See you in the morning, then…”

“Mathias–Just in case–In case they fail to lock him, we have to be ready for him to come again.”

“I know.”

But Mathias had other plans for the day now - he thought he could find another bike somewhere.

For the next few months, he was raiding old basements - and soon enough, he found an old family bicycle. It was too late to go to the cabin the day he found it, so he remembered the correct spot and returned to Elisa’s apartment.

She was there, the apartment was all cleaned up, and she was cooking. “Good evening,” she cheered, “welcome home,” she seemed happy, somehow. “Have a seat, let’s eat.”

So they sat and ate, and they almost didn’t even speak - they had not spoken for the past few months, even though they did see each other in the mornings - he could sense her spirit was healing, and they’d spend some mornings together in the kitchen, drinking tea, and listening to the white noise from the radio - and she had noticed his spirit was troubled, and becoming more so with each day–as if he was withering.

He had been busy trying to find a bike and had no idea what she had been up to, and she had no idea what he had been - but she had noticed this was the first time he returned home in the evening. She thought she’d wait until the morning to tell him this, but now that they were there–

“Listen, Mathias… I think we can make it work.”

“Make what work?”

“You and me, sharing a home. I met an old friend today - and she had given birth recently– She’d started a family with her neighbour– She’s lucky that he’s sane–”

Indeed, people can get children, they do get born– And they remain stuck in the loop. They age, but not linearly nor chronologically. Births were as rare as deaths, so each was celebrated widely enough for everyone to know.

He thought about what she had just said and tried to imagine it. But he is not saying anything and looks all so serious, which worries her.

“Well, say something?” Elisa blurts.

“It is an interesting idea.” Mathias shrugs.

She had asked the same from the bloke some time ago, but he had only laughed and said she’d never make a good mother. Mathias responded in his way, even though, with a hint of indifference, satisfied her. It made her smile, even.

“But I’m still planning to leave.”

“What is all this nonsense about leaving…”

He didn’t want to talk about it to anyone - he’d assume maybe if he told others, the magic would stop working for whatever reason - he was afraid of the competition - many ideas kept him from ever saying these things out loud. So, he waves his hand and shakes his head.

Forget about it.

“We could make it work, certainly. You’re good company when you’re not chasing around insane men,” he says with a playful tone.

“I was very confused–”

“We go for what we think we deserve–Sadly, you saw yourself this way.”

“What does it say about you, having come for me?” Elisa asks, bitter and clever.

“I wasn’t looking at you the way you do. Who knows, anyway– I liked you, and it felt right to visit you.”

“But you didn’t want to sleep with me?”

“Oh, I did! But I’m not going to impose…”

“So, did I have to make the first move? I prefer it when men make the first move!”
“That’s nonsense! Men don’t make first moves; they impose - and you’re the gentle kind, hardly ever turn down an imposing man - you can’t do anything about it - it’s just wrong; it creates a situation we’re not supposed to handle with sanity.”

“You’re just scared of rejection!”

“Oh, sure, maybe–” Mathias snores.

“But you didn’t become mean as some guys do…”

He shrugs.

“How’d you take it so well…”

“Why were the other guys taking it so unwell?”

***

Time’s up.

Eight hours of darkness and nothingness. Alone in a state that is not sleep - because he can still think his thoughts and make plans while at it - and most people do think about things, recall old memories, or fantasise, make up fantastical stories in their minds - because for that 8 hours of darkness, there’s not much else to do anyway.

And this time, during those 8 hours of darkness, he no longer recalls all the places. He no longer needs to look for the bike and thinks about Elisa. Indeed, what would their future be like–bound to this home, this neighbourhood, this town - with a boy and a girl as their children? And he’d think what he would name them and wonder how the matters with education could be in some seven years, or would they school the kids themselves; and what would they do if the kids start smoking or hanging out with kids who have a bad influence on them–All that, if in 7 years the insanity, the absorbing barrier, hasn’t spread as thoroughly as it did years back in the bigger city - and now he wonders what has happened to the bigger city, his home, Räval, and what of his friends, his father, his brother, what are they up to, what are they doing, how is life in the city madness.

And when he wakes, Elisa has already awoken, too, and is doing something in the kitchen. And he walks to her and looks at her, she’s setting herself up differently, her hair is lovely, she smells better, there’s life in her eyes, and she smiles when she sees him. “Good morning, Mathias!”

She’s fantastic.

He stands and contemplates–Opens his arms to gesture, “Come now or never like I’ll be gone.”

And Elisa walks close to him, putting her hand on his chest, “What is this?” She asks.

“Seeing if you respond any differently than you did back then.”

“I don’t know what to do–I can’t be as aggressive as a man.”

“But that’s not what I’m expecting,” he smiles and hugs her. He needs to know that she’s comfortable being close to him. And it feels great to hug over such a long time, and sincerely. She smiles and kisses him, and they are satisfied in doing so. But before it’s taken back into the other room, Mathias stops.

“I may have found a way out from this…”

“This nonsense again… Don’t make me chase you!”

“It is not nonsense… There is a way to break out from the course, get unbound from this location - and become mortal. I have been looking for a bicycle to get to this location and planned to go today. Tomorrow, I won’t wake up next to you again.”

“But if we can make it work - do you still want to go?”

“Yes.”

That answer somehow stings her, and she sits on the bed, backside towards him, confused, maybe trying to weep, maybe angry, sad, disappointed… “So why do you open your arms here like this and immediately say you want to leave for good?”

“Maybe we can make this work.”

“Make what work? Leave me broken-hearted, and I can never see you again?”

“I want to come back here; I will go do the thing and then come get you - and maybe we can break you free, too.”

“What if I don’t want to… I’ll be perfectly happy here - see, many others are… I don’t need to unbind myself from my safe home, neighbourgood… Neither from you. Why do you need to? Is this not good enough for you?”

“It’s great, here - I am certain, with breaking the spell - things will get much harder for us. For me, if you don’t want to… But I will go today and return tomorrow, and then I will ask you again if you want to go where I’m going.”

“Just leave then. I don’t care.”

He knows she doesn’t mean it, but he is sure he can return.

MIDPOINT

Mathias goes to the spot where he found the bicycle - it’s still there and in great condition; he gets on it and starts peddling away. By the evening - he reaches the wooden workshop in the swamp and enters the house - everything is as it was when he last was there - no one was nibbling on the corpse today… He heads towards the big coffin, steps inside, and shuts the lid on himself.

And for the first time in a long time, he is seeing dreams - it’s not darkness - he is asleep - and he can sense time passing, his body ageing, heart beating, blood boiling - and his dreams are messy and stressful. He wakes up during the night a few times only to remember he needs to remain shut in the coffin and quickly falls asleep again. And wakes in the morning - still in the coffin, opens the lid and sees the light outside.

Over a long time, the day starts somewhere else in Elisa’s apartment. His health is still great, even though he can feel his muscles are a little sour from the cycling… He checks his gun, and the bullets he had taken out last morning are still out - the dirt he got on his clothes, walking on the forest path - is still there… He’s free, and he is mortal.

Still sitting in the open coffin, he now looks up at the hung corpse - he had discovered how to break the curse, and the only thing he wanted to do was to hang himself… He was free in an imprisoned world, which must have been lonely. Alright, it’s time to get back to town and get Elisa. A sudden horror washed over him as he stepped outside and walked back to the road where he had left the bicycle.

The bicycle had reset.

ACT 2 - B

Well, he couldn’t stay there, that’s for sure - on food, getting back to town would take 2 or 3 days, he’d have to sleep under the night sky - and the thought of it scared and excited him so - having no idea what the night is really like these days - they all had missed the nights because the darkness came - and he couldn’t tell what’s going on while he was hiding in the coffin, too; Scared - because there’s a chance the sort of nightlife now experiences is now un-survivable - what could happen if he would move forwards in a world that is moving back as if repairing itself to a previous state - could he break something and make things worse - or would the flow of time throw him back to the cabin? Could he remain bound to the coffin now? Would he have to carry the coffin with him to the town? That would be painful - the coffin seemed heavy… He stands where his bike should be and wonders - when it comes to that, I could build the coffin some wheels… But first, I’m going to… What if the night kills me?

But everything seemed so normal and peaceful now - he could never have been at such time of the day anywhere this far from home before - so it felt fresh and exciting - the surroundings were peaceful, untouched by any humans for a long time - even though the plastic bag and an old carton milk container in the side of the highway have been resetting for all these years…

What was missing from humans was some spirit - a memory. No one in the past few years was holding any memories of this exact location. And he could feel it. This place and how much more of the world must have been forgotten.

So, he goes back to the cabin and spends the day building little wheels for the coffin. And when nighttime comes, he shuts himself into the coffin again, just to be safe.

The next day, he starts moving and moves on the forgotten highway for the whole day, wheeling the coffin behind himself, and when the sun sets, he sets the coffin down and puts himself asleep in it. The same story repeats for two more days and nights as he walks back towards the town to Elisa’s place.

By the noon of the fourth day, he entered the town, and few people on the streets looked at him curiously - as they had never seen anyone do that before - carrying a wheeled coffin through the streets, going towards the heart of the town.

He makes it to the building where Elisa’s apartment is, carries the coffin all the way up, knocks on the door - and Elisa opens it - throws herself into his arms, cries and exhales, and announces how relieved she is to see that he has returned.

He wheels the coffin into the apartment, leaves it in the living room, and proposes they sit for tea.

“It worked, it really worked! I got very worried when I woke up that morning, and you weren’t there… I was looking all over for you - maybe you had woken up early and gone off somewhere, I wondered… Why wouldn’t you stay for a tea… I wanted to come close to you and kiss you and hug you, but you weren’t there…”

“I was inside that; it really does work. And now I brought it here, so you can use it, too, if you like.”

“But what is the night like? What happens during the night?”

“Well, I didn’t really see… I was inside it; I thought it was too risky to stay up - maybe the shift, the reset would kill me, or I would get lost in the stream of time…”

And now they both fall silent as they realise the coffin can only fit one. And for a few minutes, they sit silently, not sipping tea, not scratching their head, just looking at the coffin over the door.

“Maybe I could craft another… I could go back to the workshop… And use the tools, see how he had made the smaller ones… And make one for you, too.”

“How far is it?”

“On foot, it’s 3-4 days… With a bicycle, I could get there faster…”

“So, you want to go and think you could build another? How long would it take you?”

“Shit… If I went with a bike, I barely made it there by night - and now there’s no coffin… I would have to walk back with the coffin. And after 3 or 4 days, I could start building - I can’t even guess how long it would take to build one. I would have to learn a lot of things… What makes it work...”

“It’s fine, then… You stay here with the coffin; I’ll remain as I am.”

“No, this won’t do… We will arrange it so, for now - I will sleep in the coffin, and I will try to see what I can learn from the coffin here and now - and when I think I have figured it out, I will journey back to the cabin and after… 5 days after I leave - I will show you tomorrow, where the bicycle is - you will start coming over - to see if I have finished the second coffin - until the day that I will have - and then we will both be free.”

He showed her the bicycle, and she remembered it, and they studied the coffin in the apartment as much as they could. She noticed peculiar things about it too - markings that looked like some of the eastern languages, tiles glued together with something that looked like tree sap - on the bottom half, and a fungus on the other - and the hinges were a strange thing altogether as if made from bones - but that would be alright, Mathias thought - he can take the hinges from the smaller boxes that were lying around in the cabin.

When night comes, Mathias shuts himself into the coffin, and Elisa leans into it. They talk about the dreams Mathias has been seeing and how it feels different to sleep - and they talk for about an hour until it becomes quiet.

He is still awake in the coffin, but the outer side changed - and Elisa is gone. And the thought of her having disappeared just like that, in the middle of a sentence - makes him feel hollow inside - he wonders what it would have looked like - does she turn into a pop, and does she walk back into her bed? Does she blink and glitch out of the room? Is the room still there? Or is all pitch black - all gone - just the silent darkness - everything and light dematerialised - taking its time to set itself back into place?

He hardly gets any sleep that night; he is horrified, imagining he is floating in endless darkness just inside this old coffin, lost in space and time and so utterly alone. He wonders if the world is unreal, if Elisa is unreal, if the apartment is unreal - and what does that make of him, the coffin, and the cabin?

And soon, he hears three knocks. “Hello?” It’s Elisa. It’s morning again. “Are you okay? Oh my, you look a little tired! I’ll make you some tea.” Sleep-deprived and accompanied by the haunting thoughts of Elisa not being real - because real things cannot just disappear into darkness at night and then reappear in the morning, he is a little avoidant, and he sets off on his journey back to the cabin without hugging or kissing her good-bye.

It takes three days and nights for him to get back to the cabin - first, he disposes of the hanging corpse so it won’t creep out Elisa when she gets there - and he finds large planks of wood set aside- maybe the hanged man did plan to build more - and he starts building the second coffin.

As for Elisa - after five days, she indeed does take the bicycle and starts peddling away on the roads and directions Mathias has told her - but she soon finds out she cannot cycle fast enough, and for three consecutive days, she makes it to the same spot, just before where she is supposed to get off the bicycle and get on a small off-road to follow it to the cabin - time runs out, and the darkness takes over.

Mathis wonders for the first day whether she had changed her mind about wanting to come there, deciding to stay in the comfort of her home, and on the second day, he wonders if she may have gotten lost on her way… During the night between the second and the third day, he sees a dream through which he realises - Elisa cannot cycle so far - so he uses half of the third day to figure out how to stack the two coffins so he can travel with them both - and he starts his way. Still, he doesn’t get far enough to reach the point where she stops.

Mathias continues to walk to meet her for the fourth day - and by the fifth evening, he does reach a point she could make it to, but she’s not there. Did she lose the way? Did she give up and decide it is better to remain in the comfort of her home for the rest of eternity? He could keep going, but moving with two coffins is slow - and he is getting really hungry - he can taste blood with his eyes - there’s a chance he could die there - starvation. He leaves one of the coffins aside to return to the town as fast as possible.

The fourth day was an unpleasant one for Elisa. She was on her way to the basement with the bicycle when she sensed someone was following her. She hurried up, got to the basement, took out the bicycle, and as she was about to sit on it, the old mad bloke stepped up from behind the corner and kicked the bike so hard that it skewed into an unusable slump of metal bars!

She manages to escape him and remains hidden for the day. The next morning, she takes another path and makes sure he isn’t following - the neighbours must have locked him up again - and he gets to the basement and finds the bicycle - but to her horror - the metal is still skewed, the wheels are no longer round - it is unusable.

An inconvenient setback… I will devote myself to finding another bicycle - and she had had a conversation about it with Mathias before - and when they were on the way to the basement together, he had mentioned many of the places he had gone through where he couldn’t find a bike - so she knew where not to look, at least. After two days, in the basement of an old abandoned apartment block, she finds another bicycle, and she remembers the place and returns home because it is too late anyway.

And when she reaches home, Mathias is there, with his one coffin, waiting behind her locked door. “Mathias, hello!”

“Did you change your mind?”

“No, there was an incident. But I have now found a new bicycle, and I am determined to… Did you manage to build it at all?”

“Yes, I left it behind for now - I wanted to get here as fast as possible to find out whether you’re still planning to come. Can I get some food?”

They ate, and when the night came close, he’d go to the coffin and shut himself in again, and they would talk for nearly an hour until Elisa disappeared again.

In the morning, they take their time to drink some tea and discuss what they should do next. “I left the coffin on the road; you should easily make it there on a bicycle… But I won’t be able to keep up with you carrying mine. So, here’s what we will do - you will go on the bike and try to reach the coffin, and get inside it, and spend the night there. I will come as far as I can with my coffin today and sleep where I end up. And the next day - when we can wake up again - you will hear the birds chirping and light simmer in - we will start walking towards each other - you shouldn’t be waking up here anymore…”

“Okay, so I pick up my coffin, as you do, and start walking back towards the town?”

“Yes… Uhh… No. I didn’t put wheels on your coffin. You won’t be able to carry it… You’re going to have to wait a day for me… Make sure you pack some food and take it in the coffin with you… And wait for me there… I am sorry that there is nothing to…”

“I could bicycle to you and back for entertainment!”

“The bike will reset… And you will be tired, trust me. Mortality is quite different than this. But let’s follow my plan, and it will be alright.”

ACT 3

And indeed, when they set off that day, Elisa reaches her coffin, and a day’s walk earlier, Mathias sets himself to sleep - and as the sun sets, and they are both shut in their coffins, Elisa is a little restless… I want to see it. I want to see what the night looks like.

Night comes, and after a long time, Mathias can get some good sleep - he starts walking again in the morning, and when the evening comes near - he can see Elisa’s coffin in the distance, but no Elisa. Could she have gone to the forest? Where is she? The coffin seems open as he reaches closer, but she isn’t inside nor around it; maybe she went for a pee break?

He sets his coffin right next to hers; it’s soon time to go to sleep again; he yells her name, and all it does - it echoes back at him, “Elisa, Elisa, Elisa…” In her coffin, there is her picnic basket but nothing else.

Could it be… That it didn’t work? That she’s back in town? Or the coffin I built is missing something to make it work like mine, and time tore her apart? Oh no, what have I done… He is trying to figure out what to do - should he return to town and see if she woke up in her bed? If it doesn’t work, I can test it… I will sleep in this coffin tonight - and if it kills me, it kills me… If it resets me, it resets me… At least I will know.

In the morning, he wakes, and the coffin worked indeed - he was still on the highway - now with his two coffins and the picnic basket Elisa had left behind. He is hungry, so he eats some of it and wonders, could it be… She couldn’t resist the temptation and opened the lid during the night. Did time tear her apart? Did she return home? Did she die? If any of this happened - I can test it - I will wait for the night without falling asleep, and then open the coffin - if it kills me, it kills me; if it resets me - so be it. At least I will know.

For the day, he takes a walk in the forest to kill time until the evening arrives so he can execute his plan. He looks closely at the trees’ colourful barks and sees sap and tiny colourful fungi, and he keeps following something that seems like a trail - this must be where the wood was cut for these coffins… Why is this place so special?

The trees just want to come home. Maybe they have more power than us, manipulating me to bring the coffins so close back to where their roots were… But no, there was nothing special going on in that forest, and he was trying to distract himself with fantastic thoughts - to distract himself from the thought that tonight he might die - that tonight he would experience something that he could not imagine.

The sun starts to set, and he walks back to the coffins - he looks at the beautiful sunset, thinking this might be the last one he sees, then sits down and shuts the lid on himself.

From the cracks of the coffin and the sound of air - he can sense when night has fallen - it’s silent, and no light is coming in from the outside. But thanks to the picnic basket - it still smells like moist sandwiches. He puts his hand against the lid, meaning to push it open.

Why is nothing stopping me from pushing this? Why is there no instinct screaming at me, “No, don’t; why isn’t there an angry mother around to whack my hand? No, don’t - why is there nothing? And while nothing is inviting him to stop, nothing is inviting him to do it. “Elisa, what happened to you? I need to know…”

The muscle of his right arm tightens, and he pushes his hand up, slowly lifting the lid.

The lid is now open, and he still lies on his back, glaring at what is now visible. A starlit sky, so many stars, watching, blinking. He sits up and sees he is still on the highway - it’s cold and silent. Has it not started yet?

He sits up and looks around - and it bothers him so - nothing inviting, nothing telling him to stop, nothing warning him to shut the lid again. If Elisa saw this, what did she do next? He stands up and steps outside the coffin. And when he turns back towards the piece of the forest he visited earlier - he sees lights inside it - strange shapes moving about. She went there… There’s no way she didn’t. Bedazzled by the warm lights, they could be inviting for a girl like her.

And he walks towards the forest again, as if hypnotised, unable to take his eyes off the dancing lights - so focused on it that he wouldn’t even notice if something else was happening among the trees. He steps on a dried branch, and it echoes louder than thunder.

And suddenly, some of the trees as if turn to him, looking at him - it startles him, so he falls on his ass and screams at the turning trees. His vision adapts to the light and dark, and he realises - these are not trees… They are… What are they?

“Ah, another curious one.”

“You sure it isn’t the same one?”

“No, the other one was a girl.”

“Make sure you don’t give him a chance to get through.”

“It’s not like we gave her a chance; the bloody woman killed him!”

“Just ensure you stay away from their hands, and you’ll be fine.”

As he hears that, Mathias reaches out his hand to touch the creature. The creature starts screaming and becomes lifeless - and turns back into the shape of a tree, and that scares the other creatures, and he stands up and walks to them - and they do not appear to be able to walk very fast, so he catches up easily, and touches them and kills them, too.

Make sure you don’t give him a chance to get through… Through where? What are these? He touches one of the tree-looking things - and sees they are not trees - they are wearing tree bark as armour - underneath it, they have skin, much like human skin - but their shape is strange, they are boneless, and they have no eyes…

And inspecting the disgusting-looking creature, he notices the lights again a little further into the forest. Taking a closer look - the lights appear to be dancing around a tiny pond on the ground - fully reflective… Through here, I assume. And he steps in.

FINALE

Elisa and Mathias find themselves in a different realm - and discover that their world is beyond saving - and its peculiar time bug will inevitably infect all other realms, too.

Eventually, they have to return to Earth, and the time bug is still not fixed - but finding out they can wander around freely - day and night, they commit to finding other people who are interested in breaking the curse - when enough people have broken loose - time will get fixed again.

Oathfeed Studio // ishirubi

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