Series
Life at the Cost of Drinking a Cup of Time: The Simulated Dream
Part Five: Echoes of the Future As Darcy’s team prepares Tom for the simulation, they ask Alex to stay calm and avoid stress. Darcy instructs Rosalyn to stay close to Alex during this crucial experiment, emphasizing that they might need her to bring him back if necessary. Everything is ready. The team is adjusting the signals. But just before the experiment begins, Alex suddenly starts convulsing. Darcy immediately halts the test, but one of the team members exclaims that Alex’s brain signals are recording an event. Darcy is taken aback. Moments later, Alex emerges from the seizure.
By Vafa Abbasiabout a year ago in Fiction
Wheels of Doubt: Confessions of a Pizza Delivery Man
The night felt thick, layered with humidity and something heavier—a guilt that seeped into every breath Marcus took. The pizzeria lights dimmed behind him as he stepped outside, balancing cardboard boxes that felt heavier tonight than they ever had before. It wasn't the cheese, the crust, or the toppings; it was the weight of memory.
By Rukka Novaabout a year ago in Fiction
Life at the Cost of Drinking a Cup of Time: The Simulated Dream
Part Three: The Nightmarish Dream -One Day Before the Next Phase of the Experiment- Alex lay in his room, but sleep eluded him. Thoughts swirled endlessly in his mind, and he felt as though something deep inside was pulling him. Suddenly, a physical pain settled in his chest, and before he could react, the world around him began to spin. A sharp dizziness overtook him, as if his entire body was being sucked into an endless whirlpool. He opened his eyes and found himself in a dark, endless corridor. All around him were tall, narrow walls that seemed to stretch forever. At the beginning of the hallway, a small, faint light illuminated the space, casting deep shadows that made the surroundings even darker. His legs felt heavy, and with every step he took, the sound of scraping against the ground echoed in his ears. His breath became labored, as if the air around him was thinning. Suddenly, a loud laugh broke the silence of the night. The sound, coming from an unknown depth, was not only strange but seemed to be coming from all directions. Trembling with fear, Alex began to run, but the corridor still appeared endless. The further he ran, the louder and more terrifying the laughter became. The sounds pierced his mind in a way that was both unsettling and maddening. In the midst of this darkness, a faint light caught his eye. He stepped toward it, and gradually, the light transformed into a large wooden door at the end of the hallway. It seemed as though everything was within his grasp—the door called to him in a magical way. But as he drew closer to the door, the laughter grew louder. Alex placed his hand on the door, and as his heart raced, he opened it. Inside the room stood Sara, but something had changed in her face. Her gaze was cold and emotionless, not the loving, serene look Alex remembered. She looked at him with a ruthless expression, just as she had in the nightmares. "Alex..." Sara’s voice cast a cruel shadow over him. "You shouldn’t enter this game... this isn’t just a game. It’s a game with time, a game with fate." Alex responded with a trembling voice, "Sara... what are you saying? What happened here?" Sara smiled, a smile that lacked any warmth. "You’re just a pawn in this game, Alex. Nothing is real. This is just a dream." Before Alex could say anything more, the terrifying laughter returned, echoing through the room like deadly gunshots in his ears. He tried to approach Sara, but his legs felt heavy, as if he was trapped in a swamp of fear and despair. With every step he took, he seemed to get more and more trapped, caught in a never-ending loop. Suddenly, the ground beneath him began to tremble, and the space around him twisted. The walls shook, and withered trees and strange shadows passed by him. It felt as though everything he came near began to vanish, as if the world around him was collapsing from within. Alex looked around in utter horror. He couldn’t understand what was happening. Everything was changing too fast, and he felt like he was caught in a digital, simulated world—a matrix, or perhaps an endless nightmare. He gasped for breath, shouting at himself to wake up. The more he shouted, the more he felt trapped in this deceptive world. "I need to wake up..." he repeated to himself, as the world around him began to disintegrate. Then, everything fell silent. When Alex opened his eyes, he was met with a cold, snowy landscape. Immediately, he realized that nothing in his surroundings was real. It had all been a nightmare. He was lying in his bed, still heavy with sleep. With a deep breath, Alex found a sense of calm and finally understood that what he had experienced was only a nightmare. But he still felt that deep inside that dream, something more than what he had seen was hidden. Something that reminded him that fate and time couldn’t simply be manipulated.
By Vafa Abbasiabout a year ago in Fiction
Life at the Cost of Drinking a Cup of Time: The Simulated Dream
Part two: A Gamble with Fate (Continued) Several preliminary tests had been conducted as trials to prepare Alex for the real experiment on the day of the accident. These tests were specifically designed to place him in controlled conditions and assess his body's reactions to time simulations. The goal was to bring Alex back to the day of the accident, but before anything else, they had to ensure his body could handle such a challenge. The tests were carried out with utmost precision to determine if his body responded properly to the simulations and whether any adverse effects would occur. The days in the lab passed quickly, with each experiment bringing Alex closer to the ultimate goal. -First Steps Backward- As the sound of the machine faded, Alex found himself in a familiar place—a quiet street bathed in the soft light of a streetlamp. He could smell Sarah’s perfume faintly, hear the laughter of their son, Tom, in the distance, and feel the warmth of the summer night air on his skin. Everything was just as he remembered, but it didn’t feel right. The world around him was a simulated version, designed to mimic the past with disturbing accuracy. Alex knew this wasn’t real, but it was real enough to make his heart ache. He stood still, unable to move, while his eyes locked onto the scene. Before him, Sarah stood on the porch, waiting for him. "Alex," her voice gently drifted from a distance, a voice that still echoed in his mind. Her eyes were filled with love, the same gaze she always had when she looked at him. But something was different. The look in her eyes, just as Alex remembered, no longer held the same trust it once did. There was distance, a kind of caution in her eyes that Alex didn’t recognize. "Are you okay?" Sarah asked, her brows furrowed with concern. Alex took a step forward, his heart racing. "I—I’m not sure," he muttered, unsure how to begin this conversation. He didn’t know how to tell her that he was from the future or that everything they had was built on the fragility of time. Just like the moments before, the world around him began to shake. The porch, the light, Sarah’s face—everything trembled as if a scene were collapsing. A wave of panic swept over him. He couldn’t lose her again, not like this. He reached out, trying to grasp onto the illusion, but it slipped through his fingers. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that nothing could be held onto anymore—not even the past. -Ripple Effects- Alex’s mission was simple: save Tom. But even as he stood in this world, just a few steps away from Sarah, he knew that his presence was already beginning to alter the course of events. In this simulated past, every interaction had weight. Every action, every word, could bring him closer to saving his son—or it could set off a chain of reactions that would change everything he thought he knew. "Sarah," he began, his voice trembling as he tried to hold on to this fleeting moment. "I need to ask you something. It’s really important. Please listen." She looked at him, but there was something in her gaze that made Alex hesitate. Could she somehow sense that something was wrong? "What’s going on, Alex? What’s happened to you?" she asked, her voice laced with worry and anxiety. "You’ve been distant lately... Is there something you're not telling me?" For a moment, Alex faltered. The weight of the decision was heavier than he could bear. How much should he reveal? If he told her he came from the future—about Tom, about the accident—would it give him any chance of changing the future? "I—" he began, but the words wouldn’t come. He didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to convince her. The world trembled again. This time, more violently. The universe around him began to destabilize, and he felt time’s pull dragging him back to the present. There was no time left. He hadn’t made any progress toward his mission. "Alex, what’s happening?" Sarah’s voice turned into a scream as the scene started to fade, her face morphing in fear. Alex turned toward her, but before he could say anything, the world completely collapsed, and he was swallowed by darkness. -A Moment of Clarity- When Alex opened his eyes again, he was back in the machine. The world he had been in—the past, the simulation—was gone. Only the cold, sterile environment of the lab remained. He felt disoriented, his body heavy with exhaustion. Professor Darcy stood over him, his expression unreadable. "Alex, you were in the simulation for an hour. How did it go?" Alex struggled to sit up, his mind spinning. Sarah’s voice still echoed in his ears, her concerned questions ringing in his head. It had felt real. So real. "I... I couldn’t reach her," Alex said in a hoarse voice. "I tried. But it wasn’t like I thought. She... she sensed something was wrong. She felt it." Darcy’s eyes narrowed as he entered some commands into the machine. "We predicted this," he said, his voice soft but firm. "The simulation doesn’t just recreate the past. It reacts to you. Your presence here isn’t just as an observer. You’re changing things... and the past is reacting to you." Alex’s heart sank. "What do you mean?" Darcy paused, as if carefully choosing his words. "It means the simulation doesn’t just recreate the past. It’s reacting to you. Your presence here is affecting time." The machine and the simulation were presented as tools for altering time and its consequences. Ethical and philosophical questions about changing the past began to surface. -The Gamble- The day of testing came to an end, and Alex returned home. He still felt an overwhelming fatigue in his body, his mind filled with questions and uncertainties that no one had been able to fully answer. When he entered the house, he felt that the experience of that day was still alive in his mind, like a nightmare that wouldn’t end. The sound of the lab machine, the familiar smells, and the cold atmosphere of the place were all etched in his memory. But at this moment, he needed to do something beyond all of this. As he walked into the house, he decided to record the experience of that day on an audio tape. Every word that came out of his mouth unconsciously eased the pressure that weighed on him. He couldn’t keep all of these experiences in his head; he had to document them. He brought the microphone close to his mouth and slowly recorded everything that had happened to him. Then, he wrote on the tape, "Project S" and handed it to his sister, Rosalyn, asking her to listen to it and note any changes that might occur in the tape over the next few days. He also emphasized that she should not speak to anyone about this project. He knew that this project was, in fact, a fruitless gamble that could consume everything he called the present.
By Vafa Abbasiabout a year ago in Fiction
Guardians and Angels | Chapter Three (Part 10)
We headed into the night together, two boys on the cusp of forever, heading west, chasing a sun settled just over the horizon onto the Pacific Ocean. Backpacks on, baseball hats backward, sweaters pulled over our tee shirts, stepping out in unison, choreographed in our marching.
By Christopher Dubbsabout a year ago in Fiction
Life at the Cost of Drinking a Cup of Time: The Simulated Dream
Part one: A Gamble With Fate -Alex's Nightmares- Every night, Alex’s sleep became a battlefield, one where memories and regrets collided in an endless loop. He had no control over it. The dreams were not mere fragments of his subconscious; they were vivid, so real that waking up felt like being ripped away from something tangible. In these dreams, Sarah, his wife, stood by the bedside of their son, Tom, her face radiant with love, the same look she always had when she gazed at him. But there was an unsettling stillness in the air, a silence that felt like it had a weight of its own. Alex could feel her presence, her warmth, as if she were there, whispering something to him—a message he couldn’t comprehend, a plea that was just out of reach. He would stretch his hand toward her, desperate to understand, but just before he could speak, the scene would crumble, and he’d be left alone in the silence. The dream would dissipate like mist before dawn, leaving him with a sense of loss so profound it gnawed at his insides. The dreams were becoming more frequent, more intense. He couldn’t escape them. Every time he closed his eyes, it was as if he was drawn back into the same moment—back to the day everything changed. Back to the accident that took Sarah from him, and left Tom fighting for his life. -The Meeting with Professor Darcy- The morning after the latest nightmare, Alex was numb. There was no solace in the daylight, no escape from the darkness that clung to his thoughts. He had learned to move through the motions of life, to bury his grief beneath his professional duties. But the pain was always there, lurking just beneath the surface. At the research facility, he met with Professor Darcy, a renowned neuroscientist who had been studying coma patients for years. Darcy’s research had veered into dangerous territory—territory Alex never thought he’d find himself in. "Alex, there’s something we’ve discovered," Professor Darcy began, his voice filled with a mix of excitement and caution. "A unique anomaly in the brainwave patterns of coma patients. We believe it’s possible to access... fragments of time. Not just memories, but actual moments. A door, if you will, into the past." Alex’s heart skipped a beat. It sounded impossible, absurd even, but something in Darcy’s eyes told him he was serious. "We’ve been working on a project," Darcy continued. "Project S. If you’re willing to be a part of it, we could try to send you into the past. There’s a chance, a small one, but a chance, that you could reconnect with... what you lost." The words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of their implications. "Of course, the risks are tremendous," Darcy cautioned. "The probability of success is low, and the consequences of failure are unknown. But Alex, this could be your only way back." Alex didn’t need to hear more. The thought of being able to reach Sarah again, to find a way to save Tom, was too powerful to ignore. He didn’t care about the risks. The thought of losing everything, of remaining in a world without them, was far worse. -The Decision- Later that night, Alex stood alone in his apartment, the silence enveloping him. His mind raced. He could still feel Sarah’s presence, even though she was gone. It was as if she was calling to him, urging him to make a decision. "You can’t save them both... but you can try," he whispered to himself. He didn’t need to be told twice. He knew what he had to do. The choice was no longer about science or probabilities. It was about love, about what he was willing to risk for the chance to undo the mistakes of the past. He thought about Tom, lying in a coma, and Sarah’s absence that left an unbearable void. This was his chance, however small, to make things right. -Entering the Simulation- The day came when Alex stepped into the machine. The world around him blurred, the reality he knew faded into the background as his consciousness was thrust into a simulated world, a world that resembled the past, but was anything but real. In this world, he would have to confront the very thing that had torn his life apart. But as the machine hummed to life, Alex realized something: there was no going back. Once he entered the past, there was no telling what might happen. Every decision he made would ripple through time, changing the fabric of reality itself. But he had made his choice. For better or worse, he was going to play the game of fate.
By Vafa Abbasiabout a year ago in Fiction
The Book of Marie. Top Story - April 2025.
She missed her siblings. At least now Adriel and Gloria knew about the baby. She hated all the secrecy, but it was for the best of intentions. Castro was a dangerous Black Dragon. His power was just dark enough to be overpowering and destructive. That was how he had gained control. He'd beaten down Adriel and Gloria, took over their lives, until the family had been split and destroyed. Now, he was the chaos behind the family. Always lurking in the shadows and always destroying things before they had time to grow. She didn't want her son anywhere near Castro.
By Alisha Wilkins ✒️🦋🖋️about a year ago in Fiction
Punk Tactis
Louise waited until they got back home to call Jimmy’s number – After a big fight with his dad, Jimmy Jr. decided to stay with his mom more often. Only visiting his father on the weekends, unlike his younger brothers. - Louise called and waited for him to pick up, it was nearing the third ring when he answered,
By Dylan-Quinn Harrisabout a year ago in Fiction
